Polish Political Science Yearbook

11

Authors: Markiyan Malskyy

Gathering evidence is of utmost importance in any legal proceeding. However, sometimes, one of the parties may hide specific evidence, which complicates the adjudicators’ reaching of a fair conclusion. For such cases, judges or arbitrators can use several tools, one of which is adverse inference. An adverse inference is a negative conclusion that may be drawn from a party’s failure to provide some evidence without a valid excuse for non-production. By drawing it, adjudicators assume this evidence would harm the party’s interests. At the same time, adverse inference is quite a radical tool because it may strongly impact the final decision. Because of this, adjudicators are sometimes cautious about using it. This paper analyzes the notion of adverse inference in the context of the dispute resolution mechanism available in the WTO. In particular, three cases were summarized in which the Appellate Body made interesting findings regarding the application of adverse inference. As a result of the work, conclusions from these cases are made that can be used by lawyers in future WTO disputes, as well as in other international and national dispute resolution fora.

12

Authors: Hilal Zeynep Tanrıverdi

Scapegoating and Conspiracy Theories during COVID-19 Antisemitism has unfortunately persisted throughout history, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not been an exception to this troubling trend. The conditions created by the pandemic, such as fear, uncertainty, and anxiety, have fueled the emergence and spread of conspiracy theories targeting various groups, including Jewish communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a plethora of baseless beliefs and conspiracy theories about its causes, which have contributed to the rise of antisemitism during this time. Pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, inherently create anxiety and uncertainty among populations. This change has affected many areas, both political and social. Conspiracy theories that base the cause of the emergence of COVID-19 on Jewish identity are an essential factor for this study. Tendencies toward antisemitism and scapegoating have supported these conspiracy theories. In this study, how antisemitism manifested itself in media and online discourse during COVID-19 and how Jewish identity is affected by the process.

15

Authors: Marek Musioł

Central Asia is revealing itself as an area where the problem of access to water and its current regional dynamics are almost at a radically critical level, where the potential risk of water disputes is still one of the highest in the world. Therefore, water scarcity issues and challenges triggered by the Aral Sea syndrome, the existing water mismanagement system, infrastructural and investment projects of dams and water reservoirs (Rogun, Naryn, Kambarata, Toktogul, etc.) and their transformation towards an existential threat will be analyzed within the securitization prism through the selected speech acts. This article will contribute to developing a new analytical framework of Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) and the securitization theory in water stress. The efforts undertaken in this article will ultimately lead to the development of a new approach to issues of water security and hydro politics within the concept of the Regional Water Security Complex (RWSC) on the example of the Central Asian region. The main research question will be to what extent water, as an immanent feature of this complex, is politicized and securitized. An important question will also be how the formulated security language indicates the existential nature of water as a security problem in the region.

17

Authors: Stavros Drakoularakos

This article analyses Turkey’s foreign policy concerning the status quo of the post-Arab uprisings through the prism of regional hegemony theory. The aspiring regional hegemon is identified through criteria applied to Turkish foreign policy, recontextualizing soft power initiatives of the previous decades with current hard power policies. The article suggests that while the Arab uprisings played a vital part in the redefinition of Turkish foreign policy, Erdoğan’s domestic priorities informed its recalibration to weather political difficulties and maintain power. The objective would be to challenge the status quo shepherded by the West during the twentieth century as articulated by the Mavi Vatan doctrine, the motivation to renegotiate the Lausanne treaty, the conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, and even the escalating Erdoğan-Macron verbal feud. Turkey’s aspirations for regional hegemony are evidenced in policies including military intervention, diplomatic and economic support to state entities, escalation of tensions with other regional powers, and Erdoğan’s consolidation of power over Turkish domestic affairs.

19

Authors: Marcin Grabowski, Viktoriya Voytsekhovska

The study attempts to analyze the implications of the war in Ukraine for the issues of development and inequalities in the BRICS block. The so-called “emerging economies” play an essential role in the global system, both in economic and political terms. The article compares the political and economic backgrounds of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, their development, the “status quo” and their future aspirations, and analyses how the war in Ukraine may change the global development scenario. It is essential after the BRICS summit in South Africa invited six new members to the group. The article is rooted in complexity theory, supported by a mixed methodology approach. We show how the given research methodology, informed by complexity theory, can furnish new insights into global sustainability. The statistical method was used to gauge the correlation-regression impact of inequalities in BRICS countries on their sustainable development. The analysis allows several conclusions to be ventured: sustainable development is closely linked to inequalities and vice versa; the war has had a significant, multidimensional impact on the development paths and inequalities in the BRICS countries, which potentially could worsen, and the war is a major shocking event that can lead to global system changes and implications which are broader than merely for the subregion.

21

Authors: Anna Cichecka, Andrzej Polus

This article examines the transformation of political discourse on women’s rights and women-oriented NGOs in Tanzania, focusing on successive state administrations within the same political party, led by John Pombe Magufuli and Jakaya Kikwete. The analysis unfolds through three key phases: first, characterizing the habitus of Tanzanian women’s NGOs; second, examining the evolving narratives in government-NGO relations; and third, briefly exploring the political discourse during the Kikwete and Magufuli presidencies. The research methodology is based on extensive desk research and two field studies conducted in Tanzania. Rather than adhering to a preconceived theory, our research approach is guided by theorems and selected frameworks. Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts, particularly ‘habitus’ and the ‘exchangeability of different forms of capital,’ underpin our argument and interpretation of the data. The study shows that while elements of anti-feminism are evident in Magufuli’s political discourse, accusations of promoting toxic masculinity are mainly unfounded. At the same time, it argues that the critique of women’s empowerment and women-focused NGOs can be attributed to Magufuli’s unique mode of accumulating political and economic capital, leading to heightened distrust in the relationship between these NGOs and the Tanzanian government.