Constantin Vasile Țoca

Global demographic shifts, marked by below-replacement fertility rates in numerous nations, are significantly influencing economies and cultures, especially in countries like Italy, Japan, and Germany. This study examines the circumstances in Japan, where the fertility rate reached a historic low of 1.20 in 2023, resulting in immediate implications for the demographic composition and workforce. This study examines the fundamental causes of this trend, emphasising work culture, the correlation between marriage and fertility, and current initiatives aimed at addressing demographic and socioeconomic issues.

Recognizing the rapid advancement and heightened intricacy of hybrid threats, EU and Hybrid CoE experts devised a new framework to address these challenges. Given that non-conventional hazards can affect all aspects of life and society, implementing countermeasures that focus solely on certain areas is inadequate. The present article proposes a systemic framework for evaluating the EU's response to hybrid threats, as resilience is the foundation of the Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem model. Initiatives aimed at fostering resilience against hybrid threats were classified into five principal areas, which include an assessment of political and legal frameworks, institutional measures, inter-institutional collaboration, regulatory actions, and societal strategies, reflecting a comprehensive approach that engages the entire society. This analysis will examine the Community's resilience-building initiatives against hybrid threats over the past two decades, while also illustrating that the Union can play a vital supplementary role in assisting Member States to address the unconventional threats of the 21st century.

The purpose of the study is to identify the causes, essential features and consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war for Ukraine and the globalised world. The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific methods of cognition (induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis), as well as special scientific research methods: conflict theory, neo-institutionalism, hybrid warfare theory, etc. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the authors have carried out a comprehensive analysis of the preconditions, causes and consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war for Ukraine and the globalised world in the context of the growing confrontation between democracies and autocratic regimes. Conclusions. Firstly, the Russian-Ukrainian war has become one of the wars that have a significant impact on the globalised world: it has changed the balance of power in the international arena, demonstrated the ineffectiveness of modern security mechanisms, and is characterised by large-scale military losses and migration processes. Secondly, the main geopolitical preconditions for the war are the following: Russia's neo-imperial policy and history of relations with Ukraine, Ukraine's strategic location and European integration aspirations, and Russia's domestic policy of maintaining an authoritarian regime. In addition to the geopolitical ones, the existential preconditions of the war are also important, as Russian leaders see Ukraine's future in its accession to Russia: an ethnic, economic, geopolitical and spiritual renaissance. Thirdly, the ideological doctrine that justifies Russia's foreign expansion is the doctrine of the "Russian world". Fourthly, the Russian-Ukrainian war has large-scale consequences for both Ukraine (political, military, economic, geopolitical, social) and the globalised world (it has shown the need to reformat the international security system, led to the militarisation of the economies of the world's leading states, and intensified the global confrontation between democracies and authoritarian regimes).

The role of research and development (R&D) in economic growth has been intensively promoted by scholars and policy-makers of the last decades, emphasizing its impact on technological innovation, intensive and sustainable growth and economic revival. The R&D sector is considered a main driver in the fight against chronic underdevelopment, regional disparities, isolation and lack of socio-economic perspectives. Although the steady economic growth of Romania in the last 15 years continues to converge with the European Union’s average, the regional disparities persisted and even deepened, the country still being considered a modest innovator, and resources allocated to research and innovation are far below the European level. In this paper, we aim to identify the existence, direction and duration of the relationship between economic growth, expenditure and employment in the R&D sector. We applied the Johansen cointegration test, the VECM model and Granger causality both at the county and component region levels during the 1995–2021 period. The results of our research reveal the consistency of these bidirectional relationships at the regional and sub-regional levels, especially in the long run. We also emphasize the importance of economic growth in supporting public and private efforts for R&D: the regions that can allocate more resources to research, development and innovation (RD&I) will benefit from the more reliable and long-run-oriented economic growth.

Understanding the factors that influence the formation of the competitive force within the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is crucial for delineating the features that contribute to the effective functioning and development of its economic competitive landscape. The primary objective of this article is to examine the impact of the interplay between determinants influencing the global competitiveness of member states and international integration groupings on the sustainable economic growth of the USMCA. The article introduces the author's conceptual framework, which presents a comprehensive classification of determinants that shape and enhance the adaptive competitiveness of integrated economic systems. This framework, alternatively referred to as the interpretation of the drivers of the USMCA's global competitiveness, applies to any international integration grouping. The proposed approach advocates the separation of the USMCA's development model as an independent entity, distinct from the model that governs the global competitiveness of individual member states. Notable differences have been identified by evaluating several determinants, including economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure, on the formation of the global competitiveness of member states within the USMCA. The member states of the USMCA show significant differences in their global competitiveness. It is worth mentioning that the criterion of economic performance stands out as the most influential factor, with all three member states performing better in terms of competitiveness on this criterion. The study's findings underscore that the USMCA's competitiveness is a key feature of its economy. It is evident through the cumulative, synergistic effect of the pooling of global competitive forces among the member states. This amalgamation strengthens the USMCA's position in the global economy. Assessing the global competitiveness of the USMCA is important for delineating the development trajectories of member states within the international integration grouping. It is crucial for the design of a coherent competitiveness policy and the promotion of intergovernmental and inter-union dialogue. It also serves as a valuable indicator or marker of the USMCA's competitive development trajectory.

Cohesion policy is a constant and central area of interest across the European Union. The development and success of European society depends on the social and economic cohesion at the level of all member states. Starting from this assumption, our study will focus on the interdependence between social cohesion and social support, the latter being interpreted and analysed as a means whereby social cohesion may be achieved. Thus, understanding the manifestations of community cohesion at the level of the European communities is an essential element in this investigation, while its main purpose is to build an explanatory model for interpreting social support. Based on such a framework, social cohesion may be analysed and understood. The following measurement scales will be applied to the analysis of social support: the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Survey of Recent Life Experiences, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The source of the information is a non-random sample of 1364 respondents. Data processing is based on the implementation of structural equation modelling (SEM) in order to explore the key factors that influence the perception of social support. As mentioned previously, we plan to build an explanatory model that links the perception of social support with life satisfaction and the disturbing factors that are the outcome of life experiences. A set of comparisons is also made using the independent t test and one-way ANOVA. The perception of social support is interpreted from the perspective of the occupational situation, the age category, the educational level and the marital status of respondents. The variables included in the study generally satisfied the goodness of fit indexes in accordance with the recommendations of the literature on SEM models. The conclusions of the study show that social support is at the core of community integration and one of the determinant elements of social cohesion. Everyday life events condition the perception of social support. In turn, the perception of social support acts on life satisfaction. It has been observed that a higher perception of social support may be associated with greater cohesion at the level of communities and also with a more stable social environment. We have identified a determining relationship between the perceived social support and the degree of social cohesion.