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The author explores the operational capability of the European defense policy in the last 3 years. From the creation & adoption of the European Security Strategy, the European Union has made several specific steps in the development of the European Security & Defence Policy. Despite the disagreements with the United States about Iraq & the internal divisions in the "New & Old Europe" EU has shown the ability to set new military & civilian goals, make a small, but effective battle group concept for crisis management & conflict prevention as well as the European Defense Agency. The author also describes the main operations & missions of EU in the world, ranging from the Balkans & Africa to the Middle East & Eastern Asia. Finally, the paper analyses the Constitution for Europe & the articles concerning ESDP. References. Adapted from the source document.

U radu je prikazana politika Hrvatske demokratske zajednice u Bosni i Hercegovini od 8. listopada 1991., kada je Sabor Republike Hrvatske reaktivirao svoju odluku o neovisnosti Hrvatske, pa sve do 6. travnja 1992., kada je međunarodna zajednica priznala Bosnu i Hercegovinu. Rad je napisan na temelju stranačkih dokumenata, svjedočenja i medijskih istupa stranačkih vođa. ; The paper describes the policy of the Croatian Democratic Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina from October the 8th 1991 when the Croatian Parliament reactivated their decision on the Croatian independence, until April the 6th 1992 when the international community recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is written on the basis of the party documents, testimonies and media appearances by the party leaders. The Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the party which had won the absolute political support of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the first democratic elections, and then together with coalition partners–Party of Democratic Action and Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina they established a joint government on all levels. Consequently, without the reconstruction of their activities in the period which is the theme of this paper, it is not possible to understand the sequence of historical events that had led to the international recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper therefore attempts to clarify the attitude of the party towards many important political issues of that time, such as the question of the aggression of Serbia, Montenegro and the Yugoslav National Army on Croatia, the collapse of communist Yugoslavia, the cooperation with coalition partners who had different opinions on the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the relation to the party headquarters in Zagreb, but also the reasons of the conflict between the two fractions within the party, which had developed over time due to the different views on the political future of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Due to the war in Bosnia & Herzegovina, the study of international migrations imposed itself, embracing the study of the migrations of the peoples of the former Yugoslavia & the problems of emigrants from the former East European states. The existing connection between the problem of emigrants & displaced persons, human rights, armed conflicts, lack of development, & immigration are studied within a broader perspective. The data from various states point to certain differences among the emigrants from Central Europe, the territory of the former Yugoslavia & Russia. Adapted from the source document.

The article analyzes the changed concept of security in the post-Cold War era, its importance for the international community as a whole, & its basic values. Special attention is given to the indivisibility & mutual conditions of the security problem, democracy, & markets. The research approach is multidisciplinary & aimed at an analysis of the war against Croatia within the context of the post-Cold War era & its associated obstacles to reaching peace & stability. The roots, causes, & inducements to conflict are determined & the assumptions for peace & stability in the region are researched. Starting with the case of Croatia & the consequences of international crisis caused by aggressive Serbian policy of expansion, the author offers a suggestion for a new security concept -- the concept of metasecurity -- for the era after the Cold War. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the genesis & the scenarios of the Kosovo crisis resolution, as well as the possible political reverberations of the NATO military intervention. The premise is that the Kosovo crisis is only a continuation of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia; Kosovo has for centuries been a separate entity largely populated by Albanians; the policy of Serbian nationalism has permanently discriminated against the Albanian population; & prior to the recent air strikes against Yugoslavia, Serbia had systematically led an ethnic-cleansing campaign on Kosovo. Although the author recognizes that support for the NATO military action can hardly be found in the tenets of the UN Charter, he argues that it can nevertheless be justified by international law. He points out that NATO's military campaign enjoyed the broad support of the people of NATO member countries, but that it has made a rift in the European Left. The new Left was in the forefront of the action, while the old, dogmatic, & sectarian Left found itself in the ranks of its most vocal opponents. The author claims that Milosevic, with his overall politics, & particularly his policy on Kosovo, had propelled the West into an action from which it could not extricate itself. He concludes that the consequences of Belgrade's defeat will be (1) the collapse of Milosevic's regime (the beginning of his end); (2) the final incapacitation of Milosevic's politics to create new conflicts; (3) the protectorate over Kosovo & its autonomy, with a factual independence from Serbia; (4) the independence of Montenegro; (5) Reinforcing the Dayton policy in Bosnia & Herzegovina (eliminating centrifugal tendencies); (6) the organized participation of the West in the transitional processes in this region (the pact on the stability of southeast Europe); & (7) bolstering the democratic & weakening the undemocratic tendencies in the region. Adapted from the source document.

The article is an analysis of the metaphor of Munich Agreement in the Czech political & media discourses concerning three foreign policy issues from the last three years: the discord about the diplomatic recognition of Kosovo by the Czech Republic, the discussion of the conflict between Russia & Georgia & the issue of the US radar base in the Czech Republic. The text does not aspire to judge which usage of the analogy with Munich is correct. Instead, it works with it as a specific frame which is intended to mobilize a presupposed national "us" for a specific political agenda. The goal is to depoliticize the political discord -- to solve it by referring to a morally strong precedent & subordinate it to this precedent. Munich is used in this way by the followers of very different political camps. Using the analogy of Munich has two main modalities -- the interventionist modality (it is necessary to intervene against a dictator, not to appease him) & the sovereignist modality (it is necessary to defend the sovereignty of the state against an intervention or against aggressive demands of minorities). The former is more in accord with the use of the Munich analogy by Western politicians, while the latter corresponds more with the Czech context center. Adapted from the source document.

Since WWII, there have been opposing views of the role & the importance of the state in international affairs. Some think that the importance of the state is slowly decreasing, since the increasing interdependence of the world has an enormous influence on both the internal & foreign policies of a state. On the other hand, some point out that the state has not lost any of its importance; on the contrary, this importance will only be enhanced since the world community has not yet come up with a model to replace sovereign state entities. States generate the structure that has a significant influence on individual & group security. This particularly applies to the post-Cold-War period, since the problems & threats of the present-day world -- economic collapse, political oppression, poverty, ethnic conflicts, uncontrolled population boom, nature degradation, terrorism, crime, & disease -- directly affect many other elements of security. It is these problems that turn our attention to the state as the most important institution of the contemporary world, since it still has at its disposal the resources for reducing or eliminating these threats. Adapted from the source document.

The article puts forward an answer to the following question: why is Iran, thirty years after the 1979 revolution, still at the center of world politics, & why is it, on top of that, a legitimate candidate for the status of one of global powers in the new, multi-polar international order. The author stresses that Iran has been the main obstacle to global ambitions of liberal democracy since 1989, & that it has developed a specific ideological & political system based on the idea of theocratic-republican dualism. Furthermore, after the end of the Cold War, it was convenient to the West to have Iran as the Antagonistic Other (and vice versa). The relative American failure in the war against Iraq (2003-) opened up for Iran the options of connecting on a wider basis with Russia, China, Venezuela & the countries of "Old Europe" (Germany & France). Since the relatively prosperous neighboring countries -- China & the four Asian tigers -- are also founded on dualistic principles, Iran did not have to be liberalized in the way that Eastern Europe was liberalized after the Cold War. As the author concludes, the election of Barack Obama for American president presents a new opportunity to normalize relations between Iran & the West, but the opportunity will be seized only if the USA is willing to accept the multi-polarity of international relations & to renounce the doctrine of liberal interventionism. Regardless of the outcome, however, there is still a very real danger of a conflict between Israel & Iran. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the process of the NATO expansion in Europe following the collapse of the Berlin Wall & 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 that emerged after the disintegration of Yugoslavia & the Soviet Union, have been trying to eliminate this danger & strengthen their security by joining NATO. The Russian Federation is the main opponent of the NATO expansion in Eastern Europe, particularly into the states that came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The author describes in detail the geostrategical & geopolitical implications of the admittance of the first group of Eastern European countries into NATO (Poland, the Czech Republic, & Romania), as well as the prospects of the NATO expansion into the other countries in the region. He sees the American initiative for cooperation in Southeastern Europe as a complement to the process of NATO expansion. In the end he criticizes NATO's process of selection of new members, the process that has left Croatia (for the time being) in a sort of a geostrategical void. 5 Appendixes. Adapted from the source document.

An analysis of US foreign policy strategy shows that a more intensive advocacy of human rights & democracy is usually characteristic of Democratic Party presidents & their administrations. The numerous challenges of the new world order that Bill Clinton, the first Democratic president born after WWII, was faced with required the redefinition of the role, goals, & interests of the sole remaining superpower in the new international community. The promotion of democracy & liberal market values & the protection of universal human rights were the guidelines for Clinton administration's foreign policy during both of his mandates. Due to the specific features & intensity of geopolitical changes, which resulted in armed conflicts in Southeastern Europe, the consequence of the American policy toward the newly created countries (the so-called young democracies on the Old Continent, including the new Russia) was that the first NATO military "out of area" campaign on Kosovo was justified as an attempt to stem the flood of refugees & to put an end to the violation of ethnic & other human rights. Since the US has announced its intention to intervene when & if (& based on their interests) they deem that basic human rights & democratic values are violated, it can be said that a new pattern of behavior has emerged that would have to be adopted by the other members of the new world order as well. 21 References. Adapted from the source document.

Hrvatska je na putu prema Europskoj uniji morala udovoljiti nizu zahtjeva. Unija je uvjete propisala na sastanku Europskog vijeća u Kopenhagenu 1993. godine, a prva skupina tih uvjeta uključivala je i zaštitu ljudskih prava i osobito prava manjina. Zaštita manjina bila je posebno važna u kontekstu oružanog sukoba koji se vodio na području bivše Jugoslavije. Tijekom devedesetih Hrvatska je postala strankom međunarodnih ugovora Vijeća Europe koji su se odnosili na zaštitu manjina: Okvirne konvencije za zaštitu nacionalnih manjina i Europske povelje za zaštitu regionalnih i manjinskih jezika. Prihvaćanjem ugovora Hrvatska se podvrgnula i međunarodnom nadzoru primjene i poštivanja svojih međunarodnih obveza. Prikazom i analizom izvještaja nadzornih tijela može se pratiti i u kolikoj je mjeri Hrvatska uspjela u tome. ; On its path to the European Union, Croatia had to fulfill a number of requirements. The EU defined the accession requirements at the meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993. The first group of requirements included the protection of human rights, especially minority rights. The protection of minorities was especially important in the context of armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia. In the 1990's Croatia became party to the international agreements of the Council of Europe related to the protection of minorities: Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. By ratifying these agreements Croatia has become subject to international monitoring of the application of its international obligations. The analyses of reports of monitoring bodies can show to what extent Croatia has succeeded in the implementation of these agreements.

Kaspijsko jezero najveća je vodom ispunjena depresija na svijetu. Prije raspada SSSR-a dijelile su ga samo dvije države, a nakon 1991. na njegovim obalama nalazi se pet država. Ovaj rad pokazuje da postoji uzročno-posljedični odnos između sukobljenih interesa država regije i svjetskih sila te regionalne nestabilnosti. Sukobljeni interesi prouzročili su nemogućnost postizanja dogovora o pravnom statusu jezera, doveli do militarizacije jezera te izazvali sukob oko iskorištavanja i transporta nafte i plina. Rješavanje dijela tih problema u najnovije vrijeme povećalo je stabilnost regije, ali je i izvedeno na takav način da je povećalo međunarodni utjecaj Rusije i spriječilo ulazak izvanjskih sila u regiju. ; Caspian Sea is the largest water filled depression in the world. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was shared by only two countries, but, since 1991, it has been shared by five states. This essay shows that there is a causal relation between regional instability, and the conflicting interests of countries of the region and world powers. These conflicting interests have caused the inability to reach an agreement on the legal status of the body of water, led to its militarization; and caused the conflict over the exploitation and transportation of oil and gas. Solving part of these problems in recent times has increased the stability of the region, but was also carried out in such a way that it increased the international influence of Russia, and prevented the entry of external forces into the region.

The protracted conflict in Kosovo has led to the European Union's special concern on the issue, specifically its special activities in the entire area of the Western Balkans with the aim of fully Europeanizing the area and bringing it closer to European integration. The period from the 1980s was a kind of turning point for Kosovo, given that the changed constitutional possibilities in the then state gave the opportunity for independence and the establishment of the state of Kosovo. The understanding of the entire Kosovo issue needs to be observed from the historical aspect and the role of the international community. In general, the state of Kosovo was created mainly based on international action, which laid the foundations for the establishment of a modern European state. In this process, the Ahtisaari Plan and Resolution 1244 from 1999, from which the European Union derives its activities, played a particularly important role. Until now, Kosovo has gone through three periods – that of political unrest until the 1990s, the intensive actions of the international community until the 2000s, and the period of the European Union, which is still ongoing, more precisely, only beginning since Kosovo has signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement. The European Union has a significant impact on the further development of the state of Kosovo in terms of the rule of law, the establishment of democratic standards, and the strengthening of transparent government. Profiling itself as an important global factor in peace and stability, the European Union in Kosovo has achieved the results that are visible through the EULEX mission and the actions of the High Representative of the European Union in Kosovo, as well as all other European Union institutions. At the end of the second decade of this century, the influence of the United States of America in Kosovo, which has never lost interest in establishing peace and stability in this area, is growing again. That is the reason why joint action by the United States of ...