Department of Political Science

In den letzten Jahren haben moderne Kommunikationsmittel, insbesondere Mobiltelefone und soziale Internetplattformen, Außenpolitik revolutioniert und dieser ein neues Selbstverständnis gegeben. Die universelle Geltung der Menschenrechte und Grundfreiheiten steht zwischenstaatlich außer Debatte, das gemeinsame Verständnis dieser Rechte und Freiheiten gilt es aber sowohl zwischen Staaten als auch mit der Zivilgesellschaft zu stärken. Das Bemühen um den Schutz, aber auch die Anerkennung von Menschenrechten führt unweigerlich zu Fragen nach dem Verständnis des Bildes vom Menschen und seinen Beziehungen in der Welt, der Achtung seiner Würde und der individuellen menschlichen Freiheit. Die globale Verständigung über Welt- und Menschenbilder entwickelt sich zu einem neuen Zweig der Diplomatie in der Form des Dialogs zwischen Kulturen und Religionen.

The text describes the conceptual approach in cultural diplomacy of the Austrian Embassy in Algeria. Intercultural dialogue in the arts, as well as a recognition of interlinkages between the arts and spirituality are described as key features of this approach. Austrian culture and cultural values are not being represented, but lived. The dialogue is practised by listening and self-expression.

The arts are an important sector of societal self-expression, a sector which allows for non-verbal, intuitive, experimental and innovative communication. The arts offer levels of interaction which lend themselves to be first movers in intercultural dialogue, and to deepen the understanding of each other. The article discusses Austrian and international arts projects engaged in intercultural dialogue.

Dialogic situations are omnipresent in diplomacy. In informal contexts , dialogue will develop spontaneously, and it is often part of diplomatic etiquette. Successful innovative measures will often be preceded by dialogic processes; and the same is true for great diplomatic successes. States that develop and maintain friendly relations with each other resort to dialogic methods; and confidence-building measures, which are always invoked as a necessity in (post) conflict situations, are just that. New tools of communication and the resulting exponential acceleration and global participation in communication have also impacted diplomatic working methods. Since the beginning of the 21 st century, there has been increasing demand not only for a definition of international rules and standards, but also for strengthening the shared understanding of the content of such norms beyond culturally intrinsic rules and experiences. That meant that in formal diplomatic work, dialogic methods became still more significant. Cultural diplomacy is increasingly becoming the vector of this approach, which also is evident in current developments within the European Union. This shift of diplomatic work from explaining to understanding involves an increased importance of dialogic methods, a trend that is reflected in the establishment of institutional structures in the UN, the OSCE, but also in the European External Action Service, which all train their staff in mediation and dialogic

Die Entscheidung, mit einem Denkmal im Memorialkomplex Maly Trostenez der österreichischen
Opfer der Shoa in Belarus zu gedenken, entwickelte sich aus einer zivilgesellschaftlichen Initiative, die in den letzten zehn Jahren an Umfang und Energie gewonnen hat. In der Beschäftigung mit der eigenen und sehr persönlichen Geschichte haben sich Angehörige österreichischer Opfer großes Wissen über Belarus und seine Geschichte angeeignet, sie haben Kontakte geknüpft und Zuversicht entwickelt, ihre eigene Geschichte weiterzugeben.

Recently, scholars across disciplines raised ethical, legal and social concerns about the notion of human intervention, control, and oversight over Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. This observation becomes particularly important in the age of ubiquitous computing and the increasing adoption of AI in everyday communication infrastructures. We apply Nicholas Garnham's conceptual perspective on mediation to users who are challenged both individually and societally when interacting with AI-enabled systems. One way to increase user agency are mechanisms to contest faulty or flawed AI systems and their decisions, as well as to request redress. Currently, however, users structurally lack such mechanisms, which increases risks for vulnerable communities, for instance patients interacting with AI healthcare chatbots. To empower users in AI-mediated communication processes, this article introduces the concept of active human agency. We link our concept to contestability and redress mechanism examples and explain why these are necessary to strengthen active human agency. We argue that AI policy should introduce rights for users to swiftly contest or rectify an AI-enabled decision. This right would empower individual autonomy and strengthen fundamental rights in the digital age. We conclude by identifying routes for future theoretical and empirical research on active human agency in times of ubiquitous AI.

The text "An Armenian account of the Ottoman siege of Erevan, 1724" by George Bournoutian in "The Moddern Middle East -A Sourcebook for History" by Amin, Fortna, and Frierson assembles three texts of the book "History of the Wars (1721-1738)" by Abraham of Erevan. The writings presented date back to the year 1724 and describe the resistance, the weakening and the final siege of Armenian defenders in Erevan.

Starting with Marx, in this paper I want to approach the terms of capital in its economic, social and cultural form. To do so, I will follow the read line that I found for myself within the readings: From Marx's definition of capital and classes as a product of their social position in relation to their access to the resources of production, I will go over to Giddens and Bourdieu, as they are presented in Steven Seidman , looking first at Giddens disagreement with Marx prioritization of structure (in this case economy) over agency, and second at Bourdieu's term of habitus and his claim that classes are defined by more than just their economic position but also by their cultural traits.