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As Arctic navigation increases and states work, both at the international and the domestic level, at ensuring legal readiness, this article takes a closer look at regulation of Arctic Shipping in Canada and Russia. The analysis first focuses on the current domestic regimes that have developed over the past decades. It highlights that dissimilar political, economic and environmental contexts have shaped not only different shipping patterns off the Canadian and Russian coasts, but also dissimilar coastal state approaches that do not seem to converge noticeably under the influence of the Polar Code. The analysis then turns to challenges that lay ahead as existing regimes could be called into question due to receding ice cover and may need to adapt to evolving shipping patterns and technological innovations.

Urban shrinkage is a process that many European countries have been facing in recent decades. It had started in highly developed regions at the time of deindustrialisation, but since the 1990s, this process has also affected Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe, with different patterns and dynamics of urban shrinkage. The political and economic crisis in Serbia during the 1990s, as well as the transition from a centrally governed and urban-based industrialisation to a neoliberal market economy, has brought significant changes in the development of cities, which faced declining demographic and economic vitality. This paper is focused on the analysis of the intensity and dynamics of demographic and economic aspects of urban shrinkage in Serbia and on classification of cities according to the different phases of urban shrinkage. Typological classification was performed using the K-means clustering algorithm. The cluster analysis is based on the use of relevant demographic and socio-economic indicators, for the period from 2002 to 2011. After identifying cities that recorded an increase in total population and relatively stable economic development, three types of shrinking cities were determined according to the intensity of demographic and economic shrinkage - cities with low, medium and high shrinkage intensity. The analysis of the main patterns and factors that influenced the different levels of urban shrinkage enabled a better understanding of this phenomenon in Serbia. The results indicate the heterogeneity of urban space due to different levels of demographic and economic shrinkage, thus it can serve as a starting point for future research of uneven urban development in Serbia. ; Опадање градова (енг. urban shrinkage) је процес са којим се последњих деценија суочавају многе земље у Европи и свету. Започет у високоразвијеним регионима у време деиндустријализације, овај процес је од 1990-их година интензивиран у постсоцијалистичким земљама Европе, у којима је испољио различите просторне обрасце и динамику. ...

Russia has been following an Arctic policy that is highly heterogeneous, combining efforts at preserving cooperation with Western neighbors with commitment to building up its own strength. Three distinct policy modes can be identified: realist/militaristic, institutional/cooperative, and diplomatic management. Each mode is based on a particular interpretation of Russia's various interests in the High North/Arctic: nuclear/strategic, geopolitical, economic/energy-related, and symbolic. Examination of policy modes and interests shows that each combination contains some elements that focus on preserving the status quo in the Arctic, while other elements push for changes in Russia's favor. This article finds that revisionist elements have been gaining in strength, but that current policy still attaches high value to sustaining traditional patterns, even if they demand more resources and provide fewer advantages and revenues.

The analysis has shown that both approaches are legitimate and useful in understanding and maintaining democracy. Of course, the interactional approaches are more complex, as well as more important and more vital for understanding democracy. The analysis has shown how political culture (democratic legitimation or political trust, support for civil freedoms, satisfaction with the functioning of democracy, etc.) often depend on the elements of the very political structure (party systems and coalition models, election patterns, patterns of democracy, positions in power structure, etc.). Political culture is autonomous in relation to political structure, but frequently its role greatly depends on the relations among political actors and the variables of the political culture itself. The analysis has also demonstrated how these investigations into the interaction (combined effects) between political culture and structure are extremely sophisticated and that in the future they are going to become the most fruitful part of political science, making possible not only a deeper understanding of the "dynamic regularities" in the functioning of democracy but also the attempts at its "innovative sustainment" and gradual development. (SOI : PM: S. 131) + The purpose of this essay is to prove the connection among political culture, political structure and democracy. All the arguments pointing to such a connection have been analysed within the framework of two fundamental approaches to the relationship between culture and structure i.e. within the framework of the classical approach to their correspondence (which claims - primarily in line with the functional theory of culture - that there is a functional concordance between culture and structure, that democracy is mirrored by the civic political culture, i.e. that "culture is a structure's way of life", that culture determines the structure) and the contemporary interactional approach (in which - primarily in line with the theory of culture "as meaning" or "social functioning" - complex relations among various cultural variables and structural variables are analysed as well as their combined effect on democracy as the consequence of these relations). The latter approach considers democracy not as a "fixed condition" but rather as a dynamic phenomenon or the end result of the combined interactional relationships between culture and structure

One in a series of articles on the topic of empires, this article briefly outlines the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. The article addresses the timing of formation of the Roman Empire and the emergence of imperialistic patterns. The maintenance of the empire is examined to identify political mechanisms or systems that supported the empire. Roman foreign policy is credited as an essential factor to maintaining the power of the Roman Empire. The article examines central institutions of power in the period of Augustus (BC 27 to AD 14) and Hadrian (AD 117 to AD 138). The articles' discussion of Augustus' rule include his extensive travels to establish relationships with local rulers that buffered Rome and reduced the cost of direct management and his investments in infrastructure such an advanced road system, which to an extent decreased the empire's reliance on military power and increased reliance on adherence to laws dictated by the Emperor. Identifying factors of an empire are identified, including military power, political cohesiveness, and an inherently hierarchical organization. The identifying factors of the Roman Empire are compared to the identifying factors of present-day Russia and the United States. References. E. Sundby

In this paper, the author points to the outdated textbook classification of states into three groups, according to whether they have carried out the codification of administrative procedure or not. The first group includes the states that have administrative procedures fully codified. The second group comprises the states with the so-called mixed systems, which have uncodified procedural regulations related to the administration, while the third group contains a few states that do not have administrative procedural regulations at all. The author analyzes recent changes in this highly dynamic field in order to specify general patterns, common characteristics and peculiarities of regulations of general administrative procedure in contemporary states. The paper especially points to the general acceptance of the concept of administrative act but also underscores the differences in its content in various legal systems. The author has identified and analyzed some smaller standalone trends, such as: the increasing complexity of administrative procedures along the lines of judicial procedures, and the most recent deviations from this trend; the increasing presence of administrative contracting and other forms of alternative dispute resolutions of administrative matters; and the growing insistence on the principle of citizens' participation in administrative proceedings. The goal of the analysis is to determine the degree of influence of the Global and European administrative law on the national regulations, to explore the activities of certain expert organizations bringing together a number of experts in the field of comparative administrative law, and to discuss the course of the latest regulations in this area.

In the period 1945-1950, the oldest educational and cultural organization of the Croatian peasantry, "Seljacka Sloga" (Peasant Unity), renewed its work throughout Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina. In terms of the extent of the organization, the number of local branches (over 600) approached the prewar figure, and an equally respectable number of people (over 60,000) participated in the various educational and cultural activities it offered. These activities primarily followed traditional patterns: instruction in reading and writing, advice on economic and health issues, promotion and preservation of cultural customs and heritage, and assistance to amateur peasant artists of all kinds. But the very existence and work of the organization in this period was in large part determined by the political objectives of the new socialist government, which saw in the organization's activities the possibility of strengthening its influence in the countryside. is thus possible to conclude that "Sloga" at this time was made an instrument of politics, and this shaped the content of its work and determined the nature of its organization. The new government forced "Sloga" to join the pro-communist National Front and make its policies according to the set principles of, at first, national democracy, and later, socialism. The leaders of "Sloga" were under constant pressure from the state. Nonetheless, the author concludes that the "Sloga" played an important role in the postwar era, a time of extreme poverty, when other institutions did not exist. In the countryside, its revived cultural and educational activities satisfied basic needs. (SOI : CSP: S. 146)

This article analyses the weaknesses of contemporary democratic orders which stem from the use of modern manipulation techniques employed by those who manage to win the trust for making the government in democratic elections. Contemporary democracies are under the threat of populist promises which are most often unrealistic. The combination of populism and democracy is usually a product of the powerlessness of political elites, i.e. political parties, in states to solve citizenry's most important problems – to increase the growth and development of the economic system, to introduce the rule of law, and to rehabilitate political institutions so they could rationally and efficiently function within the political system. Contemporary democracies are not equally developed, nor do they have equal chances for developing. The facts demonstrate how in many societies and states – formally oriented towards establishing a democratic governance and towards starting the democratisation of societal and political life – democracy gets misused and diminished to democratic phraseology with the help of populism, while in the institutional aspect being diminished to creating a façade of democratic institutions. It has been demonstrated that the patterns of dominance follow and are characteristic for democratic governances to a larger or smaller degree. The essence of democratic governance are politically responsible decisions, rather than mass participation in making political decisions which are not realistic, while being dangerous in terms of their consequences. Democracy means making good decisions for the benefit and good of all citizens, while hierarchy must not be challenged when it is necessary that institutions function in a rational and efficient way. Introducing equality where professionalism, competence and accountability are needed is devastating for the functioning of institutions, therefore for the functioning of democracy as well. Democracy can be tricked with the help of authorities'populism, as was the case with Nazi Germany. After Nazis took power, not all institutions of the Weimar Republic were dismantled nor challenged, nor was the Weimar Constitution changed. However – parallel to state authorities, Constitution and laws – dozens of new orders and laws were enacted, creating an illusion that nothing is changed in German state. What Nazis did was developing a new mechanism, party mechanism, parallel to the state mechanism. The two functioned next to each other. Such patterns lead to the parallelism of power and democracy, which usually led to the totalitarianisation of democracy. In contemporary states – especially those in the process of democratic transition – such parallelism shows how party leaders do not forfeit party leadership once they get elected to state offices. In that way democracies become submissive and captured by political parties, especially their leaderships and leaders. The relation of freedom and democracy has also been analysed. Experiences show that democracy is founded more successfully in places where people managed to gain their liberties, rather than in those places where democracy is yet to provide liberties to citizens. Dangers for democracy tied with the abuse of democratic conditions are being discusses in the last part of the article. Each condition necessary for the functioning of a democratic order can be simulated through manipulative ways. A special danger for contemporary democracies comes from circumstances in which those who come to power do everything so that society and state are riled by anti-political principles: indifference, fear and trepidation, and powerlessness. Anti-political principles jeopardise democratic order, and those who use them demolish democracy. Democracy is facing constant challenges and temptations for scraping democracy in the name of democracy.

This book is about possibilities for, challenges for and knowledge about local cultural work among young people. It describes cultural work at a municipal level but shows also how this work is aiming to reach goals that it has in common with national cultural policy: quality, participation, inclusion, diversity and democracy. Using the municipality and town of Drammen as a vantage point, the book investigates how different parameters effect local cultural work, and how cultural policy at a municipal level is, by necessity, pragmatic, practical and sometimes prosaic. This topic is dealt with through a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis. The empirical data presented and discussed in the book is a combination of qualitative case studies and quantitative survey data. The survey data shows variations and patterns in the cultural consumption of an age cohort in the municipality, and the case studies show different ways of effectuating and organizing cultural work at this level. Finally, the book discusses the complex interplay between means and ends when a municipality is working to make culture matter for young people. - Denne boken handler om muligheter, utfordringer og kunnskap i lokalt kulturarbeid blant barn og unge. Den beskriver kulturarbeid på kommunalt nivå, men viser også hvordan dette arbeidet tar sikte på å nå nasjonale kulturpolitiske mål som kvalitet, deltakelse, inkludering, mangfold og demokrati. Med Drammen som et utsiktspunkt, undersøker boken hvordan ulike faktorer påvirker lokalt kulturarbeid, og hvordan kulturpolitikken på kommunalt nivå nødvendigvis er både pragmatisk og prinsipiell, praktisk og prosaisk. De empiriske dataene som presenteres og diskuteres i boken er en kombinasjon av kvalitative casestudier og kvantitative surveydata. Surveydataene viser variasjoner og mønstre i det kulturelle forbruket blant en hel aldersgruppe, og case-studiene viser ulike måter å gjennomføre og organisere kulturarbeid på dette området. Boken drøfter også det komplekse samspillet mellom midler og mål som er involvert når en kommune arbeider for å gjøre kultur betydningsfullt for unge mennesker.

In recent years, the violation of the principles that guarantee the respect of democratic norms and institutions has placed Serbia into the category of deficient democracies, and more recently in hybrid regimes. Since the beginning of the transition, the implementation of political and economic reforms in Serbia has been characterized by frequent shifts of periods with modest progress in the field of political and economic transformation with periods of stagnation and even backsliding in regards to the important reform segments. The indicators of political and economic reforms point to the strengthening of extractive institutions. Extractive institutions protect the economic and political interests of privileged groups to the detriment of the rest of society. This leaves fewer resources available to stimulate economic growth and job creation, with negative countereffects on the regime legitimacy and trust, which are crucial for the implementation of economic reforms. Serbia's failure to provide stronger economic growth is largely caused by extractive institutions that determine the business environment. The development of extractive institutions is indicated by the absence of a more even distribution of political power, weaknesses in the mechanisms of checks and balances, deficiencies in the sphere of the rule of law, widespread corruption, problems in the sphere of protection of property rights. The transitional developments in Serbia can be regarded as a historical heritage that adapts to the current social environment and has a great impact on institutional performance and democratic consolidation. Prolonged exposure to extractive institutions creates a cumulative effect of institutional learning, where individuals become vulnerable to political abuse, dependent on the state and unwilling to use political mechanisms of government accountability, contributing to a vicious circle of extractive political and economic institutions. Identifying the mechanisms of such accumulation, which include prolonged exposure to extractive institutions, as well as the transmission of cultural patterns from older generations who have long experience with extractive institutions, is a complex research task.

The impact of 'glass ceiling' syndrome and party selection on participation of women in parliament and other political institutions are examined in this article. 'Glass ceiling' syndrome, which means invisible, but almost impenetrable border that women face in professional life, keeping them away from positions of influence and progress in career, is the main reason for the small number of women involved in politics. According to the focus of the research, there are three groups of barriers to women's political participation. Most researchers examine the influence of the political system, institutional and legal mechanisms, the question of their transparency and functional improvement. Significantly less frequent approach came from authors who are concentrated on the social and economic barriers, financial conditions and the broader social context. The third group consists of those who are considering the ideological and psychological barriers, patriarchal cultural patterns, traditional gender roles, self-confidence, ambition and women's desire to be involved in politics. Political parties are key actors in the process of discrimination against women, because they do not allow them to be selected in a number of political functions. There are many factors that determine that the issue of gender equality is variously interpreted in political parties. The most present are contextual and ideological factors, referring to a different definition of the status of women on the political agenda, the social climate in terms of gender equality and respect for human rights, the level of social development and political freedom. Then come organizational factors pertaining to the structure of parties, the manner in which the leadership is elected, whether there are internal women's pressure groups and lobbying, and are women leaders are visible on high positions in decision-making process. Finally, there are institutional-legal factors, which include the type of electoral system, the legal and constitutional framework and the prescribed quotas on national and / or party level.

The impact of 'glass ceiling' syndrome and party selection on participation of women in parliament and other political institutions are examined in this article. 'Glass ceiling' syndrome, which means invisible, but almost impenetrable border that women face in professional life, keeping them away from positions of influence and progress in career, is the main reason for the small number of women involved in politics. According to the focus of the research, there are three groups of barriers to women's political participation. Most researchers examine the influence of the political system, institutional and legal mechanisms, the question of their transparency and functional improvement. Significantly less frequent approach came from authors who are concentrated on the social and economic barriers, financial conditions and the broader social context. The third group consists of those who are considering the ideological and psychological barriers, patriarchal cultural patterns, traditional gender roles, self-confidence, ambition and women's desire to be involved in politics. Political parties are key actors in the process of discrimination against women, because they do not allow them to be selected in a number of political functions. There are many factors that determine that the issue of gender equality is variously interpreted in political parties. The most present are contextual and ideological factors, referring to a different definition of the status of women on the political agenda, the social climate in terms of gender equality and respect for human rights, the level of social development and political freedom. Then come organizational factors pertaining to the structure of parties, the manner in which the leadership is elected, whether there are internal women's pressure groups and lobbying, and are women leaders are visible on high positions in decision-making process. Finally, there are institutional-legal factors, which include the type of electoral system, the legal and constitutional framework and the prescribed quotas on national and / or party level.

"The book discusses various challenges and solutions related to the coordination of health and welfare services. Coordination is central to creating integrated services for users with complex needs. In order to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with creating such services, one needs knowledge related to organizations and the organizational context. The book's chapters takes on an organizational perspective where patterns and explanations are sought in formal and informal structures, processes and culture.

The users' need for services often cross established boundaries, both organizational and professional. The authors highlight the possibilities and limitations of some selected solutions that will help to cut across or break down such boundaries. Examples of such solutions are user involvement, interdisciplinary collaboration, team organizations, coordinators, standardization and patient pathways, digitization and decision-making tools for employees who work in the services. One chapter summarizes three different theoretical research approaches for analyzing coordination and collaboration.

The target group is researchers, university and college employees and students of the health and welfare sector. The book also will be of interest for user organizations as well as administrative and professional decision-makers in public and private businesses." - I denne boka drøfter forfatterne ulike utfordringer og løsninger knyttet til samordning av helse- og velferdstjenestene. Samordning er sentralt for å skape et helhetlig helse- og velferdstilbud til både eldre og yngre brukere med komplekse behov. For å forstå hvilke utfordringer og muligheter som finnes, trenger man kunnskap om organisasjon og organisatorisk kontekst. Boken inntar et organisasjonsperspektiv hvor mønstre og forklaringer søkes i formelle og uformelle strukturer, prosesser og organisasjonskulturer.

Brukernes behov for tjenester går ofte på tvers av organisasjoners og profesjoners etablerte grenser. Forfatterne belyser muligheter og begrensninger ved noen utvalgte løsninger som skal bidra til å overskride eller bryte ned slike grenser. Eksempler på slike løsninger er brukermedvirkning, tverrfaglig samarbeid, teamorganisering, koordinator, standardisering og behandlingslinjer, digitalisering samt beslutningsverktøy for tidlig innsats blant barn og unge (BTI). Et bidrag sammenfatter ulike forskningstilnærminger for å analysere samordning og samarbeid.

Målgruppen for boken er forskere, universitets- og høyskoleansatte, studenter og ansatte, særlig innenfor helse- og velferdssektoren. Den kan også være interessant og nyttig for brukerorganisasjoner og faglige og administrative beslutningstakere i offentlig og privat virksomhet.