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Abstract. The article explores the significance held by political myths for
legitimacy and politics. To that end, we examine political myth in line with
the contemporary theory of political myth, which understands political
myths as an integral part of all political communities that is not inherent
to just authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Every political community
has their own stories/narratives that are accepted by most of the population and form the base of the legitimacy of the political order, whether it be a democratic or a non-democratic political order. In the final part of the article, we examine which narratives had such a legitimising power by analysing the political speeches of Franjo Tuđman while he was in office.
Keywords: legitimacy, politics, political myth, political speech analysis,
Tuđman.

Magistrska naloga obravnava in analizira odnose med županom kot najvišjim političnim funkcionarjem in direktorjem občinske uprave kot najvišjim javnim uslužbencem. V prvem delu sta predstavljeni zgodovina lokalne samouprave v Sloveniji in Ustava Republike Slovenije, ki je najvišji splošni pravni akt in lokalni samoupravi posveča svoje poglavje. Načela, ki vodijo lokalno samoupravo in so pomembna za uspešno delovanje in razvoj lokalne samouprave, so načelo avtonomije, načelo subsidiarnosti in načelo regionalizacije. Slovenske občine se vedno bolj vključujejo v skupne občinske uprave za opravljanje posameznih nalog, saj so občinske uprave v manjših občinah kadrovsko nedohranjene. Prav tako se občine vključujejo v združenja občin, saj lahko na ta način bolje zagotavljajo svoj skupni interes na področju lokalne samouprave. Občine med seboj sodelujejo tudi na podlagi sporazumov o pobratenju, ki ima pozitivne učinke na lokalno samoupravo in lokalno okolje, saj gre za stik z mednarodnimi partnerji, izmenjavo izkušenj in pridobitev različnih novih znanj. V nadaljevanju naloge so predstavljene ravni lokalne samouprave v sosednjih državah Republiki Hrvaški in Republiki Avstriji. V drugem, raziskovalnem delu naloge je prikazana primerjava lokalnih skupnosti v dveh izbranih evropskih državah. Na podlagi intervjujev je bila izvedena primerjava odnosov med oblastjo v lokalni samoupravi in politiko. V intervjujih so sodelovali župani in direktorji občinskih uprav manjših slovenskih, hrvaških in avstrijskih občin. V nalogi so predstavljena tudi mnenja županov in direktorjev občinskih uprav o njihovih odnosih v občinah. ; This research work discusses and analyses the relationship between the mayor, as the highest political official and the director of municipal administration as senior civil servant. The first section presents the history of local government in Slovenia and the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which is the highest general legal act and the local government has its own chapter in the Constitution. Principles that lead local government and are important for a successful operation and development of local self-government is the principle of autonomy, the principle of subsidiarity and the principle of regionalization. Slovenian municipalities are increasingly involved in Joint Municipal Administration to perform specific tasks, as the municipal administration in small municipalities are understaffed. In addition, the municipalities integrate themselves in the Association of Municipalities to ensure their common interests better in the field of local self-government. Municipalities cooperate with each other based on agreements of town, which has a positive impact on local government and the local environment, because of the contact with international partners, exchange of experience and the acquisition of various new skills. In the following part of the work levels of local government in the neighbouring countries, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Austria are presented. The second part of the research work, a comparison of local communities in the two selected European countries, is presented. A comparison was made about relations between the authorities and the local government policy based on interviews. In the interviews, the mayors and directors of municipal administrations of small Slovenian, Croatian and Austrian municipalities participated. The thesis also shows the opinions of mayors and the directors of municipal administrations of their relations in the municipalities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on older people's lives on a global scale but for some marginalised communities have seen a marked exacerbation of health and other inequalities. Research has highlighted the impact of the pandemic on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) people's lives, but less has been documented about the experiences of LGBT+ older communities and how their specific needs have been mediated. Community-based advocacy organisations are central to promoting LGBT+ human rights in the UK through its social movements, and this paper explores their role and significance during a distinct period of the UK mandatory isolation. Drawing on a case study approach based on qualitative interviews with six key LGBT+ community organisations in the UK, we captured their insights into how they navigated support for older people when faced with limited resources and the challenges posed by mandatory physical and social distancing. We position these events in current discourse about structural and health inequalities for LGBT+ ageing in the UK.

Abstract. The article considers whether the EU's CSDP
missions are a suitable crisis management mechanism
for post-conflict situations, along with the EU's relevance in crisis management at all. For this purpose, the
EU's biggest CSDP civilian mission EULEX was chosen
as a research case study. The research results reveal that
EULEX has not implemented its mandate, not met the
expectations of security consumers, not made any difference on the ground, and cannot be seen as an example the EU should rely on in its future missions. Further,
EULEX shows that CSDP missions suffer from many
shortfalls and the EU CFSP from a capability–expectations gap. The article concludes that the EULEX mission
does not show the EU's relevance in the crisis management of post-conflict situations.

The specific characteristics of life course and past experiences of LGBT+ old people require knowledge and awareness on the part of carers. In this paper, an international perspective to shed light on key issues in the field of inclusive care for LGBT+ older people is used, with a particular focus on the Slovenian context, drawing extensively on the findings of the European project "Being me" (2018–2020). In the project, we aimed to explore best practice in the area of education and to develop online learning materials and tools for social and health care workers. Among the principles and approaches that guided our research, the focus was put on intersectionality, resilience, strengths perspective, life stories, and collaboration with LGBT+ old people in all phases of the project.

Evropska sosedska politika (v nadaljevanju ESP) je politika urejanja odnosov s sosednjimi državami EU, ki jim ni bilo ponujeno članstvo v EU. Na Južnem Kavkazu, kjer so po letu 1991 nastale države Azerbajdžan, Gruzija, Armenija, se je sosedska politika okrepila po letu 2003, ko se je spremenila politična struktura v Gruziji in, ko se je s pridružitvijo Romunije in Bolgarije EU širila še bolj proti vzhodu. Velik del »evropeizacije« te regije temelji na širjenju pojma EU »kot edino pravega« razvoja družbe s pomočjo človekovih pravic in svoboščin, demokracije, liberalizacije, urejenega pravnega reda in prostovoljnega skupnega sodelovanja ter na postopni integraciji teh držav v politični, pravni in gospodarski red EU. V magistrski nalogi iščem odgovor na vprašanje ali je ta način promocije evropskih vrednot učinkovit za povezovanje z vsemi sosednjimi državami ali pa utegne imeti negativne posledice v odnosih z njimi. S pravno, gospodarsko in politično analizo evropske sosedske politike v Armeniji, Gruziji in Azerbajdžanu, spoznavanjem njenih prednosti in slabosti, ugotavljam perspektive za prihodnji razvoj. Za oblikovanje ključnih vidikov povezovanja je pomembno poznavanje zgodovinskih, etničnih, geografskih, kulturnih in političnih razlik ter poznavanje problematike območij z velikim varnostnim tveganjem kot so Gorski Karabah, Južna Osetija in Abhazija. Države Armenija, Azerbajdžan in Gruzija se nahajajo na pomembnem območju, kjer se prepletajo geostrateški interesi Rusije, ZDA, Turčije, Irana in v zadnjem času tudi Kitajske. EU se srečuje z novimi izzivi, med katerimi vedno večjo vlogo igra njena sosedska politika do tretjih držav. Ker je v primeru Južnega Kavkaza splošno zaznati obširnost evropskih virov, t. j. dogovorov in politik (pridružitveni sporazumi, sporazumi o partnerstvu in sodelovanju, finančni instrumenti, Vzhodno partnerstvo, Sinergija Črnega morja, sporazumi po sektorjih), v nalogi ugotavljam, ali bi bilo potrebno vzpostaviti enotnejšo in s tem preglednejšo sosedsko politiko do vsake posamezne države. ; The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is an instrument for governing relations with the EU's neighbourhood countries which are not to become members of the EU. In the South Caucasus, where Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia declared independence in 1991, the ENP was strengthened after 2003 with change of political structure in Georgia and after EU's enlargement further to the east with joinder of Romania and Bulgaria. A big part of Europeanisation of this region is based on promotion of the EU's values as being »the only right way« of developing societies, through strengthening human rights and liberties, democracy, liberalisation, the rule of law, voluntary cooperation and gradual integration of these countries into the EU's political, legal and economic framework. In this master's thesis I am looking for an answer to a question whether such way of promoting European values will result in cooperation with all the neighbouring countries or whether it might bring negative consequences in the EU's relationship with them. With legal, economic and political analysis of the ENP in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan and with identification of the ENP's advantages and disadvantages, I am trying to find possibilities for its further development. Understanding historic, ethnic, geographic, cultural and political differences and understanding problems coming from areas considered major security risks, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is important for developing key areas of cooperation. Countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are located in the important area where geostrategic interests of Russia, USA, Turkey, Iran and recently China intersect. The EU has been facing new challenges, one of them being the increasing importance of its policy towards the neighbouring countries. As there has been a significant amount of European sources, such as arrangements and politics (e.g. association agreements, partnership and cooperation agreements, financial instruments, Eastern Partnership, Black Sea Synergy, sectoral agreements) in the South Caucasus, I am discussing in this thesis whether there should be a more unified and consequently more transparent neighbourhood policy for each partner country.

V želji po globalnemu in gospodarskem napredku ter iskanju rešitev za okoljske izzive je Evropska unija ustanovila skupno Evropsko kohezijsko politiko, ki izvršuje ukrepe in instrumente na nacionalni ravni. Ena izmed posledic skupne Evropske kohezijske politike v Sloveniji so posebni centri, ki omogočajo stičišče različnih organizacij, kjer se nove ideje prenašajo v gospodarski trg. Gre za inovacije predvsem na področju mobilnosti, trajnostnega okolja, tehnologije, kemije, farmacije. Takšne inovacije prinašajo večji izkoristek materialov, storitev in boljše zdravje, z velikim poudarkom na nizkoogljično družbo. S takšnimi instrumenti se poveča dodana vrednost finančnega vlaganja v takšne centre, hkrati pa spodbuja sodelovanje gospodarske, akademske in raziskovalno razvojne sfere. Namen naloge, da z analizo Javnega razpisa za sofinanciranje vzpostavitve in delovanja kompetenčnih centrov za razvoj kadrov v dveh izvedenih obdobjih dokažemo, kako pomembno je financiranje takšnih instrumentov. Ustvarjajo visoko stimulativno okolje za iskanje rešitev in odpravljanja izzivov, s takšnim načinom dela pa ljudje pridobijo reference, kompetence, višajo konkurenčnost svoje države in pridobijo izkušnje s širšim razmišljanjem in sodelovanjem. ; In pursuit of global and economic progress or finding solutions to environmental challenges, the European Union has set up a common European cohesion policy that implements measures and instruments at national levels. One of the consequences of the common European cohesion policy in Slovenia are special centers, which enable the junction of various organizations, where new ideas are transferred to the economic markets. These are innovations mainly in the field of mobility, sustainable environment, technology, chemistry and pharmacy. Such innovations bring greater use of materials, services and better health services, with a strong emphasis on low–carbon society. Such instruments increase the added value of financial investment in such centers, while encouraging the participation of economic, academic and research development spheres. The purpose of the task is to demonstrate the importance of financing such instruments by analyzing the Public Tender for Co–financing the Establishment and Operation of Competence Centers for Personnel Development in two implemented periods. They create a highly stimulating environment for finding solutions and tackling the challenges, and with this way of working people acquire references, competences, increase the competitiveness of their country and gain experience with wider thinking and cooperation.

Older gays and lesbians are one of the most invisible social groups as they experience "double invisibility": in Western societies that celebrate youth, they are invisible as older and as older homosexuals. Existing research shows a different structure of social networks of older gays and lesbians compared to older heterosexuals, it points to fears of discrimination in care activities and feelings of exclusion from the LGBT community, which, like society at large, is defined by youth. This exploratory study for Slovenia identifies similar trends, with the key problem being the tension between an individual's stigmatized homosexual identity, which the elderly still mostly hide, and the LGBT community, which is not inclusive for older gays and lesbians. The purpose of the research was to identify key characteristics of everyday life of older gays and lesbians in the period before the existence of activism in Slovenia and the characteristics of the current position of older gays and lesbians in the LGBTIQ + community and society at large.