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The author shows that the processes of globalization cannot diminish the role of the nation-state -- as the sole recognizable political community -- in the implementation & development of democracy, though they are undoubtedly going to alter its functioning & make it more complex. When exploring democracy & its expansion outside the borders of the nation-state, we should keep in mind that people do not act solely on a rational interest basis, but also on the basis of values; & that identities, not just interests, are the underlying determinants of their political activity. That is why the theory of cosmopolitan democracy must come to grips with the issue of the legitimation of the cosmopolitan political community as well as of the cosmopolitan democratic political system. This paper addresses these issues. The analysis has shown that these are complex & open questions without which a valid discussion about the transnational political organizations & processes of the cosmopolitan or regional integration & democratization is not possible. The question of the legitimation of the political community (unfortunately, rarely discussed) is in a way primordial in relation to the issue of the legitimation of the political system & political authorities. This issue has been neglected because it is thought that pluralism defines democracy; consequently, the imperative of a certain level of social & cultural homogeneity as a condition of its functioning has been overlooked. The concept of global citizenry requires the creation of a new political identity, while cosmopolitanism must prove that this identity can be brought about without a "democratic deficit" or a "bureaucratic-oligarchic surplus." This is not easy, if we keep in mind the fact that the law & legalism by themselves are not conducive to political commitment & loyalty to political decisions. 39 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author outlines the ideological function of history, which stems from its task as society's self-reflection, by analyzing the past & enumerating the features of historiography. The text includes a short review of historiography (which is becoming aware of its limitations & the new demands for a distance in time & space from the facts it investigates) & historians' influence on the accuracy of its findings. The ideological function of history is illustrated by various thematizations of the same events in history textbooks, which were in use during different political systems on the territory of the present-day Croatian state. The author thinks that today's historiography is faced with a seemingly contradictory demand: it should reach the truth in its depiction of the past, but at the same time caution against the relativity of its findings. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

By using the analytical framework of the theory of modernization, the author analyzes the fundamental features of social community in postmodern society, in which it rests on kinship, religion, & cultural patterns. In modern society a new form of social community is established -- nation. It emerges within a constituted political framework as a community of individuals, subordinated to an integral legal framework. Contrary to the western model of "state-nation," there is the East European model of "culture-nation" or ethnic nation, which might be said to be an incompletely modernized social community. The dominating model in Croatia is one of the cultural or ethnic community. The consequences of such a model are the strengthening of authoritarian tendencies & the arrested development of democracy. In such a concept of social community there is no place for opposition. In Croatia, cultural & political modernization in the direction of social community with a more prominent role of intellectual elites & other social actors is vital. 15 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author presents two alternative concepts of democracy: the procedural, which values systems according to the procedures that a government makes use of in its day-to-day functioning; & the substantial, which insists on the political decisions' content as the criterion of a system's democracy. Based on these two concepts, the theoreticians of democracy have construed three different models of democracy (majority, pluralist & consensual); the first two are on the line of the procedural, & the third of the substantial theory of democracy. The advocates of the majority model are of the opinion that a government is primarily responsible to public opinion, ie, the citizens' majority; the pluralists consider democracy to be the government of several interest groups, of which none is powerful enough to impose its interest; the consensual model emphasizes the need for the government to guarantee, through its decisions, human & civil rights. This model also points out the need for protecting national minorities by employing mechanisms that enable their participation in the government. The author concludes that the latter model would best suit the societies of Central & Eastern Europe since they, due to their historical, social & cultural circumstances are not in the position to evolve Western models based on the procedural understanding of democracy. Adapted from the source document.

The author outlines the ideological function of history, which stems from its task as society's self-reflection, by analyzing the past & enumerating the features of historiography. The text includes a short review of historiography (which is becoming aware of its limitations & the new demands for a distance in time & space from the facts it investigates) & historians' influence on the accuracy of its findings. The ideological function of history is illustrated by various thematizations of the same events in history textbooks, which were in use during different political systems on the territory of the present-day Croatian state. The author thinks that today's historiography is faced with a seemingly contradictory demand: it should reach the truth in its depiction of the past, but at the same time caution against the relativity of its findings. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

International pressure prevented Croatia from ending the occupation of eastern Slavonia by military means. The author claims that the policy of peaceful integration & the UNTAES mandate are rife with risks that might jeopardize eventual Croatian control of that region. He points out a set of contentious issues related to the occupied territory: incomplete demilitarization, dual government (parallel UNTAES & Serbian authorities), no return for non-Serbian refugees, staying-in-place of Serbs from other parts of Croatia, Bosnia, & Serbia. Particularly risky for Croatia are the efforts of local Serbs to retain absolute ethnic majority as the grounds for establishing territorial autonomy, which would enable the militant acolytes of Greater Serbian politics to remain in the region & push for secession & annexation by Serbia -- efforts that would in all probability be given military support by Serbia, this time under circumstances that would be much more unfavorable for Croatia than in 1995. The author concludes that for Croatia, the only acceptable solution is the total integration of eastern Slavonia & the establishment of full Croatian sovereignty; the creation of a Serbian autonomous province in that region must on no account be permitted. Adapted from the source document.

The author gives a brief review of the theory of political obligation of citizens in democracy. If democracy is a regime based on the free will of individuals (citizens), then the concept of political obligation cannot be based outside this & such freedom. Unlike rights, obligations are always social (relational, reciprocal). Because their nature is social, they have to be socialized by the processes of education: this is the process of building a political habitus in the individual identity of every person. The political responsibilities, unlike the legal ones, cannot be adopted by chance (by the processes of functional socialization), but solely by means of citizens' systematic education, as they are grounded in the freedom of choice & the nurtured civic virtues. As such, they a part of the consciously built democratic political culture of citizens, & culture must be acquired only by the processes of learning & education. A separate analysis of the relationship between the citizens' political obligations & those of the political community has been carried out since the issue here is who citizens in democracy really are responsible to. Political responsibility is not due only to authority (state, sovereign) -- as initially emphasized by the social contract theories -- but also to the other fellow citizens, & to the political community as a historical repository of our obligations & responsibilities in their entirety. Finally, the problem of political obligations from the perspective of the logic of collective action is analyzed as well as the likelihood of the existence of 'freeriders' in the achieved structure of the common good. This analysis also shows how civic education is inherent to democratic regimes. References. Adapted from the source document.