This paper aims to identify several changes in the labor market structure in COVID-19 pandemic times. The context of the research is represented by the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the economic field, especially at the labor market level. This difficult situation could generate a negative impact in the sphere of traditional jobs and economic sectors. The main challenge for sustainable development in this new global situation is represented by human sustainability. Related to human sustainability, we emphasized the role played by the labor market and employability in mantling an optimal function at the social and economic level. For measuring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the economic sphere, we used a quantitative design based on descriptive and inferential statistics. The research variables are represented by unemployment rates in the EU-28, employability rates, educational levels, gender, economic growth, labor mobility, material deprivation, economic freedom, and human development indicators. Empirical findings present the situation of a deep economic crisis generated by economic degrowth and by high levels of unemployment rates in the EU-28. Moreover, we have observed several predictors of employability in the new pandemic context as: material deprivation by age (in the field of young people), employment rate by education (tertiary education), and economic freedom. Another important finding is related to the gender perspective. Statistical correlations estimate a positive linear correlation between gender (women) and low rates of employability in the EU-28. All these empirical results could prove valuable for scholars interested in the relations between employability and sustainability and for political decision makers involved in the effort of reducing the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic within national and trans-national economic systems.

The aim of this paper is to create a comprehensive image of power at the beginning of the XXI-st century. The research objectives are related to: i. the radiography of the perception of the political power regarding the main actors: USA, Russian Federation and China; ii. the identification of the relationship between global economy conditions, terrorist attacks and the dynamics of the political power in international arena; iii. the estimation of the magnitude of the statistical correlation between economic development, democratic order and the perception of the political power in international sphere. The research design is obviously quantitative, being based on descriptive statistics and linear and non-linear equations of regressions for estimating the main predictors and vectors which could influence the perception of the power. We use comparative case studies between USA, Russian Federation and China for exploring several associations between independent factors and the perception of the power and influence in the international context. Regarding the empirical findings, we have to stress that China’s power and influence are related with cyber-attacks from other countries (r = 0.707, p < 0.01) and USA’s power and influence are related with the conditions of the global economy ( r = 0.594, p = 0.01). Regarding the perception of the Russian Federation’s power and influence, we can observe linear associations with cyber-attacks (r = 0.605, p = 0.01) and   flawed democratic order (r = 0.429, p= 0.02). Empirical findings reflect a new political geometry in the international arena, where the classical system is replaced by a multipolar model with two dominant political actors: USA and China. Synthesising, this article reflects the importance of the political perception and the political psychology in the sphere of international relations, where we can make the distinction between real and potential (or perceived) political power. This new geometry implies a new level of significance and a new semiotic strategy for interpreting both subjective and objective facts of the political world.

This article aims to create the nexus between sustainable development and the quality of the political regime. The current social and political context is characterized by a series of crises generated by COVID-19 pandemic, economic imbalances and regional conflicts. In this context, sustainable development is affected by the economic dynamics and the &ldquo;democratic recession&rdquo;. The study aims to respond to the following research questions: &ldquo;how could influence the quality of the democracy the dynamics of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 17)?&rdquo; and &ldquo;what are the premises for sustainable development in the new political context, characterized by democratic recession?&rdquo; The purpose of the study is to underline the fact that democratic regimes are inclined to create both participative and deliberative frames for achieving the SDGs in accordance with UN 2030 Agenda. The research methodology used in this study is based on descriptive and inferential statistics. The research data are collected from secondary sources in the years between 2015 and 2021, from 193 countries covering all the geographical areas. The empirical results suggest two models of development: the Asian model of sustainable development characterized by economic growth and the Western democratic model based on democratic institutions, fair justice and mechanisms for preserving peace. We noticed that the key-variables for explaining the dynamics of sustainability in correlation with democratic index are represented by the functioning of the governments and the political participation. Through civic engagement and political ac-countability, democracy could be seen as a pre-requisite for achieving an optimal level of the SDGs. All these empirical results could prove valuable for the scholars interested in the relation between democracy and sustainability and for the political decision makers involved in shaping strategies for social, economic and environmental development.

This article aims to create the nexus between sustainable development and the quality of the political regime. The study aims to respond to the following research questions: “how could influence the quality of the democracy the dynamics of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 17)?” and “what are the premises for sustainable development in the new political context, characterized by democratic recession?” The purpose of the study is to underline the fact that democratic regimes are inclined to create both participative and deliberative frames for achieving the SDGs in accordance with UN 2030 Agenda. The research methodology used in this study is based on descriptive and inferential statistics. The research data are collected from secondary sources in the years between 2015 and 2021, from 193 countries covering all the geographical areas. The empirical results suggest two models of development: the Asian model of sustainable development characterized by economic growth and the Western democratic model based on democratic institutions, fair justice and mechanisms for preserving peace. We noticed that the key-variables for explaining the dynamics of sustainability in correlation with democratic index are represented by the functioning of the governments and the political participation. Through civic engagement and political accountability, democracy could be seen as a pre-requisite for achieving an optimal level of the SDGs. All these empirical results could prove valuable for the scholars interested in the relation between democracy and sustainability and for the political decision makers involved in shaping strategies for social, economic and environmental development.

The aim of this paper is to create a deep radiography of the evolution of deliberative democracy in the digital era. The increased number of on-line media, social dynamics and economic variables could be seen as several structural challenges for the quality of the deliberative democracy. Starting from these premises the study has several research objectives as: i. to analyse the impact of deliberative democracy in EU countries; ii. to estimate the magnitude of the statistical association between deliberative component of the democracy and on-line media; iii. the impact of economic development on the evolution of deliberative democracy and on-line communication. The main research questions are: “how could on line media determine the decreasing level of deliberative democracy?” and “is political polarization the effect of the on-line media fractionalization?” Empirical findings present the image of the EU political systems in terms of “flawed democracy” with the mean of Democracy Index= 7.34. At the inferential level we have determined several linear and non-linear equations of regression as: deliberative democracy and on-line media fractionalization, a negative relation with R2= 0.673, p=0.01.Also, the main predictor of the quality of the democracy in conditions of the increased number of on-line media is represented by the social and political polarization. Economic determinants are statistically significant for the dynamics of the deliberative democracy (R2=0.465, p<0.001).