Suchergebnisse

The author outlines constitutional & legal provisions regulating the rights of ethnic minorities in the Republic of Croatia as well as the site-based policy of the protection of minority rights. The major areas in which the Croatian government has been supporting the activities of minority group organizations are publishing, cultural societies, libraries, minority curricula, preservation of the minority cultural heritage, & research projects. Between 1992 & 1997, the government earmarked 22 million DEM for minorities' activities. The author concludes that ethnic minorities in Croatia, despite some political & economic hardships, have enjoyed a high degree of minority rights & freedoms. Adapted from the source document.

The author discusses the concept of state neutrality through the debate led by political theorists over the last 30 years. The notion of neutrality is presented as crucial for legitimacy & the scope of liberal-democratic government & also as an institutional solution of the rising cultural, religious, & moral plurality of contemporary Western societies. Starting with Rawls's theory of justice, the article continues with Nozick's libertarian criticism, MacIntyre's criticism of liberalism, & the arguments of Sandel, Taylor, & Raz (respectively) about the incompatibility of the concepts of the common good & state neutrality. The author discusses relations between neutrality & the welfare state, plurality of values, public policy, & the common good. In conclusion, the author distinguishes neutrality of principle & neutrality of public policy, advocating for the former understanding of the notion of neutrality. 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes fundamental concepts of the school of rational expectation (RATEX, an offspring of the Chicago school of economics). Theoretical foundations of the neoclassical macroeconomy are set out: the hypothesis of rational expectations in the circumstances of perfect competition & the principle of strategic interdependence. Central to these are the hypotheses of variants, misallocation of resources, & neutrality of economic policy. Outlined are rent-seeking & direct unproductive profit-seeking as well as alternative models in the new theoretical economy: economic constitutionalism, deficitarians, the theory of political business cycles, & supply-side economics. 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the specific features of the American political system, its structure, & the political effects that it produces. She pays particular attention to the 1992 congressional elections & how they differed from previous ones, especially in that more women, members of ethnic communities, & young people, were elected to the House of Representatives. The changes in the composition of Congress are the result of three essential factors: (1) the long battle for the recognition of civil rights, especially for women; (2) the inclination of the electoral body to limit the congressional term of office; & (3) a better possibility of tailoring electoral units so that minorities can become majorities & secure a larger representation in Congress. 1 Table, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

In this text, consequences of the Croatian referendum for the EU held on January 22, 2012 are analyzed from various standpoints and from the angle of the controversy which it caused in the public, but also in the expert and scientific discourse in Croatia. The author first discusses the holding of the referendum in the context of its date-setting, which brought about a dispute between the government and the opposition and a part of the Eurosceptic public. Second, controversy arose regarding participation in the referendum, which is approached here in the context of irregularity accusations. Third, there is the issue of the referendum's legality and legitimacy, and the author draws a comparison with referenda held in other accession countries -- not only in the fifth round of enlargement with post-communist and Mediterranean countries, but also in other countries where the referendum did not have a positive outcome. Relying on the available facts and variable analysis related to the referendum, the author then asserts that the Croatian referendum for the EU was undoubtedly successful, that its results, both with regard to the participation and the outcome, were even better than in many post-communist countries of the fifth enlargement. Finally, the reasons for the tardiness of Croatia's EU accession in contrast to the other Middle-European and Eastern-European countries and Slovenia are analyzed. It is viewed as a consequence of wrong political estimations and decisions. The author also focuses on the informational and educational deficit regarding the EU in Croatia, and finds that the Croatian citizens are poorly informed on the EU because of specific decisions of the government. Still, the result of the referendum met with positive reactions of EU political bodies and the member states, which opens up the process of ratification in other EU countries that should lead to full membership of Croatia in the EU on July 1, 2013. Adapted from the source document.

The international community, with the implementation of a well-thought out strategy, has established in Bosnia & Herzegovina a pluralist & independent media sphere that has enabled the public discourse with objective information-providing & promotion of a plethora of different opinions. Such pluralist media scene contributes to the full freedom of expression, promotes the culture of dialogue & civil society, & represents a corrective to the state & the political structures. The article analyzes the media scene in Bosnia & Herzegovina since the 1980s (the then socialist BiH) until now. In stages, the plurality of the media in Bosnia & Herzegovina before the war, during the war, & after the signing of the Dayton Accord is analyzed. The author also lists the statistical data which serve for the quantitative analysis of the development of the media in BiH & as the measure of the diversity of its media scene. 12 Tables, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

Using a miscellany of multidisciplinary theoretical approaches (primarily sociological definitions of social & urban problems & the political science theory of the urban regime) as his starting point, the author analyzes the attitude of Split's leading politicians to the more recent problems of that city. His analysis is based on the findings of research conducted in Feb-Mar 2002, conducting structured interviews with a sample of 20 prominent local politicians. The results show that the leading Split officials consider the social conditions prevailing in that city to be unfavorable & encumbered with a plethora of hardships, the most prominent among them being rampant unemployment, decay of the city's industry, traffic isolation, socially disadvantaged citizens, & urban devastation. The interviewed politicians mostly think that those & other problems are to a large extent caused by the state of the Croatian society or, better to say, by the key factors of the social context (conversion of ownership, economic & general social crisis, patriotic war, etc) of the independent Croatia. An analysis of the interviews reveals the pronounced political tensions & divisions in Split & shows how they obstruct finding the solutions for the city's problems. The opinions & attitudes of the leading politicians in Split reveal, on the one hand, a considerable propensity toward an elitist, even authoritarian, approach to the resolution of these problems, & on the other, an insufficient willingness for solving the city's problems by means of cooperating with other social actors. 2 Tables, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

Using a miscellany of multidisciplinary theoretical approaches (primarily sociological definitions of social & urban problems & the political science theory of the urban regime) as his starting point, the author analyzes the attitude of Split's leading politicians to the more recent problems of that city. His analysis is based on the findings of research conducted in Feb-Mar 2002, conducting structured interviews with a sample of 20 prominent local politicians. The results show that the leading Split officials consider the social conditions prevailing in that city to be unfavorable & encumbered with a plethora of hardships, the most prominent among them being rampant unemployment, decay of the city's industry, traffic isolation, socially disadvantaged citizens, & urban devastation. The interviewed politicians mostly think that those & other problems are to a large extent caused by the state of the Croatian society or, better to say, by the key factors of the social context (conversion of ownership, economic & general social crisis, patriotic war, etc) of the independent Croatia. An analysis of the interviews reveals the pronounced political tensions & divisions in Split & shows how they obstruct finding the solutions for the city's problems. The opinions & attitudes of the leading politicians in Split reveal, on the one hand, a considerable propensity toward an elitist, even authoritarian, approach to the resolution of these problems, & on the other, an insufficient willingness for solving the city's problems by means of cooperating with other social actors. 2 Tables, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

In this paper the author deals with the nature of culture, the culture of peace, education as an eminently cultural activity, & the projections of the future. The author defines culture as people's cooperation in improving the quality of their lives & considers it at the same time to be both a part of individuals & a part of communities. Furthermore, the author advocates the culture of peace & cooperation & argues that culture in principle promotes peace, eliminates war & immanently strives for the ascendancy of peaceful cooperation among people. For the sake of peace & understanding the author thinks that the united Europe ought to standardize learning & education concerning the optimal forms of togetherness. & finally the author promotes the concept of "project identity" i.e. emerging identity. Adapted from the source document.

The author claims that freedom is what makes philosophy possible in its essence. Along with Kant, the author sees in freedom the spring of pure reason. It is in freedom, as a self-construed concept, that pure reason has its substance. The author goes then goes into the negative & positive concepts of freedom & analyzes the practical notion of freedom whose principles might secure world peace. Adapted from the source document.

In this paper the author analyses the possibility of 'creating' a European political people and forming a European political identity and a European political community. In the first, theoretical part of the paper, the author defines two concepts of people -- demos and ethnos -- and describes problems in identity building on purely political grounds of people as demos. By examining the references on a European political people in the EU legal foundations, the author illustrates dual premises of legitimacy for the Union and the Union's identity referents which are generally of a universalist nature. In the second, empirical part of the paper, the author presents how the European identity is formed, in line with classic distinction between 'civic' and 'ethnic' identity. Since the Eurobarometer survey showed a low level of European identification of EU member states' citizens, the author presents concepts which aim to overcome the low level of European affiliation. In the final part of the paper the question which is examined is whether the existence of a European political people is necessary for the future of the European integration. To this end, the author uses various theoretical approaches to the 'creation' of a European political people: economic/market approach, communitarian/statist approach, 'constitutional patriotism' of Habermas, Weiler's 'multiple demoi' and pluralism/particularism. Adapted from the source document.