Suchergebnisse

Magistrsko delo analizira delovanje male države, ko je ta na čelu Organizacije za varnost in sodelovanje v Evropi (OVSE), v okviru enega od glavnih področij delovanja institucije – upravljanja in preprečevanja konfliktov. Analizira, kako lahko mala država s pametno uporabo svoje mehke moči deluje kot agent preventivne diplomacije in s katerimi ovirami se pri tem srečuje. Magistrsko delo kot študijo primera obravnava krizo v Kirgiziji leta 2005, ki sovpada s predsedovanjem Slovenije OVSE. Delo pokaže, da ima mala država ravno zaradi svojih specifičnih lastnosti primerjalne prednosti pri delovanju v okviru preventivne diplomacije, saj jo druge države pogosto dojemajo kot razmeroma nepristranskega akterja, ki se v reševanje krize ne vpleta aktivno zato, da bi zasledoval (ozko definirane) nacionalne interese, kar je pogost očitek velikim državam. Prav tako se pokaže, da je zaslomba, ki jo mali državi daje institucija (v našem primeru OVSE), lahko ključnega pomena, saj se mali državi pod okriljem institucije s tem krepi legitimnost. Analiza delovanja Slovenije v primeru krize v Kirgiziji še pokaže, da je ena od glavnih nalog male države kot predsedujoče mednarodni instituciji skupnostno delovanje, ki mora upoštevati pravila odločevalskega procesa, obenem pa ravno skupnostno delovanje prinaša mali državi možnost, da se v mednarodnem okolju izkaže kot zanesljiv partner in deluje kot most med različnimi interesi. S tem krepi svoj mednarodni ugled in posledično svojo mehko moč. ; The thesis analyses activities of small states (focusing on Slovenia) during their Chairmanship of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in the field of conflict management and conflict prevention as one of the main areas of the OSCE. It analyses how a small country can put its soft power to smart use and act as an agent of preventive diplomacy and what the main obstacles for its activities are. The thesis deals with a case-study of the Kyrgyz revolution in 2005, which coincided with Slovenia's Charimanship of the OSCE. The thesis shows that a small country's specific characteristics bring comparative advantages in preventive diplomacy, because small countries do not engage actively in crisis resolution in pursuit of their (narrowly defined) national interests as it is often associated with big states. It also shows that organizational backing (in our case the OSCE's) is vital for small states, because it provides legitimacy. With the analysis of Slovenia's Chairmanship, the thesis shows that one of the main tasks for a small country, chairing an international institution, is a community action with an emphasis on the decision-making process. A successful community action brings about opportunities for a small country to prove itself in an international environment and to act as a bridge builder between different interests. With this, the small country can strengthen its international reputation and its soft power.

Vse od snovanja Ustanovne listine Organizacije združenih narodov (OZN) je bilo sodelovanje med OZN in regionalnimi organizacijami predmet različnih razprav. Razprava med univerzalizmom in regionalizmom je bila, vsaj za nekaj časa, rešena v obliki VII. in VIII. poglavja Ustanovne listine OZN. Rezultat tega je bila primarna vloga Varnostnega sveta pri odzivih na vprašanja mednarodnega miru in varnosti. A razvoj dogodkov na tem področju zahteva vedno večjo vključenost regionalnih organizacij. Magistrsko delo je bilo osredotočeno na potencial, ki ga ima mehanizem hibridnih mirovnih misij na nadaljnje sodelovanje med OZN in regionalnimi organizacijami. Glavni prispevek magistrskega dela leži v analizi razmerja med OZN in Afriško unijo (AU) pri hibridni misiji Organizacije združenih narodov in Afriške unije v Darfurju (United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur – UNAMID), ki predstavlja prvo hibridno misijo v zgodovini. V več kot desetih letih svojega delovanja je imela mnogo težav, ki sta jih organizaciji večinoma premagali. Tako lahko skozi analizo uspeha misije sklepamo o potencialu tega tipa misije za nadaljnje sodelovanje med OZN in regionalnimi organizacijami. Zaradi togosti mehanizmov OZN hibridne misije predstavljajo najboljšo možnost sodelovanja – vse dokler OZN ne ustvari mehanizmov, ki bi predstavljali večjo komplementarnost sodelovanja med OZN in regionalnimi organizacijami. ; Since the drafting of the United Nations (UN) Charter, co-operation between the UN and regional organizations in the field of international peace and security has been subject to intense debates. The debate between universalism and regionalism was, for the time being, resolved in the form of Chapters VII. and VIII. of the UN Charter. This compromise resulted in the Security Council being at the forefront of responses in matters of international peace in security for some five decades. But recent developments in the field of international peace and security have exposed the need for greater involvement of regional organizations. This master thesis is focused on the potential of a hybrid type of peace operations for future co-operation between the UN and regional organizations. The value of the research lies in its analysis of the relationship between the African Union and the UN in the United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the first-ever hybrid peace operation. In more than ten years of its deployment, UNAMID has been plagued by problems that both organizations have had to overcome. In that regard, through the analysis of the success of UNAMID, we can draw conclusions regarding the potential that this type of peace operation has on the future co-operation between the UN and regional organizations. Until the UN develops better complementarity mechanisms for co-operation with regional organizations, hybrid missions represent the best way of co-operation.

Platform work is often characterised by economic insecurity, dehumanising control procedures, isolation, deepening racial, economic and gender inequalities, and other socio-economic problems. There are lively debates underway concerned with how to regulate or limit the negative effects of platform capitalism. This article reviews two of the most common calls for action – regulation and platform co-operatives. We argue that there is also an unexplored, complementary option, which uses the network effects of platforms to provide greater benefits for platform workers. To understand this alternative, we introduce the American Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) mechanism for employee buyouts, redefine the model according to the main cooperative values, and apply it to the platform economy. We conclude that there is a third option is available to governments and municipalities, namely to require an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in the local subsidiary of the platform company. Keywords: Platform economy, platform co-operativism, employee buyouts, platform ESOP

In the article we report a series of experiments
with volunteers designed to detect differences in behavioural characteristics among Slovenian, Dutch and
international students. Using eight standard tasks from
experimental economics, we investigate the differences
using experimental measures of solidarity, trust, cooperation, positive and negative reciprocity, competition,
honesty, and risk attitudes. No significant cohort effects
in any of the eight decisions are found when we compare the Slovenian and international cohorts. Still, when
comparing the Dutch and Slovenian cohorts, Dutch
students are found to exhibit lower levels of solidarity,
generosity and honesty. This points to differences in sociality between institutionally similar yet ideologically distant countries like Slovenia and the Netherlands.
Keywords: cross-national study, experimental economics, game theory, sociality

Abstract. In the article, we discuss how the political communication and interpersonal influence found in discussion networks add to fragmentation of the political space and the strengthening of political parties at the extremes of the political continuum. To this end, we analyse the mobilisation potential held by discussion networks of people who position themselves on the margins of the left–right political spectrum and compare them with the networks of those positioned in the centre and those who do not align themselves politically. The analysis focuses on four features of discussion networks: size, homogeneity, frequency of political discussion, and frequency of trying to persuade others. The results of the analysis show the most extensive mobilisation potential is found among people in the centre of the political continuum, while people on the far right and far left have networks that are the basis of intense political communication with people holding different political views but lack opportunities for the broad network dissemination of their political views and attitudes. Keywords: discussion networks, political communication, left-right political orientation

Impact of Covid-19 epidemic on the lives of residents of homes for old people
The year 2020 was marked by the Covid-19 epidemic, which had the greatest impact on socially vulnerable groups, especially old people. Based on qualitative research, the article explains the impact of measures to curb the Covid-19 epidemic on the lives of old people in the Ajdovščina Home for the Old People. During this period, social work found itself in a difficult situation and was forced to respond. In institutions for old people, it found itself in an unenviable position, as it had to adapt very quickly to new challenges - to maintain contact in a time that severely limited physical contact, and to enable communication between residents and their loved ones. The article connects homes for old people with the concept of a total institution and shows how social work in the home for old people coped with challenges during the Covid-19 epidemic. The impact of epidemiological measures and social isolation on people's mental health and everyday life is shown. The fundamental tasks of social workers in crisis situations are listed.

Slovenian folk pop is one of the most under-researched music genres in Slovenia.
To learn more about it, we conducted research about the demographics of those
who listen to it. The results show that this genre is popular principally among older, less-educated, religious, politically right-leaning people in the countryside,
while it is also listened to by other segments of society, albeit to a smaller degree.
We also found that there is no significant correlation between listening to folk pop
and economic class and gender. This suggests that Slovenian society is stratified
into various cultural formations, primarily with respect to education, religiosity,
age, political affiliations and place of residence rather than economic class.

The war in Ukraine is the biggest, bloodiest and longest war in Europe since 1945. Its initial stage holds similarities with several other armed conflicts and wars in the last 50 years on Cyprus and in the territories of the former Soviet Union and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Among the cases in exYugoslavia, greatest similarity is seen with the war in Croatia (1991–1995). This conflict stemmed from two almost simultaneous breakdowns of multinational 'socialist federations' and their communist regimes that were similar in structure. The dissimilarity of the second stage of the war in Ukraine and the war in Croatia is primarily due to the processes of NATO and EU enlargement coupled with the USA's policy of using NATO enlargement and Ukraine as tools to harm and weaken Russia. The conflict about Ukraine and the promise of NATO membership given to it has become an indirect war between Russia and the US-led West, where Ukraine is the West's proxy and the main victim of the war. Like what occurred in Croatia in August 1995 and in Azerbaijan in September 2023, the final outcome of the war in Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield, not around a diplomatic table. Still, it will be very different from that in Croatia. Responsibility for the war in Ukraine and its consequences must be shared between the two direct belligerents, the co-responsible USA, and other NATO members. Keywords: Ukraine, Russia, Croatia, USA, NATO, internal war, interstate war

Raziskovalno delo se ukvarja z analizo financiranja lokalnih samouprav v Sloveniji in Makedoniji ter njihovo primerjavo. Sistem financiranja lokalnih samouprav je ključni stabilizacijski dejavnik, ki je bistvenega pomena za zagotavljanje učinkovitega sodelovanja državnega in zasebnega sektorja v zvezi z zagotavljanjem nujno potrebnih sredstev državljanom. Bistvenega pomena so lokalne javne dobrine in javne storitve. Sodobna lokalna samouprava bi morala zagotavljati javne službe, kot so oskrba z vodo, elektriko, plinom, telekomunikacijami, zdravstvom, šolstvom, javni prevozi, odvoz smeti ter zagotavljati nadzor in vpliv na te javne službe. Zagotavljala naj bi tudi zdravstvene prostore, stanovanja, predšolske ustanove, osnovne šole, domove za starostnike itd. Da bi lokalne oblasti zadovoljile povpraševanje in želje njihovih občanov, iščejo nove vire financiranja. V raziskovalnem delu smo analizirali lokalne samouprave, njihove prihodke in odhodke, strukturo in vire. Lokalne samouprave v Sloveniji in Makedoniji smo primerjali tudi z ostalimi članicami Evropske unije in na podlagi analize in smo ugotovili, da je Slovenija na področju sistema financiranja lokalne samouprave primerljivejša z članicami Evropske unije kot Makedonija. Na podlagi analize smo ugotovili tudi, ali so lokalne samouprave v obeh državah ustrezno in zadostno financirane. V skladu s predvidenimi pričakovanji je bilo ugotovljeno, da je v obeh državah zelo pomemben vir financiranja obveznih lokalnih nalog občine proračun države. To pomeni, da imajo lokalne samouprave premalo sredstev oziroma, da niso finančno samostojne, saj obseg primerne porabe občin ni skladen z njihovimi lastnimi prihodki. Posledično so potrebne finančne izravnave, ki jih lokalne samouprave prejemajo iz proračuna države. ; The research work deals with the analysis of the financing of local self-governments in Slovenia and Macedonia and their comparison. The system of financing local self-governments is a key stabilizing factor, which is essential for ensuring effective cooperation between the state and the private sector in terms of providing essential resources to citizens. Local public goods and public services are of paramount importance. Modern local self-government should provide public services such as water supply, electricity, public transport, garbage collection, gas, telecommunications, health, education and others, and to ensure control and influence on these public services. It should also provide health facilities, housing, pre-school institutions, primary schools, homes for the elderly, etc. In order for local authorities to meet the demand and wishes of their citizens, they are looking for new sources of financing. In the research paper we analyzed local governments, their revenues and expenditures, their structure and resources. We also compared the local self-governments in Slovenia and Macedonia with other members of the European Union and on the basis of our analysis, and found that Slovenia is more comparable with the members of the European Union, such as Macedonia, in the field of local government funding. Based on the analysis, we also found out whether local governments are adequately and sufficiently financed in both countries. In accordance with the anticipated expectations, it was found that a very important source of financing of mandatory tasks of local municipalities was the state budget, in both countries, which means that the local self-government are not financially independent. The extent of adequate spending by municipalities is not in line with their own revenues, which requires financial balancing that municipalities receive from the state budget.

The particle still remains a challenge for linguists given that its meaning
is determined each time it is used in a specific text. From a propositionality
aspect, particles are a kind of communication by an author, including their
mood; from a functional point of view, particle use can be either primarily
in modal (interpersonal) or connecting (text) roles. It was particularly
this communicative-pragmatic perspective, which includes the speaker or
author in the system of dictionary explanations, accompanied by definitions
of particles as part of speech, that featured among the many other
reflections on language that occupied Prof. T. Korošec. The article therefore
describes how the presentation of particles and particle use is solved in the
new explanatory dictionary of standard literary Slovenian. The most comprehensive
and functional semantic-circumstantial evaluation of particles
can be found in lexical representation.
Keywords: particles, particle use/role, modality, text, dictionary

Članstvo Slovenije v Natu je označeno kot pragmatično, Slovenijo celo obtožujejo, da je nezanesljiv partner znotraj zavezništva. Delo raziskuje zgodovinske dogodke, ki so vplivali na pot Slovenije do članstva v Natu in analizira, kako zavezništvo dojema generacija, ki je članstvo uresničila in kako nanjo gledajo mladi Slovenci danes. Raziskava temelji na interpretativni paradigmi, saj želim razumeti dejanske odnose in dojemanje slovenskih geopolitičnih predstav. Domneva se, da lahko globlje razumevanje odnosov in dojemanj med Slovenci pomaga razložiti neskladnost med članstvom v Natu in domnevnim pomanjkanjem zavezanosti članstvu. Raziskava sloni na kvalitativnem pristopu. Uporabljeni podatki so bili zbrani s pomočjo polstrukturiranih intervjujev in razgovora s fokusno skupino. Tematska analiza je bila izvedena s pomočjo računalniške programske opreme za obdelavo kvalitativnih podatkov (Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software). Z raziskavo sem ugotovil, da je politični pragmatizem v Sloveniji prispeval k pomanjkanju zavezanosti zvezi Nato. Udeleženci raziskave so izrazili prepričanja, ki so razkrila nekaj glavnih sestavin slovenskega pragmatizma. Poleg tega raziskava razkriva pomanjkanje razumevanja zavezništva (tako med odločevalci kot v širši javnosti) ter da so Slovenci na zunanjepolitičnem področju bolj naklonjeni nevtralni drži. ; Slovenia's membership within NATO has been described as pragmatic ; even further, Slovenia has been accused of being an unreliable partner within the alliance. This study examines the historical events which influenced Slovenia's path to NATO membership and analyzes how this alliance was perceived among the generation who attained it and how it is perceived among young Slovenes today. This study is grounded in the interpretive paradigm since I am seeking to understand the underlying attitudes and perceptions of Slovene geopolitical imagination. It is believed that a deeper understanding of the attitudes and perceptions among Slovenes can help explain the incongruity between NATO membership and its alleged lack of commitment. A qualitative approach was chosen for this research. A thematic analysis of data obtained through interviews was conducted with the aid of Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software. This study found that political pragmatism in Slovenia has contributed to the lack of commitment to the NATO alliance. Participants involved in the study expressed beliefs which revealed several of the main ingredients of Slovene pragmatism. Further, this study found that despite its NATO membership, there is a lack of understanding of the alliance (among decision-makers and the general population) and that Slovenes prefer neutral foreign policies.

My thesis is based on the premise that the change of the political system from socialism to post-socialism was not based on the otherwise branched­ out political education in socialism, but rather, on other factors of which the essential one is the third wave of democracy that swept across the Central, South and East European countries. (Inter)active citizenship can de­velop synergistically together with a positive attitude towards one's own country and with a stimulative influence on the citizens; with co-operation among the various (civil) groups and with modern education for citizenship (not only as the school subject of Citizenship Education and Ethics) as well as with its alternative goals together with the democratic and spiritual political culture. In view of the projected deadline for stability of democracy, which is expected to last 50 to 60 years, both types of culture are only at the initial phase of development in the new Slovenian state. ; Izhajamo iz teze, da spremembe političnega sistema iz socializma v postsocializem niso temeljile na sicer razvejenem političnem izobraževanju v socializmu, temveč na drugih dejavnikih, med katerimi je bistven tretji val demokracije, ki je zajel tudi srednje-, južno­ in vzhodnoevropske države. (lnter)aktivno državljanstvo se lahko razvija sinergično s pozitivnim odnosom do lastne države in spodbudnim vplivom na državljane, s sodelovanjem med različnimi (civilnimi) skupinami, s sodobnim izobraževanjem za državljanstvo (ne le s šolskim predmetom državljanska vzgoja in etika) in njegovimi alternativnimi cilji hkrati z demokratično in duhovno politično kulturo. Obe vrsti kulture sta v novi slovenski državi glede na predvideni rok za stabilnost demokracije, ki naj bi trajal 50-60 let, šele na začetni razvojni stopnji.

V pričujoči raziskavi smo preučili strukturo, dejavnike in posledice politične kulture in državljanske participacije v postjugoslovanskih družbah. Uporabljenih je bilo več virov kvantitativnih podatkov, med drugim raziskava 2.178 študentov družboslovja v osmih postjugoslovanskih entitetah (M starost = 19,8 leta, SD = 1,89) ; reprezentativni vzorci Evropske raziskave vrednot (2008) ; pretekli valovi Svetovne raziskave vrednot (1995/8) in podatki raziskave jugoslovanske mladine (Jupio, 1986). Analiza na agregatni ravni je pokazala, da so v socioekonomsko manj razvitih okoljih (Kosovo, BiH in NJR Makedonija) v večji meri prisotni elementi podložniške politične kulture (Almond in Verba, 1963), v okviru katere so se kot ključni elementi na individualni ravni izkazali avtoritarnost, splošni tradicionalizem, tradicionalni pogled na spolne vloge in nacionalizem. Medentitetne razlike na merah ekonomske kulture (ekonomski egalitarizem in državni paternalizem) so povečini majhne in statistično neznačilne, saj vse entitete na obeh indikatorjih dosegajo visoke povprečne vrednosti. V skladu s predvidevanji dopolnjene modernizacijske teorije je demokratična politična kultura bolj koherentna v socioekonomsko bolj razvitih postjugoslovanskih državah, v nasprotju s teorijo pa manj razvite države dosegajo višje povprečne ravni državljanske participacije. Starost in socioekonomski status sta se izkazala za najmočnejša sociodemografska dejavnika politične kulture in državljanske participacije. Višje stopnje učinkovite demokracije (Inglehart in Welzel, 2007) dosegajo socioekonomsko bolj razvite države, ki izkazujejo tudi najvišje stopnje demokratične politične kulture. Longitudinalna analiza ni pokazala enotne smeri političnokulturnih sprememb ; slednje so v zadnjih dveh desetletjih bile v smeri večanja tako demokratičnih kot tudi nekaterih podložniških orientacij (npr. avtoritarnosti). Avtorji sklenejo, da proces demokratične konsolidacije, tako političnokulturne kot tudi institucionalne, v večini postjugoslovanskih družb še ni končan. Na koncu so predstavljene implikacije raziskave. ; The present study examined structures, determinants and consequences of political culture and citizen participation in post-Yugoslav societies. Several empirical data sources were employed, among others a survey of 2,178 social science students in eight post-Yugoslav entities (M age = 19.8 years, SD = 1.89) ; representative samples from European Values Study (2008), earlier waves of World Values Survey (1995/8) and a study of Yugoslav youth Jupio carried out in 1985. The aggregate level results indicated that socio-economically less developed entities (Kosovo, BiH, and FYR Macedonia) scored higher on subject political culture (Almond and Verba, 1963), which was at the individual level found to be characterized by its four core components: authoritarianism, general traditionalism, traditional gender roles attitudes, and nationalism. Between-country differences on measures of economic cultural orientations (economic egalitarianism and state paternalism) were largely minor or insignificant, since all entities scored high on both measures. As predicted by revised modernization theory democratic political culture was found to be more coherent in socioeconomically more developed post-Yugoslav countries. Inconsistent with modernization approach results demonstrated higher levels of citizen participation in less well-off countries. Age and socioeconomic status proved to be the most potent sociodemographic predictors of political culture and citizen participation. Finally, democracy was found to be more effective (Inglehart and Welzel, 2007) in socioeconomically more developed countries, which also scored highest on measures of democratic political culture. Longitudinal analysis did not uniformly confirm substantive political culture changes with changes in the last two decades taking place in both democratic as well as authoritarian direction. Authors conclude that the process of democratic consolidation, both political-cultural as well as institutional, is far from over in the majority of post-Yugoslav entities. Implications of the results are discussed.

This article examines the condition of Indonesia's Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with respect to carrying out a digital transformation, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to accelerate this transformation. This study found that Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises – MSMEs during COVID-19 have been in an unstable state due to the impact of the restrictions imposed by COVID-19related policies. Nevertheless, MSMEs have been supported by the government, academics, and digital media in efforts to revive and accelerate the digital transformation with a view to surviving. The use of social media has helped MSMEs' programmes and services optimise their business performance. Job simplification was introduced to more efficiently create and reach a broader range of consumers by doing promotion, service delivery, accessing media and cooperating with third parties. The speed at which the digital transformation has occurred is reflected in an improvement in MSMEs' entrepreneurial skills and competencies. Keywords: Digital transformation; MSME; Social Media; COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract. We examined the changing sense of control over one's life during epidemics. Using original survey data during the first lockdown in May 2020 our case study focuses on Ljubljana's multi-apartment buildings (MAB) which, due to the physical proximity of the residents and the common spaces/facilities represent a distinct case with its particular threats (infection spread) and potential resources (neighbourly support) for coping with epidemic-related problems. We found a dramatic drop in perceived control over one's life, from 75% of respondents in usual times to 35% during the pandemic. Accounting for a range of epidemic-associated occurrences in the building and among the residents our regression analysis shows their significant impact on residents' sense of control that highly exceeding those of the quality of life and of basic socio-demographic characteristics. While our case study demonstrates that the specific setting of an MAB can provide a valuable layer of human action in times of crisis, further research is needed to permit generalisations. Keywords: pandemic, perceived control over one's life, ontological security, multi-apartment buildings, wellbeing, control over one's life