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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 article points to the importance of research into the dimensions of public policy creation beyond the central government & other levels of government. The author shows that public policy researchers were made open for those dimensions of policy creation by the governance literature, but also that opening the debate on the role of horizontal policy actors can not be reduced to simply taking the issue over from the governance literature. Instead, the article shows that the research into the new dimensions was facilitated by the changed logic of policy creation that today can no longer be described as "command & monitor" but rather as "negotiate & cooperate." For understanding the latter logic of policy creation the research of public policy inspired by organization theory are very important. The author also shows the importance of connecting the research problems of policy science & governance, backing his claim with an example of research into the role of public policy coordination. In the last part of the article the author points to the possible framework of research into the problem of coordination in the Croatian context. References. Adapted from the source document.

Polemically oriented toward Helmuth Plessner's Belated Nation & the introductory presentations in the debate about this book at the Faculty of Political Science, the author is of the opinion that the German case is a belated attempt at empire creation, & that all the nations in the world are "late" -- except for the Dutch. By referring to the literature on politico-economic history & the model & comparative analysis of the nation-state as a complex politico-economic community within the world system of the West, the author thinks that Schieder's typology of the creation of European nations is not plausible -- either theoretically or factually/historically. 20 References. Adapted from the source document.

Has the new political science, which operates in the conditions of democracy, brought to light anything of political importance that the old political science at its best did not know at least as well? The new political science starts from the modern understanding of science, which holds that only scientific knowledge is genuine knowledge. Just as classical physics had to be superseded by nuclear physics so that the atomic age could come in via the atomic bomb, the old political science had to be superseded by a sort of nuclear political science. Serious criticism of the old political science is a waste of time; we know in advance that it could only have been a pseudo science, although perhaps including a few remarkably shrewd hunches. This is not to deny that the adherents of the new political science sometimes engage in criticism of the old, but they demonstrate a constitutional inability to understand the criticized doctrines on their own terms. The new political science deems that our political situation is entirely unprecedented, and that an unprecedented political science is called for. But it fails to see that an unprecedented political situation would be a situation of no political interest, i.e. not a political situation. Now, if the essential character of all political situations was grasped by the old political science, there seems to be no reason why it must be superseded by a new political science. While the old, Aristotelian political science was based on political experience, the new is based on scientific psychology. The Aristotelian political science views political things in the perspective of the citizen; since there is of necessity a variety of citizen perspectives, the political scientist or political philosopher must become an umpire. The new political science on the other hand looks at political things from without, in the perspective of the neutral observer. Based as it is on empirism, it must reject the results of political understanding and political experience as such, and since the political things are given to us in political understanding and political experience, the new political science cannot be helpful for the deeper understanding thereof. The break with political understanding of political things necessitates the making of a language different from the language used by political men. The new political science claims that only its own language is unambiguous and precise. Yet this claim is not warranted. The language of the new political science is not less vague, but more vague, than the language used in political life. In the crisis of the modern world, while Rome burns, one may say of it that it fiddles, but, unlike Nero, it does not know that it fiddles, and it does not know that Rome burns. Adapted from the source document.

The perceptions of science by the Croatian public & the political elite are a combination of scientific-technological optimism, the exemption of science from social responsibility, the skepticism regarding the speed of changes that science brings into people's lives, & a mixture of cognitive realism & optimism, & the reservations towards the cognitive possibilities of science. Also, the perceptions of science by the public & by the elite differ significantly. The public perceptions link modernism & traditionalism, confidence & a lack of it in the socially responsible role of science (& technology). Politicians nurture three different views of science. The first view implies both the beneficial & the neutral social role of science. The second view implies the reservations of the elite regarding the humanistic social role of science & its cognitive power, while the third way links the cognitive limitations of science & the skepticism regarding the way in which it changes the traditional way of life. The perception of science by the public depends on the social composition, while the politicians' views are significantly influenced by their political worldview & orientations & party allegiance. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.

The perceptions of science by the Croatian public & the political elite are a combination of scientific-technological optimism, the exemption of science from social responsibility, the skepticism regarding the speed of changes that science brings into people's lives, & a mixture of cognitive realism & optimism, & the reservations towards the cognitive possibilities of science. Also, the perceptions of science by the public & by the elite differ significantly. The public perceptions link modernism & traditionalism, confidence & a lack of it in the socially responsible role of science (& technology). Politicians nurture three different views of science. The first view implies both the beneficial & the neutral social role of science. The second view implies the reservations of the elite regarding the humanistic social role of science & its cognitive power, while the third way links the cognitive limitations of science & the skepticism regarding the way in which it changes the traditional way of life. The perception of science by the public depends on the social composition, while the politicians' views are significantly influenced by their political worldview & orientations & party allegiance. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.