Eastern European Journal for Regional Studies

15

Authors: Sandra BROŽOVÁ

The article deals with international coordination of social security in the EU, aiming special focus on self-employed persons. The article outlines an overview of international social security coordination system with its legal sources and presents original research using cluster analysis method based on statistical data compiled by European Commission experts. The presented research is based on a conducted cluster analysis bringing together principal macroeconomic characteristics describing relative size and relative strength of economies, in particular total number of inhabitants, GDP per capita, in internationally comparable purchasing power parity version, and average wage, with quantitative expression of labour migration, represented by short term mobility covered by the European law posting provisions. The research question was formulated towards exploration whether there are some common features in short-term mobility inflows created by independent self-employed persons in the European internal market. The results showed prevailing lack of consistency leading to the fact that the clusters reported by the model were not comparable in size, when two of them embraced nearly all the examined European countries and the other two only few of them.

16

Authors: Viorelia LUNGU

A knowledge-based society generates profound transformations fostering social and economic development to the point where this factor becomes the key element in producing added value, but also the overall prosperity of both internal and national economies. In this regard, higher education institutions have key functions in the process of transmitting, producing and transferring knowledge within a knowledge-based economy, whilst companies need to base their innovations and performance programs on generating knowledge, thus ensuring sustainable development. The success in the new economy depends on a knowledge-based society which imposes a new inter-relational system, different from the current, built on openness, flexibility, permanent education and specialized entrepreneurial motivation.

21

Authors: Srđan Mladenov JOVANOVIĆ

It is difficult to properly emphasize the increase in xenophobia on a global level, from discourse to appropriate policies. Though Donald Trump’s “wall” has become a world-known feature, fences have been built in numerous places within Europe as well. Xenophobic discourses are increasingly used as a means for gaining electoral support, after which “adequate” policies are being introduced. From the “immigrant” or “guest worker” to the “refugee” or “asylum seeker”, these people have been shunned on an institutional and media level, invisible in their plight for decades, oftentimes painted as criminals. With the resurgence of xenophobia, their visibility increased only to be put in a negative spotlight, as scapegoats instead of victims. This article deals with the discursive construction of the Enemy from the refugee in the Middle East from the methodological standpoint of Critical Discourse Analysis, as well as how this exclusionary, discriminative discourse in turn creates xenophobic policies on a global scale.