Not much research has looked at how diversity and gender affect military professionalism and diverse groups perceive this concept. Using a qualitative approach, the study examined perspectives on military professionalism and unprofessionalism among diverse members of the Albanian Armed Forces (AAF). To ensure a diversity of participants, the study was based on the constructivist paradigm (multiple realities) as well as the Gender Perspective in the Albanian Armed Forces report (2013), which helps identify the varying impacts of such research on diverse groups of men and women. A total of 150 individuals participated in interviews and focus groups between October 2022 and August 2023. The findings show that professionalism and unprofessionalism each have distinct characteristics, where leadership is a key factor. This study sheds light on the members' experiences and how the latter affect the way in which professionals are perceived. Keywords: Albanian Armed Forces, Military Professionalism, Qualitative Research, Diversity
Abstract. The article addresses the question of the role of the state in the protection of human rights and freedoms. Like states, rights and freedoms are also created on the basis of social conventions, and any reference to the universal nature or natural character of rights and freedoms is only an ideological moment in the pursuit of political goals. The basic prerequisite for the protection of rights and freedoms is the establishment of organised coercion in the form of state power which brings under its authority the multitude of different interests and diverse ways of implementing justice. The conclusive findings show that for its successful introduction into the lives of individuals, the moral discourse of universal human rights and freedoms needs effective state authority that embeds these rights and freedoms into the foundations of the legitimacy of its own existence. Keywords: Constitutionalism, the state, human rights and freedoms, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
Abstract. Crisis response planning can never fully prevent a certain amount of improvisation given that, in some cases, it is necessary, if not even desirable. This article analyses the research question on the relationship between crisis planning and improvisation in theory and with respect to the Covid-19 epidemic in Slovenia. Despite existing systemic recommendations, normative and to some extent operational crisis preparedness, our analysis of the country's response reveals improvisation in several key elements: planning, decision-making, coordination and crisis communication. The quite considerable improvisation seen with the epidemic is the outcome of its unexpected dimensions, the absence of a comprehensive crisis management plan, and individual actors' insufficient crisis management competences. It has been reflected in the establishing of specialised ad hoc structures, overnight decisions and their sudden reversals, and often in inconsistent and inappropriate communication with the public. Keywords: preparedness, improvisation, planning, decision-making, coordination, crisis communication, Covid-19 epidemic
Local communities have an important role in society. According to states legislature they execute local public policies. Those processes include local democracy, public administration, local economy and social entities. Also they combine public and private resources. All of these groups of factors have their own capacity. Capacity is their ability to achieve goals and consists from inside and outside factors. Capacity of local self-government is integrated capacity. It represents holistic capacity for those units. It tells us, whether they are capable of doing things they should do, according to social and political system and its demands. Local units have different level of capacity. With conceptual model and field research we tested our research hypothesis. Our hypothesis is that local self-government communities with higher capacity offer their residents broader local public services and goods. Also we studies influence of political stability and autonomy on capacity. On representative sample of municipalities in Republic of Slovenia we confirmed all ours research hypothesis. Conceptual model of capacity is a tool for analysing individual communities and for analysing the whole system of local-self government. Also many suggestions for improvement can be made.
An overview of the results of the final theses of students of the Faculty of Social Work on social work with people with dementia A meta-analysis of students' theses from the past five years (2016–2020) on the topic of social work with people with dementia is presented. Among the themes explored, work in institutions as well as work in the family setting of people with dementia predominate; community work topics emerge to a lesser extent. Thus, the role of social work and the use of social work methods are researched somewhat more in institutions, but again, only in individual institutions. However, this topic does not appear in research on people with dementia in the home setting. Most research is qualitative and based on non-random convenience samples using interviews as the method of data collection. Often, students explore the challenges and needs of those involved in caring for people with dementia, but with less emphasis on numbers. In the future, the focus will need to be on research on community and on (social) work with people with dementia in their home environments, and the use of social work methods and other forms of work with people with dementia need to be explored in more depth.
Prispevek v luči slovenskega predsedovanja Svetu EU v prvi polovici leta 2008 predstavi institucijo Svet EU in organizacijske, posredniške, politične in nacionalne vloge, ki jih uresničuje predsedujoča država. Obravnavan je slovenski gozdno-politični okvir, ki vpliva na usmeritev za posamezno vlogo inpredstavljena teza, da sta za Slovenijo najpomembnejši organizacijska in nacionalna vloga. V okviru nacionalne vloge je pomembno pridobiti nove ideje za vsebino gozdne politike in znanja o procesu njenega oblikovanja na domači ravni in ravni Unije. ; In the light of the Slovenian presidency of the EU Council in the first half of the year 2008, the contribution presents the Council of the European Union (the EU Council) as an institution and the organizational, mediatory, political and national roles performed by the presiding state. The framework of the Slovenian forest policy is discussed, which influences the policy regarding each individual role, and the thesis presented by which the most important roles for Slovenia are the organizational and national role. Within the national role it is important to acquire new ideas regarding forest policyas well as the skills and knowledge regarding the drafting of forest policy on the level of the state and the EU.
Spremembe v mednarodni skupnosti po koncu hladne vojne so mednarodne institucije, ki delujejo na področju zagotavljanja miru in varnosti, postavile pred nove izzive, ki so izpostavili pomanjkljivost obstoječh norm, mehanizmov in konceptualnega aparata za naslavljanje novih varnostnih groženj. Mednarodne institucije se težko spopadajo z modernimi varnostnimi grožnjami, med katere spadajo tudi etnični konflikti, hkrati pa je proces prepoznavanja varnostnih groženj kompleksen. Magistrska naloga skozi študijo primera delovanja Varnostnega sveta in Organizacije za varnost in sodelovanje v Evropi v ukrajinskem konfliktu preučuje, kako pojmovanje varnosti mednarodnih institucij vpliva na upravljanje (etničnih) konfliktov. Naloga pokaže, da sodobno pojmovanje varnosti presega dojemanje države kot edinega relevatnega referenčnega objekta varnosti in da je varnost intersubjektivna kategorija, ki odpira vprašanje glede procesa prepoznavanja (novih) varnostnih groženj. Posledično pojmovanje varnosti vpliva na diskurz in delovanje akterjev. Na primeru Varnostnega sveta tako vidimo, da se države članice zavedajo pomena vzpostavljene prakse delovanja, ki izhaja iz pojmovanja varnosti dotične institucije, ter njenega vpliva na odločanje v Varnostnem svetu. OVSE pa kljub prepoznavanju kršitev določenih prvin varnosti v praksi te kršitve težko naslavlja. Naloga pokaže tudi, kako specializirano znanje posameznih institucij vpliva na diskurz držav v teh institucijah ter da pojmovanje varnosti v posameznih institucijah ni statično, temveč rezultat nenehnih (re)interpretacij. ; Changes in the international community after the end of the Cold War have led international institutions working in the field of peace and security to face new challenges that have highlighted the disadvantage of existing norms, mechanisms and conceptual apparatus for addressing new security threats. International institutions are struggling to deal with modern security threats, including ethnic conflicts, while the process of identifying security threats is complex. The master's thesis examines how the concept of security of international institutions influences the management of (ethnic) conflicts through a study of the functioning of the Security Council and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in the Ukrainian conflict. Thesis demonstrates that modern concept surpasses the perception of the state as the only relevant referent object of security and that security is an intersubjective category that raises the issue of the process of identifying (new) security threats. As a consequence the concept of security affects the discourse and the functioning of the actors. In the case of the Security Council, we can see that Member States are aware of the importance of the established practice, which stems from the concept of security of the institution, and its impact on decision-making in the Security Council. Despite the recognition of violations of certain elements of security in practice, the OSCE has difficulty addressing this violation. The thesis also shows how the specialized knowledge of individual institutions influences the discourse of states in these institutions, and that the concept of security in individual institutions is not static, but the result of continuous (re)interpretations.
The special legal nature of the concession contract (as one of the legal transactions) which represents a legal framework where the public & private interests meet (two parties cooperate for mutual benefit) is characterized by intertwining of general rules of obligation law & special legal institutes that originate from the sphere of public law. The legal nature of the contractual relationships that arise between administrative & private entities requires special regulation of individual institutes that should reflect the public interest as an important guiding principle for concluding these contracts, & a special legal position of a public law entity as a holder of this public interest. Despite adoption of the new Public-Private Partnership Act in the legislative regulation of the concession contract that still remains variously regulated in previously adopted special provisions of sectoral laws, there are still some deficiencies & dilemmas that are more or less effectively dealt with in the contractual practice. For the legal positions that are classically civil at first sight, the legislator or court practice have laid down special modified rules of civil law in most developed countries. In the course of time, these rules became part of public law/administrative law. Thus, the French legal order has best developed the rules of the public contractual law & the legal institute of the administrative contract that the Slovenian administrative theoreticians try more & more to introduce also into our legal order. References. Adapted from the source document.
Ko slišimo za pojem korupcija, takoj pomislimo na zlorabo javne službe za doseganje lastnih koristi. Posamezniki in podjetja podkupujejo administrativne uslužbence, da le-ti uredijo zadeve, ki morajo biti rešene. Gre torej za izsiljevanje rent od gospodarskih udeležencev in posledično od ekonomije same izključno za zasebne koristi politikov in uradnikov. Tovrsten pristop k obravnavanju pojava je v zadnjih letih začrtal popolnoma novo smer analiziranja in merjenja korupcije. Korupcija se predstavi v popolnoma novi podobi, v kateri posamezniki, skupine oziroma podjetja vplivajo na formulacijo zakonov, ali celo spreobračajo že oblikovana pravila igre, da bi si s tem zagotovili pomembne ugodnosti. Korupcija je in vedno bo obstajala v svetu, edina razlika je v tem, da se z razvojem družb spreminja, prevzema bolj prefinjene oblike, zaradi katerih jo je težje odkrivati in preprečevati. Vse bolj razsežne in destruktivne posledice, ki jih ima korupcija na gospodarsko rast in družbeno stabilnost, nujno zahtevajo praktične strategije omejevanja korupcije. Problem korupcije se ne omejuje na določeno regijo, kajti z njenimi grožnjami se ubadajo tako razvite države kot tudi države v razvoju in tranzitne države. V postsocialističnih državah so sočasni procesi razvijanja tržne ekonomije, oblikovanja novih političnih in socialnih institucij ter prerazporejanje družbene lastnine ustvarili rodna tla za pojav korupcije. Zaradi kompleksnosti fenomena in predvsem zaradi vse večjega zavedanja, da vzroki za prevzem države presegajo golo neučinkovitost in šibkost državne uprave, je potrebno za razumevanje in odpravljanje state capture razsvetliti problem širših strukturalnih povezav, kot so interna organizacija političnega sistema, odnosi in zveze med ključnimi državnimi institucijami, interakcije med podjetji in državo ter povezave med državo in civilno družbo. ; When we think about corruption, an image quickly comes to mind of abuse of public office for private gains. Individuals and firms are bribing bureaucrats to »get things done«. Behind this view lies an understanding of the state extracting rents from the economy for the exclusive benefit of politicians and bureaucrats. Such an aprroach has had a powerful impact on the way corruption has been analyzed and measured in recent years. Corruption has taken on a new image – that of individuals, groups, or firms manipulating policy formation and even shaping the emerging rules of the game to their own, very substantional advantage. Corruption has always existed across the world and it will never disappear, the difference is that has become more sophisticated and thus more difficult and costly to detect. With the increasing recognition across the globe of the damaging effects of corruption on economic growth and social stability, the demand for practical strategies to reduce corruption has grown dramatically. The problem is not confined to any particular region, and developed, developing and transition countries alike are confronting these challenges. In postcommunist states the simultaneous processes of developing a market economy, designing new political and social institutions and redistributing social assets have created fertile ground for corruption. With regard to complexity of phenomena and with increasing recognition that the roots of state capture extend far beyond weaknesses in the capacity of government, we need to be aware of factors underlying the persistence of corruption that is broader structural relationships, including the internal organization of the political system, relationships among core state institutions, the interactions between the state and firms, and the relationship between the sate and civil society.
In administrative history of the last six hundred years, different factors & influences had played their role in the formation of middle-level offices. The reason was in management. By dividing provinces into quarters, the provincial estates primarily wanted to protect their property from Turkish raids in the middle of the 15th century. In the middle of the 18th century, the provincial prince or national authority established kresije (state administrative units) that were a prolonged hand of the central state administration. It was supposed to control landowners, enforcement of rules & to protect serfs. By establishing kresije, the Kromeriz Constitution wanted to solve nationality problems in multilingual provinces. The district boards, established after 1868, were also a prolonged hand of the central authority & the result of the hundred-year development of the state administration. The history of middle-level offices shows interests of some groups or individuals that were in power during a certain period of time. Unlike other European countries where these offices were relatively autonomous, they were always a prolonged hand of the central state bodies or at least they served them in the Austrian Empire. The Registry Office plan reflects their competence that comprised all the matters of the population in a certain district from personal to municipal, military, education, ecclesiastical & taxation matters, the result of which was that the population identified itself with a district or quarter or kresija (state administrative unit). The middle-level government name was also one of the reasons for population identification. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.
Cilj magistrske naloge je prikaz manifestacije družbene moči skozi pravo, specifično v demokratičnih procesih ; demokracija je temelj razvitih družb ter točka, iz katere naj bi dandanes izviralo vso pravo, zato sem se osredotočila nanjo kot na izvor razlikovanja posameznikov na podlagi sposobnosti (abstraktne) artikulacije interesa v volilnih procesih. Obstajajo namreč določene skupine bitij, ki niso sposobne artikulirati svojega interesa abstraktno, na način, ki je značilen za današnje institucionalizirane volilne procese, zato so iz njih izključene. V tej nalogi sem se osredotočila na primere otrok, mentalno manj sposobnih posameznikov in nekaterih drugih subjektov, katerih interes se ne upošteva na enaki ravni kot interes drugih. Demokracija kot vladavina ljudstva se po mojem mnenju dandanes sprevrača v vladavino tistih, ki imajo golo fizično ter mentalno sposobnost oditi na volišče, brati, pisati, in abstrahirano, torej ne konkretno, izraziti svoj interes ; ne gre torej za vladavino, utemeljeno na ideji temeljne enakosti oziroma neizpodbojno jasnih ter enakovrednih interesov, temveč za vladavino tistih, ki so sposobni artikulirano ter dejavno delovati v družbi, ter zahtevati uveljavitev svojih interesov. Gre torej za neke vrste procesno, ne materialno enakost, zaradi katere tisti, ki niso sposobni artikulacije interesov v družbi, postanejo objekti prava. Ogledala sem si različne poglede na demokracijo, predpise, ki urejajo položaje omenjenih skupin, ter vprašanje (objektivnega ter subjektivnega) interesa, ki je ključno za mojo tezo, saj idejo obstoja diskriminacije utemeljujem na podlagi konkretnega interesa napram abstraktnemu. Poudarjam pa, da gre za pravno-sociološko, ne za primarno filozofsko delo, ki skuša torej zgolj naslikati dejanskost družbe in prava, ne pa ju tudi predpisovati. ; The goal of this paper is to showcase the manifestation of power within a society, specifically in democratic processes ; democracy is the foundation of developed societies and the supposed source of all of today's law, which is why I focused on it as the source of discrimination of individuals based on their ability to abstractly articulate their interest in voting processes. There are certain groups of people who are incapable of abstractly articulating their interest, in a way which is typical of today's institutionalised voting processes, which is why they are excluded from them ; I have focused on children and mentally handicapped individuals, who's interest isn't taken into account as much as other people's is. Democracy as the rule of the people is in my opinion now turning into the rule of those who have the mere physical and mental capacity to go to a voting booth, write and read, and abstractly (as opposed to concretely), formulate their interest ; it is therefore not a rule based on an idea of fundamental equality or clear and equal interests, but a rule of those who are capable of functioning in a society in an articulate and active way, and demand that their interests are enforced. It is therefore a procedural, not a material equality, because those who aren't capable of (abstractly) articulating their interests in this society become an object of the law. I have examined different views of democracy, regulation which deals with the status of the before mentioned groups, and the question of interest, which is crucial for my thesis, because I base my idea of the existence of discrimination on concrete interest versus the abstract one. I would like to point out that this is a legally-sociological, not a philosophical work, which therefore primarily tries only to paint the reality of society and law, not to prescribe them.
POVZETEK MEDNARODNI KAZENSKI PREGON IN ČLOVEKOVE PRAVICE TUJIH TERORISTIČNIH BORCEV Avtor: Rok Petročnik Mentorica: izr. prof. dr. Vasilka Sancin V magistrski nalogi sem raziskoval nastanek fenomena tujega terorističnega borca, njihov mednarodni kazenski pregon in kršitve njihovih temeljnih človekovih pravic v domačih kazenskih pregonih. Varnostni svet OZN je leta 2014 na podlagi VII. poglavja Ustanovne listine OZN sprejel Resolucijo 2178, ki podaja opis tujega terorističnega borca, vendar ne loči med oboroženimi spopadi in terorizmom. Resolucija 2178 opisuje tujega terorističnega borca kot posameznika, ki potuje v tujino z namenom izvedbe ali sodelovanja v terorističnem napadu, medtem ko je tuji borec posameznik, ki odpotuje v tujino z namenom pridružitve oboroženim spopadom. V raziskavi sem prišel do sklepa, da trenutno ne obstaja mednarodni kazenski pregon tujih terorističnih borcev, saj pregon izvajajo države same pred nacionalnimi sodišči. Varnostni svet OZN je pregon tujih terorističnih borcev preložil na države članice OZN, in sicer z vzpostavitvijo različnih odborov za nadzor izvajanja sankcij Varnostnega Sveta, kot so Sankcijski odbor 1267 in Skupina za analitično podporo in nadzor sankcij. V primerih Nada, Ahmed in Abdelrazik so nacionalna sodišča zaradi kršitev temeljnih človekovih pravic s sodbami razveljavila državne upravne akte, ki so vpeljevali sprejete protiteroristične resolucije Varnostnega sveta. Podobno je naredilo sodišče EU v primeru Kadi, kjer je bila razveljavljena uredba, ki je vpeljala sankcije Varnostnega sveta. Sodbe nacionalnih in sodišč v EU so bile glavni dejavnik za spremembo mednarodnopravnega okvirja terorizma OZN in za posledično večji poudarek na spoštovanju temeljnih pravic, ki jih zagotavlja Evropska konvencija o človekovih pravicah. ; ABSTRACT INTERNATIONAL PROSECUTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS Author: Rok Petročnik Mentor: Vasilka Sancin, PhD, Professor In master's thesis i explored the emergence of the foreign terrorist fighter phenomenona, international prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters, and the violation of the fundamental rights of foreign terrorist fighters in domestic prosecutions. UN Security Council in 2014 adopted Resolution 2178 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. However, while the Resolution outlines the description of a foreign terrorist fighter, it fails to distinguish between armed conflicts and terrorism. Resolution 2178 defines foreign terrorist fighters as individuals who travel to a state other than their states of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning, or preparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts or the providing or receiving of terrorist training, including in connection with armed conflict, while foreign fighter is an individual who travels abroad with intention to join armed conflict. The research led to the conclusion that there is currently no international prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters because states carry it out before national courts. UN Security Council has placed the burden of prosecuting foreign terrorist fighters on UN Member States by establishing different committees monitoring the implementation of the Security Council sanctions, such as the 1267 Committee and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. In the cases of Nada, Ahmed and Abdelrazik, national courts due to violations of fundamental rights, repealed national administrative acts that introduced the adopted UN Security Council counter terrorism resolutions. The Court of Justice of the EU made a similar decision in the case of Kadi by repealing the regulation introducing the UN Security Council sanctions. Judgements of national and EU courts were the main factor in changing the UN terrorism framework in terms of international law, thus shifting the focus on the respect of fundamental rights as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Magistrska naloga se ukvarja z vprašanjem dejanskega in ne zgolj deklarativnega strateškega partnerstva med Evropsko unijo in Rusko federacijo. Dobri odnosi so namreč ključnega pomena v luči pogajanj o novem sporazumu. Ruska federacija je ena izmed najpomembnejših gospodarskih partnerk Evropske unije. Ta povezanost ju sili, da skušata kljub ne vedno enakim in včasih celo nasprotujočim si pogledom globalne in regionalne izzive reševati z medsebojnim sodelovanjem. Magistrska naloga podrobno predstavi odnose med Evropsko unijo in Rusijo ter analizira dejavnike, ki prispevajo tako k pozitivnemu razvoju odnosov kot k naraščanju napetosti. Na podlagi analize magistrsko delo zaključi z ugotovitvijo, da se soodvisnosti med partnerkama ni mogoče izogniti in da je napočil čas, da konfliktne predpostavke izkoristita kot možnosti za poglobljeno sodelovanje in vzpostavitev stabilnih politik za reševanje skupnih izzivov. ; The thesis discusses the question of actual and of not just declarative strategic partnership between the European Union and Russian Federation. Good relations are namely key in the light of negotiations on the new agreement. Russian Federation is one of the most important economic partners of the European Union. Despite not always equal and sometimes even divergent positions this relation forces them to solve global and regional challenges with cooperation. The relationship between the European Union and the Russian Federation is presented in great detail. Individual factors, which contribute to a positive development of relations on the one side and to the increase of tensions on the other, are also analyzed. On the basis of the analysis the thesis concludes that interdependence is inevitable and therefore the time has come to turn conflicting suppositions into possibilities of profound cooperation and establishment of stable politics to cope with common challenges.
Geographers play an important role in the announced & expected reform of the political & institutional system by introducing a second tier of local self-government. Their role is not only associated with preparing an appropriate subdivision of Slovenia into functionally closed areas, but also, considering contemporary social causal links between forming the regions & regional development, the effects of the polycentric settlement network layout & the decentralization of public institutions. The paper derives from an assumption that decentralization of institutions plays an important role in overcoming regional disparities. Together with appropriate organization, decentralization of institutions allows more efficient utilization of development potential. In contemporary development policy, institutions are a decisive instrument. In addition to technical innovations & a creative environment, institutions stand out as an impulse & central support point, for harmonious social development. This paper is clearly of a theoretical nature. It deals with the role, effects & consequences of the decentralization of institutions as an instrument for balanced sustainable regional development. The factors, which have an impact on the success of regionalization in a function of decentralization policy, are analyzed They are: especially formation of clear political & legal frameworks for starting the reform process, a clear indication of powerful and, if possible, interdepartmental responsible persons for management & coordination of the decentralization process, forming the concept of decentralized regionalization of Slovenia that aims at an even distribution of tasks & responsibilities such as clear forms of mutual (horizontal & vertical) coordination & mutual reciprocal inspections between different regional & state levels, an outline of state-level transfers where individual administrative & legal steps mean transfer of financial & personal competences & equipment to the participants in regional communities, & finally, measures for providing professional qualification of institutions in decentralized regional associations for taking on new tasks. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.