Suchergebnisse

Each scientific explanation, as per the author's view, is strived and required to have the most possible systematic character, and to enable the explained problem to be comprehended in the widest theoric-systhematic frame. Having analysed the methodological problem of comparative studies in education from the point of view of the mentioned studies, the author determined that the approaches to comparative study of education and schooling were not to be uniformed ones from the simple reason they had been grown out from different philosophic and theoric fundament. From the wider point of view, comparisons enable the comprehension of the phenomenon of education and schooling, their dialectics of manifestation, and their importance for human and society development. Methodologically taken, comparativistics of education and schooling is enriched with new techniques and methods. The comparison overcomes the meaning of one method (comparative method). Different orientations and different methodological procedures in comparative study of education and schooling were being appeared. Bearing in mind the complexity of comparative pedagogy problems, the author indicated the relevant methodological problems from which the historic dimension of comparative pedagogy progress was being visible. The author made the analysis of methodological problem of comparative research in education through several phases having considered basic characteristic of research, understanding of method system of comparative pedagogy, problems of contradiction of comparative research, its presence etc. From the point of view of the indicated problem, it is essential to state the consciousness on the methodological foundation of comparative researches of education and schooling is being broadened, which leads to the research of phenomenon of education at more qualitative level.

Due to the increasing globalization and the danger of reducing all beings to things, it is central to point out again and again that a human being is not a thing among other things, and that the appreciation and realization of their life requires nurturing and cultivating the variety of human knowledge pertinent to different spheres of the historical world of life. Thus, the relevance and the role of practical philosophy is gaining significance regarding the - to the historical Being - proper understanding and fulfilIment of human potentials in today's world. (SOI : PM: S. 25) + The author first defines the various facets of globalization in today's world and emphasizes the key changes that are stepping up and intensifying communication among peoples, nations, and cultures all over the world. However, parallel to this there are other pressing problems: from the ecological crisis, to the realization of human rights, to the anomie of life and work. All this proves that globalization is not only an economic and technical but, ultimately, practically an ethic/political issue. Along the lines of Hegel's philosophy of world history and Aristotle's practical philosophy, the author has come to view the contemporary globalization as a step forward of world civilization, i.e. as a possibility of the realization of freedom and good life. Globalization, of course, scares people with its unpredictability and the erratic development of "global society" which (in line with Beck's distinction between the First and the Second Modernism) today is represented as a society of nation-states on the one hand, and as a "global society of transnational actors" on the other

The study is a contribution to the discussion on the definition of war in modern era and focuses on contemporary debates. By exploring the essence of politics and nation, in line with Carl Schmitt's theory of politics and by taking into consideration the forms of national liberation wars, the author points to the inadequacy of von Clausewitz's instrumental/political definition of war and lists most critical remarks to this theory. The author describes other theories, such as the pure war theory (war separated from politics) and the existential war theory (a political entity is being shaped and coming into being). Then he systematically lays out the modern concept of the nation and the corresponding definition of war. In defining wars, the author relies on the modern philosophy of the subject, particularly by G.W.F. Hegel, and on Scheler's theory of nation and war. Finally, the study shows that international relations are still to a large extent determined by the nationally-based politics, and that contemporary wars include many features of international and national-liberation wars. (SOI : SOEU: 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)

The essay analyses the feasible developments of radio in the 21st century. By the method of extrapolation of the latest technologies of electronic communication, the author claims that radio in the 21st century is to become a synergetic element of an integral medium, which means that radio as a separate institution will be transformed, but that it will remain in the audiosphere. Due to the possibilities of advanced electronic technologies, artificial phonic qualities are to be increasingly devised while the use of optic fibres in the transmission of sound will enable the dialogue/polylogue at a distance. Consequently, there will be changes in the field of radio rhetoric and the stature of radio journalists who, besides being disseminators, will increasingly become regulators, moderators, and animators of the entire public dialogue among citizens. (SOI : PM: S. 210)

The debtors' crisis at the end of the 20 century is a hard reality facing the transitional countries. (And not only them.) However, to borrow or not to borrow, is a false dilemma. In the situation when in most transitional countries the local accumulation is insufficient for financing the economic development and completing the transitional process, the only alternative is borrowing. This is particularly unavoidable when the influx of foreign capital via direct investments is meagre. This is also true for the Republic of Croatia, in which the level of direct investments is, for the time being, very modest. That is why borrowing, particularly from foreign countries, calls for a high degree of caution, a well-thought out approach to borrowing, and the rational use of the loans. (SOI : S. 204)

The Light Transport Unit of the Croatian Legion (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) was a unit of the Croatian Legion which fought with the Italian army on the Eastern Front in World War II. The unit was trained in Croatia from July to December, 1941. After being equipped in Italy in Riva del Garde from December 1941 to March 1942, the Unit was deployed in the East as part of the Italian Expeditionary Corps (Corps di spedizione italiano in Russia C.S.I.R), and after July, as part of the Italian 8th Army as truppa di armata (armoured troops). The unit took part in the battles on the Don from April until December 1942, when it together with a large part of the Italian 8th Army was destroyed by the Russian offensive well known in the annals of the War as the Battle of Stalingrad. (SOI : CSP: S. 203)

EU's agrarian policy has always been - and remains - a complex issue of the Unions overall economic policy. Although agrarian policy was at first central for the Union and served as a cohesive and integrating factor, in time it became a bone of contention, a source of conflicts and feuding within the Union. Solving the problem of agrarian policy on the eye of the third millennium is one of the Union's priorities. The problems of agricultural subsidies in the Union, its eastern expansion and the demands of the WTO, are far from being easy tasks. Besides, agrarian policy is not solely an economic matter, but also a social (particularly rural), ecological, cultural, and political problem. The problem of agriculture has always been considered a political problem and resolved as such. (SOI : PM: S. 70)

The author describes the evolution of philosophical foundations of the mechanical and the organic principle, from Spencer to Whitehead as well as Durkheim's first application of these principles (mechanical and organic solidarity) and their sociological extensions as a form of sociability (L. V. Wiese, Gurvitch). And finally, the author gives a detailed review of the application of the mechanical and the organic as a structure of organisation in the science of management (Burns, Stalker, and later theoreticians). The mechanical and the organic principles identily the structure of being, society and organisations from the point of view of the capacities of individuals and their involuntary or voluntary ties. The mechanical and the organic are also the poles between which the structure of an organisation varies depending on strategy, size, technology and environment. (SOI : PM: S. 256)

The author thinks that the American political and military initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has stopped the four year war and enhanced the American influence in the region. European Union has reacted to the latest developments by adopting a new regional approach towards the countries of southeastern Europe. This approach has been employed in relation to other European and Mediterranean regions outside EU as well (central and eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Mediterranean countries, the Union of Independent States). EU's policy towards Croatia is extremely reserved. It has insisted on a set of preconditions being fulfilled by Croatia before the negotiations about Croatia's membership in this organization may even commence. Croatia wants to forge links with the EU and is willing to comply with its demands, but is highly sceptical of regional associations. (SOI: PM: S. 161)

Teza se bavi ispitivanjem uticaja sadržaja i sponzorstva negativnih političkih reklamnih poruka na stavove mladih glasača u Srbiji prema političkim kandidatima koji su meta ili sponzor tih poruka, zavisno od trajne i situacione političke involviranosti glasača i stepena njihove potrebe za kognicijom. Problem je razmatran u svetlu Teorije verovatnoće obrade. Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati uticaje navedenih varijabli na stavove glasača prema sponzoru i meti negativne reklame, kao i na pojavu tzv. bumerang-efekta, nepovoljnijeg stava prema političkom kandidatu kada je sponzor negativne nego kada je sponzor pozitivne reklame. Izvedene su tri eksperimentalne studije: dvofaktorski mešoviti nacrt (situaciona involviranost, valenca poruke), jednofaktorski nacrt sa ponovljenim merenjima (sponzorstvo), i trofaktorski mešovit nacrt (situaciona politička involviranost, sadržaj poruke, sponzorstvo). Utvrđeno je da se u populaciji mladića studenata u Srbiji javlja bumerang-efekat. Efekti negativnih političkih reklama zavise značajno od trajne i situacione političke involviranosti, kao i od redosleda izlaganja poruka, sadržaja i sponzora reklamnih poruka, ali ne i od potrebe za kognicijom. Nalazi ukazuju na to da je upotreba negativnih političkih reklama neopravdana iz psihološke i šire društvene perspektive, osim pod posebnim uslovima. Objašnjavanjem psiholoških procesa pri izloženosti individua političkim reklamama, istraživanje direktno potvrđuje postulate Teorije verovatnoće obrade i njenu prediktivnost u oblasti političkog marketinga, na uzorku u Srbiji. Doprinos ove disertacije ogleda se i u tome što je ovo jedna od početnih studija istraživanja fenomena negativnih političkih reklama u Srbiji i psiholoških reakcija jednog segmenta glasača u Srbiji na njih ; The thesis examines the effect of the content and sponsorship of negative political advertising messages on the attitudes of young voters in Serbia towards political candidates who are the target or the sponsor of these messages, depending on the enduring and situational political involvement of voters and the level of their need for cognition. The issue has been considered in the light of Elaboration Likelihood Model. The aim of the research was to examine the effects of the mentioned variables on the attitudes of voters towards the sponsor and the target of negative advertisement, as well as on the occurrence of the so-called backlash effect, a less favorable attitude towards a political candidate being a sponsor of negative advertisement in comparison with himself being a sponsor of a positive advertisement. Three experimental studies have been carried out: two factor mixed design (situational involvement, message valence), single factor repeated measures design (sponsorship), and three factor mixed design (situational political involvement, message content, sponsorship). It has been determined that a backlash effect occured in population of young students in Serbia. The effects of negative political advertisements depend significantly on enduring and situational political involvement, as well as of the order of display of messages, content and sponsors of messages, but not on the need for cognition. The findings indicate that the use of negative political advertisements is not justified from a psychological and broader social perspective, except under special conditions. By explaining the psychological processes of individuals being exposed to political advertising messages, the research directly confirms the postulates of Elaboration Likelihood Model and its predictiveness in the field of political marketing, on a sample in Serbia. The contribution of this dissertation is also reflected in the fact that this is one of the initial research studies into the phenomenon of negative political advertisements in Serbia and psychological reactions of one segment of voters in Serbia to them

This article analyses the weaknesses of contemporary democratic orders which stem from the use of modern manipulation techniques employed by those who manage to win the trust for making the government in democratic elections. Contemporary democracies are under the threat of populist promises which are most often unrealistic. The combination of populism and democracy is usually a product of the powerlessness of political elites, i.e. political parties, in states to solve citizenry's most important problems – to increase the growth and development of the economic system, to introduce the rule of law, and to rehabilitate political institutions so they could rationally and efficiently function within the political system. Contemporary democracies are not equally developed, nor do they have equal chances for developing. The facts demonstrate how in many societies and states – formally oriented towards establishing a democratic governance and towards starting the democratisation of societal and political life – democracy gets misused and diminished to democratic phraseology with the help of populism, while in the institutional aspect being diminished to creating a façade of democratic institutions. It has been demonstrated that the patterns of dominance follow and are characteristic for democratic governances to a larger or smaller degree. The essence of democratic governance are politically responsible decisions, rather than mass participation in making political decisions which are not realistic, while being dangerous in terms of their consequences. Democracy means making good decisions for the benefit and good of all citizens, while hierarchy must not be challenged when it is necessary that institutions function in a rational and efficient way. Introducing equality where professionalism, competence and accountability are needed is devastating for the functioning of institutions, therefore for the functioning of democracy as well. Democracy can be tricked with the help of authorities'populism, as was the case with Nazi Germany. After Nazis took power, not all institutions of the Weimar Republic were dismantled nor challenged, nor was the Weimar Constitution changed. However – parallel to state authorities, Constitution and laws – dozens of new orders and laws were enacted, creating an illusion that nothing is changed in German state. What Nazis did was developing a new mechanism, party mechanism, parallel to the state mechanism. The two functioned next to each other. Such patterns lead to the parallelism of power and democracy, which usually led to the totalitarianisation of democracy. In contemporary states – especially those in the process of democratic transition – such parallelism shows how party leaders do not forfeit party leadership once they get elected to state offices. In that way democracies become submissive and captured by political parties, especially their leaderships and leaders. The relation of freedom and democracy has also been analysed. Experiences show that democracy is founded more successfully in places where people managed to gain their liberties, rather than in those places where democracy is yet to provide liberties to citizens. Dangers for democracy tied with the abuse of democratic conditions are being discusses in the last part of the article. Each condition necessary for the functioning of a democratic order can be simulated through manipulative ways. A special danger for contemporary democracies comes from circumstances in which those who come to power do everything so that society and state are riled by anti-political principles: indifference, fear and trepidation, and powerlessness. Anti-political principles jeopardise democratic order, and those who use them demolish democracy. Democracy is facing constant challenges and temptations for scraping democracy in the name of democracy.

In the last twenty years the world has undergone serious changes, unfortunately not in positive direction. The collapse of the bipolar system and the establishment of one bloc hegemony - NATO headed by the USA, has not only failed to establish more stable and secure international relations, but, on the contrary, it has corresponded with the greatest insecurity and uncertainty of the mankind ever since World War II till the present day. After the 'counter-balance' disappeared, there has been open political, economic, even direct military, interference by the Alliance states in the sovereignty of many countries. Consequently, the world's conflicting potential has largely increased. Apart from the threats present from earlier, the contemporary world is faced with a series of new, formerly unknown or marginal, ones. The most notable among them are: uncontrolled escalation of armed conflicts; international terrorism; proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction; expansion of drugs trafficking; illegal cross-border migrations; human trafficking and trafficking in human organs; piracy; criminalization of different areas of living; etc. The economic and financial crises have additionally warned the world of the limitedness of natural resources and, in the most serious form, posed the issue of the fight for preservation, or conquest of areas rich in raw minerals. Apart from the current courses of action in the fight for control over the natural resources, both new methods of action and new areas of contest are emerging (Arctic, Antarctic .; above and under the Earth's surface; on the sea, and under the sea bottom), over which the interests of great powers will be increasingly conflicting. Michael Klare, the author of well-known books 'Blood and Oil' and 'Resource Wars', convincingly evokes a growing hunger for resources by the picturesque title of his latest book 'Race for What's Left: Global Scramble for the World's Last Resources'. For success in this new competition in strength and skills, new strategic concepts are required. Some have already been created and preliminarily tested; others are being prepared for implementation and corrected 'on the go' based on the performance of already proved solutions; still others are being hurriedly shaped. Understandably, along with this, what actual and potential rivals do related to this, or what their activities suggest, is watched closely.

Freedom of expression enjoys a particular protection in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. According to the Court, freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, and one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every man. Moreover, it is applicable not only to 'information' or 'ideas' that are favorably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population, since these are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no 'democratic society'. This high valuing of freedom of expression is particularly striking when it comes to the political speech, the free political debate being a distinctive feature of a democratic society. Nevertheless, the European Court considers that whoever exercises his freedom of expression undertakes 'duties and responsibilities', and that the freedom of political debate is undoubtedly not absolute in nature. More concretely, when the hate speech is at issue the Court underlines that the tolerance and respect of equal dignity of all human beings constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic and pluralist society, and that in a democratic society, in principle, it may be considered necessary to punish and even to prevent all forms of expression which propagate, incite, promote, or justify the hate based on intolerance. Taking into account the notion of prohibition of hate speech in the constitutional system of the Republic of Serbia, and the place of the European Convention on Human Rights in its hierarchy of legal sources, this paper follows the evolution of the European Court's case-law as to the understanding and definition of conditions under which it may be considered necessary in a democratic society to restrict freedom of expression because of hate speech. This legal standard - necessary in a democratic society, is then compared to the clear and present danger test, which has been developed for almost a century in the case-law of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, and which application is sometimes recommended in Europe.

The Paper observes the foundation and development of OSCE as the most important contemporary security organization from the perspective of historical and political dynamics and the interests of international subjects. Originally founded as Forum for the reduction of tensions between ideologically confronted East and West, OSCE (than: CSCE) has evolved into permanent security organization with diversified activities and jurisdictions. However, that evolution failed to be up to the new challenges, so the needs for further reforms of OSCE reemerged. Second part of the Paper follows the propositions of OSCE system reforms, made by its member states, by Panel (formed on Council of Ministers in Sofia, in December 2004) and by Russia that has even proposed 'Agreement of European security' as the basis for completely new remaking of European security out of the existing OSCE system. In the final part of the Paper, influences of contemporary political crises in OSCE member states on the possible reform of this security organization are being analyzed.