Issue #1 (Volume 7 2026)

Type of the article: Research Article

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 transformed the European Union’s energy dependence from a latent structural vulnerability into a major geopolitical crisis, highlighting the use of energy as an instrument of strategic coercion. This paper analyzes the 2022 energy crisis as a defining moment for the EU’s security, foreign policy, and strategic autonomy. It examines how the ‘weaponization’ of energy catalyzed the European institutional response, reconfigured external energy relations, and integrated the energy transition into the core security agenda. Employing a qualitative, documentary-analytical methodology based on a comparative analysis of strategic discourse and political priorities before and after 2022, the study identifies a fundamental paradigm shift. Results demonstrate a structural realignment from a predominantly market-based, ecological framework (centered on the European Green Deal) to a securitized strategy where decarbonization is inextricably linked to energy security and strategic autonomy. Quantitatively, this shift facilitated a rapid operational decoupling: the share of Russian gas in EU consumption plummeted from approximately 40% in 2021 to under 10% by 2023, driven by a surge in LNG imports and accelerated renewable deployment. Qualitatively, it justified unprecedented institutional interventions, from emergency price caps and joint purchasing mechanisms to binding phase-out targets for Russian fuels and reframed the green transition as a central pillar of geopolitical resilience.

Type of the article: Research Article

This study aims to investigate how geopolitical risk shocks influence return dynamics, volatility transmission, and hedging properties across sustainable financial assets, financial technology instruments, energy markets, and precious metals during major global crisis episodes over a daily period from June 15, 2018, to September 14, 2024. We examined three major events: the trade conflict between the United States and China from June 15, 2018, to November 30, 2019; the COVID-19 pandemic from December 22, 2019, to February 23, 2023; and the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Hamas and Israel, from February 24 to September 14, 2024. We found anomalies explained by the volatility of these returns. Using static, dynamic, and fractional QVAR methodology, we concluded that gold and two indicators of green finance can be considered safe-haven assets and hedging instruments, while FinTech plays a stabilizing role during these crises. Spillovers and connectivity networks at the median quantile validate the negative impact of geopolitical risk on non-renewable energy. However, we observed that the geopolitical risk index does not significantly affect green finance indicators, eco-friendly cryptocurrencies, or various measures of FinTech, with a low sensitivity of this index to gold prices.

Type of the article: Research Article

The relevance of the study stems from the transformation of modern work models from the technologically oriented Industry 4.0 paradigm to the human-centric Industry 5.0, where employee autonomy is emerging and becoming established as a global trend. The paper aims to conceptualize employee autonomy as an economic resource by optimizing work–life balance and assessing its impact on productivity and population well-being. For the analysis, panel data were collected for 123 countries over the period 2005–2023. The methodological basis of the study is the Levin–Lin–Chu unit root test, the Breusch–Pagan Lagrangian multiplier test, the Hausman specification test, and GLS regression estimation. The study found that, on average, in the group of accessible countries, each additional 100 hours worked per year reduces labor productivity by USD 2 per hour. An increase of one hour in the working year reduces GDP per capita by USD 28.48 per person.

Furthermore, a one percent increase in the length of the working year is associated with a 2.71 percent drop in GDP per capita per hour. Thus, productivity in the Industry 5.0 paradigm at the global level is predominantly qualitative and is shaped by focus, intrinsic motivation, and decentralized decision-making, rather than by increasing working hours. It is concluded that worker autonomy is an economically significant factor in enhancing productivity, innovation potential, and contributing to the geopolitical and geoeconomic sustainability of societies in the era of globalization.

Acknowledgments
The paper is prepared within the scientific research projects “Digital transformations to ensure civil protection and post-war economic recovery in the face of environmental and social challenges” (No. 0124U000549) and “Fundamental grounds for Ukraine’s transition to a digital economy based on the implementation of Industries 3.0; 4.0; 5.0” (No. 0124U000576).

Type of the article: Reflexive Preface

This study examines the problem of interest in international relations among the selected most important participants in ongoing conflicts. The results indicated that the content of raison d’état is univocal for all states, but the interests significantly differentiate them in the context of time and place. The paper processed the criteria of interest classification. The analysis deals with the interests of selected powers, such as the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union, and the People’s Republic of China. At the end, the report presents conclusions with reference to the actual global situation.

Type of the article: Reflexive Preface

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has challenged the conventional understanding of the university as an institution inherently tied to a fixed territory and campus infrastructure. This paper adopts a collaborative autoethnographic approach to reflect on how universities transform amid war, forced displacement, and prolonged instability. Drawing on the experience of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University after the occupation of its home city, as well as on reflections developed through Ukrainian–Australian academic dialogue during a series of public lectures and scholarly discussions in Australia in 2026, we examine the reconfiguration of academic life beyond territorial constraints. Rather than presenting results in the form of discrete empirical findings, the study develops a reflexive analytical account of how institutional continuity is sustained through mobility, distributed networks, and relational forms of coordination. The concept of the “university without walls” is advanced as a way of interpreting these transformations not merely as a temporary response to crisis, but as an emergent model of a post-territorial university. The analysis suggests that, under conditions of geopolitical disruption, the defining features of the university shift from physical infrastructure to relational capacities: trust, collaboration, and the ability to maintain academic community across dispersed contexts. By situating lived experience within a broader analytical framework, the paper contributes to ongoing debates on the future of higher education in a world marked by instability, inequality, and global interdependence.

Acknowledgments
Yana Sychikova and Igor Lyman express their sincere gratitude to their co-author Tim Winkler and the Future Campus team for organizing the symposium and supporting the research visit to Australia. The authors also thank Stephen Matchett for his support during their stay in Sydney and for his professional synthesis of the symposium discussions.
The authors are grateful to Online Education Services (OES) for their sponsorship and for organizing a warm and welcoming meeting, as well as to the organizers of the Universities Australia Solutions Summit 2026 for covering the costs associated with attending the event.
Special thanks are extended to Professor Maree Meredith, a proud representative of the Bidjara people, for organizing the cultural program and for her personal support during the visit to Australia.
The authors also sincerely thank the University of Melbourne and the Faculty of Education, as well as the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Marek Tesar, for organizing the public lecture, the open academic dialogue, and the formal dinner that became an important part of this scholarly exchange.
Finally, the authors express their deepest gratitude to the defenders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, whose courage and sacrifice make it possible to continue academic work even in times of war.