Suchergebnisse

Namen dela je predvsem proučiti oblikovanje, delovanje, vlogo in pomen Demosa kot instrumenta in akterja nacionalne emancipacije in demokratične tranzicije na Slovenskem. Pred osrednjim delom analize so opredeljeni ključni pojmi in koncepti: definicija nacionalizma ter glavni teoretični pristopi k nacionalizmu, opredelitev demokracije in demokratizacije. Za celovito razumevanje vloge in pomena posameznih političnih akterjev, kakršen je bil konec osemdesetih in v začetku devetdesetih Demos, je potrebno dobro poznati zgodovinske okoliščine. Najprej sem v poglavju o zgodovinskih mejnikih oblikovanja slovenske nacionalne identitete poskušala dokazati, da pomembni procesi v osemdesetih in devetdesetih letih niso vznikli sami od sebe, ampak imajo dolgo zgodovinsko podlago. V nadaljevanju obravnavam širjenje političnega prostora, obdobje liberalizacije in razcveta civilne družbe ter ključne procese in dogodke na poti v pluralno družbo. Procesi liberalizacije so soustvarjali tudi politično okolje, v katerem je začela nastajati politična opozicija. Konec osemdesetih let, tik pred nastankom Demosa, sta se izoblikovala dva konsistentna in nekompatibilna narodno-politična programa, ki sta simbolizirala politično polarizacijo. Nove, alternativne 'zveze' so se začele povezovati v pričakovanju demokratičnih volitev in soočenja s skupino družbenopolitičnih organizacij z Zvezo komunistov na čelu. Osrednji del disertacije predstavlja obravnava Demosa, akterja demokratizacije. Znotraj tega obdobja namenjam posebno pozornost najvidnejši osebnosti združene demokratične opozicije Jožetu Pučniku, analiziram predvolilne programe, rezultate volitev, ter oblikovanje novih oblastnih organov. V tem kontekstu analiziram tudi njihovo sodelovanje s Predsedstvom republike Slovenije. V nadaljevanju orišem vlogo Demosa v osamosvojitvenih procesih. Demos je v svojih glavnih namerah uspel, kljub temu, da ga niso ustrezno podpirali mediji, ni imel ustrezne zaslombe v gospodarstvu, pa tudi ne v državni upravi in, razen slovenske vojske in do neke mere policije, v represivnih organih oblasti. Kljub temu je uresničil glavne cilje, za uspešno izpeljano tranzicijo oziroma bolj popolno in konsolidirano demokratizacijo pa mu je zmanjkalo tako časa kot politične moči. Proces uvedbe demokracije, kot drugi od Demosovih ciljev, je bil uresničen v institucionalnem smislu, z vzpostavitvijo temeljnih demokratičnih struktur. Istočasno pa je bil Demos ključni dejavnik ne le pri oblikovanju splošnega soglasja o nujnosti osamosvojitve slovenskega naroda, ki se izraža v visokem rezultatu slovenskega plebiscita 23. decembra 1990, ampak je bil tudi glavni akter in instrument nacionalne osamosvojitve, obrambe slovenske samostojnosti v vojni za Slovenijo ter mednarodnega priznanja. ; The purpose of the thesis is primarily to examine the creation, operations, role and importance of Demos – Democratic Opposition of Slovenia as an instrument and actor of national emancipation and democratic transition in Slovenia. Prior to the central part of the analysis key terms and concepts are identified: definition of nationalism and the main theoretical approaches to nationalism, definition of democracy and democratization. For comprehensive understanding of the role and importance of individual political actors, like Demos was in the late eighties and early nineties, we should also be familiar with historical circumstances. At first I tried to stress that the main events and processes in the eighties and nineties had not emerged by themselves but were results of long historical development. Next I discuss broadening of political space, a period of liberalization and flourishing of civil society and also key processes and events on the way to a pluralistic society. The liberalization processes co-created also the political environment, in which the political opposition started to take shape. At the end of the eighties, just before the establishment of Demos, two consistent and incompatible national-political programmes were formed which symbolized the political polarization. New, alternative 'unions' began to link pending democratic elections and confrontations with a group of the so-called socio-political organizations with the Communists Party at the head. The central part of the thesis is the analysis of Demos, the actor of democratization. Within this period I pay particular attention to Jože Pučnik, the most prominent personality of the united democratic opposition, I analyse election programs, results of elections and the creation of new public authorities. In this context, I analyse also their cooperation with the Presidency of the Republic of Slovenia and outline the role of Demos in the independence processes. Demos succeeded in its main intentions, despite the fact that it had not adequate support of the media, no support of the economy nor in the public service and, with the exception of the Slovenian Army and to some extent police forces, the repressive authorities. Despite all these Demos accomplished its main objectives, however, for a successful transition or a more complete and consolidated democratization it ran out of time and political power. The process of introducing democracy was realized in a formal sense, with the establishment of basic democratic structures. At the same time Demos was a key factor in the creation of the general consensus on the necessity of the Slovenian independency which is shown in the high score of the plebiscite on 23rd Dec 1990. Demos was also the key actor and an instrument of the national independence process, the defence of the Slovenian territory in the war for Slovenia as well as in the process of the international recognition of the new Slovenian sovereign state.

Magistrsko delo obravnava problematiko poslovnih pogajanj v podjetju Metal Ravne, d.o.o., natančneje pogajanja med domačimi in ruskimi poslovnimi partnerji. Pogajanja so pomembna sestavina poslovnega delovanja in posebna dejavnost menedžerjev v organizacijah. So večsmeren proces sporazumevanja za usklajevanje interesov, v katerem več udeležencev vpliva medsebojno pri nastajanju skupnih odločitev. Dobra pogajanja morajo usklajevati interese in hkrati obvladovati nasprotja med udeleženci organizacije, ki so lahko notranji ali zunanji. Nasprotja v pogajanjih so gonilo napredka, usklajeni interesi kot rezultat pogajanj pa pogoj za uspešnost organizacije. Nasprotno pa se neusklajeni interesi lahko izrodijo v škodljive spore, ki nikomur ne koristijo. Dober pogajalec se ne rodi, ampak so dosego stopnje dobrega pogajalca potrebne večletne izkušnje. Izkušenost pa posledično prinese tudi izkušnje v načinu priprave za pogajanje, načinu komuniciranja in v pripravi strategije. Vse to je potrebno, saj zaradi vedno večjega odpiranja tujim trgom in povezovanja držav, poslovna pogajanja potekajo med pogajalci iz različnih kulturnih okolij, s specifičnim sistemom vrednot in pričakovanj. Te razlike v stališčih, prepričanju in percepciji so skupaj z mnogimi drugimi značilnostmi kulture temeljnega pomena za dobra mednarodna pogajanja in imajo velik vpliv na sam potek pogajanj. Poznavanje kulture nasprotne strani pomeni določeno prednost v pogajanjih, saj se z dobro pripravo na sama pogajanja skrajša čas pogajanj in hkrati pripomore k sklenitvi sporazuma, ki je za obe pogajalski strani najbolj zaželjen. Priprave na pogajanja s tujimi poslovnimi partnerji igrajo pomembno vlogo, kajti pri sami pripravi pogajanj izkušen pogajalec dobro spozna kulturo pogajalskega partnerja, strategijo pozna, stil, nebesedno komunikacijo in ostale dejavnike, ki vplivajo na potek in rezultat pogajanj. Neizkušeni pogajalci pogosto delajo omenjene napake, popolnoma ignorirajo kulturne razlike nasprotne strani itn. V magistrski nalogi smo želeli na konkretnem primeru pokazati, kakšne so razlike med slovenskimi in ruskimi pogajalci, kakšna je razlika v pogajalskem stilu in slogu, pogajalski strategiji, poslovnih običajih in poslovnem bontonu. Leta 2007 je namreč rusko podjetje KOKS postalo večinski lastnik Metala Ravne kot tudi večinski lastnik Slovenske industrije jekla. Kot večinski lastniki podjetja Metal Rusi odločajo o vlaganju v investicije. In prav to področje je temeljno pri pogajalski dejavnosti podjetja. Ob obravnavi problematike v podjetju Metal smo ugotovili, da so pogajanja podjetja Metal z ruskimi partnerji še v povojih. ; Master's thesis deals with the issue of business negotiations in the company Metal Ravne, d.o.o., concentrating on negotiations between the Slovenian and Russian business partners. Negotiations are an important element of business activity and a specific activity of managers in organisations. They are a multi-way process of communication for a coordination of different interests, in which several participants interact in the formation of joint decisions. Successful negotiations coordinate interests and manage conflicts between participants, which may be internal or external. Conflicts in negotiations are the driving power of progress while adjusted interests as a result of negotiations are the precondition for a successful organisation. On the other side, unadjusted interests may deteriorate into detrimental misunderstandings and disputes which is of no use to anyone. A negotiator is not born. It takes many years of experience to develop the skills necessary to become a successful negotiator. This eventually also brings experience in the way how we prepare ourseself best for negotiations, in the way how we communicate and how we prepare our strategy. All this is necessary as - due to an increasing opening of foreign markets and bonding among countries - business negotiations run between negotiatiors from a different cultural background, each with a specific system of values and expectations. These differences in attitudes, beliefs and perceptions, along with many other characteristics of culture, are essential for successful international negotiations and they have a major influence on the negotiation process itself. Knowing the culture of the opposite negotiating partner represents a certain advantage since good preparations for the negotiation itself reduce the time of negotiations, simultaneously contributing to the conclusion of the agreement most desired by both negotiating partners. Preparations for negotiations with foreign business partners play an important role since – already before negotiations - an experienced negotiator learns the culture of the opposite negotiating partner, his strategy, style, non-verbal communication and other factors which have influence on the course and on the outcome of negotiations. Inexperienced negotiators often make mistakes, completely ignoring cultural differences of the opposite partner and similar. This Master's thesis concentrates on revealing differences between the Slovenian and Russian negotiators, on differences in their negotiation style, strategies, business practices and business etiquette. In 2007, the Russian company KOKS became the majority owner of Metal Ravne, d.o.o. and also the majority owner of the Slovenian Steel Group, d.d. In this capacity, the Russians now make decisions on investments. And this is exactly the area which is essential in the negotiatiation business of the company. When analysing this issue in the company Metal Ravne, d.o.o., it was established that negotiations between Metal Ravne, d.o.o. and the Russian partners are still in the early stages of development

Temporary or permanent, local or international, voluntary or forced, legal or illegal, registered or unregistered migrations of individuals, whole communities or individual groups are an important factor in constructing and modifying (modern) societies. The extent of international migrations is truly immense. At the time of the preparation of this publication more than 200 million people have been involved in migrations in a single year according to the United Nations. Furthermore, three times more wish to migrate, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa towards some of the most economically developed areas of the world according to the estimates by the Gallup Institute (Esipova, 2011). Some authors, although aware that it is not a new phenomenon, talk about the era of migration (Castles, Miller, 2009) or the globalization of migration (Friedman, 2004). The global dimensions of migration are definitely influenced also by the increasingly visible features of modern societies like constantly changing conditions, instability, fluidity, uncertainty etc. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).The extent, direction, type of migrations and their consequences are affected by many social and natural factors in the areas of emigration and immigration. In addition, researchers from many scientific disciplines who study migrations have raised a wide range of research questions (Boyle, 2009, 96), use a variety of methodological approaches and look for different interpretations in various spatial, temporal and contextual frameworks. The migrations are a complex, multi-layered, variable, contextual process that takes place at several levels. Because of this, research on migrations has become an increasingly interdisciplinary field, since the topics and problems are so complex that they cannot be grasped solely and exclusively from the perspective of a single discipline or theory. Therefore, we are witnessing a profusion of different "faces of migration", which is reflected and at the same time also contributed to by this thematic issue of the journal Ars & Humanitas.While mobility or migration are not new phenomena, as people have moved and migrated throughout the history of mankind, only recently, in the last few decades, has theoretical and research focus on them intensified considerably. In the last two decades a number of research projects, university programs and courses, research institutes, scientific conferences, seminars, magazines, books and other publications, involving research, academia as well as politics and various civil society organizations have emerged. This shows the recent exceptional interest in the issue of migration, both in terms of knowledge of the processes involved, their mapping in the history of mankind, as well as the theoretical development of migration studies and daily management of this politically sensitive issue.Migration affects many entities on many different levels: the individuals, their families and entire communities at the local level in the emigrant societies as well as in the receiving societies. The migration is changing not only the lives of individuals but whole communities and societies, as well as social relations; it is also shifting the cultural patterns and bringing important social transformations (Castles 2010). This of course raises a number of questions, problems and issues ranging from human rights violations to literary achievements. Some of these are addressed by the authors in this thematic issue.The title "Many faces of migration", connecting contributions in this special issue, is borrowed from the already mentioned Gallup Institute's report on global migration (Esipova, 2011). The guiding principle in the selection of the contributions has been their diversity, reflected also in the list of disciplines represented by the authors: sociology, geography, ethnology and cultural anthropology, history, art history, modern Mediterranean studies, gender studies and media studies. Such an approach necessarily leads not only to a diverse, but at least seemingly also incompatible, perhaps even opposing views "on a given topic. However, we did not want to silence the voices of "other" disciplines, but within the reviewing procedures actually invited scientists from the fields represented by the contributors to this volume. The wealth of the selected contributions lies therefore not only in their coherence and complementarity, but also in the diversity of views, stories and interpretations.The paper of Zora Žbontar deals with the attitudes towards foreigners in ancient Greece, where the hospitality to strangers was considered so worthy a virtue that everyone was expected to "demonstrate hospitality and protection to any foreigner who has knocked on their door". The contrast between the hospitality of ancient Greece and the modern emergence of xenophobia and ways of dealing with migration issues in economically developed countries is especially challenging. "In an open gesture of hospitality to strangers the ancient Greeks showed their civilization".Although the aforementioned research by the United Nations and Gallup Institute support some traditional stereotypes of the main global flows of migrants, and the areas about which the potential migrants "dream", Bojan Baskar stresses the coexistence of different migratory desires, migration flows and their interpretations. In his paper he specifically focuses on overcoming and relativising stereotypes as well as theories of immobile and non-enterprising (Alpine) mountain populations and migrations.The different strategies of the crossing borders adopted by migrant women are studied by Mirjana Morokvasic. She marks them as true social innovators, inventing different ways of transnational life resulting in a bottom-up contribution to the integrative processes across Europe. Some of their innovations go as far as to shift diverse real and symbolic boundaries of belonging to a nation, gender, profession.Elaine Burroughs and Zoë O'Reilly highlight the close relations between the otherwise well-established terminology used in statistics and science to label immigrants in Ireland and elsewhere in EU, and the negative representations of certain types of migrants in politics and the public. The discussion focusses particularly on asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who come from outside the EU. The use of language can quickly become a political means of exclusion, therefore the authors propose the development and use of more considerate and balanced migration terminology.Damir Josipovič proposes a change of the focal point for identifying and interpreting the well-studied migrations in the former Yugoslavia. The author suggests changing the dualistic view of these migrations to an integrated, holistic view. Instead of a simplified understanding of these migrations as either international or domestic, voluntary or forced, he proposes a concept of pseudo-voluntary migrations.Maja Korać-Sanderson's contribution highlights an interesting phenomenon in the shift in the traditional patterns of gender roles. The conclusions are derived from the study of the family life of Chinese traders in transitional Serbia. While many studies suggest that child care in recent decades in immigrant societies is generally performed by immigrants, her study reveals that in Serbia, the Chinese merchants entrust the care of their children mostly to local middle class women. The author finds this switch of roles in the "division of labour" in the child care favourable for both parties involved.Francesco Della Puppa focuses on a specific part of the mosaic of contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean: the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the highly industrialized North East of Italy. The results of his in-depth qualitative study reveal the factors that shape this segment of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the experiences of migrants and the effects of migration on their social and biographical trajectories.John A. Schembri and Maria Attard present a snippet of a more typical Mediterranean migration process - immigration to Malta. The authors highlight the reduction in migration between Malta and the United Kingdom, while there is an increase in immigration to Malta from the rest of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst the various impacts of immigration to Malta the extraordinary concentration of immigrant populations is emphasized, since the population density of Malta far exceeds that of nearly all other European countries.Miha Kozorog studies the link between migration and constructing their places of their origin. On the basis of Ardener's theory the author expresses "remoteness" of the emigratory Slavia Friulana in terms of topology, in relation to other places, rather than in topography. "Remoteness" is formed in relation to the "outside world", to those who speak of "remote areas" from the privileged centres. The example of an artistic event, which organizers aim "to open a place like this to the outside world", "to encourage the production of more cosmopolitan place", shows only the temporary effect of such event on the reduction of the "remoteness".Jani Kozina presents a study of the basic temporal and spatial characteristics of migration "of people in creative occupations" in Slovenia. The definition of this specific segment of the population and approach to study its migrations are principally based on the work of Richard Florida. The author observes that people with creative occupations in Slovenia are very immobile and in this respect quite similar to other professional groups in Slovenia, but also to the people in creative professions in the Southern and Eastern Europe, which are considered to be among the least mobile in Europe. Detailed analyses show that the people in creative occupations from the more developed regions generally migrate more intensely and are also more willing to relocate.Mojca Pajnik and Veronika Bajt study the experiences of migrant women with the access to the labour market in Slovenia. Existing laws and policies push the migrants into a position where, if they want to get to work, have to accept less demanding work. In doing so, the migrant women are targets of stereotyped reactions and practices of discrimination on the basis of sex, age, attributed ethnic and religious affiliation, or some other circumstances, particularly the fact of being migrants. At the same time the latter results in the absence of any protection from the state.Migration studies often assume that the target countries are "modern" and countries of origin "traditional". Anıl Al- Rebholz argues that such a dichotomous conceptualization of modern and traditional further promotes stereotypical, essentialist and homogenizing images of Muslim women in the "western world". On the basis of biographical narratives of young Kurdish and Moroccan women as well as the relationships between mothers and daughters, the author illustrates a variety of strategies of empowerment of young women in the context of transnational migration.A specific face of migration is highlighted in the text of Svenka Savić, namely the face of artistic migration between Slovenia and Serbia after the Second World War. The author explains how more than thirty artists from Slovenia, with their pioneering work in three ensembles (opera, ballet and theatre), significantly contributed to the development of the performing arts in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.We believe that in the present thematic issue we have succeeded in capturing an important part of the modern European research dynamic in the field of migration. In addition to well-known scholars in this field several young authors at the beginning their research careers have been shortlisted for the publication. We are glad of their success as it bodes a vibrancy of this research area in the future. At the same time, we were pleased to receive responses to the invitation from representatives of so many disciplines, and that the number of papers received significantly exceeded the maximum volume of the journal. Recognising and understanding of the many faces of migration are important steps towards the comprehensive knowledge needed to successfully meet the challenges of migration issues today and even more so in the future. It is therefore of utmost importance that researchers find ways of transferring their academic knowledge into practice – to all levels of education, the media, the wider public and, of course, the decision makers in local, national and international institutions. The call also applies to all authors in this issue of the journal. ; Začasne ali stalne, lokalne ali mednarodne, prostovoljne ali prisilne, legalne ali ilegalne, registrirane ali neregistrirane migracije posameznic in posameznikov, celih družbenih skupnosti ali posameznih skupin predstavljajo pomemben dejavnik v konstruiranju in spreminjanju (sodobnih) družb. Razsežnosti mednarodnih migracij so resnično ogromne, saj je bilo vanje v času nastajanja te publikacije po ocenah Združenih narodov v enem letu vključenih več kot 200 milijonov ljudi. Po ocenah Gallupovega inštituta pa se jih še trikrat toliko želi preseliti, največ iz podsaharske Afrike ter proti nekaterim gospodarsko najbolj razvitim območjem sveta (Esipova, 2011). Nekateri avtorji zato, čeprav ob zavedanju, da ne gre za nov fenomen, govorijo o dobi migracij (Castles, Miller, 2009) ali o globalizaciji migracij (Friedman, 2004). Zagotovo je na globalne razsežnosti migracij vplivalo tudi to, da so vse bolj vidne značilnosti sodobnih družb nenehno spreminjanje razmer, nestabilnost, fluidnost, negotovost ipd. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).Na obseg, smeri in vrste migracij ter na njihove posledice vplivajo številni družbeni in naravni dejavniki, tako na območjih odseljevanja kot tudi na območjih priselitev. Poleg tega si raziskovalke in raziskovalci iz številnih znanstvenih disciplin, ki proučujejo migracije, v raziskavah zastavljajo »neverjetno raznovrstna« vprašanja (Boyle, 2009, 96), uporabljajo različne metodološke pristope in iščejo različne interpretacije, in sicer v različnih prostorskih, časovnih in vsebinskih okvirih. Vse bolj prihaja do izraza, da so migracije kompleksen, večplasten, spremenljiv in kontekstualen proces, ki poteka na več ravneh. Prav zaradi tega spoznanja je raziskovanje migracij postajalo vse bolj interdisciplinarno polje, saj so teme in problemi tako kompleksni, da jih ni mogoče zagrabiti zgolj in izključno iz perspektive ene same znanosti ali teorije. Zato smo priča pravemu bogastvu »obrazov migracij«, ki ga odraža ter obenem k njemu tudi prispeva pričujoča tematska številka revije Ars & Humanitas.Čeprav mobilnost oziroma migracije niso nov pojav, saj so se ljudje selili in preseljevali skozi celotno zgodovino človeštva, pa se šele v zadnjem času, v zadnjih nekaj desetletjih, z njimi resno teoretsko in raziskovalno ukvarjamo. V zadnjih dveh desetletjih so se pojavili številni raziskovalni projekti, univerzitetni programi in predmeti, raziskovalni inštituti, znanstvene konference, posveti, revije, knjige in druge publikacije, pri katerih sodelujejo tako raziskovalna in akademska sfera kot tudi politika in različne civilnodružbene organizacije. To priča o v zadnjem času izjemnem zanimanju za vprašanje migracij, tako kar zadeva poznavanje samih procesov in njihovo mapiranje v zgodovini človeštva kot tudi teoretski razvoj migracijskih študij in vsakodnevno urejanje tega politično občutljivega vprašanja.Migracije zadevajo številne subjekte na številnih ravneh: posameznice in posameznike, njihove družine ter celotne skupnosti tako na lokalni ravni v družbi emigracije kakor tudi na vseh teh ravneh v imigrantski družbi. Z migracijami se spreminjajo ne samo življenja posameznikov in posameznic, ampak se spreminjajo celotne skupnosti oziroma družbe in družbeni odnosi, zamikajo se kulturni vzorci, prihaja do pomembnih družbenih transformacij (Castles, 2010). Ob tem se seveda odpirajo številne teme, problemi in vprašanja, ki se gibljejo v širokem razponu od kršenja človekovih pravic do literarnih presežkov. Nekaterih od njih se dotikajo tudi prispevki v pričujoči tematski številki.Povezovalni naslov prispevkov v tej tematski številki revije, »Številni obrazi migracij«, smo si sposodili iz že omenjenega poročila Gallupovega inštituta o globalnih selitvah (Esipova, 2011). Temeljno vsebinsko vodilo pri izbiri prispevkov je bila raznovrstnost, kar nakazuje tudi pregled znanstvenih disciplin, iz katerih prihajajo avtorji: sociologija, geografija, etnologija in kulturna antropologija, zgodovina, umetnostna zgodovina, sodobne sredozemske študije, študiji spola in medijski študiji. Tak pristop nujno pripelje ne le do raznolikih, ampak tudi do vsaj navidezno neskladnih, morda celo nasprotnih pogledov na obravnavane tematike. Vendar nismo želeli utišati glasov iz »drugih« znanstvenih disciplin, temveč smo raje v recenzentske postopke povabili znanstvenike s področij, s katerih so tudi avtorji. Bogastvo zbranih prispevkov torej ni v njihovi medsebojni skladnosti in potrjevanju, temveč prav v mnogoterosti pogledov, zgodb in interpretacij.Prispevek Zore Žbontar obravnava odnos do tujcev v antični Grčiji, kjer je bilo gostoljubje do tujcev tako častivredna vrlina, da je vsak moral »izkazati gostoljubje in zaščititi kateregakoli tujca, ki je potrkal na vrata«. Zlasti je izzivalen kontrast med gostoljubjem v antični Grčiji in sodobnim pojavljanjem ksenofobije ter načini soočanja z migracijsko problematiko v gospodarsko razvitih državah. »Antični Grki so v odprti gesti gostoljubja do tujcev prepoznali svojo civiliziranost.«Čeprav omenjene raziskave Združenih narodov in Gallupovega inštituta podpirajo nekatere uveljavljene stereotipe o glavnih globalnih tokovih migrantov ter o območjih, o katerih »sanjajo« potencialni migranti, Bojan Baskar opozarja na sočasen obstoj tudi drugačnih migracijskih želja, tokov migracij in njihovih interpretacij. Posebej se osredotoči na preseganje in relativizacijo stereotipov in teorij o nemobilnem in nepodjetnem (alpskem) hribovskem prebivalstvu in migracijah.O tem, kako različne strategije pri prehajanju, prestopanju in prečkanju meja razvijejo migrantke, piše Mirjana Morokvasic. Označi jih kot prave socialne inovatorke, ki izumijo različne načine transnacionalnega življenja in tako od spodaj navzgor prispevajo k integrativnim procesom po vsej Evropi. V svoji inovativnosti gredo nekatere tako daleč, da premikajo različne, tako realne kot simbolne meje pripadanja naciji, spolu in poklicu.Elaine Burroughs in Zoë O'Reilly izpostavita tesno povezanost med sicer uveljavljeno terminologijo, s katero v statistiki in tudi znanosti označujejo imigrante na Irskem in širše v EU, ter negativnimi reprezentacijami nekaterih tipov migrantov v politiki in javnosti. Razpravo navežeta zlasti na iskalce azila in nezakonite priseljence, ki pridejo iz držav zunaj EU. Raba jezika lahko hitro postane politični način izključevanja, zato predlagata razvoj in uporabo obzirnejše in pravičnejše migracijske terminologije.Za spremembo izhodišča opredeljevanja in interpretacije sicer dobro proučenih selitev v nekdanji Jugoslaviji se zavzame Damir Josipovič. Predlaga zamenjavo dualističnega pogleda na te migracije s celostnim. Namesto njihovega poenostavljenega razumevanja kot mednarodnih in notranjih ali prostovoljnih in prisilnih migracij pa se zavzema za koncept psevdoprostovoljnih migracij.Na zanimiv fenomen zamikanja ustaljenih vzorcev spolnih vlog opozori tekst Maje Korać-Sanderson, katere zaključki izhajajo iz študije družinskega življenja kitajskih trgovcev v tranzicijski Srbiji. Medtem ko številne študije ugotavljajo, da skrbstveno delo v zadnjih desetletjih v imigrantskih družbah v glavnem opravljajo migrantke, njena študija ugotavlja, da v Srbiji kitajske trgovke skrb za svoje otroke večinoma zaupajo lokalnim ženskam srednjega razreda. Ta obrat vlog pri »delitvi dela« v skrbstveni sferi, ugotavlja avtorica, je v prid obema vpletenima stranema.Specifičen del mozaika sodobnih migracij v Sredozemlju, bangladeške skupnosti imigrantov na visoko industrializiranem severovzhodu Italije, razkriva Francesco Della Puppa. Izsledki poglobljenega kvalitativnega proučevanja odstirajo dejavnike, ki oblikujejo ta segment bangladeške diaspore, izkušnje migrantov ter učinke selitve na njihove družbene in biografske trajektorije.Izsek iz bolj tipičnih sredozemskih migracijskih procesov na primeru priseljevanja na Malto predstavita John A. Schembri in Maria Attard. Ugotavljata zmanjševanje števila selitev med Malto in Veliko Britanijo ob hkratnem povečevanju priseljevanja iz ostalih držav Evrope in podsaharske Afrike. Med učinki priseljevanja na Malto izpostavita izredno zgoščenost priseljenega prebivalstva, ki presega gostote celotnih prebivalstev v nekaterih evropskih državah.Miha Kozorog obravnava povezavo med migracijami in konstruiranjem krajev, iz katerih te migracije izvirajo. S pomočjo Ardenerjeve teorije »odročnost« izrazito emigracijske Benečije izrazi ne toliko v topografskem kot v topološkem smislu, v razmerju do drugih krajev. »Odročnost« nastaja v razmerju z »zunanjim svetom«, s tistimi, ki govorijo o »odročnih krajih« iz privilegiranih središč. Na primeru umetniškega dogodka, s katerim želijo organizatorji »odpreti tak kraj zunanjemu svetu« in »spodbuditi produkcijo bolj svetovljanskega kraja«, pokaže zgolj začasnost učinka tega dogodka na zmanjšanje »odročnosti«.O temeljnih časovnih in prostorskih značilnostih selitev »prebivalcev z ustvarjalnim poklicem« v Sloveniji piše Jani Kozina. Pri opredeljevanju tega specifičnega dela prebivalstva in pristopa k proučevanju njegovega migriranja se opre zlasti na dela Richarda Floride. Ugotavlja, da so prebivalci z ustvarjalnim poklicem v Sloveniji prostorsko zelo nemobilni in po tem kriteriju precej podobni ostalim poklicnim skupinam v Sloveniji, obenem pa tudi prebivalcem z ustvarjalnimi poklici v južni in vzhodni Evropi, za katere velja, da so med najmanj mobilnimi v Evropi. Podrobnejše analize pokažejo, da se ustvarjalci bolj razvitih regij načeloma intenzivneje selijo in so tudi v večji meri pripravljeni na selitev.O izkušnjah migrantk pri dostopu do trga delovne sile v Sloveniji govori članek Mojce Pajnik in Veronike Bajt. Obstoječa zakonodaja in posamezne politike namreč migrantke potiskajo v položaj, ko, če hočejo priti do zaposlitve, pristajajo na manj zahtevna dela. Pri tem so tarče stereotipnih reakcij in praks diskriminiranja tako na podlagi spola kot tudi starosti, pripisane etnične in religiozne pripadnosti ali kakšne druge okoliščine, še posebej dejstva, da so migrantke. Obenem pa prav zadnje vpliva na to, da s strani države niso deležne nikakršne zaščite.Migracijske študije pogosto domnevajo, da so ciljne države »moderne«, države izvora pa »tradicionalne«. Razprava Anıl Al-Rebholz ugotavlja, da takšna dihotomija pojmovanja modernega in tradicionalnega dodatno spodbuja stereotipne, esencialistične in homogenizirajoče predstave o muslimanskih ženskah v »zahodnem svetu«. Na podlagi biografskih pripovedi mlade Maročanke in Kurdinje ter razmerij med materami in hčerami prikaže raznolike strategije opolnomočenja mladih žensk v transnacionalnem migracijskem kontekstu.Specifični obraz migracij prinaša tekst Svenke Savić, namreč obraz umetniških migracij med Slovenijo in Srbijo po drugi svetovni vojni. Avtorica v njem ugotavlja, da je v treh ansamblih (opernem, gledališkem in baletnem) več kot trideset umetnic in umetnikov iz Slovenije s svojim pionirskim delom pomembno zaznamovalo razvoj gledališke umetnosti v Srbskem narodnem gledališču v Novem Sadu.Verjamemo, da nam je uspelo v pričujočo tematsko številko ujeti pomemben del sodobnega evropskega raziskovalskega utripa s področja migracij. Poleg uveljavljenih znanstvenikov s tega področja se je v ožji izbor prispevkov uvrstilo tudi več mladih avtoric in avtorjev, ki začenjajo raziskovalne kariere. Njihov uspeh nas veseli, saj obeta živahnost tega raziskovalnega področja tudi v bodoče. Obenem nas veseli, da so se vabilu odzvali predstavniki tako številnih znanstvenih disciplin ter da je število prispevkov, ki smo jih prejeli, znatno presegalo največji možni obseg revije. Spoznavanje in razumevanje številnih obrazov migracij sta pomembna koraka proti celovitemu znanju, potrebnemu za uspešno soočanje z izzivi migracijske problematike danes in, kot kaže, še posebej v prihodnosti. Zato je izjemnega pomena, da raziskovalci najdemo načine prenosa svojih znanstvenih spoznanj v prakso – na vse ravni izobraževanja, v medije, širše strokovne javnosti ter seveda tudi odločevalcem v lokalnih, državnih in mednarodnih ustanovah. Poziv velja tudi vsem avtorjem prispevkov v tej številke revije.

V uvodnem delu doktorske disertacije smo opredelili raziskovalni problem doktorske disertacije, in sicer proučevanje vpliva davčne kompleksnosti na davčno skladnost. Zapisali smo cilj, to je proučitev področja davčne skladnosti s posebnim poudarkom na stroških davčne skladnosti ter empirična preveritev lastnega modela merjenja makroekonomskih učinkov stroškov davčne skladnosti. Zastavili smo osnovno tezo doktorske disertacije, in sicer, ali zmanjšanje stroškov davčne skladnosti povzroča makroekonomske učinke ; v povezavi s tem smo zastavili deset hipotez. Uvodoma so predstavljeni še pričakovani izvirni znanstveni prispevki, uporabljene predpostavke in omejitve ter metode raziskovanja, uporabljene tako v teoretičnem kot empiričnem delu doktorske disertacije. V drugem poglavju smo zapisali teoretična izhodišča s področja davčne kompleksnosti v povezavi z davčno agresivnostjo in podali lastno opredelitev davčne kompleksnosti in davčne agresivnosti, pri čemer smo se oprli na znanstveno literaturo s tega področja. Predstavili smo vzroke in kazalnike davčne kompleksnosti ter podali izčrpen kvalitativni pregled dosedanjih raziskav o davčni kompleksnosti in davčni agresivnosti. V drugo poglavje doktorske disertacije smo vključili dve lastni empirični raziskavi, in sicer: raziskavo o spreminjanju davčnih predpisov primerjalno za Slovenijo, Avstrijo, Veliko Britanijo, Hrvaško, Bolgarijo, Madžarsko, Češko, Romunijo in Poljsko ; raziskavo cen revizijskih storitev za Slovenijo. Pomembna nova znanstvenoraziskovalna dognanja predstavljajo tudi nove spremenljivke davčne kompleksnosti, ki smo jih prepoznali za subjekte javnega interesa, katerih delnice kotirajo na organiziranem trgu. Tretje poglavje predstavljajo teoretična izhodišča s področja davčne skladnosti, kjer smo z uporabo znanstvene literature predstavili dosedanje teorije davčne skladnosti in vrste stroškov davčne skladnosti. Dodali smo lastno opredelitev davčne skladnosti. Podali smo izčrpen kvalitativen pregled raziskav davčne skladnosti ter raziskav o merjenju stroškov davčne skladnosti, ki so osnova za izvedbo naše glavne empirične raziskave. Pregled dosedanjih znanstvenih raziskav smo razdelili v tri skupine: raziskave o merjenju stroškov davčne skladnosti ; raziskave psiholoških stroškov, ki so posledica stresa in drugih dejavnikov pri doseganju davčne skladnosti ; raziskave stresa v računovodstvu. V tretje poglavje doktorske disertacije smo vključili lastno empirično raziskavo o organizacijskih in osebnostnih dejavnikih stresa ter zdravstvenih težavah v povezavi s stresom, ki jih imajo davčni zavezanci pri doseganju davčne skladnosti. V okviru istega poglavja smo predstavili makroekonomske učinke davčne (ne)skladnosti. V četrtem poglavju smo predstavili obstoječe modele merjenja stroškov davčne skladnosti in njihovo uporabno vrednost ter predstavili lasten predlog merjenja makroekonomskih učinkov stroškov davčne skladnosti. Peto poglavje predstavlja predstavitev inštrumentov za povečanje davčne skladnosti, kjer navajamo: predpise in orodja Evropske komisije za povečanje davčne skladnosti ; druge mednarodne predpise in orodja za povečanje davčne skladnosti ; sistem ocenjevanja davčnega sistema, kaznovanje davčnih prekrškov kot inštrument za povečanje davčne skladnosti, upravljanje s tveganji davčne skladnosti in ostale inštrumente za povečanje davčne skladnosti. V peto poglavje doktorske disertacije smo vključili lastno empirično raziskavo o vrednotenju zakonodaje. V okviru istega poglavja smo predstavili še značilnosti Indeksa spoštovanja pravne države, ki se v Svetu že uporablja, ter lasten koeficient spreminjanja davčnih predpisov kot novo znanstvenoraziskovalno dognanje. Teoretičnemu delu sledi v šestem poglavju empirični del, v katerem smo predstavili raziskovalno delo. Uvodoma smo v šestem poglavju predstavili cilje raziskave, hipoteze doktorske disertacije, potek raziskave in uporabljene raziskovalne metode ter opredelili temeljne konstrukte znanstvene raziskave. ; In the introductory part we defined the research problem of the doctoral dissertation, namely, the study of the impact of Tax Complexity on Tax Compliance. We have recorded the objective, namely, the study of the field of Tax Compliance, with a special emphasis on the Costs of Tax Compliance and empirical verification of our own Model For Measuring The Macroeconomic Effects Of Tax Compliance Costs. We have established the basic thesis of the doctoral dissertation, namely, whether the reduction of the Costs of Tax Compliance causes macroeconomic effects ; In this connection, we have raised ten hypotheses. The introduction of the original scientific contributions, the assumptions and limitations were used, and the methods of research are presented used in both the theoretical and the empirical parts of the doctoral dissertation. In the second Chapter, we wrote the theoretical background in the field of Tax Complexity in relation to Tax Aggression, and presented our own definition of Tax Complexity and Tax Aggressiveness, based on scientific literature in this field. We presented the causes and indicators of Tax Complexity, and provided an exhaustive qualitative overview of the previous studies on Tax Complexity and Tax Aggression. In the second chapter of the doctoral dissertation, we included two of our own empirical researches, namely: A study on changing tax regulations, comparable for Slovenia, Austria, Great Britain, Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland ; a survey of the prices of audit services for Slovenia. Significant new scientific research findings also present new variables of Tax Complexity, which we have identified for Public Interest Entities whose shares are listed on the organized market. The third Chapter presents the theoretical background in the area of Tax Compliance, where, using scientific literature, we presented the current Tax Compliance Theory and the types of Tax Compliance Costs. We have added our own definition of Tax Compliance. We have provided a comprehensive qualitative overview of research on Tax Compliance and research on the measurement of Tax Compliance Costs, which are the basis for conducting our main empirical research. An overview of the current scientific research has been divided into three groups: Surveys on measuring the Costs of Tax Compliance ; investigation of Psychological Costs arising from Stress and other factors in achieving Tax Compliance ; stress research in accounting. In the third chapter of the doctoral dissertation, we included our own empirical research on organizational and personality factors of stress, and health problems related to the stress that taxpayers have in achieving Tax Compliance. Within the same chapter, we presented the macroeconomic effects of Tax (non)compliance. In the fourth Chapter, we presented the existing models for measuring the Costs of Tax Compliance and their useful value, and presented our own proposal for measuring the Macroeconomic Effects of Tax Compliance Costs. Chapter 5 presents a presentation of Instruments to increase Tax Compliance, stating: European Commission Regulations and Tools to increase Tax Compliance ; other international rules and tools to increase Tax Compliance ; the system of assessing the tax system, penalizing tax offenses as an instrument for increasing Tax Compliance, managing the risks of Tax Compliance and other instruments for increasing Tax Compliance. In the fifth chapter of the doctoral dissertation, we included our own empirical research on the evaluation of legislation. In the same chapter, we also presented the characteristics of the Rule of Law Index already in use in the Council, as well as our own coefficient of changing tax regulations as a new scientific and research knowledge. The theoretical part of the trace in the sixth Chapter is the empirical part, in which we presented the research work.

POLITICS BY PROVINCE: Goal-oriented rational action or value-oriented rational action in closed debate on the Wadden region and public consultation on the ecological infrastructure General This thesis is a study of political conduct, and of provincial politics in particular. It is based on three research projects. The first two research projects are empirical studies that examine, respectively, the functioning of the discussion platform for government bodies relating to the Wadden Islands area and the relationship between the regional press and provincial political organs. Each of these two projects is based on a defined problem, a theoretical framework, methodology and conclusions. Although both case studies deal with provincial politics, they are completely separate from each other. The third case study is theoretical. It seeks to clarify the rationalization theories of Max Weber and Karl Mannheim, and place the concepts of goaloriented rational action and value-oriented rational action in their theoretical context. This theoretical chapter produces a number of research questions that can be used as a 'rationality grid' to be applied to the two empirical case studies in order to determine what form of action, goal-rational or value-rational, characterizes provincial politics. Chapter One describes the background to the studies and gives a short introduction to the research themes. This chapter also presents a view of contemporary provincial politics and discusses the scientific position from which this thesis has been written, emphasizing the unique role of the sociological vision. How does the government manage the Wadden Sea? The first section examines the way in which the government manages the Wadden Sea. The study is based on an evaluation study of the functioning of the Coördinatiecollege Waddengebied (CCW) in the period 1987 to 1994. The CCW (a platform for administrative consultation between the government, the Wadden provinces and the Wadden municipalities) was set up in 1980 for the purpose of "ensuring coherent administration and an coordinated policy by the government, provinces and municipalities with regard to the Wadden region." The study is based on a bottleneck analysis; in other words, by identifying problems, concrete solutions can be proposed. The evaluation study employed a combination of two popular lines of research in organizational sociology literature – the 'whole-system approach' and the 'parties approach'. In the whole-system approach, shared values or a feeling of solidarity are what unites the organization. In the parties approach, the organization is seen as a coalition of parties with different interests and aims. The parties work together for their own benefit, or because negative sanctions force them to do so. Both approaches are integrated in the 'parties-withina-system' perspective, which focuses on the relationships between the parties and the organization as a whole. This integral approach was used to evaluate the functioning of the CCW because the CCW places great emphasis on shared values and responsibilities, which are the core elements of the whole-system approach. At the same time, however, the CCW is composed of different parties which all have their own tasks, powers and interests – the core elements of the parties approach. This perspective has been tailored to the evaluation of the CCW using the following criteria: shared values, support base, differing interests, power structure, sense of purpose, and success/failure factors. The study is based on qualitative interviews with participants in the CCW platforms, telephone interviews with councillors and members of the States General, dossier analyses and reconstructions from minutes from the CCW consultations on the following cases: enlarging the scope of the Nature Conservation Act; delegation of powers with regard to inspection and control; co-ordination of international activities, problems relating to 'traditional brown shipping'; the review of the Waddenzee II Key Planning Decision, and gas extraction in the Wadden Sea. This treatment of the original research report emphasizes a systematic description of conduct within the context of the administrative co-ordination of the Wadden region, which is usually of a closed nature. The main problem areas are the following:  a lack of shared values due to the fact that the purpose of the Wadden consultation platform is given a different interpretation depending on the interests in question;  by way of preparation for the Wadden consultations, a process of harmonization takes place within the various authorities, thereby creating an administrative support base. However, this process of preliminary consultation and feedback reveals the other side of the bureaucratic coin – this circuit is, administratively and politically speaking, strongly inward-looking;  there are no substantial conflicts of interest between the layers of government. However, mutual suspicion exists with regard to the extent to which other parties are committed to the Wadden policy. Each party suspects that the other parties will ultimately allow economic interests to prevail;  with regard to the delegation of authority, the balance of power between the government and the provinces is seen as unacceptable. The continuous lack of consensus, whether manifest or otherwise, is a barrier to discussion on a equal footing;  there are various problems relating to the sense of purpose, including the role of the Chairman and the lack of a clear definition/delegation of tasks. This analysis shows that the problems are not related to the structure of the Wadden consultative platform but rather to its culture, and more specifically to the participants' perceptions of the role and responsibilities of the platform. In addition, there appears to be a distinct lack of leadership. The main conclusions are as follows:  harmonization within the various Wadden authorities (government, provinces and municipalities) hampers harmonization between the Wadden authorities;  the representatives from the three layers of government do not present the role and purpose of the consultative platform in a consistent and uniform way;  the CCW is hampered in its work by an ongoing debate about how powers are delegated between the layers of government. Because the analysis of success and failure factors revealed that clearly defined relationships between the government authorities are essential for successful consultation, possible solutions aim to create that clarity. Recommendations have been laid down, for example, relating to the role of the Chairman, drawing up the agenda, and clearly defining the tasks of the various bodies. Although, as far back as 1995, the CCW largely acknowledged the problem areas and supported the proposals for improvement, none of the recommendations will actually be implemented before 2001. Politics and the press on the ecological infrastructure in Friesland and Drenthe Section 2 describes a study of the relationship between the regional press and northern provincial politics. The basis for the study is the political decision-making regarding the establishment of the ecological infrastructure in the provinces of Friesland and Drenthe in the period 1989 to 1996. The conclusion of a survey of the relationship between the printed press and parliamentary democracy is that the main function of the press is to provide information, criticism and comment. The role of information-provider is examined on the basis of the following:  actual report of a meeting of the Provincial Councils;  a news report giving information about matters relating to the ecological infrastructure in both provinces;  a background article describing the context, history and/or different interpretations of matters relating to the ecological infrastructure. The role of critic is examined on the basis of the following:  editorial comment;  a column in which one of the editors gives his opinion under his own name;  opinions of third parties, in which a third party, who is not an editor, is given the opportunity to express an opinion. Using four recent examples, it is then argued that the central question relating to the relationship between politics and the press is one of management – who controls political communication or, put another way, is the relationship determined by 'party logic' or by 'media logic'? The study will compare decision-making on the ecological infrastructure (as this was perceived in decision-making meetings of the provincial councils) with reporting by the regional press in both provinces. The decision-making process of the provincial councils was reconstructed for this purpose. The result is not only an analytical reconstruction of the decision-making surrounding the ecological infrastructure in Friesland and Drenthe, but also a chronicle of provincial political customs and morals. A quantitative and qualitative analysis subsequently shows how the regional press fulfils its role as information provider and critic. The quantitative analysis addresses the question of how often the press fulfils its role as information provider and critic with regard to decision-making on the ecological infrastructure. The qualitative analysis addresses the question of how the press fulfils those roles. It is argued that the quality of the information provided is determined by the degree of objectivity, but that the best measure of quality is a clear standpoint. These conclusions were used to formulate an 'ideal' against which the quality of informative and critical articles can be measured. A factual report is as objective as possible when:  it deals not only with the decision itself, but also with the opinion-forming process;  it gives the opinion not only of the representatives of official bodies, but also of opponents or those outside such bodies;  the reporter does not give his own opinion. A news report or background article is as objective as possible when:  it presents more than one perspective and/or quotes more than one authority on the subject. An editorial or column makes a constructive critical contribution when:  the author adopts a clear standpoint;  the context (history, background or current event) of that standpoint is given;  the author describes how the standpoint was reached, and on which information or authorities it is based. Conclusions about the information function:  in almost half of the cases, the regional newspapers do not report on provincial council meetings relating to the ecological infrastructure. The people who live in the province, but fall outside a given environmental or agricultural target group, will not become informed about the ecological infrastructure by reading their local newspaper. Neither will they become informed about the role of the provincial government in this;  in the reports which do deal with meetings of the provincial councils, there is a lack of balance. Generally speaking, no effort is made in such reports to show the full palette of political colours represented in the provincial council;  there is only relatively wide newspaper coverage on occasions when political emotions are running high. Examples are: Friesland in 1993, when an agreement was reached with the agricultural sector, and Drenthe in 1993, when an amended programme of intent for the soil-protection areas was introduced (the agricultural lobby also played an important role in this). This attention from the press can be explained by incident politics. Political groups hold widely different opinions; they make no effort to hide their differences and journalists are keen to pick up on this. Another possible explanation is that, in these cases, ecological policy is heavily influenced by the farming lobby, which itself is strongly supported by influential political groups;  the news reports are usually brief and present an event from only one perspective, without a journalistic contribution from the author. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that press releases sent to the newspapers have been published without any further interpretation;  the most common simple perspective is that which opposes the ecological infrastructure;  there are very few background articles. Background articles that clarify the situation, and outline the problems confronting provincial politicians, are indispensable with regard to a far-reaching and complex plan such as the development of the ecological infrastructure of the two provinces;  it is notable that most of the background articles are only written from one perspective, with very little informative context. On the basis of these findings, it appears that the way in which the regional press fulfils its role as information provider leaves room for improvement. Scant attention is paid to council decision-making and the quality of reporting also leaves something to be desired. Little can be said about how the press fulfils the role as critic because so few articles appear in this context. The question Who controls political communication? cannot therefore be answered because the press pays too little attention to provincial politics. Goal-oriented or value-oriented rationality: which form of rationality determines political action? Section 3 examines which form of rationality (i.e. goal-oriented or value-oriented rationality) occurs most in the closed discussions between government bodies in the Wadden study, or in public discussions on the ecological infrastructure from the study of the relationship between politics and the press. For this purpose the rationalization theories from the work of Weber and Mannheim were used. Both Weber and Mannheim recognise increasing instrumental and formal rationality (Weber) and functional rationality (Mannheim) in all areas of life, and a decrease in material rationality (Weber) and substantial rationality (Mannheim). Weber and Mannheim identify the rise and influence of a specific form of instrumental rationality, particularly within economic, legal and bureaucratic institutions. Within such institutions, actions are characterized by goal-oriented rationality. This means that the prevalent institutional pattern of norms and values that more or less prescribes how people should act within the institutions (role-related behaviour) places great emphasis on goal-rational behaviour. In order to establish whether this also applies in provincial politics and administration, a study was made of the conception of rationality in the work of Weber and Mannheim. The question of whether goal-oriented or value-oriented rationality is dominant is addressed by a secondary analysis of the material. The secondary analysis takes the form of a 'rationality grid' that is applied to the material from the two empirical studies. The grid has a coarsely meshed structure that can separate out goal-oriented and value-oriented rationality. Following the study of Weber and Mannheim's concepts of rationality, goal-oriemted rational action is defined in this study as action that is geared towards finding the most appropriate means to achieve a goal that is considered as given. When action is successful in terms of the defined goal, we speak of goal-oriented rational action and formal rationality. Success or effectiveness is therefore the measure for goal-rational behaviour. The essence of this concept is expressed in the following questions:  is conduct geared towards resources and procedures within the given of administrative co-ordination or within the structured political (provincial) discussions?  are the goals open to discussion? If action is a logical extension of or derives from a higher value or ideal, we speak of 'valueoriented rational action' and 'material rationality'. The extent to which an action is valueoriented is therefore the measure for value-rationality. In this study, value-oriented rational action is defined as action that is based on the assessment of the desirability of a given goal by means of a party-political value system. The essence of the concept, as used in the present context, is expressed in the following question:  is the action geared towards assessing the desirability of a particular goal, based on a political value system? Conclusions: 1. With regard to discussion between government bodies on the subject of the Wadden region, the hypothesis was that, within the sphere of formalised and regulated administrative co-ordination in the Wadden region, actions are largely determined by goal-oriented rationality. The purpose of the discussion platform is, after all, to co-ordinate and realise goals defined elsewhere. The hypothesis is confirmed – the Wadden discussion platform is characterized by goal-oriented rational action. But this type of action is not related to the ultimate goal of the discussion platform but rather to another goal: the increasing of the influence and governance of the government layer in question. 2. With regard to the decision-making on the ecological infrastructure in Friesland and Drenthe, the hypothesis was that political decision-making debates are characterized by the discussion of values to be lived up to and aims to be realised. It is therefore to be expected that such debates are mainly characterized by value-oriented rationality. However, the findings do not confirm this hypothesis. The discussions of the provincial councils of Drenthe and Friesland are certainly not goal-rational in nature, yet neither can they be described as valuerational. Actions are indeed geared towards assessing the desirability of a particular goal, but that assessment is not based on a political value system. It is not party-political principles that determine political conduct; it would be more true to say that conduct is based on notions of consistency in terms of policy and support.