Suchergebnisse

Politički je sustav Bosne i Hercegovine kompleksan. Parlamentarna skupština Bosne i Hercegovine, kao nominalno najviše zakonodavno-predstavničko tijelo u državi, oslikava tu složenost, ne samo kroz svoj sastav, način funkcioniranja, ovlasti i aktivnosti, nego i kroz ime. Koristeći komparativnu metodu najsličnijih slučajeva i analizu sadržaja, ovaj rad pokazuje da se ambivalentnost koja proizlazi iz imena Parlamentarne skupštine Bosne i Hercegovine oslikava i na odnos političkih elita prema građanima, što slabi, odnosno onemogućuje uspješan razvitak društva te dovodi do deficita u demokratskoj praksi političkoga sustava. Uspoređujući bikameralna tijela 37 država, a potom i nekolicinu parlamentarnih skupština koje su uspostavljene u svijetu, rad potvrđuje da su parlamentarne skupštine sastavni dio institucionalnoga okvira međunarodnih organizacija, odnosno da su sastavne jedinice međunarodnoga sustava, unutar kojega djeluju države kao nositelji suverenosti. U nacionalnim državama, gdje suverena volja proizlazi iz pojedinca-građanina, parlamentarne skupštine ne mogu optimalno funkcionirati jer je izvor iz kojega one crpe svoju legitimnost drugačiji. ; The political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina is complex. The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as nominally the highest legislative-representative body in the state, reflects that complexity, not only through its composition, means of functioning, jurisdictions and activities, but also through its name. By using a comparative method of most similar cases and contents analysis, this paper shows that the ambivalence deriving from the name of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is reflected on the relationship between the political elites and citizens which undermines, i.e. makes impossible, a successful development of society and brings about a deficit in the democratic practises of the political system. Comparing the bicameral bodies of 37 states, and then a few parliamentary assemblies created around the world, the paper confirms that parliamentary assemblies are an integral part of the institutional framework of international organizations, i.e. that they are integral units of the international system within which states act as holders of sovereignty. In national states, where sovereign will comes from the individual citizen, parliamentary assemblies cannot function optimally since the source of their legitimacy is different.

The texts focuses on constitutionalisation of democracy in the European Union and the phenomenon of democratic deficit through the failed Constitution for Europe and, thereafter, the Lisbon Treaty, which takes over the definition of democracy as the foundation of the European Union. In this context, the author also looks into the contribution of political scientist Zvonko Posavec, who was one of the first in Croatia to advocate the need for constitutionalisation of the European Union as a project of finalising the process of European integration. While writing about the need for constitutional foundation of the European Union, Posavec simultaneously reflects on representative democracy as the form of democracy on which the European Union is predominantly founded. Beside a valorisation of Posavec's works on democracy in the European Union, this paper deals with the problem of the democratic deficit in the European Union which is manifest in the lack of democratic legitimacy of EU institutions, with the sole exception of the European Parliament. The author finds, however, that the main deficit of the European Union is not the democratic process, but political alienation. He perceives the latter as alienation of citizens from the EU as a derivative community, non-transparent and distanced from the basic interests of the citizens and the media interest in politics. Although the European Union declaratively relies on basic democratic values, in practice democracy is experienced primarily through a democratic deficit contrasted by a more obvious bureaucratic surfeit of the European political construction. The author asserts that the Lisbon Treaty was a step towards founding the EU on democratic principles inasmuch as it introduced elements of participative democracy, although it did not accept proposals for introduction of direct democracy in the EU. Finally, the author puts forward some ideas which might reduce the degree of political alienation of citizens in relation to the European Union; this requires giving greater authority to the European Parliament, abolishing the monopoly of the legislative initiative of the European Commission, incorporating the Council of the European Union into the European Parliament as the second House, i.e. the European Senate, and consequently implementing the mechanism of consulting the citizens regarding the legislative initiatives of the EU. The author concludes that the democratic deficit and political alienation cannot be overcome in the European Union without overcoming the democratic deficits and concrete forms of political alienation in the member states which the European Union consists. Adapted from the source document.

Autor analizira simptome krize demokracije u Europi koncentrirajući se na tri skupine simptoma: u prvom redu na simptome krize u tranzicijskim zemljama koje su ušle u članstvo Europske unije u okviru petog proširenja; jedan je od glavnih indikatora te krize slab odaziv glasača iz tranzicijskih zemalja na izbore za Europski parlament godinu dana nakon ulaska u članstvo EU-a. Razlog tog podbačaja autor vidi u razočaranosti demokracijom i tranzicijom te u formalnom udovoljenju kopenhaškim kriterijima, uslijed čega su odmah nakon ulaska u EU nove zemlje članice svoju zadaću demokratizacije smatrale dovršenom.Drugi je simptom krize negativan ishod referenduma za ratifi kaciju ugovora kojim se uspostavlja Ustav za Europu u Francuskoj i Nizozemskoj, što je pokrenulo lančanu reakciju odbacivanja osnovnih instrumenata demokratizacije EU-a koje su zemlje članice prethodno prihvatile i s kojima su se u potpunosti suglasile. Treći element krize demokracije jest demokratski defi cit u EU-u i različito viđenje načina kako da se on prevlada, jačanjem federalističkih elemenata EU-a ili interguvernmentalnih procedura. Na kraju se konstatira da u suvremenoj Europi postoje tri modela demokracije, po uzoru na Siedentopovu klasifi kaciju modela privlačnosti demokracije, i da je kriza demokracije u Europi potencijalno opasna za daljnji razvoj europskih društava jer se pobjedom nad komunizmom nije ostvario očekivani trijumf demokracije, nego je demokracija u Europi izložena nasrtajima raznih oblika političke patologije, uz deziluziju i neispunjena očekivanja. ; In this article the symptoms of the crises of democracy are analyzed. The author concentrates on three sets of symptoms: fi rst, on the symptoms emerged in transition, post-communist countries that joined the EU within the Fifth enlargement. One of the main indicators of such crises is the low turnout in the European Parliament elections in 2004, only one month after their joining the EU. The reasons for such a bad turnout are the disappointment in democracy and in transition, ...

The collapse of the traditional social ties, the advance of the mass media & the advent of political marketing have altered the structure & the direction of electoral campaigns. Present-day media-mediated electoral campaigns are hotly debated. On one side are those who claim that campaigns simplify political reality, manipulate voters, encourage voting apathy & in the long run contribute to democratic deficit. On the other side are those who claim that campaigns had to adapt to the new communication environment, that only the attractive, media-honed campaigns can attract voters' attention & that the majority of campaigns on the whole are a positive influence on electoral participation & voters' familiarity with political processes. This paper is an attempt to present the arguments of both sides & to answer how & to what extent electoral campaigns affect the democratic process. References. 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.

Institutions of the European Union have been reforming since the very first moment of the EU's existence. They have been adapting to the needs of time and under the challenge of new political circumstances. Systematic reform has been further encouraged by recent criticism of democratic deficit, the concept that is often linked with the EU. This paper argues that by using the experience and institutional structure of the upper houses of some national parliaments this deficit could be lowered. The case-study in focus is the Council (of the European Union). The author argues that the nearest possible sources for reforms of the Council may be found in the practice of the US Senate and German Bundesrat. In both American and German cases we are faced with the parliaments with strong tradition of bicameralism. In both of them, the upper house represents strong territorial units. In addition, the Senate and Bundesrat are important actors in policy-making. Thus, they can serve as a good source of ideas and institutional solutions that may be applicable to the Council too. Keywords'. Strong Bicameralism, Upper House of Parliament, US Senate, Bundesrat, Council of the European Union. Adapted from the source document.

The author looks into the origin & the evolution of the notion of civil society & outlines the contemporary debates on its meaning & democratic potential, as well as its democratic deficits. The concept of civil society (originally devised by Aristotle & used for centuries in political philosophy), was revived in the 1980s, first in the East-European movements against the Stalinist state socialism, & later in the new social movements in the West & in social sciences in general. Today's understanding of this term is the result of the branching out of the classical term: while originally it denoted an association of citizens as a political community, Montesquieu & Hegel came up with the difference between the civil society & the state as a political community. Later, a series of modern authors, in line with Gramsci, additionally differentiated between the civil & the market societies. The case in point is Jurgen Habermas who defines civil society as a system of spontaneously generated non-state & nonprofit associations connected via the venues of public communication & whose goal is not to win the firsthand political power. Another understanding of civil society has resulted from a long cooperation of the UN & its specialized institutions with the nongovernmental organizations that came to the fore at the major thematic UN-sponsored conferences in the l990s. The author criticizes the idealized picture of civil society as a form of the organization & the democracy-promoting communication of citizens. A developed civil society is undoubtedly important for democracy, but this also requires the appropriate checking mechanisms. The potential deficits of the civil society are reform blockade, the risk of the loss of civilness in populist movements & the social asymmetry of civil activism. Finally, the author looks into a variety of proposals that see in the European civil society the means of the democratization of the European Union. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.

Based on the experience of former rightist & communist dictatorships in Europe regarding different forms of opposition -- both open & hidden within these regimes' structures -- the author analyzes the role of the opposition in the process of the sweeping democratic change that has taken the "new democracies" of Central & Eastern Europe in the direction of the state of law & civil society. His conclusion is that in today's Central European countries, political multiparty pluralism, which includes viable parliamentary opposition, was given a smooth start & has since taken root. However, in the countries with only superficial democracy & an obvious "democratic deficit" -- eg, Croatia (& Slovakia) -- parliamentary opposition plays second fiddle. The prime movers of the change -- & of the democratization as well -- are still the ruling parties (not unlike during the communist single-party regimes). Changes occur only when the ruling party or its majority opt for them, considering them the lesser of two evils, either because they are no longer satisfied with the distribution of power & goods in the status quo, or because they are aware that it cannot be maintained in its present form. This happened in the Soviet Union, first under Nikita Khruschev & then again under Mihail Gorbachev. Changes, however, when imposed from above, get out of hand & backfire against those who have set them off (as in the case of Gorbachev); what emerges is usually a compromise between the old & the emerging regime. Adapted from the source document.

The paper gives a comparative overview of the politics of history that were characteristic for the HDZ's government in Croatia & HZDS's government in Slovakia (during the 1990s). Those politics worked to overcome the democratic deficit of the two regimes. Firstly an overview of the discipline is given, with subsequent emphasis on the importance of the comparative perspective, especially with respect to the role of the politics of history in legitimizing the political regimes of Central & Southeast European. The comparison of the Croatian & Slovakian cases is in the focus since both countries share similar history, & hence a similar structure of the national collective memory. The discourse analyses show that both regimes used very similar self-legitimating historical discourse: the myth of the thousand-year uninterrupted statehood finally accomplished in the 1990s, & the twentieth century nations' victimization by Serb/Czech hegemony, contested by the partial rehabilitation of the Croat & Slovak World War II states. Moreover, the analyses show differences originating from the different historical experience during the period of the common Hungarian rule, as well as the different experience of the Yugoslav & the Czechoslovak federation, with final differences of the role of the political actors in the two countries. The author points to a gap in the relevant research of the nexus between historical narratives & political power. Adapted from the source document.

This paper discusses the dilemmas regarding the nature of the European Union in contemporary political science and in the field of European Studies as a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field. The first part focuses on the evolution of the European Union from the original European Coal and Steel Community, via the European Economic Community, to its growth into a political union. The Maastricht Treaty, which lay the foundations of the European Union as a political union of its member states, instigated a debate on the actual nature of this supranational union as political construct. Consequently, the author analyses the various characteristics of the European Union, which is manifest in various forms, and asserts that it has some "state-like features" and some "organisation-like features", which are characteristic of international organizations. In the approach to the European Union as a supra-state community, some essential traits of both federation and confederation are simultaneously manifest, corresponding to two tendencies in the development of the European Union as a super-state. Moreover, there is the conception of the European Union as an empire. Finally, this paper specifies the tasks of present-day political science and the need to find a new heuristic instrument, which, according to the author, can be found in the conception of the political system that was introduced in political science (comparative politics) by Gabriel Almond and David Easton. Such an approach, which is nowadays further developed by Jean-Pierre Quermonne, Wolfgang Wessels and Simon Hix, is additionally strengthened by the fact that various models of democratic practice are being incorporated in the European Union in opposition to the basic, legitimacy-related democratic deficit, models which confirm the possible conclusion regarding a European Union as a complex community with many faces. Adapted from the source document.

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 looks into the issue of how to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the process of accession to the EU. In that process, the national parliaments of the candidate countries can draw on the experience of the EU member countries, The intensification of the EU integration has resulted in the so called democratic deficit. This means that national parliaments have been losing control over an increasing portion of the regulatory issues which are being taken over by the EU executive bodies, primarily the European Commission & the Council of Ministers, whose decisions are not swayed by the political clout & the control mechanisms of the national or the European parliament. That is why the EU member countries have been developing new mechanisms that will strengthen their participatory & controlling competence versus the EU executive bodies. Such mechanisms are most developed in the parliaments of the Scandinavian countries, whose experience serves as a model to other parliaments. Also important are the emergence of some new mechanisms of cooperation with the European parliament as well as the establishment of a permanent inter-parliamentary cooperation. Among the latter, the Conference of Parliamentary Committees specialized for EU affairs stands out; the so-called COSAC (Conferance des Organes specialisees dans les affaires communautaires/Conference of the Community & European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the EU) established in 1989. The author concludes that the candidate countries' parliaments should timely devise certain specialized & cooperative structures that will enable them to be on equal footing with their governments & the EU executive bodies in the process of decision making. 2 Tables, 3 Figures, 64 References. Adapted from the source document.

U ovoj se studiji analizuju normativni učinci odnosa konstitutivne moći i konstitucionalnog identiteta u osnivačkim ustavima. Uvodni deo naglašava centralnost ustava u procesu normativne integracije postkomunističkih poredaka, a u drugom delu analizuju se konkurirajući konstrukti "konstitutivne moći" u procesu izgradnje moderne evropske države. Treći deo je oslonjen na teorijsku i normativnu mapu prof. Ivana Prpića, i u njemu se analizuju strukturni deficiti osnivačkih ustava i osobita forma napetosti između "konstitutivne moći" i konstitucionalnog identiteta. Argumentira se da ova strukturna napetost proizvodi podjednako liberalne i demokratske deficite ovih poredaka. ; The author analyses the normative consequences of the relationship between constituent power and constitutional identity in founding constitutions. In the first part of the article, the author points to the centrality of the constitution in the normative integration process of post-communist regimes, while in the second part he analyzes competing constructs of 'constituent power' in the modern state building processes in Europe. In the third part the author uses the normative theoretical map of professor Ivan Prpić to analyze the structural deficits of post-communist founding constitutions and the specific form of tension between 'constituent power' and constitutional identity. The argument is that this tension can produce both democratic and liberal deficits of these regimes.

Hrvatski referendum o ulasku u EU pokazao je da je najveći dio hrvatskog biračkog tijela – euroravnodušan. Euroravnodušnost bila je preferirana opcija i za političku elitu, koja je – za razliku od biračkog tijela – unisono podržala članstvo Hrvatske u EU-u. Članak analizira uzroke euroravnodušnosti i euroskepticizma oslanjajući se na dosad provedena istraživanja. U drugom dijelu članak analizira moguće posljedice hrvatskog članstva u EU-u na smanjeni Zapadni Balkan. Te posljedice mogu biti ambivalentne, a konačan ishod ovisit će o faktorima kao što su: 1) stvarna privrženost EU-a politici daljnjeg proširenja, 2) daljnji razvoj krize u EU-u, 3) unutrašnja dinamika u svim zemljama kandidatima. Proširenje EU-a ovisit će i o sposobnosti političkih elita da ignoriraju javno mnijenje. Ujedinjenje Europe ostaje ideokratski projekt elita koji se ne temelji na ideji predstavljanja stvarnosti, nego transformacije te stvarnosti. No ignoriranje javnog mnijenja povećat će osjećaj demokratske nelegitimiranosti EU-a. Hrvatski referendum o članstvu u EU-u ponudio je neke instrumente kojima se politička elita poslužila kako bi marginalizirala rašireni euroskepticizam i suverenizam u široj javnosti. O sposobnosti ignoriranja i marginaliziranja suverenističke alternative ovisi i daljnje ponašanje Hrvatske – odnosno svake zemlje članice EU-a – unutar same Unije. ; The Croatian referendum on EU membership demonstrated that the Croatian electorate is highly indifferent towards the EU. The political elite too preferred EU-indifferentism to Euroscepticism. Unlike the largest segment of the electorate, the Croatian political elite is almost unanimously supportive of the EU membership for the country. The article analyses the main sources of Croatian EU-indifferentism and Euroscepticism. In addition, it discusses consequences of the outcome of the Croatian referendum to now reduced region of Western Balkans. Consequences of Croatian membership in the EU might be ambivalent, and will depend on factors such as: 1) EU's commitment to the policy of further enlargement (or the lack of this commitment), 2) development of political, economic and social crises in the EU, and 3) internal dynamics in candidate countries. The EU enlargement will also depend on the ability of political elites to ignore Euroscepticism in their own countries. Unification of Europe remains an ideocratic project led by political elites. It is not about representing reality as it is, but rather about changing it through thorough transformation of European societies. However, further ignoring of the electorate will result in an enhanced sense of democratic deficit and might further question the legitimacy of the EU. The Croatian EU referendum offered some instruments and lessons on how to marginalise Euroscepticism and nationalism in the general public. If it is to be a constructive member of the EU, Croatia will have to continue ignoring and marginalising nationalists and Eurosceptics. This is also the case with other EU member-states.

Nezadovoljstvo građana političkim institucijama rezultiralo je sve izraženijim udaljavanjem demokratskih institucija od građana koje one zastupaju, ali i proporcionalnim porastom građanskih inicijativa usmjerenih prema zadobivanju većeg stupnja participacije u javnom životu. Zbog neravnoteže koja se javlja u okviru predstavničke demokracije pojavila se potreba za poboljšanjem načina na koji institucije komuniciraju. Cilj je ovoga istraživanja ocijeniti lokalnu komunikaciju u regijama Murcia i Navarre kroz analizu razine transparentnosti mrežnih stranica njihovih institucija. Primijenit će se ukupno 41 indikator, temeljen na španjolskoj platformi Mapa Infoparticip@ (www.mapainfoparticipa.com), kako bi se u te dvije autonomne zajednice, koje imaju svaka po jednu provinciju, utvrdile sličnosti i razlike na temelju kriterija transparentnosti i participacije. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju deficit u implementaciji normativa transparentnosti, što utječe na ulogu tih institucija kao izvora javnih informacija, kao i na građansku participaciju, što je osobito vidljivo u općinama s manjim brojem stanovništva. ; Citizens' disaffection with political institutions has resulted in an ever more pronounced distancing between the represented and their representative democratic institutions, with a commensurate increase in citizens' initiatives aimed at obtaining a higher degree of participation in public life. The imbalance experienced by representative democracy in this respect accounts for the need to improve the way in which institutions communicate. This study aims to assess local communication in the regions of Murcia and Navarre by analysing the level of transparency of their institutional websites. The 41 indicators that underpin Mapa Infoparticip@ (www.mapainfoparticipa.com) in Spain are used to see what similarities and differences can be identified when applying the criteria of transparency and participation in these two single-province Autonomous Communities. The findings show a deficit in implementing norms of transparency. This fact affects the role these institutions play as sources of public information and citizen participation, and it appears in a clearer way in municipalities with a smaller population.