Short Essay Answers, Questionnaire Example

What is What Is Color Revolution?

The term “color revolution” has been used to describe a number of protest and political-uprising movements in parts of the former Soviet Union and in other parts of the world. These protests and uprisings usually choose a color to represent their movement, which gives the term its name. They have erupted at different times, in different places, and for different reasons, but color revolutions typically have a few things in common. They are often led by young people, like students, and they usually adopt a non-violent approach to revolution.

Why does Albania support Kosovo’s independence?

While this is a complicated issue, the primary reason for Albanian support for Kosovo’s independence is that millions of Albanians currently live in Kosovo. Albanian is the official language of Kosovo, and in many ways Kosovo’s national identity is similar to Albania’s. Albanian support for an independent Kosovo was withdrawn in the 1990s during the Bosnian conflict, but Albania was the first to recognize Kosovo’s independence when Kosovo declared itself independent in 2008.

In 2008 Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The Serbian Constitution recognizes Kosovo only as its autonomous province. Why does Serbia refuse to accept Kosovo’s independence? (think about the conflict over Kosovo and people that populate Kosovo’s geographical area).

Although the population of Kosovo is largely Albanian, there is a minority of Serbians who live in that country, primarily in the northern region. This Serbian minority in Kosovo has refused to accept the 2008 declaration of Kosovo independence; Serbia has also refused to acknowledge it. The Serbs in the north want to maintain autonomous control of their region of Kosovo, a demand that has been refused by Kosovo.

Presently, the country of Bulgaria experiences one of the longest political crisis. Bulgarian people in several cities throughout the country participate in anti-government demonstrations. It started in February of 2013 when people protested against the rise of electricity prices. Over the summer, the protest developed into massive anti-government movement. Why do you think Bulgarian people are not happy?

One of the conditions by which Bulgaria was allowed to enter the EU was an agreement to shut down its nuclear power plant that was built over 40 years ago. The energy produced by the nuclear plant had allowed Bulgarians to have access to inexpensive energy; since entering the Eu they have been forced to buy electricity from foreign sources, which has caused their energy prices to soar and had a significant negative impact on the Bulgarian economy. For many Bulgarians, the advantages of joining the EU have been outweighed by the negative impact imposed by shutting down the nuclear plant.

Until recent years, Romanian government cherished a ‘Pan-Romanian’ ideals and aimed at bringing the ‘Two Romanian States’ closer together. What country is considered to be the Second Romania? What do The Two Romanias have in common?

Romania and Moldova make up the “two Romanian states.” During the rise of communism, the Soviet Union annexed the territory known as Moldova, while Romania functioned as a communist nation that was somewhat independent of Soviet influence. The Romanian and Moldovan languages are more or less the same language, though during the time that the Soviets controlled Moldova they engaged in the “russification” of Moldova, imposing their influences on the language, and encouraging ethnic Russians to immigrate to Moldova. Since the end of the Soviet Union there have been efforts to reunite the two nations, but this process is complicated by the changes the Soviet Union imposed on Moldova over the years, which have led to greater differences between the people of the two nations.

The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are the only three Former Soviet Republics in the European Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all three claimed their European origins. They accused Russia of occupation, prohibited Soviet symbolic, and banned Russian language from their schools. Latvia went even further and started systematic glorification of its involvement in World War II on the Nazi side. Latvian SS Brigades became the pride of the nation. What is an ethical problem with such notion?

The contemporary embrace of the Nazi history in Latvia presents a problem for the EU. Nazism is seen as a crime by the EU, yet member-state Latvia continues to glorify its Nazi past. This is primarily supported as a way of remembering the efforts by Latvians to oppose Soviet occupation of the Baltic States. It presents an ethical dilemma; on one hand it is a way of honoring those who fought against the Soviets before the occupation, but on the other hand it raises fears of an increasing anti-Semitism and far-right movement in Latvia.

The country of Hungary is a very active NATO member. Despite its recent membership, it provides more support for NATO missions than some Western European countries that hold NATO membership since its inception in 1949. In fact, most Eastern European countries that recently joined NATO are expected to actively participate in all NATO’s missions. At the same time, citizens of the new NATO members are not happy with such an arrangement.

The nation of Hungary has one of the most powerful military forces I the region. It has participated in a number of significant military operations over the last few decades, including being involved in Iraq as part of NATO operations there. However, it and other newer NATO allies have been forced to purchase new military equipment as part of their membership in the organization. This has been described as “a responsibility instead of a benefit.” The costs of purchasing this equipment and the responsibility for heavy NATO participation are considered burdensome by many Hungarians who feel they are paying for and supporting NATO activity while older member nations are contributing less.

In 2007 the Czech Republic planned to host the radar system of the European missile defense shield. Later the Czech government backed out and refused to provide its territory for the project. Why did the Czech Republic change its mind?

Although the Czech Republic initially agreed to provide land for the European Missile Defense Shield, the response from Russia made them change their minds. When Russia threatened to position missiles along its borders with NATO nations, the president of the Czech Republic decided he did not want to be “caught between” the US and Russia. The plan to establish the missile defense shield has since been suspended.

Polish government is actively explores the possibility of the shale gas extraction. What made Poland to consider such possibility?

Natural gas is a significant source of energy for many European nations. The pipelines that deliver natural gas run through “transit states” such as Belarus, and these transit states are afforded significantly reduced (and fixed) prices for natural gas in exchange for allowing the pipelines to run through them. Several nations in Western Europe, concerned about the dependency on Russia’s natural gas, have begun to move towards “fracking” for shale gas, which may make them less dependent on Russia’s resources. Russia also had disputes with Poland that led to the cancellation of plans to use Poland as a transit state. Poland, not wanting to be dependent on Russia’s resources any more than the Western Europeans, and no longer having the possibility of paying reduced prices for natural gas, has also begun to explore fracking.