The author criticizes those Euro-sceptics who still treat the European Union as an open project that requires major decisions on the road to its fruition, as if the Union had not relinquished the model of the classical nation-state a long time ago. The author also promotes a reinterpretation of those aspects of European history that have given rise or might give rise to anti-European sentiments. Adapted from the source document.
The author shows why Gray's modus vivendi tolerance has not been particularly effective in designing stable global governance. The essay is divided into two parts. The first part describes Gray's link between globalization & tolerance, & the second presents Barry's disproof of Hobbesian justice as mutual utility, & Barry's criticism of Locke's argument for tolerance. The author uses Barry's theoretical maneuvers to show why he does not find Gray's solution particularly convincing. Although he accepts Gray's idea of pluralism derived from incommensurability, the author is of the opinion that it does not exclude a possibility of a supracultural pursuit of a consensus on how the planet ought to be governed to the benefit of all. 4 References. Adapted from the source document.
This note introduces contributions delivered at the international conference "Ustav kao simbol i instrument" (The Constitution as a Symbol and Instrument), held in Zagreb, 7-8 Dec 2001. The symbolic & regulating functions of the constitution are noted as very much distinct objectives. Excerpts from the preambles of the American & French constitutions are quoted to illustrate that this document not only spells out the fundamental laws by which a nation is to be governed but also states the people's basic values, views on self-determination, equality, tolerance, or liberty, & ethical principles that it holds dear. The constitution is an instrument regulating a political process while at the same time functioning as a symbol of political culture. The people do not only state in it their sovereignty but also a conception of the republic's order. Z. Dubiel
The author looks into the notion of the rule of law from the functional/logical, & not historical standpoint: he starts from the hypothesis that there is the functional logic of managing social behavior & social developments by means of legal norms. This logic, with some preconditions, creates certain institutions. The recognition of members of a society as free & equal is the fundamental assumption. It means that government agencies have the right of independent action but are at the same time also disempowered. This requires the quality of laws to be evaluated on the basis of rationality & normativity. The second part of the text lists the institutional conditions for the rule of law: division of power, legal restrictions of all government institutions & independent judiciary. A guarantee of basic right must be included in these functional elements. The author thinks that our future is to be marked by social pluralization, the need for security & the concurrent processes of globalization, & individualization. These processes are surely going to affect the institutions of the state of law. 43 References. Adapted from the source document.
The implementation of the "Washington consensus" model in less developed & transitional countries, together with the neoliberal economic development, has also implied the transition from the "bad" to the "good" governance. The concept of the "good" governance centres around the governance ideology of effectiveness & the high-quality public service delivery. The increased effectiveness & capability, however, does not necessarily ensure qualifying governance for a long-term shaping of a state's future. The governance model in transition largely determines the transitional success or failure. The "bad" governance in Croatia is a consequence of low efficacy & rampant corruption as well as of a lack of strategic & creative governance. 41 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author outlines some basic conceptual aspects of the legal evolution of international relations after 11 September 2001. First, he briefly sums up the classical international law. Then he goes on to analyze the two dominant approaches to the future development of international law -- the idealistic & the realistic -- by juxtaposing Kant & Hegel. Regarding this debate one should not forget Carl Schmitt, the German legal & political theoretician, since he challenges the universalist presumptions of Kant's project. Schmitt calls into question the function of the rationalization of governance which should be taken over by the constitution, both within & outside the nation-state. The author concludes that the US & other big powers will soon have to return to the path they paved & energetically followed between 1918 & 1945, the path of gradual progress in the historical evolution of international law. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author's starting assumption is that globalization institutionalizes new forms of governance, but that this does not diminish the significance of the national state. On the contrary, globalization forces the advanced industrial societies to find a new balance between calls for economic efficacy & expectations regarding social security. On the other hand, national states have avoided the impact of globalization primarily owing to the (1) institutional acclimatizing reserve of modern democracies, (2) development & application of new political governing instruments, & (3) intelligent usage of international cooperational pressures in favor of national political innovations. However, all this does not mean that the national state has gone through globalization unscathed. A new architecture of political governance has emerged, called by the author the transnational regimes of politics. They include, besides national states, international organizations such as the WTO, regional integrations (EU, NAFTA), as well as a variety of national & transnational interest groups & movements. The author concludes that the efficacy of the new forms of governance must not be overrated. Also, the basic problem today is the expansion of the areas lacking functional markets, successful national states, or global forms of governance. 45 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author analyzes the interpretations by Jean-Marie Guehenno & Helmut Willke of the end of the national state in the context of contemporary debates on globalization. The author thinks that both authors have come up with similar insights, particularly those regarding assessment of the functional role that may be analytically attributed to the national state in the present & the future. Although their observations coincide with the debates on globalization going on in political economy & political science, their conclusions are not in line with the special structure of political activity. Unlike their state/theoretical "Hegelianism" (Guehenno) & system theory functional definition of government activity (Willke), the author looks into the contemporary operation of the state from the legal/philosophical perspective. Adapted from the source document.
The author analyzes the direction that the European Union has taken after the Nice conference. In order to create an appropriate & transparent competency system for the European Union, the priority on today's agenda are the models borrowed from the constitutions of different federal states. The first model is the so-called dual federalism that evolved in the US. This model aspires to strictly separate the European competency & the member countries' competency. The second option has been provided by the German Fundamental Law (Constitution). According to this model, the European Union would be accorded competences in line with the systematics of the exclusive, competitive & comprehensive legislation. The author is of the opinion that this would lead to a sort of formal transparency but would not completely prevent the overlapping of the competences of the Union, its member countries & other territorial units. A special focus is given to the transparency & efficacy of the reform process. Also, it is emphasized that a coherent coordination of the horizontal & vertical reform of the competency system is called for. Regarding democracy, the author thinks there is no need for a new model of democracy, but a systematic revision of the existing system of decision making in the European Union. Besides, a genuine democratization would not set its sights solely on reforming institutional regulation, but also on strengthening the mediation bodies. This would improve the relations between the public & the parliaments of the nation-states & the federal units concerning European issues. This would go hand in hand with an expansion of European party organizations & a more efficient "Europeanization" of central associations & institutions for interest-promotion. And finally, the author looks into the traditional boundaries between the private & the public. The public sector would take over from private economy some established procedures or would completely hand over certain tasks. This would require well-defined criteria. Also, an efficient control by parliaments & government bodies is necessary as a guarantee of innovation & cost-effectiveness & as a protection against abuse. This might help to turn Europe into a place of unity & cooperative behavior. 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.
Ages ago, Plato understood justice as the purport & the essential purpose of the very existence of the state. Though Plato distinguishes between the political justice of the state & the personal justice of the individual soul, it was Aristotle who in his practical philosophy developed, apart from the general justice, an appropriate understanding of the special or particular justice & its significance for social progress. The first part of this paper deals with the different types of justice, & the second with civil society. In order to understand the contemporary theories of political justice & the roles of civil society in its realization, the author looks into the history of the European political thought & "civil society," since "civic" or "civil society" ("societas civilis"), was originally a political society. In modernity, Hegel began differentiating between the state as a political community & the "civil society" as a nonpolitical society; his intention was not to separate but to integrate them by means of the public scrutiny & the citizens' governance, Thus Hegel linked Locke's & Montesquieu's opposing definitions of the relationship between the civil society & the state. This is all the more important since Hegel's philosophy is often misinterpreted as the state totalitarianism since we overlook the dangers coming, especially today, both from the civil society reduced to economy & the absolute state, the dangers that Hegel, with his concept of customariness, detected & avoided. 11 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author outlines some of the major issues in Hannah Arendt's political thought significant for her understanding of the political. The pivotal point of Hannah Arendt's political thought is her renowned analysis of totalitarianism in which she demonstrates the originality of totalitarian governance & its radically antipolitical character. Using the work of Margaret Canovan as his starting point, the author gives an account of the critique of Marx & the tradition of political philosophy by Hannah Arendt in her research of totalitarianism. This criticism is based on the distinction among three human activities: labor, work, & action. By pointing out the nonpolitical character of labor & work, Arendt draws her fundamental political categories from action by means of which people confirm the plural character of their existence. In modern times, Arendt finds the genuinely political only in the short-lived episodes of revolutionary fervor during which some room is created for the free action of the individuals committed to the promotion of the "public cause." Particularly important in her political thought is the theory of the power of judgment as a link between thinking & action. Using Kant as her starting point, Arendt draws the power of judgment from the realm of the aesthetic & turns it into the key element of political action. In his conclusion, the author looks into the separation of the political from the state that Arendt is forced to make because of her own exigent concept of political freedom. Arendt embraces republican elitism that cannot be completely reconciled with the democratic elements of her political thought. 20 References. Adapted from the source document.
The European entrepreneurial undertaking, in the form of an equipped & armed merchant ship ready to circumnavigate & conquer the globe, created the modern world with one side only: the globalized West. Contemporary global liberal interventionism & governmental entrepreneurship are segmented today into a dangerously simplified multitask global pyramid of governance through unidirectional cascades. For real globalization, this process has to be bidirectional at least: from the center to the periphery, but also from the periphery to the center. Otherwise, at the beginning of a new "centennial trend" & a "great cycle," there is the risk that the collapse of the liberal civilization of the 19th century could be repeated -- once again because of the weakness of the world-system peripheries. The question of how to strengthen the "anonymous" global economic, cultural, & political processes of the bidirectional kind is becoming the central global & strategic issue for today's politics & political science. It has turned out that this kind of state & its processes in the real global environment could be successfully analyzed & effectively made use of only with the complete unreduced methodical front of all the fields of political science together -- & more. As such, they could be practically surmounted only with a very complex political & economic action through a whole set of expertly managed public policies. From the historically based Croatian point of view, a possibility of integration into the world center was always in founding a world market "niche," & never in making even a mini-empire or in controlling a globalized or a mega-national net. Without a methodically global political science approach, also leaning on Central European & Mediterranean cultural & politological traditions, such Croatian interests will not be accomplished. 41 References. Adapted from the source document.
