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The development of regional cooperation in Southeastern Europe is very low in comparison with other European regions. The changes occurring in the attitudes of the international community (through increased sensitivity & familiarity with the situation in the field & the new democratic advances of Croatia) are now creating favorable conditions for the development of regional cooperation. This region can be strengthened through international efforts, including the international community's presence, since with its economic, political & even police/military resources it has enough instruments to support these developments. Southeastern Europe is expected to commence its transformation of the relationships by developing different forms of useful cooperation that should lead to increased security & a more peaceful coexistence. In this context, by means of regional cooperation, it should be possible to integrate this area into the Euro-Atlantic region as a whole. Adapted from the source document.

The beginnings of the scientific study of international relations in Croatia precede its inauguration & international recognition as an independent state in the early 1990s. Already in the former state of Yugoslavia, there were pioneer attempts in Zagreb at serious research into the complex science of international relations. In 1962, the Faculty of Political Science was founded; one of the subjects was international relations. At the end of the 1970s, & at the same faculty, a postgraduate study program of international relations was launched. Zagreb, due to the quality & quantity of its experts & their dedicated pedagogical work, the publication of their works, & their contacts with their colleagues abroad, had the central role in the development of a modern science of international relations, not only in the former state but in the wider region of Southeastern Europe. The declaration of the independent Republic of Croatia, & geopolitical & geo-economic changes in the international environment, pose new challenges, obstacles, opportunities as well as objective needs for a new approach & the development of the study of international relations, the accompanying institutions & the publication of relevant literature. 24 References. Adapted from the source document.

The Partnership for Peace (PfP) was created by NATO in Brussels in 1994; an excerpt from the document spelling out membership conditions is quoted. Twenty-six countries joined PfP between 1994 & 2000; Croatia became its 26th member, & it also joined the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) as the 46th European country. A membership in both organizations is a significant event in the history of Croatia as an independent state. There are certain duties & tasks that the PfP membership imposed on this country; however, there already are positive results of cooperating with NATO within the PfP program. Z. Dubiel

In the wake of the end of the Cold War, NATO has pursued the promotion of peace & stability on the European continent by: (1) creating the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in 1997, (2) launching the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in Brussels in 1994, (3) entering into cooperation treaties with Russia & the Ukraine, & (4) pursuing a "Mediterranean Dialog." The PfP program is presented in more detail, outlining its objectives & mentioning the intentions of the Defense Capabilities Initiative & Membership Action Plan, among others. Croatia's membership in PfP is addressed, clarifying what this program is not (eg, it is not a security organization or a waiting room for membership in NATO) & cautioning the government against neglecting other security policies & arrangement on behalf of PfP. Z. Dubiel

Created in 1994, the Partnership for Peace (PfP) is an ambitious initiative launched by NATO to promote cooperation between this organization & nonmember states. The cooperation principles on which the PfP program is based are outlined, & the Southeast Europe Initiatives & Membership Action Plan, launched in 1997 within PfP, is described. PfP objectives & the basic elements of its program are presented. Croatia became a member of PfP in 2000, & the question of what the country can & should expect from cooperating with NATO within PfP is addressed, investigating the possible convergence of interests between the two parties. It is pointed out that the ultimate goal of Croatia's presence in PfP is the country's acceptance as a NATO member, & the government needs to develop strategies targeting this objective. Z. Dubiel

The goals of NATO to secure peace in Europe after the end of the Cold War & promote peaceful cooperation between all states on the continent, spelled out in the documents issued at the closing of the London summit in 1990 & Rome meeting in 1991, are listed. Two organizations created to achieve these objectives are presented: (1) the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), formed in Brussels in 1991, & replaced by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), formed in 1997; & (2) the Partnership for Peace Program (PfP) created in 1994. The objectives of PfP are listed, & the participation of the Republic of Slovenia in this program since its very inception is discussed, identifying both positive & negative outcomes of this cooperation. The Slovenian government is criticized for failing to perform a cost-benefit analysis & provide adequate information to the public on how the interests of the country & PfP converge. Z. Dubiel

The Partnership for Peace (PfP), created by NATO in Brussels in 1994, was an integral part of the Clinton administration's foreign policy toward Europe, based on the premise of a strong, viable NATO & democratic, US-friendly Europe. The military, political, & economic advantages the creation of PfP presented to the US are pointed out. Due to the Balkan War & Franjo Tudman's refusal to accept the Dayton agreement, Croatia was denied a PfP membership. However, following the Croatian president's death, his successors were eager to embark on the process of democratic changes in their country & thus please the Clinton administration by meeting its conditions for PfP membership, including (1) the acceptance of the Dayton agreement vis-a-vis the territorial integrity of Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2) cooperation with the International Tribunal in The Hague, (3) the facilitation of the return of war refugees, & (4) concrete steps on the democratization of the regime (free mass media, free elections, changes in the electoral law). It is noted that Croatia was accepted into the PfP to show other Balkan states, especially Serbia, that there are rewards for going democratic & showing willingness to cooperate with the West. Since NATO does not plan to increase its membership soon, PfP seems to be, for the time being, the principal format within which the security of Croatia & peace in the Balkans can be preserved. Z. Dubiel

Addresses some institutional & structural elements of the emerging European post-Cold War security environment. In the early 1990s, at the level of institutionalization of European security, a plethora of institutions came into being whose purpose has been to gradually incorporate the former communist states into an integral security structure. Also, international security was formalized in international organizations covering Europe. Thus, one of the key challenges to the European security system has been the need for melding its central components into a consistent system. The author also describes some current processes & developments within the European security setting that will shape the European security structure in the future as well. This setting has been, & will undoubtedly continue to be, affected by various international (regional & global) & national factors in the European economic, political, & security space as well as by the joint efforts of European states (their leaders) & international security organizations to provide common security in Europe. The author concludes that the European international system today includes many organizations & institutions that, with an appropriate division of labor & cooperation, may help set up a common & integral European security system that would efficiently ensure the security of individual states as well as of Europe as a whole. 1 Figure. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the controversial concept of globalization from its technological, political, cultural, economic, & social aspects. He refers to S. Huntington, & also to J. Gray, & uses P. Chatterjee's arguments on nationalist strategy & politics. Jameson concludes that combination, social collective, & global regulation are at the core of all strategically successful responses to the globalization trends. Adapted from the source document.

Globalization has brought about the collapse of the bipolar system of international relations, which was the foundation of the structure of global security based on the technological means of mass production that predominated at that time. The change from mass to flexible production has made it necessary to build a new system of global security on the technological resources of flexible production & the political implications of globalization. There are many indications that it was just this new system of global security that began to take shape the day the first NATO bomb fell on Serbia, which means that it came into being in Southeastern Europe, ie, in the region that at the beginning of the 20th century ignited the fuse of the world wars & that would, if not for this intervention, still pose a threat. The intervention, a novelty in postwar international relations, paved the way to the realization of the European project for the 21st century. That project, which is based on adjusting international relations to globalization & whose outlines are becoming visible in Southeastern Europe, is in Croatia's interest, & is the major guarantor of the preservation of its independence & sovereignty. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes recent Chinese foreign policy, which was influenced by two events: the Tienanmen incident & the fall of the Berlin wall. China began to open up in the early 1980s when it adopted the policy of reforms & openness. This kind of foreign policy went hand in hand with domestic economic reforms. The Tienanmen military crackdown on the democratic movement affected the domestic reforms as well as the foreign policy orientation of China whose goal was to overcome its isolationist tendencies. The author looks into the position of the Chinese foreign policy regarding SFR Yugoslavia & its successor states. He also provides an analysis of the place & role of the Republic of Croatia in Chinese foreign policy. The author concludes that the conditions for expanding the cooperation between the Republic of Croatia & the People's Republic of China are quite auspicious. 14 References. Adapted from the source document.