Suchergebnisse

Iako su SAD jedna od država koja ne predviđa oblike neposredne demokracije na razini federacije, ustavi članica američke federacije prihvaćaju instituciju ustavne i zakonodavne inicijative – jedan od ključnih elemenata za njihovo razlikovanje od Ustava SAD-a. Građani 24 savezne države SAD-a neposredno su od 1904. do kraja 2005. odlučivali o 2.155 ustavnih i zakonskih prijedloga, u 21. stoljeću Amerikanci očekuju širenje novog ustavnog populizma – uporabe institucija neposredne demokracije. Autorice tumače ustavna rješenja i stvarne učinke primjene navedenih institucijana oblikovanje državne politike u tim državama. ; Although the USA is one of the states that does not have provisions for the forms of direct democracy at federal level, the constitutions of American federal states have accepted the institute of constitutional and legal initiative, which is one of the key elements that differs them from the Constitution of the United States of America. The citizens of 24 American federal states directly decided about 2,155 constitutional and law drafts between 1904 and 2005. The American people expect the institutions of direct democracy to be used more extensively in the 21st century. The authors explain constitutional solutions and the effects of implementation of these institutes on the shaping of state policies in the respective federal states. The institute is used for bypassing the state legislatures in order to limit their freedom of action by constitutionalising the political choices. Tax- -reduction initiatives limit the revenues legislatures can levy and spend, and thus control the damage. This institute is becoming a means of launching changes in different public areas, such as taxes and expenditures, campaign financing, public education. However, the state legislatures can limit effects of the successful initiatives by withholding financial aid necessary for their implementation. State policy does not finish at the moment the initiatives are adopted by citizens. Sanctions depend on citizens' ability to establish the facts about the compliance with the decisions made by direct citizens' participation, and on clarity of the texts adopted by initiatives.

Politika izolacionizma koju su Sjedinjene Američke Države vodile sve do sredine 20. stoljeća naglo se izmjenila nakon napada Japanaca na Pearl Harbor. Krajem 1941. godine SAD su se aktivno uključile u Drugi svjetski rat. Prije toga su u ratu sudjelovali neaktivno, odnosno kroz razne programe kojima su Europi slali materijalnu i financijsku pomoć. Uskoro su slijedili sastanci i mirovne konferencije saveznika – Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, Sovjetskog Saveza i Velike Britanije, koji su se borili protiv sila Trojnog pakta. Na konferencijama se raspravljalo o budućnosti nakon Drugog svjetskog rata. Izmeu ostalog, dogovoreno je osnivanje organizacije Ujedinjeni narodi, koja će u budućnosti brinuti za sigurnost i mir u svijetu. Velike nesuglasice izmeu Saveznika sa zapada i Sovjetskog Saveza rezultirale su zahladnjenjem odnosa i započeo je period Hladnog rata. Hladni rat označava krizno razdoblje izmeu dva bloka u kojem su se velike sile svijeta natjecale u naoružanju i borbi za interesna područja. Usporedno s početkom Hladnog rata u Europi započinje integracija europskih zemalja. Najveći utjecaj na to imale su upravo Sjedinjene Američke Države koje su od kraja rata pomagale europskim državama u obnovi i razvoju. Novom američkom politikom, nazvanom Trumanova doktrina, političari Sjedinjenih Američkih Država odlučnije su se krenuli boriti protiv sovjetskog ekspanzionizma. Marshallovim planom ponudili su Europljanima ogromnu količinu novca kako bi se uz gospodarstvo, podigao i demokratski standard zemalja. Američkim poticajem, 1949. godine osnovan je Sjevernoatlantski savez koji je u slučaju rata trebao štiti europske zemlje od Sovjetskog Saveza i njihovih satelita. Time je započelo čvršće vezanje Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i europskih zemalja te je označilo direktan ulaz Amerikanaca u europsku politiku. ; Political isolationism which was led by the United States before the middle of 20th century, significantly changed after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At the end of 1941. year, United States joined the World War ...

Tema diplomskog rada je politika SAD-a prema ilegalnim migrantima iz Latinske Amerike. Promatrano je razdoblje nakon Drugog svjetskog rata kada je krenuo masovni priljev emigranata iz Latinske Amerike u Sjedinjene Američke Države. Tada imigracijska politika prema ilegalnim imigrantima postaje jedna od prioritetnih politika Sjedinjenih Američkih Država. U promatranom razdoblju daje se prikaz imigracijske politike američkih predsjednika, počevši sa Zakonom o reformi i kontroli imigracije (Immigration Reform and Control Act-IRCA) predsjednika Ronalda Reagana (1981. - 1989.). Vrata ilegalnoj imigraciji iz Latinske Amerike pokušao je zatvoriti predsjednik Bill Clinton (1993. - 2001.) Zakonom o reformi ilegalne imigracije i imigrantskoj odgovornosti (Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act-IIRIA), dok je namjere predsjednika Georgea W. Busha (2001. - 2009.) spriječio teroristički napad na Sjedinjene Američke Države 11.9.2001 godine. Njegov nasljednik predsjednik Barack Obama (2009. - 2017.) iskoristio je svoje predsjedničke ovlasti i autorizirao provođenje programa DACA (Deffered Action for Childhood Arrivals) i DAPA (Deffered Action for Parents of Americans) koji su pogodovali djeci ilegalnih imigranta, uz istovremeno provođenje brojnih uhićenja i deportacija ilegalnih imigranata. Rad završava prikazom dosadašnje politike predsjednika Donalda Trumpa koji ilegalne imigrante smatra prijetnjom nacionalnoj sigurnosti Sjedinjenih Američkih Država. ; The subject of the graduate thesis is policy of the USA towards illegal migrants from Latin America. Observed period is the period after World War II, starting with the mass flow of emigrants from the Latin America to the United States of America. This is the period when immigration policy of the United States towards illegal immigrants became one of the priorities of the United States. Presented are american president's immigration policies, beginning with the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) presented by the president Ronald Reagan (1981. – ...

Autor u radu kritički ocjenjuje napore poduzete u SAD radi pronalaženja rješenja za problem odlaganja visokoradioaktivnih otpadaka (HLW). Neuspjeh u vezi rješavanja ovog problema najviše je utjecao na nuklearnu industriju. Nezgoda koja se dogodila na Three Mile Island nuklearnoj elektrani usredotočila je pažnju javnosti na odnos između cijene koštanja i sigurnosti nuklearnih elektrana. Inflacija je, poticana umnogome i porastom cijene energiji, pogoršala financijsko stanje mnogih službi pri postrojenjima. Nakon naglog širenja, nuklearna industrija je pretrpjela osjetnu štednju i sve je više planiranih postrojenja otkazivano. Konačno, sumnjičavost javnosti u pogledu prirode i veličine jedne energetske krize je ublažena tvrdnjom o neophodnosti nuklearne energije za energetsku sigurnost Sjedinjenih Američkih Država. Potreba da se uvaže takvi problemi je otežala nedavne napore za rješavanje problema s nuklearnim otpacima, dok neuspjeh da se ostvari solucija odlaganja i nadalje podriva javnu podršku nuklearnoj energiji. ; Nuclear technology has been used in the United States for the generation of electric power, the production of weapons, and in a variety of medical, research and industrial applications. The failure to solve the problem of nuclear waste disposal has, thus far, impacted most strongly on the nuclear power industry. The absence of a solution has interacted with and compounded the basic problems of the nuclear power industry. The nuclear power industry has suffered a number of set backs in recent years in the United States. The accident at Three Mile Island focused public concerns on the cost and safety of nuclear power. A decade of inflation, driven largely by sharp increases in energy costs, has severely strained the financial condition of many utilities. After a period of rapid expansion, the nuclear power industry has experienced a substantial retrenchment as more and more planned capacity is canceled. Finally, public skepticism about the nature and extent of an »energy crisis« has undercut the claim that nuclear power is essential to the future energy security of the United States. The need to address these problems has complicated recent efforts to resolve the nuclear waste problem, while the failure to achieve a disposal solution further undermines public support for nuclear power.

U radu se prikazuje razvoj kaznene politike u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama od 1960-ih do danas. U SAD-u je u tom razdoblju kaznenu politiku obilježilo povećanje kaznenosti i kaznene populacije, ali i pad stope nasilnih zločina od 1990-ih naovamo. Tekst longitudinalno prati nekoliko problemskih žarišta i institucionalnih segmenata kaznene politike: predsjedničku politiku, politiku Vrhovnoga suda s obzirom na smrtnu kaznu i maloljetničko pravosuđe, te zatvorski sustav. Na kraju nudi raspravu o objašnjenju kaznenih promjena s obzirom na kulturne i institucionalne faktore i daje pregled razmišljanja o budućem razvoju politike u ovome u SAD-u politički zasićenom području koje je obilježilo i posljednje predsjedničke izbore na kojima je pobijedio Donald Trump ; This paper presents the development of penal policy in the United States from the 1960s to the present day. In the United States during that period, the penal policy was marked by the increase of punitiveness and penal population, but also by the declining rate of violent crime from the 1990s onwards. The text longitudinally traces several problems and institutional segments of the penal policy: the presidential politics, the politics of the Supreme Court with regard to the death penalty and juvenile justice, and the prison system. In the end, a discussion of the explanation of penal changes with regard to cultural and institutional factors is offered, as well as an overview of the reflections on the future development of policy in this politically saturated area that marked the last presidential election in which Donald Trump emerged victorious.

Post hladnoratovsko proširenje NATO-a, u dosad provedena dva kruga, predstavlja najveću i najvažniju geopolitičku promjenu u Europi, nakon geopolitičke tranzicije koja se u Europi odigrala u razdoblju od 1989. do 1991. g. Treći krug proširenja, koji uključuje Hrvatsku i Albaniju, otvoren je davanjem pozivnica ovim državama na Summitu NATO-a u Bukureštu u travnju 2008. g. Proširenje je bilo i još uvijek jest dio preobrazbe NATO-a u post hladnoratovskom razdoblju u kojem je NATO evoluirao iz tradicionalnog vojnopolitičkog saveza u kombinaciju saveza i sigurnosne zajednice. Proširenje je također bilo i jest izraz američke pobjede u hladnom ratu i uzdizanja SAD-a u jedinu svjetsku supersilu. NATO je povećao svoj teritorijalni obuhvat, promijenio svoje misije, sposobnosti i ciljeve, te ih nastavlja mijenjati kako bi ostao spreman odgovoriti na buduće sigurnosne izazove koji se postavljaju pred njegove članice. Najveći izazov NATO-u u budućnosti mogao bi doći iznutra, a to je mogućnost da postane sredstvo američke globalne geostrategije i njenih ciljeva. Ako NATO želi ostati legitimnim savezom i izrastati u sigurnosnu zajednicu, ne smije postati sredstvo za ispunjavanje geopolitičkih i geostrateških ciljeva samo jedne države, pa čak ni SAD-a. Stoga je u odnosima SAD-a i Europe potreban uravnotežen pristup, prema kojem SAD ne bi koristile vojnu moć kako bi nametale svoje geopolitičke i geostrateške ciljeve pod svaku cijenu. ; The Post-Cold War enlargement of NATO, in two rounds so far, was the biggest and the most important geopolitical change in Europe, after the geopolitical transition that took place in Europe from 1989 to 1991. A third round of the enlargement, which includes Croatia and Albania, was opened at the NATO summit in Bucharest in April 2008, by sending invitations to these two states. Enlargement was and still is a part of NATO's transformation in the Post-Cold War Era in which NATO has evolved from a traditional form of military-political alliance into a combination of an alliance and security community. It also was and still is an expression of American triumph in the Cold War and the rising of the USA to a status of the world's only superpower. NATO has enlarged its territorial reach, changed its missions, capabilities and objectives, and is continuing to modify them so that it could stay prepared for the future security challenges facing its members. The biggest challenge facing NATO in the future may be coming from the inside – the possibility of becoming a tool of USA's global geostrategy and its aims. If NATO wants to remain a legitimate alliance and develop itself towards the security community, it must not become a tool for fulfilling the geopolitical and geostrategic goals of only one state, not even the USA. Therefore, a balanced approach in American-European relations is needed, according to which the USA would not use its military power to impose its geopolitical and geostrategic objectives at any cost.

Nasuprot shvaćanjima o energetskoj politici kao funkcionalno-tehničkom problemu, ili na drugoj strani, kao borbe između materijalističkih i postmaterijalističkih vrijednosnih obrazaca u industrijskom, odnosno postindustrijskom društvu, ovaj rad dokazuje sljedeće hipoteze: a) u korijenu današnjih energetskih problema leže konflikti oko raspodjele, b) vrijednosti o kojima se radi, čak i na području zaštite okoline, materijalističke su naravi, c) razlike u energetskoj politici Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i Zapadne Njemačke mogu se objasniti različitim obrascima raspodjele, a težište im je u različitim vrednotama proizašlim iz razlika između industrijskih i demografskih struktura, te geološkog bogatstva, d) energetska politika, a posebno izbor pravca fleksibilne »soft energy«, može se uspješno provoditi nastajanjem »pobjedničke koalicije« poklanjanjem dovoljno pažnje pitanjima raspodjele koja su u to uključena. Zaokrete k fleksibilnoj energetskoj politici autor veže uz pokrete za zaštitu okoline i programe novih energetskih projekata na lokalnoj razini i razini globalnog društva. Na taj način, zaključuje se, »energetski sindrom« i redistributivni konflikti ne moraju biti uzroci dublje političke i društvene dezorganizacije. ; As opposed to the notion of energy policy as a functional-technical issue, and — on the other hand — as a struggle between materialistic and post-materialistic value patterns in the industrial and post-industrial society, the article is arguing the following hypotheses: (1) distributional conflicts represent the roots of the contemporary energy problems, (2) the values involved, even in the field of environmental protection, are of a materialistic nature, (3) the differences in energy policies of the United States and Western Germany can be explained by different distributional patterns, having as their core divergent values stemming from differences between industrial and demographic structures and geological resources, (4) the energy policy, especially the choice of the path of flexible »soft-energy «, can be successfully implemented by the emergence of a »winning coalition« which takes sufficient account of the distributional issues involved. Switches toward flexible energy policies are, according to the author, tied to activities of movements for environmental protection and to programs of new energy projects on the local level and on the global societal level. In such a manner, it is concluded, the »energy syndrome« and redistributional conflicts are not necessarily causes of a profound political and societal disorganization.

U suvremenom zapadnom društvu terorizam je postao kulturalni simbol straha te je samim time postao referentni okvir za evaluaciju bilo kakvih drugih oblika ugroze ljudskoj sigurnosti. Pokušaji donošenja univerzalne definicije terorizma nikada nisu rezultirali uspjehom, a razlog tomu je njegova situacijska i pejorativna priroda te preklapanje s drugim formama političkog nasilja (gerilsko ratovanje, pobune i slično). Na tom tragu, prikazivanje određenih fenomena i događaja kao terorističkih može biti stvar subjektivne konstrukcije značenja tog pojma. Stoga je u ovom radu, uz metodu kritičke analize diskursa protuterorističkih strategija Europske unije i Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, prikazano kako se konstruira strah od terorizma u kolektivnoj svijesti zapadnog društva, te su komparativnom analizom utvrđene sličnosti i razlike u provođenju politike straha od strane zapadnih političkih elita. Rezultati analiza ukazuju kako se prikaz prijetnje koju terorizam predstavlja zapadnom svijetu ne temelji na činjenicama, nego na zamišljanju najgorih mogućih ishodišnih scenarija terorističkih napada. ; Terrorism has become a cultural symbol of fear in contemporary Western society and therefore a frame of reference for evaluation of any other type of threat to human security. Attempts to universally define terrorism have never been succesful because of its situational and pejorative nature and overlap with other forms of political violence (guerilla warfare, insurgency etc.). Consequently, representation of certain phenomena and events as terrorist can be a matter of subjective construction. Therefore, by applying method of critical discourse analysis to counterterrorism strategies of the European Union and the United States of America, it is shown how the fear of terrorism in collective consciousness of Western society is constructed. In addition, comparative analysis method shows similarities and differences in conduction of politics of fear by western political elites. Results of analysis indicate that the representation of terrorist threat to Western society is based not on facts but on imagining worst-case scenarios of terrorist attack.

U radu se raspravlja o operacionalizaciji obrazovnih politika o pravima djece. Prava djece primarno proizlaze iz temeljnih ljudskih prava koja promiču zadovoljavanje bioloških, socijalnih, psiholoških, intelektualnih i duhovnih potreba. Donošenjem Konvencije o pravima djeteta 1989. godine dolazi do promjene u poimanju prava djece te se ističe aktivna uloga djeteta kao nositelja vlastitih prava. Promiče se i filozofija inkluzije kako bi se svoj djeci pružile jednake mogućnosti te osigurao rast i razvoj u skladu s individualnim sposobnostima svakog djeteta. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati način na koji se djeca i djetinjstvo prikazuju u dokumentima o pravima djece, s naglaskom na aktivnu ulogu djeteta nasuprot zaštitničkom stavu prema djetetu te u kojoj mjeri i na koji način su u dokumentima o pravima djece zastupljene temeljne inkluzivne odrednice. Rezultati kvalitativne deskriptivne analize ključnih dokumenata ukazuju na to da iako se u literaturi promiče uloga djeteta kao aktivnog sudionika i nositelja vlastitih prava taj je koncept potrebno i dalje razvijati. ; The paper discusses the operationalization of education policies on children's rights. Children's rights primarily derive from fundamental human rights that foster the fulfillment of the biological, social, psychological, intellectual and spiritual needs of all. Adoption of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child has brought a change in the understanding of the children's rights, whereupon the active role of the child as the holder of her/his own rights has become recognized as well as the philosophy of inclusion, which provides equal opportunities for all children and ensures the growth and development in accordance with the individual abilities of every child. The aim of this paper is to examine how children and childhood are presented in the documents on children's rights, with an emphasis on the active role of the child and protective attitude towards the child. The paper also seeks to examine in what way and to what extent the fundamental inclusive principles are represented in the documents on children's rights. The results of a qualitative descriptive analysis of documents indicate that although relevant literature promotes the role of the child as an active participant and a holder of her/his own rights, the aforementioned concept needs to be further developed.

International Relations as a discipline have gone through the process of thorough transformation in the last several years. There are a growing number of IR scholars who argue that the logic of mainstream thinking about the nature of international politics needs to be changed. Some paradigmatic debates within the IR are now challenged. This "new thinking" is not so much new as increasingly attractive and based on contemporary development in international relations. Its main starting point is in arguing for a theoretical synthesis of several streams of IR theory, including also middle-range theories and analytic eclecticism. Also, more theorists than ever before argue for "de-colonisation" of the field of IR studies, or for "post-Western IR theory". They are increasingly interested in little known traditions of IR thinking that were developed outside the US. The main objective of this new orientation is to assess whether in these non-Western approaches there are also those who can help the IR as discipline to recover its strength and relevance. This article analyses these new trends in IR theories. Adapted from the source document.

Nationalism is sometimes said to be too varied a phenomenon to be easily defined, let alone reduced to the generalizations of political theory. One analyst, after studying the subject over a lifetime without being able to pin it down, threw up his hands & observed that a nation is any group of people who think themselves to be one. Democracy too is a controversial term, differing in ancient & modern usage & all the more ambiguous because of its cynical misappropriation by autocratic regimes. Despite these difficulties, both concepts denote forces too important to modern history to be excluded from theoretical scrutiny. The present inquiry will propose a framework for analysis, focus on the US as a leading protagonist of both forces, & conclude by considering their interaction in a changing world order -- marked, paradoxically, by the conflicting pressures of "globalization" & demands for the preservation of separate spheres of identity. Thematically, it will suggest that civic or political nationalism, as distinct from other potentially more malevolent forms, is compatible with democracy & a useful instrument of collective action, domestic & interstate, but that all forms of nationalism can pose serious dangers if taken to an extreme. Adapted from the source document.

Nationalism is sometimes said to be too varied a phenomenon to be easily defined, let alone reduced to the generalizations of political theory. One analyst, after studying the subject over a lifetime without being able to pin it down, threw up his hands & observed that a nation is any group of people who think themselves to be one. Democracy too is a controversial term, differing in ancient & modern usage & all the more ambiguous because of its cynical misappropriation by autocratic regimes. Despite these difficulties, both concepts denote forces too important to modern history to be excluded from theoretical scrutiny. The present inquiry will propose a framework for analysis, focus on the US as a leading protagonist of both forces, & conclude by considering their interaction in a changing world order -- marked, paradoxically, by the conflicting pressures of "globalization" & demands for the preservation of separate spheres of identity. Thematically, it will suggest that civic or political nationalism, as distinct from other potentially more malevolent forms, is compatible with democracy & a useful instrument of collective action, domestic & interstate, but that all forms of nationalism can pose serious dangers if taken to an extreme. Adapted from the source document.