1970s military dictatorship in Latin America was followed by a democratization process in the 1980s, at a point when military powers had devastated the economy & more than doubled foreign debt. Now, in the beginning of the twenty-first century, the region finds itself in a period marked by governments that, perhaps more than ever before, are characterized by their reaction to the neo-liberal policies of the 1990s. Of particular concern in this respect is the changing relationship between the region & the United States, which in turn opens opportunity for the involvement of other international actors in the sphere. This brings about a high degree of uncertainty both for Latin America itself as well as for the international community. Some of the many cases of Latin American economies & politics in crisis are described here in detail. C Brunski
A historical discussion on the foreign policy relationship between Norway and the United States and its future perspectives. The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), founded in 1959, can legitimately be called a child of the Cold War. During the 1950's Norway's main focus was to stand between the two super powers of the United States and the Soviet Union. Already in the 1960's this role began to diminish due to improvements in weapon technology and became even smaller in the 1970's when Norwegian left leaning parties started to openly oppose the United States. In the 1980's Norway tried its best to become visible for Washington, a project that somewhat failed due to Ronald Regan's focus on the internal economy and rolling back communism abroad. Overall the relationship to the United States has almost exclusively been based on foreign policy even if cultural ties have made Norway the most Americanized country in Europe. Adapted from the source document.
V prvem delu magistrskega dela sem se osredotočil na zgodovino in organiziranost gasilcev v Sloveniji in Združenih državah Amerike, predstavil sem požarno preventivo in vzroke za požare. V svetu požari postajajo vedno večji problem, saj zaradi klimatskih sprememb, staranja prebivalstva, malomarnosti ljudi, nepazljivosti, novih tehnologij, različnih novih materialov in zmanjševanja vlaganj v požarno varnost lahko povzročijo vse večjo premoženjsko, materialno in človeško škodo. S tem lahko opozorimo na dejstvo, da je gasilstvo zelo pomembna družbena panoga, ki pa je v Sloveniji slabše cenjena kot v Združenih državah Amerike. K znanju in usposobljenosti gasilcev izjemno pripomorejo zgodovina, organiziranost in vlaganje denarja. Seveda ne smemo pozabiti tudi na izboljševanje zakonodaje področja požarne varnosti, ki zajema tako načrtovanje požarne varnosti in tudi samo gašenje požarov. Organiziranost gasilcev v Sloveniji in Združenih državah Amerike je različno, saj se zdi da so ameriški gasilci bolje tehnično in organizacijsko izurjeni. V zgodovini obeh držav se je zgodilo mnogo uničujočih požarov, ki so terjali veliko smrtnih žrtev in premoženja. V drugem delu magistrskega dela sem opravil statistično analizo števila požarov in škode, ki je pri tem nastala v Sloveniji in v Združenih državah Amerike v obdobju od leta 1992 do leta 2018. V Sloveniji se vsako leto zgodi od 4000 do 6000 požarov, v Združenih državah Amerike pa se v zadnjih letih zgodi od 1,3 milijona do 1,6 milijona požarov letno. Najpogostejši požari so požari v objektih, v prometu, v naravi in v komunalnih ali drugih zabojnikih. V Sloveniji se skozi leta število požarov drastično ni spremenilo, vendar pa število ves čas niha. V Združenih državah Amerike se je število požarov iz leta 1992 zmanjšalo za okoli 25 %. Število poškodovanih v požarih se v Sloveniji v zadnjih letih malce zvišuje, število smrtnih žrtev požara pa ostaja dokaj konstantno. V Združenih državah Amerike obe ti številki skozi leta padata. Izjema je le leto 2001, ko se je zgodil napad na World Trade Center. Premoženjska škoda, ki je nastala v požarih, je v Sloveniji v zadnjih letih okoli 7 milijonov evrov, v Združenih državah Amerike pa se ta številka že več kot 15 let vrti okoli 15 milijard dolarjev. Spet pa je izjema leto 2001 zaradi napada v New Yorku, ki je povzročil več kot 30 milijard denarne škode. ; In the first part of the master's degree thesis, I focused on the history and organization of firefighters in Slovenia and United States of America, I presented fire prevention and the causes of fires. In the world, fires are becoming an increasing problem, as they can cause increasing property, material and human damage due to climate change, population aging, human negligence, carelessness, new technologies, various new materials and reduced investment in fire safety. Therefore, firefighting is a very important social sector, which is less valued in Slovenia than in the United States. History, organization and investment of money contribute enormously to the knowledge and skills of firefighters. Of course, we must not forget to improve the legislation in the field of fire safety, which includes both fire safety planning and firefighting itself. The organization of firefighters in Slovenia and the United States is different, it seems that American firefighters are better technically and organizationally trained. In addition, this profession is also more valued there. There have been many devastating fires in the history of both countries, claiming many lives and property. In the second part of my master's degree thesis, I performed a statistical analysis of the number of fires and damage that occurred in Slovenia and the United States in the period from 1992 to 2018. In Slovenia, between 4,000 and 6,000 fires occur every year. In the United States, however, 1.3 million to 1.6 million fires have occurred in recent years. The most common fires are fires in buildings, in traffic, in nature, and in communal or other containers. In Slovenia, the number of fires has not changed drastically over the years, the number fluctuates all the time. In the United States, however, the number of fires in 1992 fell by about 25 percents. The number of people injured in fires in Slovenia has been rising slightly in recent years, while the number of fatalities in fires has remained fairly constant. In the United States, however, both of these numbers have been falling over the years. The only exception is 2001, when the attack on the World Trade Center took place. The property damage caused by fires in Slovenia in recent years is around 7 million euros, and in the United States this figure has been hovering around 15 billion dollars for more than 15 years. Again, the exception is 2001 due to the attack in New York, which caused more than 30 billion in monetary damage.
Ekonomski interesi treh ključnih velikih sil, Združenih držav Amerike, Rusije in Kitajske, ki se uveljavljajo oziroma uresničujejo skozi njihove konkretne politike in dejanja, imajo pomemben, če že ne velik vpliv na varnost in politične razmere drugih držav. Ker so ekonomski interesi ključni za katerokoli državo, so medsebojna dinamika, prepletanje in vplivanje teh interesov izrednega pomena za razumevanje trenutnih razmer v mednarodnih odnosih. Analiza primarnih in sekundarnih virov, predvsem pa poglobljeni intervjuji s strokovnjaki nakazujejo, da se politične in varnostne posledice ekonomskih interesov velikih sil največkrat manifestirajo na regionalni ravni. Izjema pri tem so ZDA, ki za doseganje svojih ekonomskih interesov politično in varnostno spreminjajo razmere na globalni ravni. Pri tem so najbolj osredotočene na širitev neoliberalnih ekonomskih praks in zagotovitev energetske varnosti, ki velikokrat poteka s pomočjo znatne uporabe vojaške moči. Rusija, po drugi strani, je trenutno še osredotočena na svojo vlogo energetskega velikana, pri čimer najbolj konkretno vpliva na države iz bližnje soseščine, tudi preko političnih pritiskov in industrijskih sabotaž. Analiza trendov sicer kaže, da bo cilj ekonomske diverzifikacije postajal še pomembnejši v prihodnosti. V osnovi ta zaključek pomeni, da bo Rusija skušala zmanjšati svojo odvisnost od izvoza energentov in na tak način zagotoviti večjo ekonomsko, kot tudi politično in varnostno stabilnost države. Ključna karakteristika ekonomske politike Kitajske je usmeritev v zagotavljanje energetskih virov za rastoče gospodarstvo. V ta namen se poslužuje multisektorske politike, ki je najbolj jasno vidna v Afriki. Ta poseben, quid pro quo pristop se kaže v velikih infrastrukturnih investicijah na strani Kitajske, v zameno za zagotovitve izvoza energentov iz določenih afriških držav. Analiza vse treh držav jasno kaže, da ekonomski interesi vidno vplivajo na odnose med državami v mednarodni skupnosti in usodno določajo dinamiko in ravnovesje sil. ; Economic interests of great powers, specifically United States of America, Russia and China, and the process of attaining these interests through the set of concrete policies and actions has considerable, if not predominantly important effects on political and security situation of other countries. Since economic interests are of pivotal importance for any state, the recognition and understanding of intertwined dynamics and cross-section of these interests is essential for establishing an accurate perception of the current situation in contemporary international relations. Analysis of primary and secondary resources, and especially the in- depth interviews with experts revealed that the majority of political and security implications of the process of attaining economic interests have been manifesting on the regional level. An exception to this rule is the United States, which is affecting political and security characteristics around the globe. In doing so, it is mostly concentrated on continuous expansion of neoliberalism, as well as ensuring energy security, often through utilization of military power. Meanwhile, Russia is currently still focused on its role as an energy giant, and has the ability to strongly influence the countries in its near vicinity through considerate political pressures and industrial sabotage. Many trends within the country and its internal policies seem to suggest that this is likely to change in the near future, and the goal of economic diverzification will become even more important. Essentially, this means that Russia will attempt to reduce its dependence on energy exports, and thus ensure far greater economic, but also political and security stability of the country. Finally, we analyzed China. The key characteristic of its economic policy is focus on ensuring energy resources for its growing economy. In order to succeed, China has been utilizing a multisectoral approach, most clearly visible in Africa. These quid pro quo deals were realized through large infrastrucral investment on the Chinese side, and accompanying insurance of energy exports on the side of the African countries. The analysis of all three states draws the conclusion that economic interests are thus visibly affecting the nature of the intra- state relationships in the international community, and faithfully account for the ultimate dynamics and balance of world powers.
