Suchergebnisse

Pitanje kako formirati vladu ako izborni rezultat nije dovoljno jasan za određivanje kontura za njezino oblikovanje otvara se kada stranke nisu jasno obznanile svoje saveze prije izbora ili kada izborni rezultat nije izlučio apsolutnu većinu u korist jedne ili druge predizborno stvorene koalicije stranaka. Njemački odgovor daje prednost većinskom elementu nad ideološkim elementom. Umjesto stava da najbrojnija parlamentarna stranka nužno mora vladati ili da sukob dviju najvećih stranaka apsolutno isključuje njihov savez u postizbornom vladanju političke stranke smatraju da obvezatno moraju djelovati kako bi se institucionalno stvorila većina potrebna za vladanje. Njemačka doktrina iznosi da nužnost raspolaganja radno sposobnom vladom vrijedi više od stranačkih ideoloških razmatranja i prosudbi. U zbilji njemačkog parlamentarnog sustava predsjednik SR Njemačke predlaže za kancelara osobu koja na temelju objavljenog pismenog koalicijskog sporazuma zaključenog u prethodnom postupku formiranja vlade, prije započinjanja formalnog ustavom propisanog postupka, dokazuje da uživa apsolutnu većinu svih zastupnika u Bundestagu. U Velikoj Britaniji ustavna se zagonetka o formiranju vlade u slučaju da izbori ne rezultiraju apsolutnom većinom za pojedinu stranku u Donjem domu rješava ustavnom konvencijom. Od aktualne vlade očekuje se da podnese ostavku ako postane jasno da neće moći dobiti povjerenje Donjeg doma te ako postoji jasna alternativa. Ustav Republike Hrvatske (čl. 98.) određuje obvezatno obavljanje konzultacija, odnosno provedbu neformalnog prethodnog postupka za formiranje vlade. Takav postupak u praksi čine istražni koalicijski razgovori i završni dogovor vidljiv u koalicijskom sporazumu (SR Njemačka) ili na listi potpisa većine svih zastupnika (Hrvatska). ; The question of how to form the government if the election result is not sufficiently clear to determine the contours of its design presents itself when the parties have not made clear alliances before the elections, or if the election result did not produce an absolute majority in favour of either electoral alliance created before the elections. The German response to this problem favours the majority element over the ideological element. Instead of the view that the largest parliamentary party must necessarily rule, or that the conflict between the two largest parties absolutely excludes a post-electoral alliance, political parties consider it essential to try to institutionally create the majority required to govern. According to the German doctrine the necessity to have a working government at disposal is worth more than the party-oriented ideological considerations and positions. In the reality of the German parliamentary system, the German President proposes for a Chancellor a person who, based on a published written coalition agreement concluded in the previous procedure of forming the government, before the formal constitutionally prescribed due process, proves that he or she enjoys the confidence of an absolute majority of all the members of the Bundestag. In the UK, the constitutional puzzle of forming the government in the event that elections do not result in an absolute majority for a party in the House of Commons, is dealt with by a Constitutional convention. The current government is expected to resign if it becomes clear that it will not be able to secure the confidence of the House of Commons, and if there is a clear alternative. In Croatia, the President of the Republic gives the mandate to form the Government to the person who, upon the distribution of seats and consultations with parliamentary parties, enjoys the confidence of the majority of all the representatives. Giving the mandate to form the government without proof of consultations in previous proceedings (the list of signatures) provided to the head of a coalition that receives the most votes (a relative majority) would be unconstitutional.

Autor u članku razmatra suvremene oblike predstavničke demokracije u svjetlu triju teorijskih i ideoloških sukoba. Prvi se odnosi na one koji se bore za konsolidiranu predstavničku demokraciju, te razvijaju teorije "manjkave demokracije". Predstavnici tog pravca razmatraju elemente koji nedostaju njihovim režimima da bi normalno funkcionirali kao sustavi predstavničke demokracije, te sustave više ne klasificiraju samo prema formalnim kriterijima (parlamentarna ili predsjednička predstavnička demokracija), nego razmatraju i integraciju drugih podsustava u sustav konzekventnih demokratskih pravila igre u "ukotvljenoj demokraciji". Drugi pravac odnosi se na pojavu populizma kao izazova predstavničkoj demokraciji. Zemlje u kojima je predstavnička demokracija konsolidirana sve su manje zadovoljne formaliziranim rutinama sustava i razvijaju nove populističke vizije bolje i reprezentativnije demokracije nasuprot puke proceduralne demokracije u kojoj postoji konkurencija elita. I na kraju, treći pravac odnosi se na nove modele demokracije koji se razvijaju u normativnim teorijama koje razmatraju nedostatke predstavničkih demokracija. Unutar tog pravca razvijaju se vizije "boljih demokracija" u duhu republikanizma, deliberativne demokracije, refleksivne demokracije i drugih koncepcija "demokratizacije demokracije".* ; In this paper, the author examines contemporary forms of representative democracy in the light of three theoretical and ideological conflicts. The first conflict concerns those who strive for a consolidated representative democracy, and develop theories of "defective democracies". Advocates of this thrust examine the elements which their regimes lack to operate normally as systems of representative democracy, and no longer classify systems only against formal criteria (parliamentary or presidential representative democracy), but also consider the integration of other subsystems into the system of consistent democratic rules of the game in an "embedded democracy". The second thrust concerns the rise of populism as a challenge to representative democracy. Countries in which representative democracy has been consolidated are increasingly dissatisfied with the formalised system routines and develop new populist visions of a better and more representative democracy in contrast to the mere procedural democracy in which there is a competition of elites. Finally, the third theoretical thrust concerns new models of democracy developed in normative theories which deal with the deficiencies of representative democracies. In this view, visions of "better democracies" have been developed in the spirit of republicanism, deliberative democracy, reflexive democracy and other concepts of "democratisation of democracy.

Autorica daje prikaz demokratizacije Gvatemale tijekom trećeg vala te analizira promjene vlada, režima i sustava. Navodi da je početku promjene političkog sustava Gvatemale prethodila faza predautokratskih iskustava s demokracijom (1944-1954) te da je nesposobnost da okonča dugotrajni građanski rat bio jedan od ključnih razloga početka kraja autoritarnog sustava (1954-1985). Uslijedila je prolongirana tranzicija (1985-1999) koja se odvijala u četiri faze i koju je nadgledala vojska, preuzevši na taj način ulogu snažnog protudemokratskog aktera veta. U fazi konsolidacije (2000-2012) stabilizirala se defektna demokracija, u kojoj je civilni demokratski režim ne samo pod pokroviteljstvom vojske već ga ugrožavaju i kriminalne organizacije. Zaključuje da se u proteklih stotinjak godina politička situacija u Gvatemali i nije znatno poboljšala s obzirom na to da je ona od banana-države postala defektna i najnekvalitetnija demokracija Latinske Amerike. ; The author provides an outline of Guatemala's democratization during the Third Wave, and analyses turnovers of governments, regimes and systems. She argues that the beginning of the change of Guatemala's political system was preceded by a stage of pre-autocratic experiences with democracy (1944-1954), and that the inability to end the long-lasting civil war was one of the key reasons for the beginning of the end of the authoritarian system (1954-1985). What followed was a prolonged transition (1985-1999) that proceeded in four stages and was supervised by the army which, in this way, assumed the role of a strong antidemocratic veto player. In the stage of consolidation (2000-2012) a defective democracy has been stabilized, in which the civilian democratic regime is not only under the patronage of the army, but is also threatened by criminal organizations. The author concludes that during the last hundred years or so the political situation in Guatemala has not improved significantly, since it has turned from a banana republic into a defective and the most substandard democracy in Latin America.

The paper analyzes the link between Kant's 'Perpetual peace' and the democratic peace paradigm with which contemporary International Relations are being interpreted. In doing so, the monadic and dyadic versions of liberal theory of democratic peace are explained through the institutional-structural and cultural-normative models. The theory of democratic peace is critically analyzed, with emphasis on the causal relationship between the independent variable, the democratic regime, and the dependent variable, peace. Empirical studies of cases in which the crises among democratic states have not resulted in war are also questioned, which brings into doubt the causal logic of the theory itself. In critical thought about the democratic peace theory, special emphasis is placed on the realistic interpretation of causes that are believed to contribute to democratic peace, as well as on the existence of the so-called 'democratic war'. There exist a number of factors explaining this foreign policy behavior of democracies and their hiding behind the theses of the theory of democratic peace. An example is the position of power that democracy occupies in International Relations, with which, aside from liberal dependent variables, realistic variables must be taken into account as well, such as the concentration of power, economic interdependence and national interest. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract. This study considers how today's growing consumer culture affects political trends in representative democracies. In recent years, a significant populist
upsurge has been seen around the world. While political approaches are vital, to properly understand populism it is also necessary to take sociological perspectives
into account. The questions considered in the study are therefore examined from both political and sociological perspectives. The results of the study show that today's
increasing consumer culture is paving the way for the rise of populism in representative democracies. Should the consumer culture experience a significant crisis, populism is likely to become stronger through the support provided by abstaining, blank and pragmatist voters.
Keywords: Populism, democracy, consumer society,
consumerism, politics

The article deals with the concept of civil society in relation to its theoretical legacy & also with its meaning in the context of the social reality of developed democracies &, in particular, transitional societies. The author looks into the fundamental features of the societies of developed democracies where defining the further development of civil society & its adjustment to new social circumstances is under way, primarily due to the preservation & strengthening of the civic initiative & the expansion of the space for civic & political participation. For transitional societies, democracy is a coveted goal. The author's opinion is that the establishment of an autonomous civil society & the application of its elementary mechanisms is the essential & irreplaceable condition of its realization. He looks into the prospects for the democratization of the public & the political space of transitional societies by means of the application of social & political patterns of civil society, especially in relation to all the differences & particularities of these societies that serve as inhibiting factors (social & political legacy, authoritarian aberrations). Despite a plethora of obstacles, the prospects for an autochthonous structuring of the civil society within the existing social conditions, based on the same universal values of the civil society in developed democracies, are much bigger than those for the implementation of the readymade solutions from developed democracies. 31 References. Adapted from the source document.

The text develops a new theoretical model for the analysis of post-socialist media systems in European third wave democracies. The five-dimensional theoretical framework of Hallin and Mancini (2004) is expanded with the approach of historical institutionalism and path dependency in order to explain the convergence and divergence of media systems in three key time periods. The model distinguishes between three distinctive historical periods in the development of media systems, consequences of three key critical historical junctures -- modernization and democratic revolutions in the 19th century, socialist period, and the post-socialist period of new democracies. Thus the analysis includes, in addition to the first period of modernization that is crucial in the development of media systems in Western Europe (Hallin and Mancini, 2004), for the first time and explicitly also the socialist period and the contemporary period of post-socialist democratic media systems. Adapted from the source document.

Court activism occurs when courts not only dabble in pronouncing sentences but also want to take part in the creation of social policies & thus come into contact with many more people than when solving cases on an individual basis. Activism of a court is measured by the degree of its "authority" over the citizens, the legislature, & the administration. The author defines the concept & the elements of court activism through the examples of several developed constitutional democracies. He concludes that court activism in the form known in contemporary constitutional democracies is lacking in Croatia. Adapted from the source document.