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This essay comparatively examines explanations of American foreign policy after 9/11. After introductory reviewing chronology of events, concurring evaluations of American foreign policy & justifications given by the public officials of the Bush administration, author describes six different approaches in explaining american foreign policy & position of USA in the world. Explanations search for causes of current American foreign policy in: myths of American culture, crusading mentality of Americans paired with legitimacy problem of American federal government, ideology of American neoconservatives, war for oil & attempt to geopolitically control the Middle East, logic of capitalist imperialism, & the decline of the capitalist world system. 27 References. Adapted from the source document.

Haberle clarifies his conception of constitution as culture & discusses his interpretation of the relationship between state & society, both based on the fundamental principles spelled out in this document. Other, related issues addressed here are the following: (1) the concept of political culture; (2) constitution as the expression of a nation's mentality & cultural heritage; (3) the constitution-public relationship; (4) constitutional theory as a theory of open society; (5) culture as a sine qua non element of the creation & functioning of the state; (6) the fallacy of Carl Schmitt's friend-foe theory; (7) the tradition of constitutional theory in Germany; (8) the significance of the year 1989 in the history of Europe; (9) the preparation of a draft of the Constitution of the European Union; (10) optimistic & pessimistic views of humans, ie, John Locke vs Thomas Hobbes; & (11) the constitution & constitutional theory & law in Croatia. Z. Dubiel

U prvom dijelu članka izlaže se tradicionalistička kritika Francuske revolucije, prvenstveno kroz autore Josepha de Maistrea i Edmunda Burkea. Drugi dio posvećen je recepciji protestantizma katoličke reakcije, naročito s obzirom na detektiranje »duha pobune« u njemu, kao jezgra onog držanja ili mentaliteta koji će obilježiti nastupajuće subverzivne političke i društvene prevrate. Zaključni dio rada prikazuje utjecaje i obrade rane konzervativne misli u suvremenosti, nalazeći da je ona, u istrajnom proturječju prema radikalnoj društvenoj reformi, imala ulogu ponekad razložne opomene i, rjeđe, korektiva pretencioznim revolucionarnim zahvatima. ; In the first part of the paper, the traditionalistic critique of the French Revolution is presented, primarily through the characters of Joseph de Maistre and Edmund Burke. The second part is dedicated to the reception of the Protestantism of the Catholic reaction, especially in the view of detecting the 'spirit of rebellion' in it, as the nucleus of the posture or mentality that will mark the emerging subversive political and social upheavals. The concluding part of the paper exposes the influence and treatment of early conservative thought in modernity, finding that, in a persistent struggle against radical social reform, it sometimes had the role of the reasonable warning and, more rarely, the corrective of pretentious revolutionary interventions.

The author holds that the constitutional theory today is put to the test in three areas. The first is the problem of the relationship between transnational regimes & government institutions. Constitutional/legal theory is faced with the question how the norms concerning transnational regimes can acquire the dignity of legal norms via "constitutionalization." The second challenge is posed by transnational regimes sui generis such as the EU's legal system. The third concerns the process of EU's expansion. For the author, a constitution is both an instrument & a symbol; ie, it is doubly coded. On the one hand, it leans on practice & instrumental implementation, & on the other on the world of representation. There are different types of constitutions. Type one are manifests, largely solely symbolically coded. Type two are the constitutions in the form of contracts, structured more in the form of a legal relationship between discrete actors than a monolithic symbolic corpus. Type three are programmatic or planned constitutions, & they are associated with the rise & fall of socialist societies. They identify the already politically defined developmental goals. And finally, there are the so-called constitutions-cum-laws. These are a result of a regular legislative process that enables people in the capacity of presumed agents of sovereignty to debate constitutions & accept them. The author's opinion is that the transition of Central- & East-European countries is a transition from the simple-coded with the primacy of the symbolic to the double-coded constitutions. This transition is not smooth. The first difficulty lies in "transplanting" constitutional solutions to different social/historical contexts. The second relates to the anticonstitutional mentality that prevails in these societies. Despite everything, the constitutional balance in Central & Eastern Europe is satisfactory on the whole. The constitutions of these countries are interesting because of three symbolic aspects. The first refers to the constitution formation processes in which these societies ceased to be objects of authoritarian rulers. The second aspect regards the search for new forms of identity & unity. The third aspect refers to the attempts to banish tyranny from politics & social life by means of legal chains. 35 References. Z. Dubiel

Ustavna demokracija opis je, obilježje, ali "i počelo, i cilj" suvremenih država civilizacijskoga kruga kojem RH pripada. Sama demokracija kao oblik vladavine u idealnom je slučaju asimptotski proces stalna usavršavanja. Isto vrijedi i za ustavnost. Dakako, ti procesi nipošto nisu ireverzibilni. I dok je u suvremeno doba u biti nemoguće povući potpun i oštar rez između pridjeva i imenice spomenute sintagme "ustavna demokracija", namjera je ovog rada promotriti prevladavajuće procese razvoja ustavnosti u našoj državi kako bismo upozorili na prijeteće točke, ali i na važne potencijale za buduća postupanja državnih tijela i samih građana. Identifikacija problema u svojevrsnom Dunning-Kruger sindromu pretpolitičkog stanja svijesti znatna dijela društvene potke u RH čini evoluciju ustavne vladavine osobito kompleksnom i nipošto izvjesnom. Dopuštamo si blag optimizam s obzirom na dosadašnje korake te podsjećanje na to da demokratski i ustavni procesi općenito nisu linearni. Ipak, stanje opasne stagnacije i zaglavljenost u glibu koruptivno-klijentelističkog mentaliteta nalaže ozbiljan i interdisciplinarni pristup svladavanju problema. Osnovno je pitanje ovdje kako ustavno pravo može doskočiti rečenim izazovima te koji su potrebni i mogući koraci u tom smjeru. U radu prvo analiziramo stvarnu vrijednost konstitucionalizma u našoj državi, i to preko njegova pozitivnog i negativnog naboja. Potom upozoravamo na uzroke identificiranih izazova koje nalazimo u stanju hrvatskoga društva i u refleksiji takva stanja u nedavnom djelovanju najviših državnih institucija. Ističemo bitnost preuzimanja institucijske i građanske odgovornosti. Imajući u vidu notornu potrebu ustavne revizije, fokusiramo se na formativno-edukativni potencijal budućega ustavotvornog procesa. Ustav bez odgovarajućeg stupnja internalizacije državnih tijela i građana ne može živjeti. Odgoj i obrazovanje za ustavnu demokraciju ostaju kamen temeljac funkcionirajućega društva. Na kraju predlažemo i dodatan sinergijski angažman sveučilišne zajednice. ; Constitutional democracy is a description, a characteristic, but it is also the "foundation and goal" of contemporary civilizations which Croatia belongs to. Democracy itself, as a form of governance, is ideally an asymptotic process of constant improvement. The same goes for constitutionality. These processes, however, are not irreversible. While it is impossible to draw a complete and sharp demarcation line between the adjective and the noun in the "constitutional democracy" syntagm, the aim of this paper is to look into predominant processes of constitutional development in Croatia not only in order to point out challenges, but also to draw attention to important potential for the future functioning both of the state and its citizens. A major problem is identified as a form of Dunning-Kruger syndrome of pre-political state of mind of a significant part of the social matrix in the Republic of Croatia that in turn renders the evolution of constitutional governance particularly complex and not at all certain. We allow a mild optimism given the previous steps and remembering that democratic and constitutional processes are not linear. However, the state of dangerous stagnation and immersion in the corruptive-clientelistic mentality calls for serious and interdisciplinary approach to this problem. The fundamental question remains: to what extent can constitutional law provide remedies to these challenges and what are the necessary steps in that direction? The paper firstly analyses the actual value of constitutionalism in Croatia through its positive and negative aspects. Then we turn to the causes of problems we have identified. We find them both in the state of the social matrix and reflections of this state in recent acts of the highest state institutions. The importance of assigning institutional and civil responsibility is particularly pointed out. Keeping in mind a notorious need for constitutional revision, we focus on formative and educational potential of the future constitution-making process. A constitution cannot prosper without an adequate level of internalization on the level of state bodies, but also of its citizens. Education and understanding of constitutional democracy remain the corner-stones of a functioning society. At the end we propose a synergy of members of academic institutions for an additional beneficial effect.

»Proizlazi da je teološka dimenzija nužna bilo da se protumače bilo da se riješe aktualni problemi ljudskoga suživota« (Ivan Pavao II., Centesimus annus, br. 55) Nove okolnosti donose i nove izazove na koje je potrebno odgovoriti. Kako bi odgovor bio primjeren i polučio željeni uspjeh važno je pri tome razriješiti sve relevantne nepoznanice. Početkom 90-ih godina prošlog stoljeća demokracija, pluralizam mišljenja, parlamentarizam, višestranačje i izbori, prava i slobode prodrli su u hrvatsko društvo. Zbog nedostatka demokratske tradicije i njezine praktične primjene društvo je u to vrijeme karakteriziralo stanje nesnalaženja i neupućenosti. Važnost poznavanja svakoga pojedinog subjekta od posebnog je značaja u pluralističkom društvu. Te činjenice osobito je bio svjestan kardinal Franjo Kuharić. Budući da je zbog ateizma u prošlom društvenom sustavu za većinu stanovnika u Hrvatskoj Crkva bila nepoznata, on je držao bitnim predstaviti je vjernicima i široj javnosti. U prvom se dijelu članka, stoga, prikazuju naglasci njegove misli o porijeklu, naravi, poslanju i službi Crkve i to u svjetlu službenog nauka Drugoga vatikanskog koncila. Drugi dio članka pokazuje Kuharićev istančan smisao za uočavanje i isticanje bitnoga kao i lakoću i jednostavnost u prenošenju poruke. Polazeći s kršćanskog kuta motrenja on u središte postavlja teme koje su izuzetno važne za razumijevanje, ali i daljnje usmjerenje pojedinca, društva i države. Uz društveno-politički vid govora o demokraciji, zajedničkom dobru, političkim strankama i slobodnom izboru Kuharić naročito stavlja naglasak na njihovu etičku dimenziju. U trećem se dijelu članka prikazuje Kuharićevo stajalište o suodnosu Crkve i države u novim okolnostima, njihovi prostori autonomije i suradnje oko zajedničkog dobra pojedinca i zajednice. Iako bi se prikazano moglo nazvati općenitim i poznatim, konkretne okolnosti kao i mentalitet određenog naroda čine da ono općenito i poznato bude prepoznato i vezuje se upravo uz pojedini narod. Kardinal Franjo Kuharić je tom nimalo lakom zahtjevu nedvosmisleno dao svoj doprinos. ; New circumstances bring new challenges that need to be addressed. In order to reach an adequate response and sought-out success, it is important to disentangle all the relevant unknowns. At the beginning of the nineties of the past century democracy, pluralism of thought, numerous political parties and elections, rights and freedoms all found their place in the Croatian society. However, since this society had no democratic tradition and no tradition of practical implementation of democracy, it was, at that time, characterised by the state of confusion and ignorance. The importance of knowing each and every subject is especially needed in a pluralistic society. Cardinal Franjo Kuharić was well aware of this fact. Since the atheism of the former social system made the Church unknown to the most of the citizens of Croatia, he considered of utmost importance the task of introducing the Church to the faithful and to public. Therefore, the first section of this article presents the highlights of his thought on the origins, the nature, the mission, and the service of the Church in light of the official teaching of the Second Vatican Council. The second section of the article proceeds by showing Kuharic's nuanced sense for noticing and pointing out what is important as well as the levity and simplicity with which he was able to convey a message. Starting from a Christian point of view, the Cardinal emphasises the issues which are extremely important for understanding and a further guidance of an individual, society, and state. Beside the social-political part of his discourse, which treats issues like democracy, common good, political parties, and free elections, the Cardinal also emphasises the ethical dimension of these issues. The third section of this article shows Kuharic's position on the Church-state relation in the new circumstances, their respected areas of autonomy and their cooperation on those matters that constitute the common good of individuals and community. Although the article shows the matters which might be considered quite general and well-known, the concrete circumstances and the mentality of a certain nation have a capacity to transform what is general and well-known into what is specific for a certain nation. Without doubt, Cardinal Franjo Kuharić managed to give his contribution to this uneasy task.

Povijest nastanka i djelovanja građanskih udruga u Lici može se pratiti još od 1835. godine kada je osnovana Narodna čitaonica u Senju. Ipak, tek su krajem 19. stoljeća stvoreni svi preduvjeti za brojnije osnivanje svih vrsta građanskih udruga u Lici te je od tada njihov broj u stalnom povećanju. Iako je nesumnjivo da su razne vrste udruga u Lici svojim djelovanjem pozitivno djelovale na ličko društvo, taj fenomen društvene mikro-povijesti nije bio predmet sveobuhvatnog proučavanja. Ovaj doktorski rad kronološki prati stvaranje prvih građanskih udruga (društava, zaklada, štedionica, klubova i podružnica) u Lici u vrijeme Vojne krajine, njihovo naglo povećanje u vrijeme Ličko-krbavske županije i promjene koje su ih zahvatile u vrijeme Kraljevine Jugoslavije te završava početkom Drugoga svjetskog rata kada su građanske udruge u Lici naglo nestale s povijesne pozornice. U radu je prikazano političko, gospodarsko i kulturno stanje u Lici koje je uvelike utjecalo na brzinu i kvalitetu nastanka novih udruga. Također su obrađene i građanske udruge izvan prostora Like jer je njihova kulturna i ekonomska interakcija bila važan element u razvoju ove regije. Stoga je cilj ovog doktorskog rada po prvi put u našoj historiografiji dati, ne samo sumarni prikaz građanskih udruga, već i razloge, uzroke te posljedice njihovog postojanja na prostoru Like i Senja, a sve u svrhu boljega razumijevanja kompleksnih i nedovoljno razjašnjenih povijesnih procesa u hrvatskoj povijesnoj regiji Lici. ; The beginings of organizations set up in Lika region reaches far into the past, in the time of medieval brotherhoods; however, the first civil organizations in Lika did not arise until the Military Border systems have been abolished and until the break through of the modernization processes that originated in the Civic Croatia. The city of Senj had partially different but also earlier organizations' development. The first known civic organization on the area that has been the subject of this doctoral dissertation was The National Library in the city of Senj, founded in 1835. Withal, this civil organization is the first one in Croatia. In Lika region, the first civil organizations were not founded until the abrogation of the Military Border which, at the same time, has been the starting point for the progression of one of the most important forms of modernization. In the first part of this scientific work, social stratification and differentiation in the everyday life of Lika's residents has been depicted, whereas the usage of an argumented research approach has served to explain complex political, military, economic and other mutual influences between Lika's peasants-soldiers and the authorities that have dominated during that time. Multiple conflicts, unsafe and economically marginalized area, unsettled property laws and so called 'cooperative phenomena' are just a part of the numerous reasons why Lika region has entered Croatian and Habsbourg Monarchy's cultural and social processes relatively late. An emphasis is on the development of education, literacy and culture as basic determinants of future development of the civil organizations. Second major group of the research questions deals with an emersion of the organizations on the Croatian and European area, as a result of new global political processes. This part of the disertation tries to answer the question 'which were the reasons for the organizations' establishment in the first place', so as 'to what extent the organizations have influenced the residents of Wienna, Zagreb and other cities of the Habsbourg Monarchy'? Special emphasis is put on the law regulations, that is, so called 'Imperial Decree' which has helped the organizations to establish and work. Also, this group of the research questions discusses the inherited differences that existed in an administration, mentality and the development itself between the former Military Border and the Civic Croatia. Comparative research has provided an evidence that the development of a new district – Lika-Krbava county – when compared to the other districts, has been minor. Also, the questions that have been the matter of this scientific work were 'which kind of the organizations were there in the first place, 'what is the nature of the organizations' and 'which is the real level on which these organizations have fulfilled their purposes and goals'. This kind of analysis is very important in order to understand Lika's history from the beginning of the 20th century; in this period economic and cultural life of the Lika's residents is highly inflenced by a new regime of the Kingdom of SHS and, later on, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This group of questions especially makes an exception of the city of Senj, as a kind of border exception, but also explains which political and economic circumstances and perplexities resulted in prosperity and stagnation of the city beneath the Nehaj Fortress. The third group of the research questions, using the archive sources of the civil organizations' rules, gives an overview of more than one hundred and fifty civil organizations according to the territorial regions (districts) that existed during the Lika-Krbava county and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This section reveals the purposes, goals and the activities of administrative councils and assemblies of all major civic organizations (associations, clubs, affiliates, commities, foundations) found in the districts that existed during that time – Brinje, Donji Lapac, Gračac, Gospić, Korenica, Otočac, Perušić, Udbina and the cities Senj and Karlobag. In spite of major illiteracy, political and national antagonism and the fact that Lika was at the periphery in the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy, until the beginning of the World War I, a great number of the organizations has been established in Lika region. When talking about this in the first place, we must mention some proffesional societies, libraries, 'falcon' organizations, music organizations and economic organizations, although there were also some historical occurences such as the first theatrical group in Otočac, or one of the oldest tennis clubs in Croatia, the one in Gospić. Thereby, in the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, Lika is the region of the numerous changes, but even more is the region of the extreme contradictions. In the same (research) way, the attention has been dedicated to history of Lika's organizations outside Lika's area. Throughout this group of questions not all civic organizations outside Lika have been elaborated, only those whose members actively participated in the development of the possibilities for the future economic prosperity of Lika region. Therefore, this part of the paper tries to show the connection between Lika region and the other parts of the countries that existed during that time, where the descendants of Lika's residents have lived. This scientific work tries to answer the questions of the real connection of Lika's people outside Lika with the real problems which were perceived by them in a different way than by those who remained living in the homeland. The Society of Lika's people in Zagreb was Lika's major emigrant organization which intensively helped its agile members and offered a solution for a hard life in Lika region. The Society for the preservation of the Plitvice Lakes was one of the best known organizations in Croatia, however, its class and narcissistic behaviour could not have been accepted by most of Lika's residents. In spite of individual interests of a great number of members of Lika's civic organizations, what does remain is a constatation that the organizations, especially those whose members were peasants, have obtained a huge success when it comes to development of cooperatives, crafts, agriculture, but also education and culture. Also, what is notecable is the fact that efficiency of the numerous affiliates of federate economic organizations has increased, what leads to the conclusion that the overall progress in Lika was connected with the political and economic centres outside Lika. A key influence onto the organizations' development in Lika was the one by certain individuals such as Buda Budisavljević, Ivan Devčić, Dragutin Trstenjak, Ante Cividini, Ivan Krajač, Ivan Gojtan, Ante Lončarić, so as many other culturaly and publicly known people. In that way, this doctoral thesis has scientificaly confirmed an actual similarity of the associations and organizations in Lika with those in the rest of Croatia, but also that these similarities were, in fact, quite limited. Civic organizations are an important factor in every community, so as, of course, for Lika's identity which is historically saturated in turbulent ways. This work tries to make a contribution not just to better understanding of the civic organizations in Lika, but to contribute to understand the overall environment, that is, the atmosphere in Lika region. This gives new knowledge regarding micro-historical elements of one culture that has been a carrier of social, cultural, political and economic development of the region between the Kapela mountains in the north and South Velebit and the river Zrmanja stream in the south. This doctoral thesis is the first scientific contribution to better understanding of the civic organizations and their importance in the region under consideration. Although this thesis, through the depiction of work of the civic organizations in Lika, has tried to give an answer regarding broader social, political, economic, cultural and religious life of Lika and Senj's residents in the period of turbulent and modernisation processes, some questions remain only partially answerable. If we take into consideration the broadness, possibilities and influence of the organizations, this observation is logical, too. Also, here we can talk about a vast area which makes a closed whole only in certain segments. That is the reason why this overview of the work of the civic organizations in Lika asks for further research attention, especially when it comes to the analysis of economic changes which have occurred in Lika during the second part of the 19th and the first part of the 20th century. In order to accomplish this, besides the archival research, a potential researcher must pay attention to the statistical analysis. Moreover, this scientific work gives just a model of how to evaluate certain types of the civic organizations and how to compare them with the organizations similar to them. Although this doctoral thesis had to be done within a canonical time frame, it will be praiseworthy if we compare the civic organizations in Lika which exist today to those which have existed during the period of Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Of course, this kind of research calls for plenty of time, as well as considerable material assets, hence it can be done sometime in the future. Despite the fact that the tragic events during the World War II lead to the abolition of the civic organizations outside Lika region, the constitution of the Republic of Croatia has created the conditions for the reestablishment of the organizations. Nowadays, more than twenty organizations outside Lika work very actively and responsibly in order to interconnect Lika's emigrants and their descendants with their homeland, from where their ancestors arrived more than one hundred and fifty years ago.