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The use of policy networks in the research of public policies includes identifying policy actors (both state & non-state actors) & determining the type of their relations, with the purpose of description & analysis of the policy process. The basic assumption of the approach is that contemporary policy-making is characterized by sharing of responsibilities for policy-making among state & the non-state actors. The approach is faced with a critical charge that it doesn't make a clear distinction between dependent & independent variables, & that it does not contain an implicit causal logic that could be falsified. Even though this criticism is partly justified, the policy networks approach should not be dismissed, albeit it should not be understood as a theory (in the sense of E. & V. Ostrom's level of theoretical discourse). Furthermore, the criticism mostly affects the 'interest intermediation school', which understands policy networks as generic term for different forms of state-society relations. Thus, the 'governance school' is much more fruitful for the development of policy networks idea. The 'Governance school' of policy networks approach can be understood as a framework &/or a model. Firstly, the policy networks approach has most similarities with the cycle model of policy process & the two approaches are closely related frameworks of public policy research. The characteristics of contemporary policy-making calls for adding policy networks to the cycle model &, in this perspective, the policy networks approach becomes an analytical tool-box for organizing empirical material. Secondly, policy networks are conceived as a specific form of governance, which becomes dominant in the recent literature. Within this perspective, ideas about policy networks have bigger theoretical ambitions, but are still developed at a level of a model, & not theory. Tables, 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.

Being of the theoretical approaches to the study of the EU, the goal of the analysis of policy networks is to identify the policy process actors, both governmental & non-governmental, & the structure of their interaction in order to describe, explain & predict the outcomes of the European public policy. Many authors claim that the exceptionally rapid development of this approach in the last thirty years (& its intensive EU application since the 1990s) can be attributed to the changes in the contemporary practice of governance. Namely, although public policy is above all related to the accountability of authorities in securing public goods, the tasks are increasingly allocated to a growing number of non-governmental actors, especially in the EU. In its analysis of policy networks the paper offers the typology of the actors & an array of the concepts which define the structuring of their interaction (in the policy literature the term policy network is used generically & also when referring to the EU). It also outlines the continuum of the types of EU policy networks which as independent variable affect the outcomes of the European public policy. The paper identifies which approach within the analysis of policy networks the application to the EU belongs to. In the EU research policy networks are understood as an instrument of the policy analysis that explains the decisions shaping public policy at the subsystem level of decision-making, which makes it necessary to combine it with other theoretical approaches for the other levels of decision-making, which makes it necessary to combine it with other theoretical approaches for the other levels of decision-making & for the other types of decisions to grasp the entirety of the manner in which public policy in the EU is shaped. The policy network analysis contributes most to improving the understanding of everyday events in the process of creating European public policy, the events the change the environment in which key decisions are made as well as the actors' perceptions of their own interests. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

The paper is reviewing basic features of contemporary economic crisis, from the standpoint of political economy and public policy. The argument developed in the paper is, on the one hand, based on the political economy of the public sector and its crucial empirical findings. Secondly, the contributions of public policy theory related to basic problems of public governance systems are systematically reviewed, by emphasising the potential of these systems for formulating development policy. The paper is also discussing the importance of the non-economic sources of economic crises. Adapted from the source document.

In this article the author analyses the innovations in the Treaty of Lisbon, in particular the ones related to the status of European citizenship, i.e. European citizens. Accordingly, he points out the fact that many authors who investigate the significance and reach of the Treaty of Lisbon as a constitutional surrogate fail to see the important innovations related to consolidation and development of the concept of European citizenship. In the first part, the author sketches out the evolution of the European citizenship concept from the first founding treaties of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Community. He concludes that the Treaty on European Union and the constituting of the EU as a supranational political community sui generis marked the beginning of practical realization of the European citizenship concept. This was carried out primarily through policy-measures and pilot-programmes, and then the discussion on the European Constitution incited the shift to a higher level of affirmation of European citizenship. The problem of European citizenship as a political project of construction of an European demos encounters many difficulties and contradictions, and the Treaty of Lisbon links the realization of European citizenship with the spreading of democracy, which has been at the roots of the European integration process from the originally projected model of representative democracy to the model of participative and immediate (direct) democracy. For this reason, the "European citizens' initiative" is an important innovation which provides a new stimulus to the realization of the European citizenship concept. It remains uncertain, however, how firmly this political idea can be established if in some of the EU member-states citizens are still treated as nationals, i.e. if they do not participate in public affairs of their nation-state as much as they should participate even at the very top of the pyramid of a multi-level governance system such as the EU. Adapted from the source document.

This article presents Milan Popovic's reflections on the two most recent & important books, General Theory of Modernity, written by French alter-Marxist theoretician, Jacques Bidet, & The States on Trial, written by Croatian political theoretician, Dragutin Lalovic. The two books have been published & discussed amid the most severe & multiple crisis of the so-called "neoliberal," ie., late & ultra-monopolistic capitalist economy 2008-2009, & this great social & historical fact has largely contributed to better understanding & reception of these two critical studies. Milan Popovic shares most of the main premises & findings of these two books with their authors. Some disagreements between him & them are of minor & technical importance. So, just to illustrate this kind of disagreements, while Jacques Bidet uses the term "alter-Marxism" to describe his own intellectual position, Milan Popovic prefers the term "post-Marxism" for the same purpose. Or, while Jacques Bidet uses the term "ultimate modernity" to specify our concrete historical time, Milan Popovic prefers the term "late modernity" for the same purpose. Or, finally, while Jacques Bidet uses the term "world state" to describe the emerging global polity, Milan Popovic is much more cautious, he reserves the term "state" exclusively for the modern form of polity, & leaves the final outcome & term of the emerging global polity for further development, observation, & nomination. Some disagreements between Milan Popovic & Dragutin Lalovic are of even lesser technical & conjectural importance. The three social & political theoreticians, however, strongly agree on the most important, substantive, & essential issues of our time. So, again, just to illustrate this kind of essential agreements, they strongly agree that our time desperately needs a new global polity & governance, which would deal with the rising ecological & other technological problems of late modernity. Despite some differences about the terms & emphases, they also agree that, in the meantime, at least in several coming decades, the late modern state remains one of the most important actors in the process. Especially two of three, namely Dragutin Lekovic & Milan Popovic, starting from the concrete political experience of Croatia & Montenegro during their wartime pandemonic 1990s, persistently insist on the complex, ambiguous, & contradictory process of simultaneous de-sovereignization & re-sovereignization of the state, as a part of the process in its late modern phase. Finally, the three theoreticians share a common vision on the substance & essence of the coming global polity. They agree that the polity should be a kind of "Universal Republic.". Adapted from the source document.

Svjedoci smo rasprava o ulozi države u gospodarstvu i o tome gospodari li država dobro svojim vlasništvom. To je osobito važno jer se država u ulozi vlasnika pojavljuje "u ime i za račun" građana. Stoga način upravljanja i raspolaganja imovinom države predstavlja važno političko pitanje, a javnost je po prirodi stvari zainteresirana za to da se imovina koristi racionalno, transparentno i za ostvarivanje javnih, a ne privatnih i partikularnih interesa. U ovom se radu povezuju ekonomska i pravna razmišljanja o tim pitanjima, što dosad nije bio slučaj u domaćoj literaturi. Analiziraju se ekonomski, politički i pravni razlozi aktualnog stanja. Analiza ekonomskih pokazatelja poslovanja državnih poduzeća i pravnog okvira njihovog upravljanja služi kao polazište za preporuke kako unaprijediti poslovanje državnih poduzeća kroz promjene u sustavu korporativnog upravljanja. Glavni alati promjene su profesionalizacija, depolitizacija i privatizacija državnih poduzeća. Rad sadrži preporuke za implementaciju novih institucionalnih rješenja. ; We have been witnessing discussions about the role of state in the economy and whether state-owned property is being managed well. This is of particular importance because the state plays the role of owner on behalf of its citizens. Therefore, the way state-owned assets are managed and used represents an important political issue, and it is in the public's interest for such assets to be used in a rational and transparent manner in order to achieve public interests, and not private or particular interests. This paper combines economic and legal perspectives on the matter, which has not yet been done in the Croatian literature. The economic, political and legal reasons for the current status are analyzed. Analysis of the economic performance indicators of state-owned companies and the legal corporate governance framework serves as a starting point for recommendations on how to improve the performance of state-owned companies through changes in the corporate governance system. The main tools in implementing changes are professionalization, depoliticization and privatization of state-owned companies. The paper provides recommendations for implementing new institutional solutions.

Civilno društvo je prostor između obitelji, države i tržišta gdje se građani udružuju radi promicanja zajedničkih interesa. Širenjem značenja Europske unije uloga civilnog društva i njegov međuodnos s EU razinom postaje sve značajnije pitanje. Rad tematizira civilno društvo u kontekstu europeizacije. Europeizacija se koristi kao »termin kišobran« koji pokriva mnoštvo značenja u terminima socijalnog, političkog, kognitivnog, pa čak i teritorijalnog, stoga najprije utvrđuje njezino značenje. Prikazuju se procesi i mehanizmi europeizacije civilnog društva. Uzimajući u obzir ključne razvoje zadnjih desetljeća kao i koncept horizontalne politike, raspravlja se o kontekstu europeizacije civilnog društva. Međuodnos europeizacije i civilnog društva sagledava se kroz različite pristupe i načine međusobnog odnošenja civilnog društva i razine EU u aspektu vladavine i politika. Tim analizama omogućuje se pogled u dosege europeizacije civilnog društva i preispitivanje jesmo li na pragu nečega što možemo nazvati »Europskom unijom civilnog društva«. ; Civil society is the space between the family, the state and the market where citizens come together to promote their common interests. By expanding the importance of the European Union, the role of civil society and its interrelationship with the EU level becomes increasingly important issue. The paper deals with civil society in the context of Europeanization. Europeanization is used as an »umbrella term« that covers a multitude of meanings in terms of social, political, cognitive and even territorial meanings. We present the processes and mechanisms of Europeanization of civil society. Taking into account the key developments in the last decade as well as the concept of horizontal policies, the author discusses the context of Europeanization of civil society. Interrelationship of Europeanization and civil society is reviewed from the perspective of different approaches and ways of mutual relations of civil society and EU level from the aspect of governance and policy. This analysis allows a glance at the scope of Europeanization of civil society and examinations of the question whether we are on the threshold of something that we can call "The EU of Civil Society".

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.

Kraća teorijska rasprava o kritikama koje se instituciji neposrednog izbora načelnika upućuju temeljem karakteristika kulture i tradicije, predvidivih problema provedbe i dvojbenih učinaka nastavljena je komparativnom analizom lokalnih političkih sustava u zemljama nastalima na području bivše Jugoslavije. Posebna je pozornost posvećena neposrednom izboru načelnika u Bosni i Hercegovini, Crnoj Gori, Kosovu, Makedoniji i Sloveniji. Dok Hrvatska uvodi takav izbor lokalnog izvršnog dužnosnika od 2009, u Srbiji je institucija opstala samo jedan mandat (2004-2008). Empirijskom provjerom pet hipoteza o stavovima načelnika te o ulozi tradicije i kulture javnog sektora uglavnom je potvrđeno da nema značajnijih razlika u stavovima i stilu vođenja načelnika, bez obzira na to kako su birani, vjerojatno u značajnom dijelu upravo zbog slične tradicije lokalnog upravljanja i kulture javnog sektora. Modernizacijska i menadžerska kultura na lokalnoj razini tek se nazire, dok su osnove za zaključak o konsolidiranju demokratskih lokalnih institucija ipak čvršće. ; The paper deals with a comparative analysis of the local self-government systems in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, with a special emphasis on the institution of directly elected mayors. The discussion on directly elected representatives of the executive branch of government at the local level has become one of the most important topics within the broader discussion on democratisation and increasing the effectiveness of local self-government institutions in the countries of the region. The basic premise in the paper is that some common features in the development of the local self-government system are operating in this area, connected with the dominant type of political culture and relatively long tradition of self-management. These features, together with problems in the implementation of direct elections, might, according to the author, largely limit the expected positive effects of directly elected mayors, without regard to the fact that the introduction of ...