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Wars and suffering in the 20th century, mostly the consequences of ethnic and religious antagonisms, have been typical for Europe's southeast. That is why the ethnic aspects of security are central to the understanding of the totality of this region's security, particularly in the 21st century. The security of southeast Europe can be analyzed using realistic, idealistic and neo-realistic approaches to contemporary security as its starting point. The security of this region is affected by the internal circumstances of the region's states and by the economic situation and inter-ethnic relations in particular. Similarly, significant influence is exerted by the relations among the states and nations living there as well as by the ethnic-based conflicts which are the outcomes of these relations. A series of problems caused by the east-European transformations includes the unresolved ethnic and minority issues. That is why no southeastern European state today has worked out the issue of the relations with its neighbors. This part of Europe is to remain a volatile region, fraught with economic difficulties and crises, nationalisms and xenophobia. In such circumstances, with the open sores of simmering ethnic feuds and the specter of various nationalisms, is it realistic to expect rational politics which is supposed to lead the countries of southeastern Europe towards the united Europe? This is the question the answer to which is sought not only by this region's states but also by the leading European states and the USA. (SOI : PM: S. 78)

The author analyzes the process of the NATO expansion in Europe following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. Paradoxically, after the end of the cold war, the security conditions in Europe have not improved. On the contrary, the danger of military conflicts has increased. That is why most former communist countries, including the newly created states which emerged after the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, have been trying to eliminate this danger and strengthen their security by joining NATO. The Russian Federation is the main opponent of the NATO expansion in Eastern Europe, particularly on the states which came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The author describes in detail the geostrategical and geopolitical implications of the admittance of the first group of Eastern-European countries into the NATO (Poland, Czech Republic and Romania), as well as the prospects of the NATO expansion onto the other countries in the region. He sees the American initiative for the cooperation in Southeastern Europe as a complement to the process of the NATO expansion. In the end he criticizes NATO's process of selection of new members, the process which has left Croatia (for the time being) in a sort of a geostrategical void. (SOI : PM: S. 118)

In the first part of the article, the author analyses the latest dimensions of on the territory of the former Yugoslavia stemming from the Dayton and Paris accords. His starting point is the geographical criterion which produces five trouble spots which may jeopardize the process of security-building. He concludes that only a determined application of political, diplomatic and economic pressures, as well as military presence, may bring about a new dimension of security in Southeastern Europe. The second part of the article gives a review the analyses of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the creation of new state this part of Europe, as well as of the concepts and schemes for a certain degr linkage and bringing together, the most prominent of which is the American initiative for the co-operation in Southeastern Europe. It is obvious that this region will go on being viewed through different lenses and that the interests of the observers, more than those of the peoples living in this part of Europe, will get precedence. (SOI : PM: S. 23)

The author deals with "the three definite articles" of Kant's text "Towards the perpetual peace", their inner logic and their interdependence. Peace in the world can only be achieved if the constitution is republican, if the relations among the states are based on federalness and if the right of the citizen of the world is secured. The author highlights the importance and the novelty of the right which belongs to a person as a citizen of the world, and not only as a citizen of a particular state. (SOI : PM: S. 13)

On the occasion of the bicentennial of the publication of Kant's "Treatise on perpetual peace", the author attempts to evoke and actualize that classic of modern philosophy of politics. According to Hajo Schmidt, the strong point of Kant's concept was his realism which prevented him from slipping into intellectual, utopian idealization of human nature and political relations among people. Having in mind not only the rational but also irrational aspects of human nature, i.e. the insuperable chasm between good and evil, Kant in that respect offers edifying peacemaking propositions. This he achieves by advocating the concepts of free individuals, independent national states and the cosmopolitan unity of humankind. These three moments make up the content of Kant's concept of republicanism. Their identity and plurality are the foundations of the world peace. (SOI : PM: S. 18)

There have been a number of philosophical, legal and political concepts dealing with the issue of peace. The most famous discourse on the topic of peace is undoubtedly Kant's writing "Perpetual Peace" not only for the cogency of its ideas but also for the applicability of the majority of them in practice, particularly in terms of collective security. Kant's starting point was that peace is a rational and moral imperative of human nature, realized solely through human efforts. Though written two hundred years ago, his ideas have found acolytes in the post-coldwar period since they are, to a large extent, considered as emancipatory. Kant finds the guarantees for the realization of peace in the moral doctrine and thus rejects the use of force in the creation of peace. The relations among states are based on cooperation, not competition so that some elements of his project are reminiscent of the solutions applied in the system of collective security. The author looks into the viability of Kant's ideas in the post-coldwar period. (SOI : PM: S. 69)