In this paper, we tried to analyze the consequences of the transitional process in the societies of the South-West Balkan, primarily on the example of Serbia. The indicators that we have found by the research clearly speak in favor of the fact that the transition is the cause of peripheralization of these societies. Citizens who entered the transitional processes with hope - imagining them as the accomplishment of the best European values - soon were convinced that the transition is only another manner to place these countries in the position to be exploited by multinational capital and developed, 'old' member of the EU, as well as to serve for squaring accounts in geopolitical games of the creators of the 'new world order'. In the case of the countries of the Western Balkan, the transition had the characteristic that, among other things, it was performed in conditions of political violence: destruction of the joint state of Yugoslavia, civil and religious war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, aggression of NATO to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, destabilization of Serbia through the attempt of Kosovo secession, etc., therefore, in the conditions that were extremely antihistorical. While the Europe was uniting, the Balkan was disintegrating. At least two out of the three 'ideas that conquered the world' (Mandelbaum) have been violated: the peace and the democracy. Free market in the conditions when there was no peace and regarding democratically insufficiently consolidated societies could not bring their progress, but on the contrary, as we established, only regression. That is the reason why the destroyed and collided South-Balkan societies, contrary to the European vow of their political elites, are today de facto much further from the European aspirations than they were quarter of the century ago. With their policy, the countries of the West have contributed to De- Europeanization of the South-West Balkan and strengthening of the Euroscepticism with citizens of those countries that still have not joined the EU, like Serbia. In fact, the citizens of Serbia can hardly recognize in the policy of the EU those values that have been usually considered European and which we mentioned at the beginning of this paper.
NATO's political and - above all - military participation in secession-motivated conflicts in former Yugoslavia (1990-1995), will be remembered as a clear example of demonstration of power, intentions and (in)capability of the Victor in a decades-long global "cold war" between the "freedom-loving" West and "totalitarian East". Regardless of the expectations of liberal theoreticians and the majority of public opinion, it was soon revealed that the victory was no "triumph of freedom" and even less "the end of history". On the contrary, as historically typical, it was only an unstable resultant of relations between major actors in the modern global theater, who strive to legitimize their need for domination with varying success and vocabulary. Hence the lessons to be learned from the final act of destruction of Yugoslavia (several months of NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999) have the expected tone of banality: absolute might strives for absolute power (which remains unattainable in principle); "the mighty oppress" is true always and in any place (but with a time limit); and, finally, what everyone knows but does not (or is unable or refuses) to say aloud: the only true alternative to military threat and/or aggression of a single political actor is an equally valid (military) threat/aggression by another one. We are tempted to conclude that, despite the ideological ardor of NGO activists, the political correctness of theoreticians and the rhetorical figures of speech of politicians, the "banalities" remain valid as the only certainties, i.e., regularities in the unpredictable currents of relations between states.
The author discusses the crucial question of whether Serbia truly pursues the path of modernization and European integration, or just a simulation of these processes. The author proposes the thesis that there are numerous obstacles on Serbia's transitional path toward the (post)modern European society. Therefore, he tries to discover the essential reasons for the citizens' reluctance and resistance, the reasons which are related to the modernization of the Serbian society. Serbia is today at the crossroads of the traditional and modern understanding of life. It contains some elements of (post)modernization, but still with a strong influence of its traditional (conservative) heritage. The processes of re-traditionalization (re-mythologization and pseudo-mythologization) represent a major obstacle to the liberation of the society from the grip of the past and to its orientation towards European values. According to the author, the main creators of retrograde flows can be found in the political establishment of contemporary Serbia. He labels them, ironically and derogatorily, the 'guardians' of tradition, who use demagogic statements, populist paroles, and media information control (for their personal and party interests) to slow down Serbia on its European path.
After the end of the Cold War, civil defense was transformed into civil protection. This part of the state structure moved from the armed forces to the civilian sector. There are two reasons. First, direct threat of nuclear war was eliminated and the other reason were climate changes caused by natural disasters on a large scale. Today's civilan protection is organized in order to protect life and property in the event of a disaster caused by nature or man. End of the Cold War influenced the transformation of the social system in Poland. This was also reflected in the field of civil protection in this country. In Poland many sectors of civil society are now directly or indirectly involved in the system of civil protection. This was largely contributed by the decentralization of the state system, which allowed greater involvement of different actors in the system of civil protection. Decentralization has enabled a more efficient division of responsibility in case of emergencies. Regardless of the differences in size of territory and population, Poland has gone through similar challenges in transformation of the state and civil protection system like other new states of the European Union. This is especially important if we look other states of the former Warsaw Pact. Beside aforementioned transformation, Poland needed to eliminate communist legacy in many areas of society. This was precondition for stabilization and modernization of the state system. After that, Poland could put more effort in the reform of other areas of political, economic and social organization, which included area of civil protection.
Joint effect of 2008 economic crises and continous world-wide present deficite of political legitimacy have in 2011 given birth to global resistance, but also facilitated development of its new strategies and tactics. Aldough we are still by large able to understand these contemporary models of collective action with help of New Social Movement Theory, today they objectivelly grasp a wider field of meaning, mainly for reason of their demands for radical transformation of both economic and political system. Contemporary social movements are still struggling for re-interpretation of meaning, and identity issues, but not any more for any particular goal. Instead, they seek systemic change. This extremelly important shift of strategic orientation, which makes new movements a bit old – that is classical, remains in our oppinion, undervalued both in academic, and general public for the reasons that we will try to comprehend, in this writing. ; Sadejstvo udara ekonomske krize iz 2008. i kontinuiranog deficita političkog legitimiteta dovode 2011. do pojave globalnog otpora, ali i do razvoja njegovih kvalitativno novih strategija i taktika. Iako je savremene modele kolektivne akcije dobrim delom i dalje moguće razumeti uz pomoć teorije novih društvenih pokreta, oni danas objektivno zahvataju jedno šire polje, najpre zbog zahteva za radikalnom promenom u ukupnom ekonomskom i političkom sistemu. Savremeni društveni pokreti i dalje se bore za reinterpretaciju značenja i priznanje sopstvenog identiteta, ali ne više za bilo koje pojedinačno pitanje, već za sveobuhvatnu promenu sistema. Ta izuzetno važna promena strateške orijentacije, koja nove pokrete čini pomalo starim – upravo klasičnim, ostaje, čini nam se, nedovoljno primećena iz razloga koje ćemo pokušati da rasvetlimo.
In this article Dr Pribicevic analyzes reasons for difficult and slow transition in Serbia. Twelve years after the breaking down of authoritarian regime the Serbian population is completely disappointed. New authorities was promising higher standard, lower unemployment, quicker enter in to the EU, tough fight with corruption and organized crime. When it didn't happen even after the ten years big expectations were changed with disappointment and dissatisfaction directed against the parties which ruled the country after the 2000. On the elections hold in May 2012 Democratic party and its leader Boris Tadic lost elections and new government was created by Serbian Progressive Party, Socialist party of Serbia and United Regions of Serbia. Three main political reasons caused difficult and slow transition in Serbia. First, complete preoccupation with Kosovo problem and constant conditioning of Serbian European road with so called normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina slower down reforms and dealing with all other problems in society, Second, constant conflicts between so- called democratic parties which ran Serbia after 2000 and Third, slow transformation of the parties which ruled the Serbia during the 90' produced situation in which ruling parties after 2000 didn't have normal incentive and corrective coming from opposition. Only after the Serbian Progressive Party, created after the split of extreme nationalistic Serbian Radical Party, adopted main postulates of democracy and main elements of Tadic's foreign policy, first real change occurred in Serbia, twelve years after the breaking down of previous authoritarian regime. Quicker approach to EU and solvation of Kosovo issue remains the main challenge for the new government. Better life of Serbian citizens is mainly related to the solvation of these issues.
Social reforms had an important position in the process of transition changes in Serbia in the previous decade. Their strategic framework and aims have been defined in the first years after the 'democratic changes' of 2000 and their realization followed by a series of problems. The transition from the 'socialist welfare state' to the concept of 'active social policy' has been in compliance with the accepted model of (liberal) reforms and changes in the institutional sphere. Analysis of effects and achievements have pointed to an inadeaqucy of the accepted model and deficiencies in the practice. From the point of view of the current situation and expected changes in the future, there is an obvious need for a comprehensive evaluation of cause of (un)success of social reforms. The reason for that lies in the elimination of insufficiencies and creation of a basis for the construction of a system in compliance with the national objectives, the European standards and global challenges.
Local self-government units are key cells of every country's development, pervading deeply needs and interests of local community members, the citizens of a state, who are considered to be the key factor in survival and development of a community. No successful democratic society can be achieved without a good and effi cient local self-government. For that reason, a special attention needs to be brought to the issue of local self-government units. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a fragmented system of local self-governmentmunits at entity level, with a very low degree of mutual cooperation, which greatly complicates and hinders the functioning of local self-government units at the state level. There is no unity in regulation and compliance of local self-government units functioning, at the state level, with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, or the documents of the Council of Europe, which is at odds with the aspirations of our country in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration with the rest of Europe.
Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon, affecting the society on the whole. It undermines democratic institutions, decelerates the economic development, and contributes to the destabilization of the society. All spheres of the society may be affected by corruption, and numerous studies have showed that the defense and security sector is among the sectors which are the most susceptible to corruption. Fight against corruption is a true necessity of any democratic society and it is, at the same time, a prerequisite of reform changes, and building of transparent and accountable institutions. That is why the fight against corruption and the integrity building in the defense sector have found their place within NATO and partner countries. For these reasons, NATO partnership program has been developed, aiming to find optimal models of building the integrity and defense institutions, with reducing the corruption to minimum, and of maintaining or increasing the efficiency and the effectiveness of collective security.
After twenty five years since the introduction of the semi-presidential system in Serbia and in the region, this text attempt to reassess its performance, achievements and limits. It analyses the factors which the power of the directly elected president depends on (constitutional competences, manner of election, whether he is a party president, whether his party has majority in the parliament). The text explains the origin of the concept and institution, reasons for introduction, criteria for maximalist and minimalist understandings of semi-presidentialism. In new democracies the semi-presidential system faces additional challenges and temptations: 'the third mandate', absence of reelection-related incentives in the second mandate, manner of inclusion in/exclusion from the creation of politics and whether the directly elected president is in the same time the party president. Possible redesign of this political institution would require taking care that the manner of election is only one of the dimensions important for functioning of this system. The issue of the level of competences is of no less importance. The key is in the careful balance of power among the three branches of power, but above else between the president of the state and the prime minister.
In June 2010 the European Council adopted the Commission's proposal on the Strategy for employment and growth 'Europe 2020'. Responding to criticism that the previous Lisbon strategy did not succeed, among other reasons, because of its one-sided focus on economic growth and employment, the Commission lays out three mutually reinforcing priorities: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The text focuses on new strategic directions, priorities, sector initiatives and Integrated Guidelines in the area of economic end employment policies. Special attention was given to the dynamics of implementation, the tasks of the Union and obligations of the member states in the realisation of the Headline Targets. The importance of ecological and social components was stressed as having an important role in overcoming discovered difficulties and fulfillment of the envisioned goals during the next decade. 'Europe 2020' is the basis for national reform programs which will contain concrete measures to implement the strategy. The Commission has a control function, while the Council will once a year present an assessment of the progress the member states and the Union have achieved. The strategy has a special place in the process of association of new member states and in the assessment of the accomplished progress.
The paper analyzes the strategic documents that the Government Serbia adopted in the period from 2008 through 2011, from the point of the extent to which basic ideas and principles of sustainable development are present in those strategies. By adopting the National Strategy for Sustainable Development in 2008 the Republic of Serbia has accepted that sustainable development becomes its permanent development orientation and of course one of the prerequisites for entry into the family of modern European states. However, given the symbolist, traditional and declarative approach to the concept of sustainable development, it can be established that most the adopted strategic documents, that is, national strategies are not essentially, but only formally, in line with the National Strategy for Sustainable Development. The reasons are certainly found in the fact that the state, that is, the administrative structure, did not understand the essence of sustainable development and the opportunities it provides. Although the idea of sustainable development should be approached from a critical standpoint, there is no doubt that by its political ignorance in the politics of the Serbian government it loses the necessary and costly time needed to strengthen the process of modernization and ecologisation of the society in Serbia.
The European Union is the most complex and by any aspect the most unique example of a regionaleconomic integration. Its origin, evolution and survival are based on a common legislative andinstitutional framework. The so-called common policies implemented in a number of economicand non-economic areas are particularly distinctive. Most of them are implemented on two levels:national and communal. The only common policy that is fully implemented at the European Unionlevel is the Community Agrarian Policy (CAP), whereas the agriculture has the highest expenditurein the communal budget. The function of CAP is primarily economic as its goals are strictly relatedto economic issues: price stability of agricultural products, productivity growth, higher wages forthe farmers, etc. The CAP strengthens the Union's social cohesion, which is of utmost importancein times of constant crises, BREXIT and other extreme instabilities. For this reason, the CAP hasbeen in the processes of continuous reforms (MacShary, Mansholt and those of recent times) fordecades, in order to increase its efficiency and justify enormous financial investments. The CAPresults depend on the achievement of preset objectives and the exchange of agricultural productsand food that the European Union generates globally. It has been demonstrated that the CAP is asignificant common policy, both in achieving economic goals and in the sphere of strengtheningcommunal cohesion.
In the essence, the problem of eco-economic (economic and environmental) development is reduced to the problem of choosing concrete protection mechanisms and measurement heights achieved economic, and environmental, social and institutional (sustainable) development. This opens up the question of measuring the economic problems, but also each other prosperity of society, because they set goals, benchmarks and parameters to be taken into account are different, depending on what needs to be done measuring the degree of development. This mechanism of measuring economic development, set 30-s of the 20 th century, more and more often is criticized modern economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, who report that in the modern global business development of the country should be measured by a broader set of indicators. For these reasons, the European Commission in cooperation with the European Parliament, the OECD, the Club of Rome and the World Wide Fund (WWF), in 2007. organized International Conference - Beyond GDP Conference. In this sense, in addition to GDP, significant measures have been introduced for economic development and other indicators of well-known as an Enlarged GDP. The aim of this paper is to present the fundamental differences between GDP and GDP Enlarged indicators in calculation methodology that takes into consideration and certain other elements apart from consumption, investment and export levels. .
Disertacija sarži uvod, četiri poglavlja i zaključak. U prvom poglavlju pod naslovom "Nastanak i delovanje Organizacije ujedinjenih nacija" izložen je početak pojave ideje Međunarodne organizacije kao i istorijski razvoj ovog koncepta do svetske porodice u današnje vreme, koju čine 193 države. Takođe, dotaknuta je serija izjava kao i međunarodne konferencije koje su dovele do formiranja Organizacije ujedinjenih nacija, formulisanja njenih ciljeva i principa, kao i načina i uslova učlanjenja u tu organizaciju. Detaljnije su proučavane uloge Generalne skupštine i Saveta bezbednosti zbog njihove važnosti. U drugom poglavlju, pod naslovom "Razlozi koji ukazuju na potrebe reforme Organizacije ujedinjenih nacija", objašnjeni su sledeći razlozi neophodnosti reforme ove organizacije: 1. skretanje Ujedinjenih nacija s puta; 2. kontradiktornosti sistema Ujedinjenih nacija; 3. nedostaci Povelje Ujedinjenih nacija; 4. nedostaci u mehanizmu donošenja odluka; 5. svetske promene; 6. mistifikacija u misijama Ujedinjenih nacija; 7. moćna središta; 8. raskorak između misije i raspoloživih sredstava; 9. korupcija. U trećem poglavlju, pod naslovom "Organizacija ujedinjenih nacija između povelje i dominantne sile" objašnjen je odnos Sjedinjenih Američkih Država sa Organizacijom ujedinjenih nacija kroz sledeću grupu tačaka i tema: 1. siže američkih promena od izolacije do internacionalizma; 2. politika SAD u Ujedinjenim nacijama tokom hladnog rata; 3. stav SAD o ulozi UN u oblasti čuvanja mira, ekonomske saradnje i ljudskih prava; 4. stav SAD prema UN u periodu pre raspada Sovjetskog Saveza; 5. SAD i UN posle hladnog rata; 6. američki stav prema UN posle završetka hladnog rata 7. administracija Džordža Buša i Ujedinjene nacije (opšti stav prema međunarodnoj organizaciji, političko viđenje SAD pre i posle događaja 11. septembra 2001. godine); 8. američki interesi i reforma Ujedinjenih nacija (reforme UN i realizacija američkih interesa, američko viđenje reformi); 9. predsednik Barak Obama i njegova metodologija za promene i odnos sa UN. U četvrtom poglavlju, pod naslovom "Reforme Organizacije ujedinjenih nacija" definisan je problem ove studije kroz grupu tačaka i pitanja i istraživane su međunarodne promene koje je svet doživeo kao glavni faktor za izvršenje procesa reforme koje su potrebne Ujedinjenim nacijama. ; The dissertation consists of an introduction, four chapters and the conclusion. The first chapter:"The Emergence and the Function of the United Nations", deals with the emergence of the idea of international system , and how this idea developed historically till it reached nowadays to international family consisting of 193 states of various continents and cultures . These states are joined in an institutional frame founded on optional and contractual pillars, which is the United Nations. In addition, it deals with the chain of declarations and conferences that led to the foundation of this organization. Moreover, it focuses on the purposes, principles and membership of the United Nations, as well as the General Assembly and Security Council due to their important role in the United Nations system. The second chapter: "The Reasons for the Reform of the United Nations", deals with the necessity reasons for reform; due to the United Nations is in urgent need of it. The intended reform is to do whatever necessary to raise its efficiency and performance. Therefore, it is possible to determine the objective reasons of this reform in the following titles, and they are: 1. The deviation of United Nations from its course that it was founded for; 2. The inherent contradictions of United Nations system since its foundation, 3. The deficiencies and imbalances in the United Nations Charter; 4.The imbalance in decision –making structures and mechanisms; 5. International Changes; 6.The vagueness of tasks entrusted to the United Nations; 7. Extreme Centralism; 8. The big gap between the intended tasks to be achieved and the available resources; 9. Corruption. The third chapter: "The United Nations between the Charter and the Dominant Power", focuses on the relation between the USA with the United Nations. This is a necessary item for the research due to the current international conditions and challenges facing humanity such as local and regional conflicts, health, natural catastrophes, etc. which fall under the scope of the United Nations. The dominant role the US plays in the international arena singles out its special impact on the performance of this organization. This role has gone through many changes in recent history depending on the geopolitics of the world namely after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the advent of the short-lived unipolarity up to the beginning of emergence of multipolarity. Every stage marked nuances in the US policy towards the United Nations. In fact, the US approach to international affairs developed in big leaps from isolationism to its involvement in WWII and the establishment of the United Nations.
