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The author shows that the processes of globalization cannot diminish the role of the nation-state -- as the sole recognizable political community -- in the implementation & development of democracy, though they are undoubtedly going to alter its functioning & make it more complex. When exploring democracy & its expansion outside the borders of the nation-state, we should keep in mind that people do not act solely on a rational interest basis, but also on the basis of values; & that identities, not just interests, are the underlying determinants of their political activity. That is why the theory of cosmopolitan democracy must come to grips with the issue of the legitimation of the cosmopolitan political community as well as of the cosmopolitan democratic political system. This paper addresses these issues. The analysis has shown that these are complex & open questions without which a valid discussion about the transnational political organizations & processes of the cosmopolitan or regional integration & democratization is not possible. The question of the legitimation of the political community (unfortunately, rarely discussed) is in a way primordial in relation to the issue of the legitimation of the political system & political authorities. This issue has been neglected because it is thought that pluralism defines democracy; consequently, the imperative of a certain level of social & cultural homogeneity as a condition of its functioning has been overlooked. The concept of global citizenry requires the creation of a new political identity, while cosmopolitanism must prove that this identity can be brought about without a "democratic deficit" or a "bureaucratic-oligarchic surplus." This is not easy, if we keep in mind the fact that the law & legalism by themselves are not conducive to political commitment & loyalty to political decisions. 39 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author outlines the ideological function of history, which stems from its task as society's self-reflection, by analyzing the past & enumerating the features of historiography. The text includes a short review of historiography (which is becoming aware of its limitations & the new demands for a distance in time & space from the facts it investigates) & historians' influence on the accuracy of its findings. The ideological function of history is illustrated by various thematizations of the same events in history textbooks, which were in use during different political systems on the territory of the present-day Croatian state. The author thinks that today's historiography is faced with a seemingly contradictory demand: it should reach the truth in its depiction of the past, but at the same time caution against the relativity of its findings. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

By using the analytical framework of the theory of modernization, the author analyzes the fundamental features of social community in postmodern society, in which it rests on kinship, religion, & cultural patterns. In modern society a new form of social community is established -- nation. It emerges within a constituted political framework as a community of individuals, subordinated to an integral legal framework. Contrary to the western model of "state-nation," there is the East European model of "culture-nation" or ethnic nation, which might be said to be an incompletely modernized social community. The dominating model in Croatia is one of the cultural or ethnic community. The consequences of such a model are the strengthening of authoritarian tendencies & the arrested development of democracy. In such a concept of social community there is no place for opposition. In Croatia, cultural & political modernization in the direction of social community with a more prominent role of intellectual elites & other social actors is vital. 15 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author presents two alternative concepts of democracy: the procedural, which values systems according to the procedures that a government makes use of in its day-to-day functioning; & the substantial, which insists on the political decisions' content as the criterion of a system's democracy. Based on these two concepts, the theoreticians of democracy have construed three different models of democracy (majority, pluralist & consensual); the first two are on the line of the procedural, & the third of the substantial theory of democracy. The advocates of the majority model are of the opinion that a government is primarily responsible to public opinion, ie, the citizens' majority; the pluralists consider democracy to be the government of several interest groups, of which none is powerful enough to impose its interest; the consensual model emphasizes the need for the government to guarantee, through its decisions, human & civil rights. This model also points out the need for protecting national minorities by employing mechanisms that enable their participation in the government. The author concludes that the latter model would best suit the societies of Central & Eastern Europe since they, due to their historical, social & cultural circumstances are not in the position to evolve Western models based on the procedural understanding of democracy. Adapted from the source document.

The author outlines the ideological function of history, which stems from its task as society's self-reflection, by analyzing the past & enumerating the features of historiography. The text includes a short review of historiography (which is becoming aware of its limitations & the new demands for a distance in time & space from the facts it investigates) & historians' influence on the accuracy of its findings. The ideological function of history is illustrated by various thematizations of the same events in history textbooks, which were in use during different political systems on the territory of the present-day Croatian state. The author thinks that today's historiography is faced with a seemingly contradictory demand: it should reach the truth in its depiction of the past, but at the same time caution against the relativity of its findings. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

International pressure prevented Croatia from ending the occupation of eastern Slavonia by military means. The author claims that the policy of peaceful integration & the UNTAES mandate are rife with risks that might jeopardize eventual Croatian control of that region. He points out a set of contentious issues related to the occupied territory: incomplete demilitarization, dual government (parallel UNTAES & Serbian authorities), no return for non-Serbian refugees, staying-in-place of Serbs from other parts of Croatia, Bosnia, & Serbia. Particularly risky for Croatia are the efforts of local Serbs to retain absolute ethnic majority as the grounds for establishing territorial autonomy, which would enable the militant acolytes of Greater Serbian politics to remain in the region & push for secession & annexation by Serbia -- efforts that would in all probability be given military support by Serbia, this time under circumstances that would be much more unfavorable for Croatia than in 1995. The author concludes that for Croatia, the only acceptable solution is the total integration of eastern Slavonia & the establishment of full Croatian sovereignty; the creation of a Serbian autonomous province in that region must on no account be permitted. Adapted from the source document.

The methodological assumptions of rational choice theory -- methodological individualism & rationality -- are not generally considered suitable for analyzing nations. Nevertheless, if we accept that the political process is at least partially rational, & that nation-building & change are part of that process, this will provide an opening to look at nations from the unorthodox perspective of rational choice. The club theory, as part of rational choice theory, offers great opportunities for establishing analogies between clubs & nations, & thus for shedding new light on some features of modern polities. Establishing a polity, by the club analogy, entails two basic selections: the selection of members & the selection of a sovereign territory that will serve to provide physical protection & material resources for its members. The choice of membership is in general based on the choice of desirable membership characteristics (usually cultural ones). The choice of a sovereign territory is linked to the decision on the part of the members to engage in collective action to acquire the sovereign territory. Adapted from the source document.

There have been a number of philosophical, legal, & political concepts dealing with the issue of peace. The most famous discourse on the topic of peace is undoubtedly Kant's writing on "perpetual peace," not only for the cogency of its ideas but also for the applicability of the majority of them in practice, particularly in terms of collective security. Kant's starting point was that peace is a rational & moral imperative of human nature, realized solely through human efforts. Though written 200 years ago, his ideas have found acolytes in the post-Cold War period since they are, to a large extent, considered as emancipatory. Kant finds the guarantees for the realization of peace in the moral doctrine & thus rejects the use of force in the creation of peace. Relations among states are based on cooperation, not competition, so that some elements of his project are reminiscent of the solutions applied in the system of collective security. The author looks into the viability of Kant's ideas in the post-Cold War period. Adapted from the source document.

The US governance model created in the 1930s & known as Big Government is analyzed within the context of its application in foreign policy. The author looks into the foreign policy role of the American federal government, the dynamics of the relationship between the executive & the legislative branches during & following the Cold War period, & the changes occurring after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Emphasis is on analysis of the Cold War legacy of the so-called nontraditional instruments of foreign policy interventions or the resources & techniques of covert activity. The author concludes that the extensive utilization of these instruments has significantly undermined the principle of limited federal government as one of the fundaments of American politics. However, in light of the new mobilization of resources in the fight against terrorism, it is necessary once again to evaluate the means of covert activity. 14 References. Adapted from the source document.

The article discusses interstate relationships within the European Union & their impact on European Foreign Policy. The author suggests that EU member states, in making a choice between individual or collective action, behave as rational benefit maximizers -- in a way analogous to that described by J. M. Buchanan & G. Tullock. The author also discusses the issue of externalization as described by Schmitter, Haas, & Rowe & its role in the process of the widening of the EU. Consequences of those processes for the Republic of Croatia are also discussed. Adapted from the source document.

The author shows that it is not possible to formulate a consistent theory of freedom, tying together the internal perspective of action & the external perspective of rational description & explanation of action. In the history of philosophical discussion about freedom as a fundamental concept of liberalism, Kant & Hegel represent two extremes. Each tried to formulate consistently a concept of freedom & its moral & political consequences, but both paid the price of one-sidedness. Kant postulates the primacy of the internal perspective of the moral subject, which is ideally expressed by his categorical imperative. However, the concept of freedom defined from the stance of autonomous morals loses contact with the historical world of traditional values, with the consequence of moralizing politics & unrealistically disregarding the nation as a characteristic framework of politics. Hegel points out the priority of the external perspective, which gives him an analytical advantage relative to liberal theories of natural law & Kant's moralist position. However, as warned by the German political theorist Hermann Heller, Hegel's position results in defining the sphere of collective morality as superior to individual action, disregarding the protection of individual liberties against the state & accepting national politics of power as the only criterion for international politics. The author concludes that liberal constitutions, unlike totalitarianism, must then be inconsistent. Adapted from the source document.

The author contends that numerous areas of human activity (particularly industry & science & technology) have been going through such a vigorous period of expansion that there is less & less room for political action. This applies particularly to the foreign policy sovereignty of individual states as well as to the possibilities of formulating domestic policy alternatives. This is why the programs of different parties are so similar & indistinguishable. In contrast to conservative parties, which always insist on reality & history as a yardstick, leftist parties have turned to the future. They address those whose reality is not a bed of roses due to economic reasons as well as those, found in all social strata, who are looking for alternatives to the existing systems. Adapted from the source document.

This work analyzes the relation between democracy & political participation, the typology & model of political participation, the findings of the research of political participation in the world (S. Verba, N. H. Nie, 1972; S. H. Barnes, M. Kaase, 1979; & others), & the research of the same phenomenon on a sample of Croatian students. This analysis has shown that today all the elements necessary for a more comprehensive theory of political participation are in place. This theory would enable a more systematic & standardized investigation of this phenomenon in the national & the international context. The article also shows how the nonconventional participation is gaining ground while the conventional is gradually leveling out. Significant are the results of the analysis of the etiology of political participation, particularly the relation between the standard SES model & the model of value orientations (left-right materialism, materialism-postmaterialism, etc). The analysis of the model of participation of Croatian students has shown that the model of 'protest behavior/potential' has a more complex etiology than other models, such as conventional participation & voting in parliamentary elections. Thus, for the 'protest potential' it is necessary to possess a developed civic competence, a critical attitude toward the government's performance, a liberal arts education, etc, while for the conventional participation it is central to have a higher level of political interest. Significant differences between the Croatian students & those from other European countries can be observed regarding the role of value orientations in explaining political participation. 5 Tables, 1 Graph. Adapted from the source document.