Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of security challenges in the selected states in Eurasia and Central and Eastern Europe from the perspective of peace and politics. Since the security situation differs significantly across the sub-regions under scrutiny, the main objective of the current research is to establish and test a theoretical model of relevant combinations of political factors and their relation to peace. The theoretical framework has been designed by following Fukuyama’s idea of political order and upgraded with the newly constructed index of social exclusion. Design/methodology/approach According to the objective and methodological gaps in this field, the paper applies comparative fuzzy set analysis. The method relies on the theoretical framework and empirical data and allows a constant communication between the two. It has allowed the research to focus on what conditions are necessary and/or sufficient for peace in the selected countries. Findings It is evident there are several different paths to achieve peace. However, the rule of law clearly constitutes both the necessary and sufficient conditions for peace in the selected regions. Moreover, the results of the research reveal that the concepts of interest are highly interlinked with each other, especially when it comes to the rule of law, state, and democratic accountability. Thus, further research should focus on in-depth analysis of each particular case to explore which conditions or combinations are decisive in particular setting. Originality/value Such findings can contribute to improving the areas where Eurasian countries are still lagging behind. Further research should focus on small but significant differences within these four groupings of countries, to improve the understanding of prerequisites for peace and contribute to the development of state and human security in the EU neighborhood.

This article addresses the migrant entrepreneurship in selected Central European regions by focusing on a general social and legislative framework, as well as migrants’ own perceptions of their challenges, needs, advantages and future prospects. It is based on the combination of secondary data and fieldwork material referring to the interviews and focus groups. The study shows that entrepreneurship is a successful strategy for effective integration into the host society. Migrant entrepreneurs are facing specific challenges in terms of understanding the legislation and the specifics of the local business environment. They often engage in niche services and production. However, they typically see themselves not as migrants but as entrepreneurs and claim to share the needs with entrepreneurs in general.

The article examines the conditions of political stability and different regime trajectories in the post-Soviet region. The impact of political, socioeconomic, and cultural factors is explored to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for political stability and democracy, as well as their relationship with each other. Applying fuzzy set comparative analysis, this article demonstrates the significance of social inclusion in political stability, although it cannot confirm any causality between political stability and democracy in the post-Soviet region. In terms of the necessary conditions for democracy, only a democratic political culture is significant; while both democratic political cultureandthe absence of a strong economic dependence on natural resources are sufficient conditions for democracy in the region.

Povzetek. Pričujoči članek prikaže, kako so številni konflikti in krize v Libanonu posledice odpornega sektaškega političnega sistema, ki se ohranja tudi s pomočjo transnacionalnih, predvsem regionalnih, sil. Klientelističen, koruptiven in popolnoma neodgovoren sistem, ki temelji na delitvi moči med osrednjimi verskimi skupnostmi/sektami – suniti, šiiti in kristjani/ maroniti, je uspel prodreti globoko v različne družbene podsisteme: političnovarnostnega, socioekonomskega, civilnodružbenega in ideološkega. Članek na podlagi kritičnega pregleda literature in poglobljenih intervjujev z relevantnimi akterji v Libanonu analizira številne dinamike in mehanizme – širjenje neučinkovitega javnega sektorja, slabljenje (večine) državnih institucij, klientelizem in disciplinske tehnike sistema, represijo, infiltracijo ali kooptacijo civilnodružbenih organizacij, sektarianizacijo; ti so vladajočemu razredu omogočili njegovo stalno reprodukcijo in krepitev.