Suchergebnisse

The Slovenian constitution guarantees local self-government to all inhabitants and local self-government can be executed in municipalities and other local communities. Although municipalities are foundational units of local self-government, they experience some very basic problems since the re-establishment in the middle of 1990s; those problems are closely connected with inadequate exercise of subsidiarity and connection principles from in 1996 ratified European charter of local self-government. Slovenia has larger number of undersized municipalities that report problems with normative overload and their administrative incapacity. According to the findings of empirical study presented in the paper, the latter is often the case in municipalities smaller than 5000 inhabitants. The authors are also analysing inadequately defined scope of municipal jurisdiction; Slovenian municipalities are currently responsible for local affairs that affect only municipal inhabitants, and that narrow scope of jurisdiction is in many cases causing problems in managing the municipality, especially in cases of smaller municipalities.

Abstract. In this article, we argue that social sciences generally
and political science in particular are faced with
a peculiar epistemological challenge while researching
the state in the 21st century. Namely, the state has often
been either naturalised, seen as a static and ahistorical
entity resistant to changes in the environment, or naïvely
rejected as a form of political organisation that is
with neoliberal globalisation withering away. In either
instance, the processes of redefining and redistributing
of the state, and hence its de-/reterritorialising and rescaling,
have largely gone unnoticed. Our analysis reassesses
the hegemonic theories of state and shows that in
the mainstream of political science research on the state
is still anchored to the (geographical) assumptions that
limit or even define the state and its exercise of power
to a geographically demarcated and fixed territory.
Drawing on recent approaches to space, scale and territory,
this article calls for a heterodox and pluralist methodology
in further research on state as well as non-state
spaces.
Keywords: the state, non-state spaces, globalisation, territory,
political geography

Magistrska naloga obravnava in analizira odnose med županom kot najvišjim političnim funkcionarjem in direktorjem občinske uprave kot najvišjim javnim uslužbencem. V prvem delu sta predstavljeni zgodovina lokalne samouprave v Sloveniji in Ustava Republike Slovenije, ki je najvišji splošni pravni akt in lokalni samoupravi posveča svoje poglavje. Načela, ki vodijo lokalno samoupravo in so pomembna za uspešno delovanje in razvoj lokalne samouprave, so načelo avtonomije, načelo subsidiarnosti in načelo regionalizacije. Slovenske občine se vedno bolj vključujejo v skupne občinske uprave za opravljanje posameznih nalog, saj so občinske uprave v manjših občinah kadrovsko nedohranjene. Prav tako se občine vključujejo v združenja občin, saj lahko na ta način bolje zagotavljajo svoj skupni interes na področju lokalne samouprave. Občine med seboj sodelujejo tudi na podlagi sporazumov o pobratenju, ki ima pozitivne učinke na lokalno samoupravo in lokalno okolje, saj gre za stik z mednarodnimi partnerji, izmenjavo izkušenj in pridobitev različnih novih znanj. V nadaljevanju naloge so predstavljene ravni lokalne samouprave v sosednjih državah Republiki Hrvaški in Republiki Avstriji. V drugem, raziskovalnem delu naloge je prikazana primerjava lokalnih skupnosti v dveh izbranih evropskih državah. Na podlagi intervjujev je bila izvedena primerjava odnosov med oblastjo v lokalni samoupravi in politiko. V intervjujih so sodelovali župani in direktorji občinskih uprav manjših slovenskih, hrvaških in avstrijskih občin. V nalogi so predstavljena tudi mnenja županov in direktorjev občinskih uprav o njihovih odnosih v občinah. ; This research work discusses and analyses the relationship between the mayor, as the highest political official and the director of municipal administration as senior civil servant. The first section presents the history of local government in Slovenia and the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which is the highest general legal act and the local government has its own chapter in the Constitution. Principles that lead local government and are important for a successful operation and development of local self-government is the principle of autonomy, the principle of subsidiarity and the principle of regionalization. Slovenian municipalities are increasingly involved in Joint Municipal Administration to perform specific tasks, as the municipal administration in small municipalities are understaffed. In addition, the municipalities integrate themselves in the Association of Municipalities to ensure their common interests better in the field of local self-government. Municipalities cooperate with each other based on agreements of town, which has a positive impact on local government and the local environment, because of the contact with international partners, exchange of experience and the acquisition of various new skills. In the following part of the work levels of local government in the neighbouring countries, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Austria are presented. The second part of the research work, a comparison of local communities in the two selected European countries, is presented. A comparison was made about relations between the authorities and the local government policy based on interviews. In the interviews, the mayors and directors of municipal administrations of small Slovenian, Croatian and Austrian municipalities participated. The thesis also shows the opinions of mayors and the directors of municipal administrations of their relations in the municipalities.

Doktorska disertacija analizira konstituiranje funkcije predsednika republike v bivših socialističnih državah. Podrobneje je analiziran ustavni položaj predsednika republike Estonije, Latvije, Litve, Poljske, Češke, Slovaške, Slovenije, Hrvaške, Madžarske, Romunije ter Bolgarije, torej v enajstih državah članicah Evropske unije. Gre za ureditve, ki so funkcijo predsednika republike kot individualnega šefa države uvedle v devetdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja. Preučevane države so se ob konstituiranju funkcije predsednika republike in umestitvi njegovega položaja zgledovale po etabliranih pravnih sistemih. Pri tem je ob upoštevanju lastnih zgodovinskih, kulturnih in političnih razlogov prelitje posameznih ustavnih institutov privedlo do vzpostavitve svojevrstnega institucionalnega (ne)ravnovesja, kar odločilno vpliva na razmerje med vlado, parlamentom in predsednikom republike ter posledično na samo delovanje državne oblasti. V nekaterih ureditvah so bile sprva prisotne tendence po uvedbi sistema z močnejšim položajem šefa države, povzetim po predsedniškem oziroma polpredsedniškem sistemu, vendar je večina teh držav skozi ustavni razvoj in stabilizacijo političnega prostora postopoma omejila predsednikove pristojnosti. Drugače je v tistih ureditvah, kjer je ustavodajalec predsedniku že ob konstituiranju funkcije podelil predvsem reprezentativne pristojnosti, zgledujoč se po sistemih z nadvlado parlamenta, in tako onemogočil, da bi lahko predsednik, skladno s svojo nevtralno vlogo, ustrezno razreševal »krizne situacije« povezane z blokado oblasti, do katere lahko pride zaradi konfliktov med parlamentom in vlado. Danes se v analiziranih ustavnih ureditvah prepletajo številni elementi, značilni za različne politične sisteme, ki determinirajo (specifičen) položaj šefa države. Položaj predsednika republike, zlasti obseg njegovih pristojnosti in iz tega izhajajoča razmerja do zakonodajnih in izvršilnih organov, pa je hkrati tudi eno izmed temeljnih meril klasične klasifikacije političnih sistemov. Na predsednikov položaj poleg pristojnosti, ki jih izvršuje (predvsem na zakonodajnem in izvršilnem področju), vpliva tudi način njegove izvolitve. V primerjavi s tradicionalnimi zahodnimi sistemi v večini obravnavanih bivših socialističnih držav način izvolitve predsednika republike ni v neposredni korelaciji z obsegom njegovih formalno določenih pristojnosti. Na podlagi opravljene primerjalnopravne analize je mogoče ugotoviti, da ima predsednik republike v slovenski ureditvi (kjer mu je ustavodajalec z neposrednimi volitvami okrepil legitimnost, na drugi strani pa mu hkrati določil šibke, predvsem reprezentativne pristojnosti) najšibkejši položaj izmed obravnavanih enajstih bivših socialističnih držav. ; This doctoral dissertation deals with the constituting i.e. formation of the function of the President of the Republic in former socialist countries. It analyses in greater detail the constitutional role of the President of the Republic of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, i.e. eleven Member States of the European Union. These states put in place the office of President of the Republic as the individual Head of State in the 1990s. In the process of the formation of the function of the President of the Republic, the countries analysed took inspiration from other established legal systems. In this context, while taking into account their own historical, cultural and political reasons, these states have experienced a spill-over of individual constitutional institutions leading to the creation of a sui generis institutional equilibrium i.e. separation of powers, or lack thereof, which has a decisive impact on the relations between the Government, the Parliament and the President of the Republic, as well as, consequently, on the functioning of the authority of the state itself. Some political systems initially showed a tendency to introduce a system with a stronger head of state, inspired by presidential or semi-presidential republics, but the majority of these countries gradually limited the powers of the President through the constitutional development and stabilisation of their political space. The situation is, however, different in those countries where, from the very beginning of the formation of the function of the President of the Republic, the constitutional legislator conferred upon the President mainly representative powers, following the example of systems with parliamentary supremacy, thus preventing the President, in accordance with his or her neutral role, from being able to adequately address 'crisis situations' in relation to the blocking of authorities arising from conflicts between the Parliament and Government. Hence, the analysed constitutional regimes have now seen certain elements appear which are "alien" to different political systems and which determine the (specific) position of the Head of State. The position of the President of the Republic, and in particular the extent of his or her powers and the resulting relationship with the legislative and executive bodies, is also one of the fundamental criteria of the classic classification of political systems. In addition to the powers exercised (mainly in the legislative and executive domains), the President's position is also influenced by the way he or she is elected. Compared to traditional western systems, the way in which the President of the Republic is elected in most of the former socialist states in question is not directly correlated to the extent of his or her formally defined powers. Based on the analysis of comparative law carried out, it can be concluded that in a regime like the one set up in Slovenia (where the constitutional legislator strengthened the President's legitimacy by holding direct elections, but at the same time conferred upon him or her weak, mainly representative powers), the President's position is the weakest among the eleven former socialist states analysed.

The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them. ; The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them. ; The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them. ; The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them. ; The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them. ; Članek je utemeljen na raziskavah ameriških predsedniških volitev leta 2016, ki so postale simbol postresničnostnega obdobja. Predstavlja pregled literature na temo volitev in pomaga razumeti vpliv, ki ga je računalniška propaganda imela na izid volitev in obnašanje volivcev. Članek se začne z definicijo postresničnostne družbe in z njo povezanih konceptov, kot so lažne novice in računalniška propaganda. Poglobi se v spremembe, ki jih je politična komunikacija doživela v digitalnem okolju, in analizira vlogo socialnih medijev v volitvah leta 2016. Prouči tudi spremljajoče pojave postresničnostne družbe, kot sta banalnost politike in izguba kredibilnosti političnih akterjev. Po pregledu literature se zdi, da so socialni mediji sicer postali pomemben dejavnik na političnem odru, vendar zaenkrat še niso prevladujoč vir političnih informacij ali vpliva na obnašanje volivcev. Članek prinaša dva pomembna prispevka: s pomočjo koncepta postresničnostne družbe analizira vlogo računalniške propagande v predsedniških volitvah 2016, obenem pa skuša razložiti paradoks splošne politične apatije na eni strani in povečanega političnega aktivizma na drugi. Da bi bili pri soočanju z omenjenimi izzivi uspešni, jih moramo najprej prepoznati in razumeti.

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

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.

Abstract. The Covid-19 crisis that hit the USA especially hard was accompanied by intensified anti-Chinese racism fuelled by the anti-Chinese rhetoric used by the Trump Administration. Although Trump's political opponents blamed him for having mismanaged the pandemic response, the anti-Chinese stance was a bipartisan issue. The article aims to analyse anti-Chinese racism in its systemic and historical dimensions. It examines the nature and strategic utility of antiChinese racism for past, the Trump, and future administrations as well as for America's elites generally. It is shown that anti-Chinese racism was substantially transformed during the pandemic and above all utilised to address the general destabilisation of the US-dominated socio-political and socio-economic order both at home and globally. China's growing importance around the world and the potential domestic destabilisation of the US mean that the strategic utility of anti-Chinese racism may well remain important for some time to come. Keywords: Covid-19 crisis, Trump's presidency, antiChinese racism, systemic racism, foreign policy

This paper analyzes the issue of nations without states in contemporary Europe between the Atlantic and the Urals. The political map of the continent comprises forty-seven countries, most of which are nation-states. However, the cultural mosaic of Europe is far more complex; there are around fifty ethnic groups (in addition to historical, territorial, or indigenous ethnic minorities and an enormous number of immigrant ethnic communities) lacking a state-based organization. Together, these people add up to 78 million, or almost 15% of the European population. Twenty-seven groups can be considered nations without states; they are culturally and ethnically based and have various forms of territorial integrity and political organization. However, they did not create a state organization, despite many attempts by some through history. Without a state organization, those communities have poorer opportunities to protect their folk culture and to reproduce various elements of ethnic identity. This is why they seek territorial autonomy or independent statehood through nationalist movements. In many cases, these ambitions are encompassed in regional movements. These movements have been popular in Europe, particularly because the idea of a "Europe of regions" as part of the European Union has had broad political support and acceptance. However, it has not actually succeeded. The EU and Europe as a whole are still a Europe of (nation)-states. In general, regional movements have been successful and through this some nations without states have attained part of their political ambitions in the form of territorial autonomy. The regionalization of former centralist states (e.g., Spain and the United Kingdom) increased the chances of ethnic survival for the Catalans, Basques, Scots, and Welsh. On the other hand, the regionalization of nations without states represented territorial division, a kind of "divide and rule" strategy serving to reduce their ambitions towards national independence. The territorial and political reconstruction of nation-states has been successful, but it did not solve all ethnic problems. The European political map reveals another interesting phenomenon: a double state for some nations. These are particularly typical for the Balkans. Because of political and territorial development after the Second World War and during the transition period in the 1990s and beyond, the principle of immutable political borders (logically encompassing the creation of new nation-states as well) led to further political and territorial divisions and (in fact, paradoxically) fragmentation. Some of these "inner" autonomous territories are functioning as de facto states. The cases of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina are good examples of these processes. This development has not garnered much political support in most European countries or at the EU level. However, it is an undesirable reality and is certainly one of changes among the political and territorial (or even greater) challenges for the Europe of tomorrow. It forces a reexamination of the phenomenon and value of nations. The existence of nations without states represents a potential for the creation of new (nation) states.

V Ukrajini so se leta 2014 po seriji različnih notranjih političnih kriz na vzhodu države, v regiji Donbas, pojavila separatistična gibanja, katerih pripadniki so za regiji Doneck in Lugansk zahtevali odcepitev od države. Začetnim protestom je sledil konflikt, ki ga že od vsega začetka zaznamuje prepletanje delovanja različnih vpletenih strani: upornikov na eni in ukrajinske oblasti na drugi strani, kot tudi mednarodne skupnosti. Na eni strani sta Evropska unija in NATO, ki si zadnji dve desetletji na različne načine prizadevajo za integracijo vzhodnoevropskih držav. Na drugi strani je Ruska federacija, ki je še vedno izrazito povezana z republikami nekdanje Sovjetske zveze in nanje tudi močno vpliva. Širjenje vplivov iz EU in ZDA oziroma zahoda na splošno v teh državah domnevno ogroža ruske interese in interese proruske struje v Ukrajini. Magistrsko delo prikazuje zgodovinski razvoj Ukrajine in zapletene družbene, gospodarske in politične razmere, prisotne v državi, ki pripomorejo k razumevanju razvoja in poteka konflikta. Temu sledita analiza medijskega poročanja in vloge medijev v razvoju konflikta in političnogeografska analiza konflikta ter njegov vpliv na širše dogajanje in odnose v Evropi in svetu ; After a series of various internal political crises in eastern Ukraine in 2014, separatist movements appeared in the Donbas region, demanding secession of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The initial protests were followed by a conflict marked throughout by the intertwining actions of the various parties involved: the rebels, the Ukrainian authorities as well as the international community. On the one hand, there is the European Union and NATO, striving for the integration of Eastern European countries over the last two decades. On the other hand, there is the Russian Federation, still strongly connected with the republics of the former Soviet Union and exerting a strong influence on them. Supposedly, the growing influences of the EU, the US and the West in general in these countries pose a threat to the Russian interests and the interests of the pro-Russian movement in Ukraine. This master's thesis presents the historical development of Ukraine and its complex social, economic and political conditions, shedding light on the development and course of the conflict in the country. It then provides an analysis of the role of the media in the development of the conflict, as well as a political geographic analysis of the conflict and its impact on the events and relations on European and global level.

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.

V članku, ki temelji predvsem na arhivskem gradivu in publicistiki, je predstavljeno politično delovanje Ivana Švegla, nekdanjega avstro-ogrskega konzula v Združenih državah Amerike in Kanadi, ki je po prevratu deloval na pariški mirovni konferenci. V Začasnem narodnem predstavništvu v Beogradu je predstavljal Trst, na volitvah leta 1927 pa je kandidiral na listi Hrvaške kmečke stranke Stjepana Radića. V tem prispevku so predstavljene širše okoliščine Šveglove povezanosti z Radićevo stranko. ; This article presents the political activities of the Slovene diplomat and legal expert Ivan Krizostom Švegel (a.k.a. Hans Schwegel, 1875–1962), who primarily served as an Austro-Hungarian consul in the United States and Canada before the First World War. Although his involvement in the delegation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 has not passed unnoticed in Slovene historiography, less is known about his political career. Švegel already expressed his sympathies for the Croatian national demands at the Paris Peace Conference, especially by interceding with American diplomats for the incorporation of Rijeka by Yugoslavia and helping his Croatian counterparts settle the question concerning the affiliation of the Repaš (Hung. Répás) area along the Drava River. In the Temporary National Representation in Belgrade, Švegel represented Trieste and worked within the framework of the Yugoslav Club, headed by the president of the Pan-Slovene People's Party, Anton Korošec. However, Švegel soon parted ways with Korošec and withdrew from active politics for a few years. In the election of 1927, he ran on the ticket of the Croatian Peasant Party in the Gorski Kotar region at the personal proposal of Stjepan Radić and made his way into the Croatian parliamentary representation in the Belgrade assembly. Radić's decision to nominate Švegel as a Slovene candidate in one of the traditionally winnable Croatian constituencies for his party undoubtedly added to the chagrin of Korošec, who had long been at odds with Radić. Much to the surprise of Radić's most intimate circle, at the end of 1927 Švegel joined the rebellious faction of Ljudevit Kežman, a priest and long-standing secretary of the Croatian Peasant Party. Yet rather than hold him to blame, Radić continued to cooperate with Švegel until the fateful shooting incident in the Belgrade assembly on June 20th, 1928. During the assassination against Radić and his colleagues, Švegel, according to his own testimony, was composed enough to help lift Svetozar Pribićević from his bench to safety. In the early period of the royal dictatorship, Švegel maintained a low profile until the spring of 1930, when he joined the government as a minister without portfolio, together with three other dissidents from the former Croatian Peasant Party. After he was soon forced to leave his position in the royal government, he briefly returned to diplomacy in 1931 by being appointed envoy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to Buenos Aires. However, no later than 1932, he was forced to leave his office due to disagreements with other officials at the legation and the heads of the foreign ministry and to retire. As his correspondence with Marija Radić reveals, Švegel also remained a faithful adherent to Radić's views after the Second World War.

Sistemi organizacije državne oblasti se razlikujejo po načinu delitve oblasti, organih, ki so nosilci te oblasti ter njihovih medsebojnih odnosih. Parlamentarni sistem, ki je uveljavljen tudi pri nas, temelji na načelu delitve oblasti. Organi državne oblasti med seboj sodelujejo, se nadzorujejo, med njimi pa je z namenom preprečitve zlorabe oblasti vzpostavljen sistem zavor in ravnovesij. V moderni demokraciji med strankami na volitvah vedno poteka tekma za čim višje število glasov, zmago na volitvah in prevzem oblasti. Zmagovalna večina se poveže ter oblikuje vlado, stranke, ki niso članice koalicijske večine, pa čakajo na svojo priložnost na naslednjih volitvah. Vendar mora biti njihov glas vseeno slišan, saj odločitve večine postanejo tudi odločitve manjšine, ki mora zato imeti možnost vpliva na sprejemanje odločitev, poleg tega je pomembna tudi možnost nadzora dela koalicijske večine in izvršilne veje oblasti, v ta namen pa ima opozicija na voljo različne instrumente nadzora. Opozicija ima možnost uporabe svojih sredstev na različnih področjih, v okviru zakonodajne, volilne ter nadzorne funkcije Državnega zbora. Nosilec izvršilne oblasti je v parlamentarnih sistemih vlada, ki je parlamentu odgovorna za svoje delo, brez njegove podpore pa ne more delovati. Parlament, znotraj njega zlasti tudi opozicija, ima na voljo več instrumentov nadzora nad delom vlade, najpomembnejši so poslansko vprašanje, interpelacija in konstruktivna nezaupnica. Nesoglasja med parlamentom in vlado lahko privedejo do politične krize, v končni posledici pa tudi do razpustitve parlamenta in novih volitev. Obstaja več različic parlamentarnega sistema, razlikujejo pa se po načinu oblikovanja, sestavi in delovanju vlade. Naša ureditev se zgleduje po nemškem modelu, pri čemer pa v smeri skupščinske ureditve od njega odstopa v nekaterih pomembnih elementih. Predvsem je tu mišljeno imenovanje ministrov s strani Državnega zbora ter s tem povezani instrumenti, ki povečujejo individualno odgovornost posameznih ministrov v razmerju do Državnega zbora, kar je neskladno z modernimi parlamentarnimi sistemi, ki poznajo predvsem kolektivno odgovornost vlade. Taka ureditev relativizira pomen instituta konstruktivne nezaupnice, ki smo ga sprejeli iz nemškega modela. Zaradi naše neučinkovite ureditve bi bile smiselne ustavne spremembe, kar je zaznal tudi Državni zbor, saj je skupina poslancev predlagala spremembo ustavnih določb, ki se nanašajo na oblikovanje Vlade, v odzivu na ta predlog pa je nastal še predlog Strokovne skupine, ki je predlog poslancev analizirala. Ta naloga obravnava predlagani spremembi Ustave, predlog poslancev in predlog Strokovne skupine, s poudarkom na učinke predlaganih sprememb na položaj opozicije. Poleg tega so v nalogi predstavljene tudi nekatere druge možne spremembe Ustave, ki se nanašajo na način oblikovanja Vlade. Vsak predlog spremembe Ustave našo veljavno ureditev približuje določeni podvrsti parlamentarnega sistema. Pred sprejetjem kakršnekoli spremembe Ustave je torej vredno razmisliti, kateri ureditvi se želimo približati in kakšen vpliv na našo trenutno ureditev bi imel sprejem določene spremembe Ustave. ; The systems of state authority differ in the way they separate powers, branches of power that are holders of the power and their relations. The parliamentary system, which is established also in Slovenia, is based on the principle of separation of powers. The branches of state authority collaborate with each other and control the work of one another. The system of checks and balances is set up to prevent the abuse of power. In the modern democracy there has always been a race to get as many votes as possible, win the elections and take over the power among parties in the elections. The majority that wins is united and forms the Government, while parties that are not members of the majority coalition wait for their opportunity in the next elections. However, their voice has to be heard, because the decisions of majority become the decisions of minority as well, that is why they have to have an impact on decision-making. Besides, the possibility of supervision over the part of the majority coalition and the executive branch is important, for this purpose the opposition has different instruments of supervision. The opposition has a possibility of the use of its means on various areas, within the legislative, electoral and supervisory functions of Parliament. The government, which answers to the parliament for its work, but without its support cannot work properly, is the holder of the executive body in the parliamentary systems. The Parliament, and within it, also in particular the opposition, has several instruments for controlling the work of the Government, the most important are parliamentary question, interpellation and constructive vote of no confidence. Disagreements between the Parliament and the Government can lead to the political crisis and ultimately to the dissolution of the Parliament and new elections. There are several variants of parliamentary system, they differ in the way of forming, structure and working of the Government. Our system follows the German model's example, but as far as assembly is concerned, it differs in some important elements. This mainly refers to the appointment of ministers coming from the National Assembly and instruments referring to it. These instruments are increasing individual responsibility of individual ministers in relation to the National Assembly and that is inconsistent with modern parliamentary systems which are familiar with collective responsibility of the Government in particular. Such system relativizes the meaning of the institute of constructive vote of no confidence which is based on the German's model. Constitutional changes would be logical due to our ineffective system, this was also noticed by our National Assembly. The group of members of the Parliament proposed a change for constitutional provisions which refer to the forming of the Government. In response to this proposal, the Professional group, which analysed the proposal of the members of the Parliament, formed another one. This master's thesis deals with the proposed change of the Government, the proposal of members of the Parliament and the proposal of the Professional group, with emphasis on the effects of proposed changes regarding the position of the opposition. The thesis also presents some of the other possible constitutional changes that refer to the way of forming the Government. Each proposal of the constitutional change brings about our valid system to get closer to the certain category of the parliamentary system. It is worth considering which system is better and what kind of effect would passing a certain constitutional change cause, before even considering constitutional changes of any kind.

Eine pluridisziplinäre und interkulturell konzipierte Enzyklopädie der regionalen Kulturgeschichte der Kärntner Slowenen in Österreich mit Beiträgen von über 160 Autoren unterschiedlicher Fachrichtungen und ca. 1000 Schlagwörtern und insgesamt über 2100 konzeptuellen Einträgen aus den Bereichen Geschichte, Rechtsgeschichte, Soziologie, Sprachwissenschaft, Dialektologie, Literaturgeschichte, Ethnologie, Kunstgeschichte, Biographien, Terminologie u.a.m., das ein vernetztes Verständnis der geographischen und kulturhistorischen Räume und gesellschaftlichen Prozesse im Land aus einer innovativen Perspektive ermöglicht ; The Encyclopaedia of Slovenian cultural history in Carinthia (Austria) is conceaved as a pluridisciplinary and intercultural reference work with over 160 authors, some 1000 entries and in total over 2100 conceptual entries covering areas such as history, legal history, sociology, linguistics, dialectology, literature, ethnology, art history, biographic studies, terminology. It provides a cross-linked understanding of the geographical area as well as of the cultural and societal processes in the region from an innovative perspective.

Eine pluridisziplinäre und interkulturell konzipierte Enzyklopädie der regionalen Kulturgeschichte der Kärntner Slowenen in Österreich mit Beiträgen von über 160 Autoren unterschiedlicher Fachrichtungen und ca. 1000 Schlagwörtern und insgesamt über 2100 konzeptuellen Einträgen aus den Bereichen Geschichte, Rechtsgeschichte, Soziologie, Sprachwissenschaft, Dialektologie, Literaturgeschichte, Ethnologie, Kunstgeschichte, Biographien, Terminologie u.a.m., das ein vernetztes Verständnis der geographischen und kulturhistorischen Räume und gesellschaftlichen Prozesse im Land aus einer innovativen Perspektive ermöglicht ; The Encyclopaedia of Slovenian cultural history in Carinthia (Austria) is conceaved as a pluridisciplinary and intercultural reference work with over 160 authors, some 1000 entries and in total over 2100 conceptual entries covering areas such as history, legal history, sociology, linguistics, dialectology, literature, ethnology, art history, biographic studies, terminology. It provides a cross-linked understanding of the geographical area as well as of the cultural and societal processes in the region from an innovative perspective.