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The article analyzes the changed concept of security in the post-Cold War era, its importance for the international community as a whole, & its basic values. Special attention is given to the indivisibility & mutual conditions of the security problem, democracy, & markets. The research approach is multidisciplinary & aimed at an analysis of the war against Croatia within the context of the post-Cold War era & its associated obstacles to reaching peace & stability. The roots, causes, & inducements to conflict are determined & the assumptions for peace & stability in the region are researched. Starting with the case of Croatia & the consequences of international crisis caused by aggressive Serbian policy of expansion, the author offers a suggestion for a new security concept -- the concept of metasecurity -- for the era after the Cold War. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author claims that all major efforts concerning European security have always been linked with the end of a war. Thus the end of the Cold War has been marked with the expansion of NATO & an attempt to create a new security. By analyzing the political scope of the expansion, the military & strategic framework, the Russian reactions, & the economic significance, the author comes to the conclusion that the expansion is not conducive to the establishment of an integral system of European security. The purpose of this development by Clinton's team was primarily to outline the new European borders (the key aspect of Clinton's foreign policy) &, in the future, to create the conditions for further expansion & admittance of new members. Only in the remote future, through constant expansion & links with other European organizations, could NATO become the central system of European security. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the process of the NATO expansion in Europe following the collapse of the Berlin Wall & 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 that emerged after the disintegration of Yugoslavia & the Soviet Union, have been trying to eliminate this danger & strengthen their security by joining NATO. The Russian Federation is the main opponent of the NATO expansion in Eastern Europe, particularly into the states that came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The author describes in detail the geostrategical & geopolitical implications of the admittance of the first group of Eastern European countries into NATO (Poland, the Czech Republic, & Romania), as well as the prospects of the NATO expansion into the other countries in the region. He sees the American initiative for cooperation in Southeastern Europe as a complement to the process of NATO expansion. In the end he criticizes NATO's process of selection of new members, the process that has left Croatia (for the time being) in a sort of a geostrategical void. 5 Appendixes. Adapted from the source document.

Ethnic minorities & minorities-related conflicts have always been one of the most important security issues for the international community. The durability of ethnic conflicts in certain regions & the difficulties in their resolution, have resulted in the outbreak of many armed conflicts, the collapse of multi-ethnic states, the changes of borders & of demographic relations. Despite the increasing number of security challenges & needs, it is still not possible to talk about a certain uniform & universally accepted model of solving the problems among ethnic minorities. It is obvious that in the post-Cold War period this is going to be an increasingly pressing need of international community. The paper deals with most basic security problems that are caused by the unsettled relationships between ethnic minorities & majority; it also covers the policies of their resolution. By analyzing the model of resolving ethnic conflicts in South Tyrol, two groups of ethnic conflicts' resolution policies are looked into: the policy of the elimination of differences & the policy of managing differences. 20 References. Adapted from the source document.

Since WWII, there have been opposing views of the role & the importance of the state in international affairs. Some think that the importance of the state is slowly decreasing, since the increasing interdependence of the world has an enormous influence on both the internal & foreign policies of a state. On the other hand, some point out that the state has not lost any of its importance; on the contrary, this importance will only be enhanced since the world community has not yet come up with a model to replace sovereign state entities. States generate the structure that has a significant influence on individual & group security. This particularly applies to the post-Cold-War period, since the problems & threats of the present-day world -- economic collapse, political oppression, poverty, ethnic conflicts, uncontrolled population boom, nature degradation, terrorism, crime, & disease -- directly affect many other elements of security. It is these problems that turn our attention to the state as the most important institution of the contemporary world, since it still has at its disposal the resources for reducing or eliminating these threats. Adapted from the source document.

There have been a number of philosophical, legal, & political concepts dealing with the issue of peace. The most famous discourse on the topic of peace is undoubtedly Kant's writing on "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 & moral imperative of human nature, realized solely through human efforts. Though written 200 years ago, his ideas have found acolytes in the post-Cold War period since they are, to a large extent, considered as emancipatory. Kant finds the guarantees for the realization of peace in the moral doctrine & thus rejects the use of force in the creation of peace. 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-Cold War period. Adapted from the source document.

There have been a number of philosophical, legal, & political concepts dealing with the issue of peace. The most famous discourse on the topic of peace is undoubtedly Kant's writing on "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 & moral imperative of human nature, realized solely through human efforts. Though written 200 years ago, his ideas have found acolytes in the post-Cold War period since they are, to a large extent, considered as emancipatory. Kant finds the guarantees for the realization of peace in the moral doctrine & thus rejects the use of force in the creation of peace. 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-Cold War period. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes political, philosophical, ethical, & legal implications of the trial in which, in August of 1997, some former members of the Politburo of the United Socialist Party of the former Democratic Republic of Germany were sentenced to prison terms after they had been found guilty for the murders committed by the East German border patrols when trying to prevent people from fleeing to the West. The legal grounds for such a sentence are dubious, not only because it runs counter to the ban on the retroactive enforcement of legal provisions but also because it presupposes the universal validity of the Western concept of human rights. If the intention was to react legally to what, from the Western point of view, were unpardonable acts during the communist reign, then the most prominent representatives of that system should have been -- in accordance with wartime law -- treated as enemies defeated in a (cold) war. Adapted from the source document.

In its 45 years of existence, NATO has evolved dramatically. This has occurred due to the changes happening within the alliance itself (increased number of member countries, changes within the countries, & in the relations among them) & to the influence of outside factors ensuing from the developments in international relations in general & within the adversarial bloc in particular. The cessation of the Cold War & the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact in the early 1990s confronted NATO with new challenges, particularly in relation to the countries of Eastern & Southeastern Europe & Russia. The fact that the document "Partnership for Peace" was adopted at the start of 1994 (representing a platform for the relations with the countries of "new democracy") & that it was signed by 26 countries meant the overall acceptance of the conceptual document of European security on the threshold of the 21st century. This document provides democratic countries outside NATO with the possibility of cooperating with its political & military bodies & paves the way for their full membership. If regular criteria were applied, Croatia & Bosnia & Herzegovina could count on joining "Partnership for Peace" only after they have resolved internal conflicts & frictions with their neighbors by political means. Nevertheless, depending on further developments in the region, it is possible that Croatia might jump the queue & be accepted in "Partnership for Peace" before its turn. 2 Tables, 32 References. Adapted from the source document.

The policy of pressure on Croatia as an illustrative -- although not isolated -- example has not inspired empirical & theoretical studies of this phenomenon. The discussion has remained at the level of everyday political discourse, even "coffee-house politics." Due to its extreme topicality, as well as its theoretical "solvency," the author has attempted with this essay to come up with a theoretical definition of the concept of pressure & to demonstrate on the Croatian example its goals, scope, dynamics, & future prospects & outcomes. Among the existing approaches, the author has chosen the "politico-economic approach" which defines the policy of pressure as a specific form of political communication between the "center" & the "periphery" in Wallerstein's "world system." The example of Croatia serves the author as an ideal-type model of such communication through a combination of political science & sociological analysis. In his opinion, & due to certain favorable contingencies, Croatia is the nearest to the ideal type of such communication. Due to a lack of systematic empirical data, the discussion naturally remains at the theoretical-hypothetical level, & should be understood as an invitation to further discussion & as an incentive for more extensive empirical research. However, since this is a very dynamic phenomenon, the question is: is the author's argumentation still valid today as it was at the time when the essay was written? There have been two changes: (1) the war on Kosovo which proves the author's hypotheses; & (2) a certain "thaw" in the relations between the international community (particularly USA) & Croatia (it is still unclear whether this change concerns the fundamental strategic trends or is solely a "politico-meteorological" phenomenon (the alteration of colder & warmer periods). This is why the author did not deem any alterations in the text necessary; one should wait & in the meantime expose the (hypo)theses to some critical scrutiny. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.