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The article focuses on the interconnectedness of foreign policy environments to explain Slovenia's opportunities and constraints for foreign policy action. During the period of pre-independence para-diplomacy, the building of an internal and external domestic environment successfully turned constraints (no international recognition) into opportunities (applying for membership of European and global intergovernmental organizations). In the second period — post-recognition — considering the absence of a strategic foreign policy document, the Slovenian internal foreign policy environment became a major constraint to seize foreign environment opportunities. This affected Slovenia's accomplishments, notably after NATO and EU memberships were achieved in 2004. Although the Slovenian internal environment matured during the following period to adopt, in 2015, a comprehensive foreign policy strategy the recent turn in world politics (especially the European financial and economic crisis and the migration crisis) created for the first time a foreign environment for Slovenia that offered many fewer opportunities and far more constraints. ; The article focuses on the interconnectedness of foreign policy environments to explain Slovenia's opportunities and constraints for foreign policy action. During the period of pre-independence para-diplomacy, the building of an internal and external domestic environment successfully turned constraints (no international recognition) into opportunities (applying for membership of European and global intergovernmental organizations). In the second period — post-recognition — considering the absence of a strategic foreign policy document, the Slovenian internal foreign policy environment became a major constraint to seize foreign environment opportunities. This affected Slovenia's accomplishments, notably after NATO and EU memberships were achieved in 2004. Although the Slovenian internal environment matured during the following period to adopt, in 2015, a comprehensive foreign policy strategy the recent turn in world politics (especially the European financial and economic crisis and the migration crisis) created for the first time a foreign environment for Slovenia that offered many fewer opportunities and far more constraints.

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.

The analyses of the process of transition in Serbia, made by some international institutions & organizations, have shown that the fundamental problems in our economy are ineffective institutions & necessity of overall infrastructure changes. The author considers that any significant economic growth in Serbia in the future is unrealistic in the unfavorable macro- & micro economic business environment. She emphasizes the necessity to implement institutional & infrastructure reforms, which should be the first postulate for growth of productivity & competitiveness of enterprises & national economy. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.

The author distinguishes between the antiquity's & Middle Ages' teachings on natural law & justice as a virtue & the modern-age Hobbes' theory of the prerequisites of the legal system. Hobbes' theory identifies the prerequisites of the legal system & describes the institution of legal constraint which guarantees the rule of law. The author points to the central historical difference between these paradigms. Finally, the author traces the evolution of Hobbes' paradigm in Kant's philosophy of right. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the tension which exists in constitutional states between the popular sovereignty & the constraints of the people by constitutional order. After explaining & historically interpreting the significance of popular sovereignty as well as the danger hidden in the unequivocal adherence to this principle, he describes the functioning of popular sovereignty in several European constitutions. Most of them express certain misgivings about the people & its direct participation, so that its activities are limited to constitutionally predictable decisions. The author also highlights certain ethical dilemmas & perimeters of popular sovereignty. Constitutional state is based on the compromise between the liberal & the democratic principle; recently, this compromise has been endangered in some newly-created constitutional regimes by non-liberal democracy or the disequilibrium between these two principles. Adapted from the source document.

The author applies a variant of the common pool resources theory to the problem of public spending under the coalition governments elected by proportional representation. The claim is that proportional representation produces cabinets with a large number of parties, and that a large number of parties brings about higher public spending (measured by budget deficit and public debt). The author constructs and deploys the concept of budgetary dilemma to the effect that, absent institutional constraints, public spending results in expansionary fiscal policy. In the second part, the author empirically tests the budgetary dilemma in two postcommunist democracies - Serbia and Croatia, which in 2000-2013 had cabinets with a large number of actors and increasing public spending. The analysis shows a statistically unreliable predictive capacity of the main independent variable - the number of parties in the cabinet. Statistical analysis is followed by several illustrations of the budgetary dilemma. Adapted from the source document.

The author applies a variant of the common pool resources theory to the problem of public spending under the coalition governments elected by proportional representation. The claim is that proportional representation produces cabinets with a large number of parties, and that a large number of parties brings about higher public spending (measured by budget deficit and public debt). The author constructs and deploys the concept of budgetary dilemma to the effect that, absent institutional constraints, public spending results in expansionary fiscal policy. In the second part, the author empirically tests the budgetary dilemma in two postcommunist democracies - Serbia and Croatia, which in 2000-2013 had cabinets with a large number of actors and increasing public spending. The analysis shows a statistically unreliable predictive capacity of the main independent variable - the number of parties in the cabinet. Statistical analysis is followed by several illustrations of the budgetary dilemma. Adapted from the source document.

The author argues that democracy is not appropriate for the resolution of the relationship between law & the democratically conditioned state authority in the multinational Europe. The so-called democratic deficit should be understood not only as the empirical fact of a multinational Europe, but also as a paradoxical structural attribute of modern political thought from Kant until today. The author claims that the people should not rule as they might violate all the laws they enacted themselves. Thus the question of the equality of citizens cannot be a democratic one but legal & constitutional. Democracy cannot lay claim to be the sole provider of the legal equality of citizens just as law cannot be the only arbiter in making democratic distinctions among them. Since democracy should be understood as an independent autopoietic & autoimmune medium relatively independent of political power & legal constraints as its setting, the author concludes that the existing forms of immediate & representative democracy, as well as of the traditional form of democratic decision/making represent a risk of regressive progress in Europe in the direction of democracy limited by nation, religion or by class. Adapted from the source document.

The Slovenian model of political system envisages that the president of the Republic has only representative, initiative & protocolary functions. According to Elgie's definition, Slovenia might be categorized as a sort of a semipresidential regime; hence, the historical, constitutional & political circumstances in which the role of the president of the Republic in the Slovenian political system should be looked into. After a careful analysis of the political tradition & culture, & the development of the constitutional culture in particular, the author analyzes the constitutional-political practice & the results of the presidential elections, their political orientation & the difference between the constitutional powers & the presidential performances. The author concludes that Slovenia does not have a powerful but a symbolic president of the state, despite the fact that the presidents are elected directly; consequently, the political system of Slovenia should be classified as a "parliamentary system with a president." Since the history of the individual presidency in Slovenia is still very short, for the time being it is very hard to assess all its major aspects; only the future developments will reliably demonstrate the real competences & the constraints of the president of the Republic as a legal & political actor. References. Adapted from the source document.

Promidžba demokracije temeljni je cilj vanjske politike EU-a, a ujedno i međunarodna dimenzija demokratizacije kao temeljnog i ključnog političkog ishoda proširenja unija na države Istočne, Srednje i Jugoistočne Europe. U svjetlu relevantnosti te tematike ovaj rad nastoji definirati pojam, doseg i primjenu promidžbe demokracije u međunarodnim odnosima, posebice prema postkomunističkim državama u posthladnoratovskom razdoblju, instrumente, ciljeve, strategije, ograničenja, evolutivni okvir promidžbe demokracije, kao i njezinu primjenu na primjeru Europske Unije, posebice u odnosu na bivše komunističke države, gdje je zamijećeno da vanjski akteri ne mogu potaknuti demokratizaciju i dovesti do stabilnih političkih poredaka ukoliko snažni unutarnji politički akteri ne budu "upravljali" elementima državnosti i modernizacije ; Democracy promotion is a crucial objective of the EU foreign policy; at the same time it is also the international dimension of democratization as a fundamental and crucial political outcome of the EU enlargement to Eastern, Central and Southeastern Europe. In light of the relevance of that topic, this paper attempts to define the concept, scope and application of democracy promotion in international relations, especially in the post-communist countries in the post-Cold War period. It will also examine instruments, objectives, strategies, constraints and evaluation framework of democracy promotion, as well as its implication on the case study of the European Union, particularly regarding former communist countries. In these cases it was observed that external actors can encourage democratization and lead to a stable political order if elements ofstatehood and state modernization are not discouragely "managed" by influential internal political actors.

Ovaj rad bavi se utjecajem odabranih varijabli na proračunsku transparentnost lokalnih (regionalnih) jedinica. Proračun je jedan od najvažnijih izvora informacija koji omogućuje pregled trenutnog financijskog stanja promatranih jedinica. Kako bi se provjerile zadane pretpostavke provodi se Poissonova regresija. U radu se koriste odrednice proračunske transparentnosti 428 općina, 127 gradova te 20 županija. Odabrane varijable su političari izabrani u prvom krugu izbora, ljevica na vlasti, koalicija na vlasti, visokoobrazovani političari, dob političara te deficit/ suficit. Pretpostavke rada su da varijable političar izabran u prvom krugu i koalicija na vlasti negativno utječu na transparentnost, a varijable ljevica na vlasti, dob političara i deficit pozitivno utječu na transparentnost. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata može se zaključiti da ljevica na vlasti pozitivno utječe na transparentnost općina, dok se ostale varijable nisu pokazale statistički značajnim. ; This thesis deals with the influence of selected variables on the budget transparency of local (regional) units. The budget is one of the most important information that allows you to review the current financial position of the observed units. In order to check the default assumptions, Poisson's regression is performed. This paper uses budget transparency constraints for 428 municipalities, 127 cities and 20 counties. The selected variables are politicians elected in the first round of elections, the left-wing government, the coalition of senior, educated politicians, the age of politicians, the deficit / surplus. The assumptions of the thesis are that the variable "politician elected in the first round" and the "ruling coalition" negatively affect transparency, the "ruling" variable, the age of politicians and the deficit positively influence transparency. On the basis of the obtained results, it can be concluded that the leader in the government has a positive influence on the transparency of the municipality, while the other variables have not been ...

Članak prikazuje recentne studije o novcu kao pravnom fenomenu, putem čijeg kreiranja različiti "stakeholderi" uređuju raspodjelu resursa i odnose između pojedinih dijelova društva. U ovoj koncepciji novac formira tržište, a ne obratno. Na primjeru "slobodnog kovanja" karakterističnog za Englesku od 12. do 14. stoljeća analizira se dilema nominalizam – metalizam, te tri ograničenja robnog novca u kojima se očituje Greshamov zakon, odnosno kontroverza likvidnosti. U članku se ne analizira na koje proturječnosti nailazi nominalistička politika novca. Pokazuje se da se ni u suvremenoj koncepciji robnog novca, eksplicitnoj u Hayekovoj studiji The Denationalization of Money, zbog proturječja likvidnosti ne može – u kreiranju i održanju novčanog sustava – izbjeći uloga društvenih, izvantržišnih faktora, uz ostalo i prava. Kako mnogi autori zaključuju da je i zajednička europska valuta koncipirana po uzoru na zlatni standard (robni novac), slijedi da i uspjeh njezina dizajna i funkcioniranja ne može biti prepušten samo tržišnom mehanizmu, nego ovisi o društvenoj, političkoj i pravnoj potpori. ; The paper describes money as a legal phenomenon, which means that stakeholders use money to allocate resources and manage social relations. In this understanding money creates markets and not vice versa. The system of money creation called free minting, which was common in England from the 12th to the 14th century, is described. Three constraints of commodity money are explained and the nominalism – metalism dilemma is analysed. The focus of the analysis is on Gresham's law and the problem of liquidity of commodity money. The similarity between medieval commodity money and a modern concept of commodity money in the book The Denationalization of Money by Friedrich von Hayek is shown. The conclusion is that the market mechanism cannot solve the problem of liquidity without social agents not included in the market exchange. Since the common European currency is to some degree similar to the gold standard, the same conclusion works for the euro.

U radu se istražuju odrednice kretanja tekućeg računa platne bilance Republike Hrvatske primjenom monetarnog apsorpcijskog pristupa platnoj bilanci. Glavna hipoteza rada pretpostavlja da se tekući račun platne bilance u Republici Hrvatskoj može objasniti unutar analitičkog okvira koji se temelji na monetarnom i apsorpcijskom pristupu analizi platne bilance. U radu se primjenjuje suvremeni ekonometrijski pristup nelinearne auto-regresije s distribuiranim pomacima (NARDL) koji uzima u obzir nelinearnu i asimetričnu prirodu odnosa između tekućeg računa platne bilance u Republici Hrvatskoj i njegovih determinanti. Procijenjeni rezultati na tromjesečnom uzorku podataka od prvog tromjesečja 2000. do drugog tromjesečja 2017. godine podupiru glavnu istraživačku hipotezu i potvrđuju da se tekući račun platne bilance Republike Hrvatske može objasniti korištenjem analitičkog okvira utemeljenog na monetarnom i apsorpcijskom pristupu. Domaća potražnja, realni tečajni indeks, te krediti privatnom sektoru i monetarni agregati M4 testirani su kao odrednice tekućeg računa platne bilance Republike Hrvatske. Utvrđeno je da monetarni agregati M4 imaju najveću objašnjavajuću snagu među istraženim monetarnim varijablama. Glavni nalazi ovog rada upućuju na potrebu za mjerama fiskalne politike i uklanjanje ograničenja hrvatskim izvoznicima u pristupu likvidnim sredstvima kako bi se uspostavila vanjska ravnoteža. ; The paper brings the determinants of Croatian current account dynamics under monetary and absorption approach. The main hypothesis of the paper assumes that Croatian current account can be explained within the framework based on the monetary and absorption approach to balance of payments. The research employed newly developed Non-linear Auto-Regression Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach that takes into account nonlinear and asymmetric nature of the relationship between Croatian current account and its determinants. Estimated results on a quarterly data sample from the first quarter of 2000 to the second quarter of 2017 supports the main research hypothesis and reveals that that Croatian current account can be explained using the analytical framework based on the monetary and absorption approach. Domestic demand, real exchange rate index, loans to private sector and monetary aggregates M4 are tested as the determinants of Croatian current account. Monetary aggregates M4 are found to hold the highest explanatory power among tested monetary variables. The main findings of the paper suggest the need for fiscal policy measures and relaxing the liquidity constraints for the Croatian exporters as necessary to obtain external equilibrium.

Problem programiranja projekta s ograničenim sredstvima u literaturi je poznat kao NP-Hard problem. U ovom istraživanju prvi se puta predlaže politika diskontne solventnosti za rješavanje problema programiranja projekta s ograničenim sredstvima. U klasičnim modelima pretpostavlja se da je cijena potrebnih resursa za izvršenje aktivnosti fiksna i resursi se mogu pripremiti samo po jednoj cijeni na tržištu. Problem je usmjeren na određivanje optimalnog polaznog vremena aktivnosti projekta uzimajući u obzir ograničenja prioriteta i dostupne resurse u svrhu skraćenja vremena završetka projekta. Kako bi se riješio predloženi model predlaže se hibridni algoritam zasnovan na dva algoritma, genetskom i simuliranog žarenja. U toj metodi genetski algoritam služi kao glavni okvir predložene metode a metoda simuliranog žarenja kao novi operater i u svrhu poboljšanja lokalnog pretraživanja glavnog algoritma. Budući da vrijednosti parametara znatno utječu na učinkovitost tih algoritama, daje se novi statistički pristup temeljen na stepenastoj regresiji (stepwise regression) za postavljanje parametara predloženih algoritama. Rezultati proračuna pokazuju visoku učinkovitost predloženog algoritma u odnosu na vrijeme donošenja rješenja i optimalnih rješenja. ; Resource-constrained project scheduling problem is known as a NP-Hard problem in literature. In this research, discounted cash flow policy is suggested for the resources-constrained project scheduling problem for the first time while in classic models, it has been assumed that price of the required resources is fixed for performing the activities and resources can be prepared only with one price rate in the market. Goal of this problem is to determine optimal starting time of the project activities considering precedence constraints and the available resources such that the project completion time can be minimized. In order to solve the proposed model, a hybrid algorithm based on two algorithms i.e. genetic and simulated annealing has been suggested. In this method, genetic algorithm has been designed as the main framework of the proposed method and simulated annealing method as a new operator and in order to improve local search of the main algorithm. Since values of the parameters have considerable effect on efficiency of these algorithms, therefore, a new statistical approach based on the stepwise regression has been presented to set the proposed algorithms parameters. Results of the calculations show high efficiency of proposed algorithm in terms of solution time and optimal solutions.