The author suggests that Dayton peace accord is primarily an expression of the West's (particularly American) strategic interests, both regional and global. Numerous political constellations which have surrounded the conflict in the former Yugoslavia can be explained if this proposition is accepted. The lamentations that the recognition of Slovenia and Croatia was premature is an expression of the disgruntlement over the failure to incorporate the entire Yugoslav territory within the western interest sphere and the consequent relinquishment of Serbia to Russia. In Southeastern Europe, Russia has proved the sole American strategic ally. Americans, realizing that their strategic interests became vulnerable due to the European rivalries, decided to strike o its own. The Dayton constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multicultural state is built on current political principles in line with the requirements of the moment which include antifascism, anticommunism, antiterrorism, human rights and multiculturalism. author concludes that Croatian politics should fall in line with the strategic preferences of the West which would enable it to accomplish ist national interests. (SOI : PM: S. 156)
The author thinks that the American political and military initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has stopped the four year war and enhanced the American influence in the region. European Union has reacted to the latest developments by adopting a new regional approach towards the countries of southeastern Europe. This approach has been employed in relation to other European and Mediterranean regions outside EU as well (central and eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Mediterranean countries, the Union of Independent States). EU's policy towards Croatia is extremely reserved. It has insisted on a set of preconditions being fulfilled by Croatia before the negotiations about Croatia's membership in this organization may even commence. Croatia wants to forge links with the EU and is willing to comply with its demands, but is highly sceptical of regional associations. (SOI: PM: S. 161)
A politological analysis is presented in this book of the more than seventy year long period of US — Panama relations. Particular interest is devoted to the diplomatic and international law aspects, since in the author's opinion they are of paramount, fundamental significance. The main stream of these considerations is preceded (section 1) by a description of the circumstances governing the founding od Panama as an independent state. The author sees this as the resultant of a number of causes, both internal and also external, and hence not merely as a product of US policies. In section 2 is presented the initial state of bilateral relations, in particular the circumstances accompanying the signing of the Hay — Bunau-Varilla agreement, analysis of its clauses and also the legal and practical consequences of this agreement as the plane of the links between' Panama and the United States. Panama — US relations in the years from 1904—1964 are shown (section 3), analysing selected problems in a dynamic conception. Dealt with here are such problems as: guaranteeing independence and the policy of intervention, titular and eminents sovereignty military and economic questions and also matters concerning the conflict of 1964. It is the author's view that the situations analysed determine the principal lines of division and differences in the interests of the two sides, and also make it possible to discern — in a negative sense — future and desired foundations of these bilateral relations. Also comprehended in the field of interest is the question of the interpretation of the 1903 convention^ the evolution of Panama's attitude towards its principal terms and also certain legal modifications. The last two sections deal with the story of the negotiations lastingover many years and also the analysis of the currently binding agreements on the Panama Canal. Attention is drawn to the internal and international determinants governing the attitudes of the two sides. The author evaluates the new foundation of US — Panama relations in finding answers to the question: to what degree have the three groups of already historical controversies between the two sides been eliminated. These involve: 1) the legal and factual position of the Canal Zone; 2) the legal situation of the canal; 3) the rights held by USA extending over the whole Panamese relations results from the overcoming of a certain barrier, impossilbe to surmount in the earlier period, which determined the limiting (referring both to intentions and also to pacts negotiated) to modification of the Hay — Bunau-Varilla agreements without making any changes in its basic terms. In this sense the actual treaties are an incomparable qualitative state (chiefly due to annulling the clause on the permanence and titular sovereignty of Panama over the Canal Zone) that is achieveable due to the determination of the Torrijos government and also of the Carter administration. The present situation is of a clearly temporary character (up to 2000 AD). Although many anachronistic regulations have been annulled and in many cases conditions for cooperation have been created, intractable problems for the future are discernible. These result from the different interpretations by the two sides of the function of the Panama Canal. Panama aims to extract maximum direct and indirect advantages from the canal. As a small country its policy is to achieve demilitarisation and neutrality understood as the elimination of foreign bases and the obtaining of international guarantees safeguarding against external intervention. For the USA the economic question, although important (the advantages are rather indirect), does not play such a dominant role. Moreover, the canal itself has a strategic significance, the more so in view Of the lack of stability in Central America. From the aspect of Panamese rights further doubts are raised by the plans for building a canal at sea level. Among the varied problems to be confronted in the coming decade, these major items are most likely to govern US — Panama relations: the economic viability, of exploiting the canal, the method of implementing its strategic function and matters relating to the plans for building a new canal.
The principal trends in US foreign policy in Central America during the nineteen eighties are described. The Central American crisis, which has most acutely affected such countries as San Salvador and Nicaragua, has deep social roots and the military dictatorships ruling there now for many years are largely responsibile for the appearance of its most severe form — civil war. As long as the military dictatorships ensured stability, the United States treated this region as a peripheral sphere. It was the deepening of this crisis situation at the end of the nineteen seventies and the beginning of the eighties together with the victory gained by the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua which urged the Reagan administration to unprecedented US involvement. From the outset this administration, true to its conservative doctrine, put its faith in military type actions as one of the principal instruments to bring about a change in this situation. The military aid programmes for local regimes have been substantially increased and the network of military bases in the region has been extended. The US assessment of the situation in Central America has always been based on the assumption that the chief instigators of this crisis are the left wing forces, supported and inspired by the socialist countries with the object of widening their sphere of influence. Hence also the cornerstone of US policy has been to recognise the regional conflict as a direct threat to US national security. The new strategy involved principally the neutralisation of the left wing, including the change of the regime in Nicaragua and its organisation as far as possible on a formally democratic system of government operated by the centre parties. To attain this end they not only support military actions (always seen as the major lever) but also economic aid is increased, elections are arranged (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala), regional inter-government cooperation is promoted together with diplomatic isolation of Nicaragua and undermining of the government of that country. Also the possibility of direct military action has not been ruled out.
The scholarly attractiveness of the subject has been prejudged by the fact, that the United States of America was the first country in history which had constitutionalized the principle of division of governmental power. However, this principle has hitherto found rather a humble reflex in the literature. In Chapter I the author discusses the significance of the aforementioned principle in contemporary constitutionalism, dealing at the same time with some terminological questions. Chapter II concerns the general origin of the theory of separation of power from ancient times till the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Chapter III has been dedicated to the institutional background of the doctrine of division of governmental power of the "Founding Fathers", namely, to the governmental experiences stemming out of binding of the Articles of Confederacy, the colonial constitutional charters and the state constitutions. Chapter IV regards the ideological and social background of that doctrine. Chapter V affects the motivation of constitutionalization of the principle of division of power in the views of the Framers. In Chapter VI the author presents the very doctrine of division of power of the "Founding Fathers", especially its foundations concerning the coordination of governmental powers (i.e. Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court), their functions and competences, structure, procedure of creation as well as term. Chapter VII refers to the problem of guarantees of the division principle, both formal (checks and balance system) and material ones (James Madison's conception of pluralism and social distribution of power). Chapter VIII comprises some conclusions.
Latin America has played at all times a significant part in the foreign policy of the United States. Its geographical proximity, colonial descent, as well as common interests of all American countries toward the policy of the European colonial powers - these are historically primordial factors that have determined their relations. In course of time, as USA investments in Latin America grew, and the system of the political-military relations consolidated, also with respect to the USA global policy, the countries of Latin America got interrelated in a peculiar way with their northern neighbour. At present their mutual relations are noticeable at the arena of culture and propaganda. The present work perceives the cultural policy and foreign propaganda pursued by the United States as a broad complex of phenomena involving both the passage of wealth, values, and standars of culture, and the political purposeful persvasive actions, affecting the views, attitudes, and conduct of the pe.ople, as an instrument applied to put into effect the strategical aims of the. USA foreign polioy. At the same time it represents a stable integrator of the western hemisphere. The two decades (1960s and 1970s) of cultural policy and foreign propaganda discussed in the present work are' a period that allows to trace the characteristic manifestations, and to regard the trends appearing as the regularities of this sphere of social activity. The conception of tjie culture and propaganda influence, elaborated in the beginning of the 1960s has been modified in accordance with new occurrences taking place in Latin America, and with their perception by the particular administrations. The political function of this influencing, its aims,¡contents and implementing methods have not undergone any change. The work is composed of three fundamental sections - chapters. The first one "The determinants, and the programmatic directions of the USA culture-propaganda influence in Latin America" attempts to present the foreign policy programmes, and their stageB to define the place and role of the culture-propaganda influence in the USA strategies adopted to Latin America. Chapter two "The organization of the administration machinery" illustrates the extremely complex, multisectorial, and hierarchical system of the state and non-state organizations programming, coordinating, and implementing the actions under discussion. The third chapter "The forms, and techniques of the culture-propaganda influencing" describes the big business activity in Latin America in the field of mass-communication, its dominance at the information market, and its impact on the mass culture and education. Moreover the author discusses the state institutions activity in the field of radio, TV and film propaganda, face-to-face communication, bi-national centres and military schooling stations, as well as public utilities operation. Latin America constitutes too differentiated area to adopt preferential techniques to the entire region. Nevertheless the preference is noticeable. This refers to the radio-TV propaganda, face-to-face communication, bi-national centres operation, and arises from the influencies directing mainly onto middle classes predestinated to adopt foreign standards and values.
The author attempts at formulating certain hypotheses concerning basic developement trends in a contemporary capitalist society. The United States are selected as an example. Two significant concepts advanced by J. K. Galbraith and D. Bell functioning in the contemporary American thought are reconstructed in the article. Limitations of these concepts are indicated on the grounds of Marxian theory of policy, they neglect a real effect of the increacing role played by a political sphere in social life. Criticized authors focussing on bureaucratic processess do not admit the fact that a study in categories of bureaucracy indicates only at formal features of transformations. It is only the indication at real functions of bureaucratic organization which can facilitate perception evolutionary trends of contemporary capitalist society. In this context prognoses formulated by A. de Tocqueville in his "On Democracy in America" are still up-to-date. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016
The underdeveloped countries which are rich in oil resources are putting up a fight against the exploitation policy of the world oil cartel. The body which is representing their interests is the OPEC organisation (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries). The setting up of this organisation was in fact a response of the oil producing countries to the successive reduction of the information price. OPEC is thus meant to constitute a kind of counterbalance to the world cartel, which is getting most of its crude oil on the territories of the OPEC countries. OPEC represents all Arab countries of the Near East, Venezuela, Indonesia, Libya. In the negotiations with the world cartel the OPEC brings forward numerous postulates. Some of them constitute subjects of this summary. One of the most important and complicated item are the information prices which serve as a basis for computing the royalties due to the governments of the oil producing countries. The next problem evolves around the regulation of the size of crude oil production. There are also some other problems, e.g. the problem of separating the concession fees from the income tax, the problem of raising the concession fees to 20 per cent of the information price or last but not least the problem of fixing a new proportion of dividing the profits on the 70 : 30 basis. The fight put up by OPEC by exclusively economic means — has no good prospects of success. The best way out of the difficulties seems to be the formation of native capital which would undertake the business of oil extraction and oil distribution. The fight with the world cartel is difficult because of .the political weakness of the oil countries, the anxiety concerning the oil distribution (the world's distribution network is mostly in the hands of the cartel) and the lack of native skilled labour. The attempts to nationalize the oil industry have taken place only in a few countries — they constituted, however, a bold example to the other oil producing countries. Lately the nationalization trend slackened somehow, on the other hand the formation of regional groupings are getting popular. There are at present two such organisations: ARPEL — the Organisation of State Oil Enterprises in Latin American Countries and APO — The Arab Oil Organisation. Of course the mere setting up of new organisations does not yet mean the end of the World Cartel — it does mean, however, that the times where it could control unconditionally the oil resources are definitely over. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016
