No abstract

This article explores innovation performance through the perspective lens of the National Innovation Systems (nis) placed in the context of the strategic action fields. The aim is to represent the three social forces as an alternative explanation for innovation processes while deploying the comparative perspective of the eu 28, which not only constitute different types of innovators, but also are part of different statistical classifications. In order to test the sufficient and necessary conditions for innovation performance, the authors use Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The results show that all three social forces intertwined influence the (un)successfulness of national social environments.

In 2010, the European Commission launched Europe 2020 Strategy in response to the economic crisis and boost the EU’s economy. Later the same year, the EC proposes the European Union Strategy for Danube Region. The Danube Region being so diverse, it is important to understand it not only from the legal or administrative boundaries, but also to grasp the historical and cultural diversity. Consequently, in order not to neglect these primordial factors, this article addresses the Danube Region as a political and economic imaginary through the lenses of Cultural Political Economy, that focuses on the complexity of the reality. Following this line of argument, the aim is to understand the economic reshape of the Danube Region and the consequences of the European Union Strategy for Danube Region.

In the new local-global interconnection, nation states are losing their influence and legitimacy while economic and cultural transformations are reconfiguring spatial formations. Going in line with the global trends, regions grasp more importance in shaping the political, economic and social environments. As a result, the regional level has an important role in creating a proper socio-economic framework for innovation development which is considered one the engines of development. Relying on the theory of social fields, the research considers three social forces (networks institutions and cognitive frames) as an alternative explanation for innovation processes by encompassing the aspects of different social fields on the regional level. As case studies, there were selected seven regions with different levels of innovation performance. The analysis of the focus groups with regional stakeholders emphasized that these social forces are a special component for explaining innovation processes in the selected case studies.

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.