The financial crisis and its consequences in European societies show the weaknesses of the current economic system. Especially in the so-called peripheral countries we can notice a dramatic increasing in unemployment, reduced public spending and security, poverty, evictions, etc. The neoliberal policy followed by most European governments offers little chance for a solution to this problem. ; Finančna kriza in njene posledice v evropskih družbah kažejo na pomanjkljivosti sedanjega gospodarskega sistema. Še posebej v t. i. obrobnih državah se dramatično povečujejo brezposelnost, nižanje porabe, občasnost del, prisilno preseljevanje delovne sile, revščina, deložacije itd. Neoliberalna politika, ki ji sledi večina evropskih vlad, ponuja malo možnosti za rešitev nastale situacije.
We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; Današnji čas je prinesel pomembne spremembe v načinu, kako komuniciramo drug z drugim. Tehnološki napredek in razmah družbenih medijev sta vplivala tako na informativne medije kot na sodobni politični prostor, kar ima pomembne posledice za politični govor. Vloga družbenih medijev v politični komunikaciji se je povečala, saj politiki čedalje bolj neposredno komunicirajo z javnostjo brez posredništva tradicionalnih medijev. Poleg tega je čedalje bolj pod vprašajem nevtralnost osrednjih medijev pri poročanju, saj so vedno bolj odvisni od oglaševanja in tako pod posrednim ali neposrednim vplivom različnih korporativnih ali državnih sponzorjev. Tako smo se znašli v času, ko vse več ljudi informacije pridobi v družbenih medijih, medtem ko so izrazi dezinformacija, lažne novice, postresničnost, sovražni govor in teorije zarote postali vsakdanji del govora. V novem javnem prostoru komunikacije se pogosto zgodi, da je to, kar kdo dojema kot teorijo zarote, za koga drugega resničnost, da so to, kar kdo dojema kot dejstva, za koga drugega lažne novice, in da je to, kar kdo dojema kot sovražni govor, za koga drugega svoboda govora.
Ekonomski interesi treh ključnih velikih sil, Združenih držav Amerike, Rusije in Kitajske, ki se uveljavljajo oziroma uresničujejo skozi njihove konkretne politike in dejanja, imajo pomemben, če že ne velik vpliv na varnost in politične razmere drugih držav. Ker so ekonomski interesi ključni za katerokoli državo, so medsebojna dinamika, prepletanje in vplivanje teh interesov izrednega pomena za razumevanje trenutnih razmer v mednarodnih odnosih. Analiza primarnih in sekundarnih virov, predvsem pa poglobljeni intervjuji s strokovnjaki nakazujejo, da se politične in varnostne posledice ekonomskih interesov velikih sil največkrat manifestirajo na regionalni ravni. Izjema pri tem so ZDA, ki za doseganje svojih ekonomskih interesov politično in varnostno spreminjajo razmere na globalni ravni. Pri tem so najbolj osredotočene na širitev neoliberalnih ekonomskih praks in zagotovitev energetske varnosti, ki velikokrat poteka s pomočjo znatne uporabe vojaške moči. Rusija, po drugi strani, je trenutno še osredotočena na svojo vlogo energetskega velikana, pri čimer najbolj konkretno vpliva na države iz bližnje soseščine, tudi preko političnih pritiskov in industrijskih sabotaž. Analiza trendov sicer kaže, da bo cilj ekonomske diverzifikacije postajal še pomembnejši v prihodnosti. V osnovi ta zaključek pomeni, da bo Rusija skušala zmanjšati svojo odvisnost od izvoza energentov in na tak način zagotoviti večjo ekonomsko, kot tudi politično in varnostno stabilnost države. Ključna karakteristika ekonomske politike Kitajske je usmeritev v zagotavljanje energetskih virov za rastoče gospodarstvo. V ta namen se poslužuje multisektorske politike, ki je najbolj jasno vidna v Afriki. Ta poseben, quid pro quo pristop se kaže v velikih infrastrukturnih investicijah na strani Kitajske, v zameno za zagotovitve izvoza energentov iz določenih afriških držav. Analiza vse treh držav jasno kaže, da ekonomski interesi vidno vplivajo na odnose med državami v mednarodni skupnosti in usodno določajo dinamiko in ravnovesje sil. ; Economic interests of great powers, specifically United States of America, Russia and China, and the process of attaining these interests through the set of concrete policies and actions has considerable, if not predominantly important effects on political and security situation of other countries. Since economic interests are of pivotal importance for any state, the recognition and understanding of intertwined dynamics and cross-section of these interests is essential for establishing an accurate perception of the current situation in contemporary international relations. Analysis of primary and secondary resources, and especially the in- depth interviews with experts revealed that the majority of political and security implications of the process of attaining economic interests have been manifesting on the regional level. An exception to this rule is the United States, which is affecting political and security characteristics around the globe. In doing so, it is mostly concentrated on continuous expansion of neoliberalism, as well as ensuring energy security, often through utilization of military power. Meanwhile, Russia is currently still focused on its role as an energy giant, and has the ability to strongly influence the countries in its near vicinity through considerate political pressures and industrial sabotage. Many trends within the country and its internal policies seem to suggest that this is likely to change in the near future, and the goal of economic diverzification will become even more important. Essentially, this means that Russia will attempt to reduce its dependence on energy exports, and thus ensure far greater economic, but also political and security stability of the country. Finally, we analyzed China. The key characteristic of its economic policy is focus on ensuring energy resources for its growing economy. In order to succeed, China has been utilizing a multisectoral approach, most clearly visible in Africa. These quid pro quo deals were realized through large infrastrucral investment on the Chinese side, and accompanying insurance of energy exports on the side of the African countries. The analysis of all three states draws the conclusion that economic interests are thus visibly affecting the nature of the intra- state relationships in the international community, and faithfully account for the ultimate dynamics and balance of world powers.
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.
Geographers play an important role in the announced & expected reform of the political & institutional system by introducing a second tier of local self-government. Their role is not only associated with preparing an appropriate subdivision of Slovenia into functionally closed areas, but also, considering contemporary social causal links between forming the regions & regional development, the effects of the polycentric settlement network layout & the decentralization of public institutions. The paper derives from an assumption that decentralization of institutions plays an important role in overcoming regional disparities. Together with appropriate organization, decentralization of institutions allows more efficient utilization of development potential. In contemporary development policy, institutions are a decisive instrument. In addition to technical innovations & a creative environment, institutions stand out as an impulse & central support point, for harmonious social development. This paper is clearly of a theoretical nature. It deals with the role, effects & consequences of the decentralization of institutions as an instrument for balanced sustainable regional development. The factors, which have an impact on the success of regionalization in a function of decentralization policy, are analyzed They are: especially formation of clear political & legal frameworks for starting the reform process, a clear indication of powerful and, if possible, interdepartmental responsible persons for management & coordination of the decentralization process, forming the concept of decentralized regionalization of Slovenia that aims at an even distribution of tasks & responsibilities such as clear forms of mutual (horizontal & vertical) coordination & mutual reciprocal inspections between different regional & state levels, an outline of state-level transfers where individual administrative & legal steps mean transfer of financial & personal competences & equipment to the participants in regional communities, & finally, measures for providing professional qualification of institutions in decentralized regional associations for taking on new tasks. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.
Magistrska naloga preučuje dejavnike, ki so povzročili evropsko migracijsko krizo v obdobju 2015/2016 in njihov vpliv na politično dogajanje v Evropski uniji. Čeprav se je Zahodna Evropa srečevala s problematiko migracij že v preteklosti, Evropska unija ni imela izdelane in sprejete ustrezne skupne migracijske politike. Migracije so postale pomembno politično vprašanje in glavna tema volilnih kampanj. Namen naloge je predstaviti vpliv problematike migracij na odločanje volivcev. Slednji je bil dosežen z analizo volitev nekaterih držav članic ter volitev v Evropski parlament v obdobju od leta 2015 do leta 2019. Ta je pokazala vzpon desnih populističnih in nacionalističnih strank, ki so podporo volivcev pridobivale predvsem s protimigrantsko retoriko. Glede na njihov vzpon se je pojavilo vprašanje, ali bi lahko porast moči teh strank vplival na način izvajanja skupne migracijske politike in na politično prihodnost Evropske unije. Na podlagi raziskovanja lahko ugotovimo, da migracije bistveno prispevajo k gospodarskemu in družbenemu razvoju posamezne države ter s tem posledično predstavljajo eno osrednjih predvolilnih tem. Rezultati volitev so sicer potrdili porast podpore tovrstnim strankam, vendar ne v tej meri, da bi v Evropskem parlamentu dobile moč oblikovati politično prihodnost Evropske unije. Na kompleksnost migracij vplivajo različni dejavniki, predstavljeni v magistrski nalogi, ki pripomorejo k razumevanju povezave problema migracij z dogajanjem v evropskem političnem prostoru. Ugotovili smo, da migracije predstavljajo pomembno politično vprašanje, saj so odprle ne samo politični, ampak tudi varnostni in ideološki diskurz združene Evrope, kar predstavlja nove izzive za oblikovanje nadaljnje skupne politike Evropske unije in zagotavljanje njene politične stabilnosti. ; This master thesis examines the factors that caused the European migration crisis in the period 2015-2016 and their impact on the political situation in the European Union. Even though Western Europe had encountered the problem of migration already in the past, the European Union did not develop and adopt a proper common migration policy. The issue of migration became an important political question and a central theme of election campaigns. The purpose of the thesis is to present the impact of the migration issue on voters' decision-making by analysing the national elections in some EU member states and the elections to the European Parliament during the 2015-2019 period. The analysis showed the rise of right-wing populist and nationalist parties that gained the support of the voters mainly by promoting their anti-immigration positions. That trend raised concerns on whether the growth in the power of those political parties could affect the implementation of the common migration policy and the European Union's political future. According to the data gathered, migration profoundly contributes to a country's economic and social development and is therefore among the main pre-election topics. Even though the election results confirmed that right-wing populist and nationalist parties were gaining increasing support, they were still not strong enough to gain power in the European Parliament and consequently change the political future of the European Union. There are different factors that affect the complexity of migration. These factors are presented in the master thesis and help understand the connection between migration issues and the European political situation. It was found that migration is one of the major political issues that has opened not only a political, but also an ideological and security discourse in the European context, which presents new challenges in further developing a common EU policy and ensuring its political stability.
To magistrsko delo analizira obrambno sodelovanje držav višegrajske skupine s poudarkom na sodelovanju na področju obrambne industrije in sodobne obrambne trgovine med državami. Čeprav se zdi, da je višegrajska skupina zelo povezana in trdna zveza držav, se v literaturi pojavljajo prav nasprotna mnenja. Četudi so vsem državam skupine skupne težave zaradi zastarele vojaške opreme in potrebe po modernih oborožitvenih sistemih ter kljub obetavnim izjavam politikov, je sodelovanje na tem področju zelo skopo. Obrambne industrije višegrajskih držav so čedalje bolj vpete v proizvodne procese zahodnih vojaških multinacionalnih korporacij, politični odločevalci višegrajske skupine pa še vedno niso pripravljeni izdatno podpreti iskrenega sodelovanja med državami, kot na primer skupnih dobav. Četudi lahko pri analizi obrambnih sektorjev skupine zaznamo celo vrsto strukturnih problemov, pa se obrambna trgovina višegrajskih držav ujema z njihovo zunanjo in varnostno politiko. To ujemanje samo po sebi ne izključuje ostalih težav v obrambnih industrijskih sektorjih, ki ovirajo sodelovanje držav, služi pa kot nadaljnji dokaz, kako so obrambno-industrijski sektorji držav tesno povezani z njihovo zunanjo in varnostno politiko. ; This master thesis analyses the defense cooperation of the Visegrad group countries with specific focus on the collaboration initiatives in the defence industry sector and ongoing arms trade relations among the countries. While the Visegrad group seems a coherent and a solid group of countries, many experts on this field argue quite the contrary. Despite the common issues regarding the obsolete military force, the need for newer or modernized weapon systems and, above all, the political declarations promoting the defence industry cooperation among the group countries, there have been little steps taken apart from the promising rhetoric. The countries' defence industries are progressively more involved in the work process of the Western defence corporations, while the political decision makers are still not really keen on genuine cooperation such as common acquisition of arms in intra-group level. While a whole set of obstacles for the deeper cooperation can be identified, foreign and security directions of the countries resemble the trade relations in the arms market. Although this matching as such does not necessarily prove that the group's foreign and security policies solely and by itself negatively contribute to the closer defence industry cooperation, it serves as another proof how the defence industrial complex is tightly connected to one country's foreign and security policy.
Nasprotno prevladujoči obravnavi Turčije kot najstarejše kandidatke za članstvo v Evropski uniji (EU) in turški zunanjepolitični strategiji do Zahodnega Balkana, ki predvideva delovanje kot partnerica EU, to delo analizira Turčijo kot neodvisnega zunanjepolitičnega akterja. Na podlagi dveh raziskovalnih vprašanj o normativnih elementih turške zunanjepolitične strategije preverjam hipotezo, da zaradi t. i. plitke evropeizacije na Zahodnem Balkanu po letu 2009 prihaja do večanja turškega normativnega vpliva v tej regiji. Kot kontrolno spremenljivko obravnavam deklaratorni odmik EU od širitve na Zahodni Balkan leta 2014. V teoretskem delu naloge konceptualiziram normativni zunanjepolitični vpliv in izdelam lasten analitični model normativnih elementov zunanjepolitične strategije. Po opisu zgodovinskega konteksta zunanjepolitičnega delovanja EU in Turčije na Zahodnem Balkanu v empiričnem delu sledi največji doprinos naloge k znanosti: analiza in interpretacija primarnega dokumenta – zunanjepolitične strategije Turčije (Disisleri Bakanligi, 2018), za katero sem zagotovil prvi prevod v angleščino. Nato še identificiram in analiziram zunanjepolitične akcije Turčije, pri katerih merim normativni vpliv na družbe, trge in države regije in ga kritično ovrednotim. Ugotavljam, da ni mogoče sklepati na večji normativni vpliv Turčije v regiji zaradi plitke evropeizacije. Normativni vpliv Turčije na države je bil namreč največji med leti 2009–2012, ko je z mediacijo v srbskem delu Sandžaka in vzpostavitvijo tripartitne platforme dosegla željen ugled velike sile iz otomanskih časov. Vendar pa po letu 2013 ta vpliv upade, saj nekatere države regije izražajo večja nasprotovanja turškim zunanjepolitičnim vrednotam ali uporabljenim sredstvom. Normativni vpliv na trge in na družbe regije je sicer konstanten ; prek agencije TIKA, inštituta Yunus Emre, verske institucije Diyanet in TV nadaljevank Turčija promovira svoje družbene vrednote: muslimanska vera, diaspora, patriarhalnost in ugled velike sile. ; Contrary to the dominant consideration of Turkey as the oldest candidate for membership in the European Union (EU) and Turkey's foreign policy strategy towards the Western Balkans, which envisions acting as the EU's partner, this work analyzes Turkey as an independent foreign-policy actor. On the basis of two research questions on the normative elements of the Turkish foreign policy strategy, I am testing a hypothesis that after 2009, due to the shallow Europeanization in the Western Balkans, one observes an increase of the Turkish normative influence in this region. As a control variable, I consider the declaratory withdrawal of the EU from Western Balkans enlargement efforts in 2014. In the theoretical part of the thesis, I conceptualize the normative foreign policy influence and construct my own analytical model of the normative elements of the foreign policy strategy. Following the description of the historical context of the EU and Turkey's foreing policy in the Western Balkans, the empirical part is followed by the biggest contribution of this thesis to science: analysis and interpretation of the primary document - Turkey's foreign policy strategy (Disisleri Bakanligi, 2018), for which I provided the first translation into English. I then identify and analyze Turkey's foreign policy actions, where I measure the normative influence on societies, markets and countries of the region, and offer its critical evaluation. Findings show that it is not possible to ascertain that shallow Europeanization causes greater normative influence of Turkey in the region. Turkey's normative influence on the countries was the largest between 2009-2012, when, through mediation in the Serbian part of Sandžak and the establishment of a tripartite platform, when the state achieved the desired reputation of a great power from Ottoman times. However, after 2013, this impact declined, as some countries in the region are more likely to oppose Turkey's foreign policy values or application of instruments. The normative impact on the markets and on the societies of the region is constant ; through TIKA Agency, Yunus Emre Institute, religious institution Diyanet and TV series Turkey promotes its social values: Muslim faith, diaspora, patriarchate and reputation of great power.
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.
Evropska sosedska politika (v nadaljevanju ESP) je politika urejanja odnosov s sosednjimi državami EU, ki jim ni bilo ponujeno članstvo v EU. Na Južnem Kavkazu, kjer so po letu 1991 nastale države Azerbajdžan, Gruzija, Armenija, se je sosedska politika okrepila po letu 2003, ko se je spremenila politična struktura v Gruziji in, ko se je s pridružitvijo Romunije in Bolgarije EU širila še bolj proti vzhodu. Velik del »evropeizacije« te regije temelji na širjenju pojma EU »kot edino pravega« razvoja družbe s pomočjo človekovih pravic in svoboščin, demokracije, liberalizacije, urejenega pravnega reda in prostovoljnega skupnega sodelovanja ter na postopni integraciji teh držav v politični, pravni in gospodarski red EU. V magistrski nalogi iščem odgovor na vprašanje ali je ta način promocije evropskih vrednot učinkovit za povezovanje z vsemi sosednjimi državami ali pa utegne imeti negativne posledice v odnosih z njimi. S pravno, gospodarsko in politično analizo evropske sosedske politike v Armeniji, Gruziji in Azerbajdžanu, spoznavanjem njenih prednosti in slabosti, ugotavljam perspektive za prihodnji razvoj. Za oblikovanje ključnih vidikov povezovanja je pomembno poznavanje zgodovinskih, etničnih, geografskih, kulturnih in političnih razlik ter poznavanje problematike območij z velikim varnostnim tveganjem kot so Gorski Karabah, Južna Osetija in Abhazija. Države Armenija, Azerbajdžan in Gruzija se nahajajo na pomembnem območju, kjer se prepletajo geostrateški interesi Rusije, ZDA, Turčije, Irana in v zadnjem času tudi Kitajske. EU se srečuje z novimi izzivi, med katerimi vedno večjo vlogo igra njena sosedska politika do tretjih držav. Ker je v primeru Južnega Kavkaza splošno zaznati obširnost evropskih virov, t. j. dogovorov in politik (pridružitveni sporazumi, sporazumi o partnerstvu in sodelovanju, finančni instrumenti, Vzhodno partnerstvo, Sinergija Črnega morja, sporazumi po sektorjih), v nalogi ugotavljam, ali bi bilo potrebno vzpostaviti enotnejšo in s tem preglednejšo sosedsko politiko do vsake posamezne države. ; The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is an instrument for governing relations with the EU's neighbourhood countries which are not to become members of the EU. In the South Caucasus, where Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia declared independence in 1991, the ENP was strengthened after 2003 with change of political structure in Georgia and after EU's enlargement further to the east with joinder of Romania and Bulgaria. A big part of Europeanisation of this region is based on promotion of the EU's values as being »the only right way« of developing societies, through strengthening human rights and liberties, democracy, liberalisation, the rule of law, voluntary cooperation and gradual integration of these countries into the EU's political, legal and economic framework. In this master's thesis I am looking for an answer to a question whether such way of promoting European values will result in cooperation with all the neighbouring countries or whether it might bring negative consequences in the EU's relationship with them. With legal, economic and political analysis of the ENP in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan and with identification of the ENP's advantages and disadvantages, I am trying to find possibilities for its further development. Understanding historic, ethnic, geographic, cultural and political differences and understanding problems coming from areas considered major security risks, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is important for developing key areas of cooperation. Countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are located in the important area where geostrategic interests of Russia, USA, Turkey, Iran and recently China intersect. The EU has been facing new challenges, one of them being the increasing importance of its policy towards the neighbouring countries. As there has been a significant amount of European sources, such as arrangements and politics (e.g. association agreements, partnership and cooperation agreements, financial instruments, Eastern Partnership, Black Sea Synergy, sectoral agreements) in the South Caucasus, I am discussing in this thesis whether there should be a more unified and consequently more transparent neighbourhood policy for each partner country.
Ko slišimo za pojem korupcija, takoj pomislimo na zlorabo javne službe za doseganje lastnih koristi. Posamezniki in podjetja podkupujejo administrativne uslužbence, da le-ti uredijo zadeve, ki morajo biti rešene. Gre torej za izsiljevanje rent od gospodarskih udeležencev in posledično od ekonomije same izključno za zasebne koristi politikov in uradnikov. Tovrsten pristop k obravnavanju pojava je v zadnjih letih začrtal popolnoma novo smer analiziranja in merjenja korupcije. Korupcija se predstavi v popolnoma novi podobi, v kateri posamezniki, skupine oziroma podjetja vplivajo na formulacijo zakonov, ali celo spreobračajo že oblikovana pravila igre, da bi si s tem zagotovili pomembne ugodnosti. Korupcija je in vedno bo obstajala v svetu, edina razlika je v tem, da se z razvojem družb spreminja, prevzema bolj prefinjene oblike, zaradi katerih jo je težje odkrivati in preprečevati. Vse bolj razsežne in destruktivne posledice, ki jih ima korupcija na gospodarsko rast in družbeno stabilnost, nujno zahtevajo praktične strategije omejevanja korupcije. Problem korupcije se ne omejuje na določeno regijo, kajti z njenimi grožnjami se ubadajo tako razvite države kot tudi države v razvoju in tranzitne države. V postsocialističnih državah so sočasni procesi razvijanja tržne ekonomije, oblikovanja novih političnih in socialnih institucij ter prerazporejanje družbene lastnine ustvarili rodna tla za pojav korupcije. Zaradi kompleksnosti fenomena in predvsem zaradi vse večjega zavedanja, da vzroki za prevzem države presegajo golo neučinkovitost in šibkost državne uprave, je potrebno za razumevanje in odpravljanje state capture razsvetliti problem širših strukturalnih povezav, kot so interna organizacija političnega sistema, odnosi in zveze med ključnimi državnimi institucijami, interakcije med podjetji in državo ter povezave med državo in civilno družbo. ; When we think about corruption, an image quickly comes to mind of abuse of public office for private gains. Individuals and firms are bribing bureaucrats to »get things done«. Behind this view lies an understanding of the state extracting rents from the economy for the exclusive benefit of politicians and bureaucrats. Such an aprroach has had a powerful impact on the way corruption has been analyzed and measured in recent years. Corruption has taken on a new image – that of individuals, groups, or firms manipulating policy formation and even shaping the emerging rules of the game to their own, very substantional advantage. Corruption has always existed across the world and it will never disappear, the difference is that has become more sophisticated and thus more difficult and costly to detect. With the increasing recognition across the globe of the damaging effects of corruption on economic growth and social stability, the demand for practical strategies to reduce corruption has grown dramatically. The problem is not confined to any particular region, and developed, developing and transition countries alike are confronting these challenges. In postcommunist states the simultaneous processes of developing a market economy, designing new political and social institutions and redistributing social assets have created fertile ground for corruption. With regard to complexity of phenomena and with increasing recognition that the roots of state capture extend far beyond weaknesses in the capacity of government, we need to be aware of factors underlying the persistence of corruption that is broader structural relationships, including the internal organization of the political system, relationships among core state institutions, the interactions between the state and firms, and the relationship between the sate and civil society.
Evropski parlament je politično telo, ki že dolgo časa razdvaja javnost. Njegovi nasprotniki po eni strani trdijo, da je tako politično in kulturno heterogen organ nezmožen učinkovitega delovanja, po drugi strani pa naj bi evropski poslanci hitro izgubili stik s svojimi volivci ter glasovali predvsem tako, kot jim to naročijo vodje skupin. Zanimalo nas je, če evropski poslanci glasujejo dovolj avtomatično in predvidljivo, da bi lahko rezultate glasovanj uspešno napovedovali z modelom strojnega učenja. Da smo zmanjšali časovno kompleksnost smo se odločili za napovedovaje rezultatov glasovanj po političnih strankah. Najprej smo implementirali spletne pajke, s katerimi smo pridobili čim več rezultatov glasovanj in z njimi povezanih podatkov. Iz teh smo nato z interdisciplinarno kombinacijo metod podatkovnega rudarjenja ter strokovnega geopolitičnega znanja izluščili značilke in zgradili model. Rezultati so pokazali približno 80% uspešnost napovedovanja rezultatov glasovanj (uteženi oceni f1 in roc-auc). Napovedovanje je bilo bistveno bolj uspešno pri strankah s proevropsko,liberalno in globalistično politično usmeritvijo kot to velja za evroskeptične, ekonomsko socialne in nacionalistične stranke. S tem smo dodatno podprli tezo o obstoju in pomembnosti nove nacionalistično-globalistične politične delitve. Poleg tega predstavlja problem tudi razred vzdržanih glasovanj, ki ga je težko napovedati že s pomočjo človeške inteligence. ; European parliament is the major political legislative body of the EU that causes divides in public opinion since its beginning. While some of its opponents usually point out its political and culutural heterogenity as a major weakness and cause of inability to function eciently, others claim that MEPs often quickly lose their connection with voters and vote mainly as it is directed to them by the leaders of their politival groups. We wanted to nd out if MEPs voting patterns are predictable enough to be successfully predicted with machine-learning based computer model. To reduce time complexity of the problem we rather focused on joint votes of (national) political parties than individual MEPs. At rst we implemented web crawlers that we used to extract as many roll-call voting oriented data as we can. Than we combined data mining with expert geopolitcal approach to extract the features and build a model for voting prediction. Our predictions were overall nearly 80% successful (weighted f1, roc-auc), however results vary greatly between political groups. It became clear that we could easily predict votes of coallition parties with liberal-globalist political orientation while eurosceptic, economic social and nationalist parties seemed to be much more unpredictable. With that information we further backed the importance of the new nationalist-globalist political cleavage. A challenge to the model presents also a class of votes of abstention, which is hard to successfully predict even with expert human-knowledge.
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.
Evropska unija se je na pragu leta 2011 začela srečevati s prvimi begunci, ki so pribežali z bojnih območjih Sirije in drugih držav Bližnjega vzhoda ter islamskih držav Severne Afrike in skušali ujeti svojo svobodo, osebno varnost in prihodnost prav v državah članicah Evropske unije. Politična kriza in vojna na Bližnjem vzhodu nista pojenjali, še več, vsak dan je na tisoče ljudi po sredozemskih in balkanski poti skušalo prebežati v Evropo. Evropska unija je leta 2015 z vrhuncem migracijskih tokov v Evropo doživljala najhujšo begunsko krizo po drugi svetovni vojni. Znašla se je pred hudim migracijskim vprašanjem, na katerega pa je sama našla odgovor v pomoči in sodelovanju Turčije – države, ki je pred 69 leti zaprosila za članstvo v Evropski uniji, vendar do danes še ni postala njena polnopravna članica. Turčija danes gosti največji delež sirskih beguncev na svetu – 3,6 milijona. Z Evropsko unijo sta po mnogih letih njunega intenzivnega političnega delovanja in diplomacije odprli novo poglavje sodelovanja, lahko bi ga poimenovala kar migracijsko sodelovanje, skovali sta skupno migracijsko politiko, le ta pa je bila ovekovečena 18. marca 2016 s podpisom izjave EU-Turčija, katere namen je bil ustaviti tok nedovoljenih migracij preko balkanske poti iz Turčije v Evropsko unijo in ga nadomestiti z organiziranimi, varnimi in zakonitimi potmi v Evropo. Seveda ni ostalo zgolj in samo pri turški uslugi Evropski uniji, le-ta je bila za to pripravljena dobro plačati, skupno je Turčiji namenila tri milijarde evrov in ji obljubila še druge ugodnosti, med drugim vizumsko liberalizacijo. V Evropski uniji se danes nahaja več kot 1,8 milijona beguncev. Mnoge Evropejce skrbi za osebno varnost, Evropsko unijo pa za nacionalno in mednarodno, med najbolj rizične varnostne implikacije, ki so jih s seboj prinesli begunci, se najpogosteje uvrščata terorizem in organiziran kriminal - tihotapljenje migrantov. ; At the beginning of 2011, the European Union faced the first refugees fleeing from the war-torn areas of Syria, other Middle East countries and Islamic countries of North Africa, trying to secure their freedom, personal safety and future in the member states of the European Union. The political crisis and war in the Middle East did not subside, on the contrary, every day thousands of people took the Mediterranean and Balkan routes to reach Europe. In 2015, when migration flows into Europe peaked, the European Union experienced the worst refugee crisis after the Second World War. The EU had to face a grave migration issue and eventually settled it with the help and in cooperation with Turkey – country that 69 years ago applied for the membership in the European Union but has not become its full member to this day. Turkey today hosts the largest share of Syrian refugees in the world – 3,6 million, and after many years of intensive political activity and diplomacy, it started a new chapter of cooperation with the European Union, we could call it migration cooperation. Together, they forged a common migration policy by signing the EU-Turkey Statement on 18th March 2016. Its aim was to put a halt to the irregular migration flows on the Balkan route from Turkey to the European Union and to replace it with organised, safe and legal ways to enter Europe. Of course, Turkey was not merely doing a favour to the European Union and the EU was ready to pay well in exchange, sending 3 billion euros to Turkey and promising other benefits, including visa liberalisation. Today, there are more than 1,8 million refugees in the European Union. Many Europeans worry about their personal safety and the European Union is concerned about the national and international security. As the riskiest security implications brought by refugees are most often mentioned terrorism and organised crime – smuggling of migrants.
Tale Zbornik prispevkov je večinoma nasledek vsakoletne prireditve v režiji Sinagoge Maribor, ki poteka že več let na dan spomina na holokavst pod naslovom Šoa - spominjajmo se. Vsako leto ta dogodek, enodnevni znanstveni posvet, prinese toliko novega gradiva, spoznanj in sintez, da lahko brez pretiravanja rečemo: čeprav so slovenske judovske študije in študije holokavsta močno finančno podhranjene in v nacionalni shemi financiranja temeljnega raziskovanja komajda tu pa tam pridobijo kak skromen projekt, so prav te študije v Sloveniji med najbolj propulzivnimi. ; Ovaj zbornik radova je najvećim delom rezultat godišnje manifestacije u organizaciji mariborske sinagoge, koja se već nekoliko godina održava na Dan sećanja na Holokaust pod nazivom Šoa - da se setimo. Svake godine, ovaj događaj, jednodnevna naučna konferencija, donosi toliko novog materijala, znanja i sinteze da možemo reći bez preterivanja: iako su slovenačke studije Jevreja i Holokausta ozbiljno finansijski nedovoljno finansirane, a nacionalna šema finansiranja osnovnih istraživanja jedva da postoji, ovaj, iako skroman projekat, jedan je od najzahtevnijih studija u Sloveniji. ; Although the Slovenian Jewish and Holocaust studies which have successfully consolidated during the past decade and a half does not enjoy any systematic support and financing from the part of the Slovenian state, they are nevertheless one of the most propulsive fields of scientific inquiry, with a proliferation of seminal publications. The yearly "Shoah - Let Us Remember" symposium organised by Synagogue Maribor as a central part of the commemorations of the Holocaust Remembrance Day regularly brings to light a wealth of new data, insights and syntheses. The reasons for such flourishing of the Slovenian Jewish and Holocaust studies are perhaps twofold: one, there exists a growing understanding especially among the engaged intellectuals in the social sciences and historiography that Slovenia has yet to embark on, and conclude the process of de-Fascistisation, the process that was nowhere in the western world a particularly swift or immediate one. Two, there exists a growing public awareness that history tends to repeat itself in a cyclic fashion and that the collapse of social and economic structures and the sharp decline of democratic principles such as we have witnessed especially since the 2008 world financial crisis bear striking resemblances to the circumstances that existed in the pre-WWII world, and that caused an unheard of genocide and global war. This volume is yet another in the series of very poignant publications on the Holocaust in Slovenia. It is especially commendable that the authors have taken a decisive step into studying the genocide perpetrated on the Romany who was, next to the Jews, principal victims of systematic Nazi extermination policies. Most appropriately, the volume also examines the more exceptional fates of the Jews who were veteran officers of WWII in the Austro-Hungarian armada, and a portrait of Slovenian resistance fighter Ali Kardoš. Two portraits of Slovenian "Righteous Among the Nations", customs officer Uroš Žun and Catholic priest Andrej Tumpej, complement these historical portraits. All these histories are cast against the backdrop of a huge, tragic canvas of Jewish refugees who have, following the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, flooded Europe, ex-Yugoslavia as well, in their frantic search of an exit from "mousetrap Europe". ; Zbornik je pripremljen u okviru projekta Šoa - da se setimo 2012/2013, koji je finansijski podržala Međunarodna alijansa za sećanje na holokaust (IHRA). Objavljivanje zbornika sufinansirala je Opština Maribor (the collection was prepared as part of the Shoah project - let's remember 2012/2013 financially supported by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The publication of the proceedings was co-financed by the City Municipality Maribor).