Suchergebnisse

The author gives a brief account of the (active or passive) complicity of the overwhelming majority of Serbian intellectuals in the Serbs' war on Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina and the war crimes and crimes against humanity author then argues that in view of this complicity, intellectuals outside Serbia should not be doing "business as usual" with their Serbian colleagues. He advances an argument for a comprehensive, but selective, boycott of Serbian intellectuals as the morally appropriate response of intellectuals the world over. (SOI : PM: S. 94)

The Hrvatski Radisa society initially had the mission to place poor children with Croat artisans in order to become good artisans and merchants themselves. The World War I had tragic consequences for the Lika region, even though there was no war operations conducted there. A great number of children were left orphans, and the new Yugoslav administration followed national key in social policy. In order to help children in Lika, the Gospic chapter of Hrvatski Radisa was instituted in 1920, which endeavored to place children with good Croatian artisans in Zagreb. In spite of interferences of some Serbs, the chapter had a good success, primarily because the population wholeheartedly accepted the initiative. The chapter showed some initiative to better the economic situation in Lika, but the Yugoslav government tried everything that this initiative goes in a different direction. This was especially evident after 1922 when Gospic ceased to be a regional center. In the article there is being mentioned a lot of people from Gospic, Lovinac, and other places, who helped the work of Hrvatski Radisa. (SOI : CSP: S. 357)

The author examines the activities of Jesuit local missionaries in northern Croatia. They are active there from 1855 to 1869 and again, just in the Zagreb diocese. from 1895. The author traces the development of Jesuit missions, their organisation, the places they visited, the difficulties they faced, and the social and political influence those missions had. He also describes religious and moral circumstances in which the missionaries operated and focuses on the literary and cultural initiatives of the missionaries, particularly on the foundation of the Croatian Literary Society St. Jerome. (SOI : CSP: S. 170)

As a democratic and economically developed country, whose interests are not any different from those of Western democratic states, the Republic of Croatia may be a decisive factor in the future processes of stabilization in the region. It occupies a very important place in the regional geopolitical structures and might influence the future development of the neighbouring countries and regions, especially through the continuation of democratic transition and the improvement of the relations with its neighbours. Hence the importance of its policies. Its future geopolitical initiatives regarding the stabilization and security of the region can be viewed in relation to their importance within global and regional geopolitical structures, to its participation in the processes of the fragmentation of South-East Europe, and to its geographical, cultural/religious, and historical/geopolitical environment. (SOI : PM: S. 172)

The author thinks that the American political and military initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has stopped the four year war and enhanced the American influence in the region. European Union has reacted to the latest developments by adopting a new regional approach towards the countries of southeastern Europe. This approach has been employed in relation to other European and Mediterranean regions outside EU as well (central and eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Mediterranean countries, the Union of Independent States). EU's policy towards Croatia is extremely reserved. It has insisted on a set of preconditions being fulfilled by Croatia before the negotiations about Croatia's membership in this organization may even commence. Croatia wants to forge links with the EU and is willing to comply with its demands, but is highly sceptical of regional associations. (SOI: PM: S. 161)

In the first part of the article, the author analyses the latest dimensions of on the territory of the former Yugoslavia stemming from the Dayton and Paris accords. His starting point is the geographical criterion which produces five trouble spots which may jeopardize the process of security-building. He concludes that only a determined application of political, diplomatic and economic pressures, as well as military presence, may bring about a new dimension of security in Southeastern Europe. The second part of the article gives a review the analyses of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the creation of new state this part of Europe, as well as of the concepts and schemes for a certain degr linkage and bringing together, the most prominent of which is the American initiative for the co-operation in Southeastern Europe. It is obvious that this region will go on being viewed through different lenses and that the interests of the observers, more than those of the peoples living in this part of Europe, will get precedence. (SOI : PM: S. 23)

The Serbo-Albanian conflict on Kosovo has had direct repercussions for the Balkan security in the last 150 years. That is why the international community would from time to time pay more attention to this conflict, but never long enough to resolve it for good. Both the Serbian and the Albanian side put in a lot of effort towards the resolution of the conflict and came up with several proposals, ranging from various modes of Kosovo autonomy to the idea of cantonisation and re-federalisation of SR Yugoslavia to the independence of Kosovo or its being turned into a protectorate. All these suggestions had mostly been one-sided, either pro-Serbian or pro-Albanian, none of them conducive to a compromise. All this eventually resulted in a military conflict and the attempt to impose solutions by force. Nevertheless, after the NATO intervention, negotiations will have to be resumed and the familiar proposals for the resolution of the Kosovo question will have to be rehashed, only this time this will require much more good will and willingness to make compromises, both on the Albanian and the Serbian side, as well as a considerable support of international community. (SOI : S. 60)

In many countries the violations of human rights and the deterioration of democracy are a direct consequence of the inability of the civilian government to control their military and security forces. The military are a part of society and as such should be constantly monitored by the civilian, political authorities. This control must be regular and efficient and not defective or faulty. The civilian control of the military in the USA was enacted by the Constitution of 1789. The initiative "Partnership for Peace" has the central role in the transformation of the armed forces in the transitional countries, and the civilian control of the army is the prerequisite for bolstering and giving a boost to democracy. The analysis of the political and defence system of the Republic of Croatia definitely indicates that in Croatia, even at this stage, there is an efficient control of its armed forces (SOI : PM: S. 127)

American and international public looks up to American presidents as the chief creators of American foreign policy. A review of the contemporary history of US foreign policy is mostly a review of foreign policy platforms and initiatives of American presidents. Although fundamental prerequisites exist - constitutional powers, executive office of the President as support in the creation and implementation of certain decisions, the expectations of the Congress and the public that President should lead the nation in the foreign policy arena - not all American presidents have taken an equal interest in foreign policy decision-making and the creation of American foreign policy; this has depended on their personal interests and experiences. Despite significant constitutional restrictions of the president's autonomous action in foreign policy and occasionally successful attempts of the legislature to assume control over foreign policy, as well as frequent challenges to presidential powers and numerous actions by the public, we can conclude that American presidents are nevertheless dominant figures in the field of American foreign policy. (SOI : PM: S. 192)

The author analyzes the process of the NATO expansion in Europe following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. Paradoxically, after the end of the cold war, the security conditions in Europe have not improved. On the contrary, the danger of military conflicts has increased. That is why most former communist countries, including the newly created states which emerged after the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, have been trying to eliminate this danger and strengthen their security by joining NATO. The Russian Federation is the main opponent of the NATO expansion in Eastern Europe, particularly on the states which came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The author describes in detail the geostrategical and geopolitical implications of the admittance of the first group of Eastern-European countries into the NATO (Poland, Czech Republic and Romania), as well as the prospects of the NATO expansion onto the other countries in the region. He sees the American initiative for the cooperation in Southeastern Europe as a complement to the process of the NATO expansion. In the end he criticizes NATO's process of selection of new members, the process which has left Croatia (for the time being) in a sort of a geostrategical void. (SOI : PM: S. 118)

In the course of its history, Europe has structured itself by means of two models. The first was based on the territorial expansion of regional forces that used violence to break down the resistance of their weaker neighbors and establish the balance of power. In this way, at least temporarily, the way was paved for more radical changes in their polities. This model was in use until the end of World War II. The second model has been built around European integration. The aim of this process has not been the expansion of regional powers and the territorial conquest of their neighbors; it is based on the initiative of the weak to join the organizations that can satisfy their interests and goals. The process of integration excludes coercive methods. However, there is certain asymmetry in the relationship between the center and the periphery (the strong and the weak). The countries that belong to the center define the membership standards for the 'periphery' and evaluate their implementation. The 'central' countries are in a better position than the peripheral ones since the process of integration bolsters their collective identity, while the weaker states - by accepting the standards of stronger countries - have to alter their original identity. (SOI : PM: S. 97)