Uz raspravu o buducnosti drzave

In: Politicka misao, Band 39, S. 3-4

Abstract

This note considers the continuing viability of the state as a political community & a people's republic, a leading theme of a scientific symposium on the future of the state, held in Zagreb, 10-11 May 2002. The successes & failures of the state are pointed out: it has promoted modern democracy & social & economic developments but has also given rise to totalitarian regimes. The failure of some regions to develop state formations (eg, sub-Saharan Africa) is contrasted with state development in Western Europe, where the state now appears to be in the final stages of evolution, dissolving into the suprastate organization of the European Union. The question of the future of the state as a political body & territorially defined national unit is addressed, noting the erosion of state powers & prerogatives in the era of globalization & the threats to its legitimacy in light of the recognition that the legal foundation & financial resources of the state are limited. The principles of democracy & nationalism on which the raison d'etre of the state was always founded are ambivalent in providing a legitimacy for this institution. For the time being, however, the state has a future because there seems to be no better alternative. Z. Dubiel