The EU and Civil Society in the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict
This paper deals with the role of the EU in supporting civil society in the case of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. It analyses the patterns of development of civil society actors that played a direct or indirect role in the development of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. In the case of Georgia the paper focuses on NGOs representing the interests of internally displaced persons and civil society players involved in promoting dialogue with the Abkhaz. In the case of Abkhazia, the paper focuses on the development of Abkhaz civil society, the relative strength of which is a mini-phenomenon in itself, as well as the Abkhaz approaches to dialogue with Georgia. The paper then outlines the main EU activities vis-a-vis the civil society actors on both sides of the conflict. The paper concludes that in the absence of strong EU political engagement in conflict-resolution, EU assistance to civil society could not prevent the re-escalation of the conflict and the radicalisation of the Abkhaz and Georgian societies. However EU assistance to civil society contributed to the (parallel and separate) strengthening of civil society on both sides of the conflict lines, which can be considered an achievement in itself, however modest.
LEGITIMIZATION OF STATEHOOD IN DE FACTO STATES: A CASE STUDY OF SOMALILAND
De facto states constitute an interesting anomaly in the international system of sovereign states. No matter how successful and efficient they are in the administration of their territories, they fail to achieve international recognition. The main priority is given to maintaining their existence and to an effort to convince domestic and international actors of their right to independence. Currently, most scholars consider only six entities as de facto states: Somaliland, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria and Northern Cyprus. The aim of this article is to determine which legitimization strategies for the right to independent statehood are applied by Somaliland representatives. The research is conducted through an analysis of official government documents supplemented with an interview with Abdillahi Duale, Somaliland’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and two representatives of the African Union.
Research on health and oral health status of elderly living alone compared to elderly living with their families - based on the data (2014) from the 6th two-year Korea national health and nutrition examination survey -
Objectives: I examined the health and oral health status of elderly people living alone compared to elderly people living with their families by using data (2014) from the 6th Two-Year Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods: Among 1,454 health survey respondents aged 65 years and over who participated in the 6th Two-Year Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2014, 311 were elderly people living alone and 1,143 were elderly people living with their families. Results: In terms of socio-demographic characteristics, the percentage of elderly people living alone was high especially in women and when the subjects’ age, education level, and income level were low. In terms of oral health status, the percentage of elderly people living alone was high when elderly people thought that their subjectively viewed health was poor and the frequency of drinking and exercise was low. In terms of oral health status, the percentage of elderly people living alone was high among elderly people who did not have good oral health in their subjective view and did not get oral examinations for a year and had a lot of difficulty chewing. Conclusions: Family support or additional social support for elderly people who live alone should be considered to promote the healthy lives of elderly people.