Editorial note BJIEP Vol.4/Issue 2

Abstract

This present issue of the Bulgarian Journal of International Economics and Politics comes out with an array of topics. It starts with an analysis of China’s interpretation of norms of international order exemplified in Beijing’s nuanced maritime policy in the Indian Ocean region. The second article focuses on the power-sharing arrangements between the federal centre and the federal units epitomized in the so-called Tatarstan model that has developed in 1990s and early 2000s. The author argues that the unique blend of authoritarian leadership, regional elite management, and crony capitalism exemplified in the model has strong implications for regional autonomy, economic development, and political stability in the Russian Federation. The third article examines the cooperation in the field of armaments between the Republic of Armenia and France, reasoning that Armenia plays a double game in which it has not at all abandoned Russia, its strategic ally. The next article examines the the impact of macroeconomic factors and financial performance on stock prices in Indonesia and the findings reveal how macroeconomic factors and company performance influence stock valuations in emerging markets. The fifth article explores hydrocarbon dependency in Algeria, focusing on oil price fluctuations’ impact on public finance and fiscal policies from 2000 to 2022, underscoring Algeria’s vulnerability to global oil market shocks, impacting developmental policies and economic restructuring. The last two pieces delve into various problems of education in their international dimensions. In this regard, the article on cognitive capital analyses national differences between Eastern and Western Europe in the relative increase or decrease in scores on international student assessments (such as PISA, TIMSS, etc.), drawing the far-fetched conclusion that in the long term the centres of cognitive capital are shifting from Western Europe to Eastern Europe.The last article offers a comprehensive examination of the issue of cyber security in higher education proposing some practical solutions to address the challenges in the field.
The Expert Insights rubric presents an analysis of the relations between Western Balkans and the EU with a focus on the impact of two factors: the Russian war in Ukraine and the European Parliament’s elections. The Insights are authored by Meglena Plugchieva, Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria (2008-2009) responsible for the EU funds management; Member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria (XXXVII, XXXVIII and XLI National Assemblies); Ambassador of Republic of Bulgaria to Germany (2004-2008), to Switzerland (2012-2016) and to Montenegro (2019-2022). Drawing from experience and practical knowledge, Plugchieva furthers the analysis into a modest forecast for future developments outlining two possible scenarios depending on the development of the EU itself: a renewed and strong EU with a focus on integration or continued stagnation and growing nationalism with increase of centrifugal tendencies.
The current issue of BJIEP continues with the Book Review column featuring a book review of Petar Atanassov’s Conceptualizing the Process of Radicalization among Ethnic and Religious Groups, written by Georgi Stankov. The reviewed book analyses the factors that influence the emergence and development of the radicalization processes on ethnic and religious bases, as well as their subsequent impact on national and international security.