Suchergebnisse

After years of political crises and negotiations, the deep-rooted conflict between Dutch- and French-speaking parties recently led to the 2011 agreement concerning a further reform of the Belgian state. This reform mainly furthers decentralises the – already federal – state structure, including the allocation of additional competences and fiscal powers to sub-national entities (Regions and Communities). But this new state reform also brings about a radical reform of the upper house: the Belgian Senate. Since 1995, the Senate was composed of three different types of members: Senators directly elected by two linguistically separated electorate (the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking electorates), Senators indirectly elected by the Community parliaments and Senators coopted by the two other types. The French- and German-speaking linguistic minorities had a fixed amount of seats in this assembly. The reform of the state radically changed the legislative competences of the Senate and its composition as its members will now be designated by Regional and Community parliaments (plus 10 coopted senators). Broadly speaking, the appointment of the majority of the Senators moved from a system of direct and language-based election to a system of indirect and mixed regional and language-based designation. This change is not without consequence for the representation of linguistic minorities. In May 2014, regional, community and federal elections will be organised in Belgium, testing for the first time this new system of designation of Senators by regional and community parliaments. This paper intends to present the 2013 reform of the Senate in Belgium and its consequence for the representation of linguistic minorities. The situations before and after the reform of the Senate will be compared, not only in terms of the way Senators are appointed but in terms of its consequence on the linguistic aspects of the regional and community elections campaign and of the profile of the appointed Senators.

Abstract. The article presents an attempt to make sense of Adolf Bibič's
oeuvre as a whole. It reveals his broader intellectual (and also political)
project along with his coherent and systematic analysis of what may also
be understood as the 'possibilities' of political science. We claim that Bibič's
various analyses and interventions actually pivot on the question of the
future or, even better, the role and position of political science in it. We
name this aspect of Bibič's oeuvre the 'political science of the future', which
necessarily returns to the history of political ideas and political history to
even be able to understand the current political relations and their contradictions. The ambition and capacity of the 'political science of the future'
is not merely an explanation of what exists since, as Bibič states, political
science is the key science for facing the challenges of the future and, accordingly, vital for our existence – political and physical.
Keywords: Adolf Bibič, political science, future, state, democracy, citizenship.

Today few people deny the existence of regional substate diplomacy (Criekemans 2010). But there is still no common agreement on a region's right to do so and, above all, on their scope of action. This question goes against what used to be the dominant approach in international relations, the state-centric approach that leads to the logic of speaking with one voice. Increasingly, a multilevel-governance approach has contested this state-centric view and proposes an alternative logic of multiple actors speaking with their voice, nuancing strongly the seminal distinction between "sovereignty-bound" and "sovereignty-free" actors (Rosenau 1990). From the 1970s, the world has seen the growing presence of sovereignty-free actors in international relations. Among these actors, non-central or, better, substate, governments of federal states have developed intensive foreign relations. These governments are using a range of techniques: from shaping the federal government's foreign policy to establishing themselves directly in the international arena (Blatter et al. 2008). For minority nation governments this is particularly a challenge, as they have to act internally – where they have developed full-fledged legislative powers within a multinational federation – and externally – where international and national laws are often still reluctant to recognise their right of action (Lejeune 2003). Yet some minority nations have thrived in developing their own international relations. Bavaria, Catalonia, Flanders, Quebec, Scotland and Wallonia are often seen as successful international players even if they are not fully sovereignty bound (Michelmann 2009; Criekemans 2010). The international actions of these minority nations have been characterised under the umbrella of "identity paradiplomacy" (Paquin 2003); that is, a willingness to use international relations to foster a nation-building process within a multinational state. This observation was particularly prevalent for minority nations strongly in competition with a federal government about their nationbuilding process, albeit for different reasons, namely Flanders, Quebec and Scotland (Paquin 2004). The case of Wallonia seems to fits less well into the identity paradiplomacy framework, which therefore raises the question of alternative roads to international relations. This is the core question of this chapter: is identity paradiplomacy the only way to go for minority nations? Quebec and Wallonia are both well known for their active foreign relations.

The democratisation and economic growth of the Asian Tigers, specifically South Korea and Taiwan, brought structural changes to the academic systems of these countries, particularly in the fields of political science and international relations. The article aims to provide a comprehensive and hybrid view on the regularity of political science in the academic environments (university systems) of East Asian countries with a focus on South Korea and Taiwan through the observational analysis method and a historical-sociological mechanism. The findings are summarised, where it is argued that the pentagonal democratic citizenship system (legal, political, cultural, social, economic) as well as the establishing of structural and updated political-economic relations with the main powers in the international system are the two crtitcial factors that have contributed to the adjustment of political science in East Asian countries, including South Korea and Taiwan. The article concludes that, along with the international and domestic developments in South Korea and Taiwan, political science underwent structural changes and is becoming more regulated and structured. Keywords: South Korea, Taiwan, political science, democracy, institution

Konferenca o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti je konferenca z najdaljšo tradicijo na Univerzi v Mariboru in vsako leto poveže študente, raziskovalce, gospodarstvenike in predstavnike javne uprave, ki delujejo na področju organizacije in managementa. Tema letošnje, že 36. mednarodne konference o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti, je Odgovorna organizacija in se nanaša na širino organizacije v njenem notranjem in zunanjem okolju. Odgovornost do zaposlenih, poslanstva, strategije, procesov, tehnologije, razvoja so samo nekatera izmed področij, ki jim mora organizacija slediti. Identiteta organizacije se izkazuje z njenim vsestransko odgovornim ravnanjem in kaže vrednost navzven pri kupcih ali uporabnikih storitev. V času, ki ga živimo, smo vpeti v preplet tehnološkega in socialnega napredka, ki nenazadnje rezultira v posamezniku in družbi nasploh. Ravnanje organizacije se ravno tako ne veže samo na delovanje v lokalnem okolju temveč zaradi globalnih razsežnosti učinkuje tudi v mednarodnih dimenzijah. S temo konference želimo odpreti polje vprašanj in poiskati odgovore, ki bodo doprinesli k napredku organizacijskih ved. Materialni vplivi, komuniciranje, znanje in poštenje ter nenazadnje ideal odgovornega ravnanja lahko kot pomembni dejavniki obvladujejo pogosto nemirne situacije v in izven okolja naših organizacij. Ker smo časovno in prostorsko vpeti v vzorce, ki mnogokrat ne sledijo več našim preteklim izkušnjam, je naša želja, da s srečanjem na konferenci stopimo v korak s časom in prepoznamo dobre prakse, izoblikujemo nove metode in se seznanimo z aktualnimi trendi, ki jih organizacije vsakodnevno živijo. ; The conference on Organizational Sciences Development is a conference with the longest tradition at the University of Maribor. Each year, the conference brings together students, researchers, businessmen and public administration representatives, who are active in the area of organization and management. The theme of this year's 36th international conference on Organizational Sciences Development is Responsible Organization referring to the wideness of an organization in its internal and external environment. The responsibility of the organization towards its employees, mission, strategy, processes, technology, and development are just a few areas in which the organization needs to follow the principles of responsibility. The identity of the organization is recognized through its versatile responsible activities, showing its value externally to the customers or recipients of the services offered by the organization. The concurrent mixture of technological and social progress influences individuals as well as the society. The impact of the organization is therefore not only local but global, making a mark on the international level. With this conference theme, we are opening new questions and seeking answers which could contribute to the progress of organizational sciences. Material influence, communications, knowledge, fairness, and nevertheless the ideal of responsible behaviour can be seen as influential factors which can contribute to occasional turbulent situations inside and outside our organizations. Since we are all caught up in moulded mind-sets, not following our experiences anymore, our wish was to keep up with the times and identify best practices, form new methods, and become familiar with the contemporary trends in organizations.

Ever since the 1990's, deliberative theory has been heralded as the most promising new theory on political legitimacy. Democratic deliberation, conceived as the rational exchange of arguments, is claimed to improve the quality of democratic decision making because it instigates a more considered judgment; it allows citizens to hear other perspectives to a problem and to question their own opinions. However, deliberation's beneficial effects do not come about easily. If deliberative mini-publics want to contribute to the legitimacy of political decision making, they have to reflect the principles of legitimacy in their own functioning. It is therefore crucial to assess the internal legitimacy of deliberative mini-publics before making claims about their contribution to the legitimacy of the political system as a whole. In this paper, we set out to assess the input, throughput and output legitimacy of four deliberative events, namely the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly, the Irish "We, The Citizens"-project, the Belgian G1000, and the Dutch Burgerforum. Based on a most-similar comparison of these cases, we argue that their internal legitimacy differs a great deal, and that this is due to factors relating to their process design, such as funding, recruitment and moderation.

This article addresses the deficiency in the area of human rights scholarship in International Relations (IR) by examining the theoretical advancements in IR theory that have led to the emergence of non-state collective actors as a pertinent research topic. It provides a review of the trajectory of the constructivist theoretical approach, which has brought major advancements in how international non-state actors are conceptualised in the human rights IR literature. This considers the limitations and implications of side-lining collective non-state actors within IR theory, arguing that expanding the theoretical understanding of how different collective actors are constituted and attributed with agency can enrich IR human rights scholarship. The article also proposes a potential way forward with respect to non-state collective actors in human rights in IR by identifying a research programme based on practiceoriented approaches to help broaden the ability of scholars to foster interdisciplinary conversations. Expanding along these lines would bridge the existing boundaries within scholarly and disciplinary contexts. Keywords: non-state actors, state-centrism, collectives, international relations, human rights, international actors, constructivism

Abstract. The article analyses the innovative Marxist conceptualisation of
politics proposed by the Slovenian political scientist Adolf Bibič. The latter
built on the contributions of Heglo-Marxists and Gramsci to political theory.
At the core of his theory, he placed the question of the political power–class exploitation relationship. He distinguished political politics from self-managing politics, and problematised the dominant Western understandings of politics as well as the theories of elitism and pluralism. Moving away from such theories and dogmatic Marxist notions about the withering away of politics, he formulated his project of humanising politics beyond class exploitation and capitalist relations of production. This project assumed a necessary transformation of political practice in terms of the dialectical process of the socialisation of politics and the politicisation of society.
Keywords: Adolf Bibič, politics, political science, class relations, economic
exploitation.

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.

Karl Popper's distinction between science & metaphysics (pseudoscience) is analyzed, arguing that the principle of demarcation (falsification) cannot support Popper's thesis. Although falsification can be useful for distinguishing between empirical & nonempirical sciences, it also leads to clustering logic & mathematics, theory of induction, metaphysical theories, & philosophy in general. It is argued that Popper misinterprets A. Tarski's (1949) notion of the pursuit of truth in science & assumes that it can meet some objective criteria. One of the major problems of Popper's view of science in his theory of verisimilitude, allegedly capable of solving the problems of correspondence & objectivity. Instead, a blend of Popper's & Feyerabend's positions on scientific progress is suggested. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author starts with the relationship between Badiou's otherwise severe critique of democracy & Lefort's theory of democracy. Though accused of not being democratic, Badiou's theory in a certain sense presupposes democracy & even deepens it, yet not the democracy of today, the democracy of consensus, but a democracy that is not based on exclusion. Through the comparison of Badious's & Deleuze's critiques of representation, the author shows some consequences of Badiou's starting-point that "people think" for the conceptualization of the community, equality, & universality. Adapted from the source document.

Šport je z modernizacijo družbe in intenzivnejšo globalizacijo postal visoko organiziran in strukturiran globalni fenomen. Na njegov razvoj so vplivali različni dejavniki, vodenje na globalni ravni pa so prevzele mednarodne športne organizacije, v prvi vrsti Mednarodni olimpijski komite (MOK), okrog katerega se je izoblikoval t. i. reguliran olimpijski sistem. Disciplina Mednarodnih odnosov v primerjavi z ostalimi družbenimi vedami zaostaja pri proučevanju globalnega športa, ki tako ostaja eden manj vidnih in proučevanih vidikov globalnega vladanja. Eden od razlogov za to je tudi odsotnost resne in sistematične teoretske analize. Za zapolnitev te vrzeli je cilj magistrskega dela odgovoriti na vprašanje, kako lahko z uporabo teorij mednarodnih odnosov in analizo olimpijskega sistema z značilnostmi globalnega vladanja razumemo nastanek, obstoj in delovanje globalnega vladanja na področju športa kot enega izmed področij globalnega vladanja. Opredelitev reguliranega olimpijskega sistema kot globalnega vladanja na področju športa omogoča uporabo prevladujočih teorij mednarodnih odnosov (realizma, liberalizma, konstruktivizma, marksističnih teorij) na tem področju. Te v okviru svojih zmožnosti razlagajo in pojasnjujejo delovanje globalnega vladanja na področju športa, skupno pa izpostavijo pomembne elemente in pojave globalnega športnega vladanja. Analiza ponudi razmislek o nadaljnjem teoretičnem raziskovanju tega področja. ; The modernisation of society and intensive globalisation led sport to become a highly organised and structured phenomenon. Its development was influenced by various factors, while management at a global level has been taken over by international sport organisations, primarily by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), around which a regulated Olympic System has developed. In the examination of global sport, as one of the less visible and explored aspects of global governance, the discipline of International Relations falls behind other social sciences. One of the reasons for this is also the absence of a systematic theoretical analysis of this area. In order to fill this gap, this master thesis aims to answer the question: how can the use of the theories of international relations and an analysis of the Olympic System with features of global governance help us understand the emergence, the existence and the functioning of global governance in the field of sport as one of the fields of global governance? The identification of the regulated Olympic System as global governance in the field of sport enables the application of dominant theories of international relations (realism, liberalism, constructivism and Marxist theories) onto this field. The theories, within the limits of their capacities, interpret and explain the functioning of global governance in the field of sport, and, as a set of theories, they highlight the important elements and phenomena of global sport governance. The analysis offers a reflection on the further theoretical exploration of this field.