Polazište ovog članka je u tvrdnji da doktrina narodnog samoodređenja i dalje ostaje jedna od najparadoksalnijih, najkontroverznijih, ali istodobno i najuspješnijih doktrina, koja i dalje u velikoj mjeri doprinosi oblikovanju postojećeg međunarodnog sustava nacionalnih država. U članku se tvrdi da je ta doktrina, čija je namjera bila da sačuva mir i ljudsko dostojanstvo, uvijek bila u samom srcu mnogih sukoba. Ovaj članak analizira paradokse i kontroverze koji su sadržani u toj doktrini, počevši od napetosti između univerzalnosti doktrine narodnog samoodređenja s jedne, i posebnosti nekog konkretnog zahtjeva za narodno samoodređenje neke nacionalne grupe s druge strane. Ti paradoksi i kontroverze odnose se na širok spektar pitanja: od političkih izazova i pitanja legitimnosti same nacionalne države, koja se na taj način stvara, do činjenice da je doktrina narodnog samoodređenja zapravo stvar međunarodne politike, a ne tek puko unutarnje, tj. nacionalno pitanje. Ne odbacujemo samu doktrinu samoodređenja, nego zaključujemo – u zadnjem (devetom) paradoksu – da se njena uspješnost ili neuspješnost ne smije mjeriti brojem država koje su nastale na taj način, nego u kojoj je mjeri ona uspješna u pretvaranju postojećih država u "sigurne kuće" za sve jasnije definirane nacionalne grupe. ; This article's point of departure is that the national self-determination doctrine remains one of the most paradoxical, contested, but successful doctrines which has largely contributed to the shape of our existing international system of nation-states. It argues that the doctrine which is intended to safeguard peace and human dignity is and always has been at the heart of many conflicts. Starting with the tension between the universality of the national self-determination doctrine and the particularity of the national group whose interests it promotes, the article explores other paradoxes contained within this doctrine. They range from political and legitimacy challenges to the very nation-state it creates, through the violations of human rights contrary to its very meaning, to the fact that national self-determination doctrine, far from being a national issue, is actually an international affair. While not rejecting the doctrine, the paper concludes with the final (ninth) paradox that perhaps the success of this doctrine should not be measured by how many states it can produce, but how it can make the existing states a safe home for more self-differentiating national groups.
The end of the two great world wars and the disappearance of the current political regimes have resulted in the creation of new states in the international order. With the collapse of multinational states and awakening of national consciousness, the aspirations of peoples for their own national states started to appear. Requirements for self-determination resulted primarily from the decolonization process, but also as a reflection of political relations in the post-war Europe. At the end of the First World War, there were events and people contributing to the development of rights of the people to self-determination and helping the oppressed nations in achieving their aspirations to decide their own destiny within their own national states. On the one hand, there were the workers' self-determination and revolution in Russia as essential elements in the development of the right to self-determination in the political principle and Lenin's attitudes on self-determination. On the other hand, there were fourteen points and US President Woodrow Wilson with his views on the right to self-determination. ; Okončanje dvaju velikih svjetskih ratova i nestajanje dotadašnjih političkih režima rezultirali su stvaranjem novih država u međunarodnom poretku. Raspadom višenacionalnih država i buđenjem nacionalne svijesti počinju se javljati težnje naroda za vlastitim nacionalnim državama. Zahtjevi za samoodređenjem javljaju se prvenstveno kao rezultat dekolonizacijskog procesa, ali i kao odraz političkih odnosa u poslijeratnoj Europi. Po završetku Prvog svjetskog rata javljaju se događaji i ljudi koji će svojim stavovima nemalo pridonijeti razvoju prava naroda na samoodređenje, a konačno i potlačenim nacijama pomoći u ostvarenju težnji da same odlučuju o svojoj sudbini unutar vlastite nacionalne države. S jedne strane to je radničko samoodređenje i revolucija u Rusiji kao bitni elementi u razvoju prava na samoodređenje naroda u političko načelo i Lenjinovi stavovi o pitanju samoodređenja. S druge strane to je četrnaest točaka i američki predsjednik Woodrow Wilson sa svojim stavovima o pravu naroda na samoodređenje.
Pravo na samoodređenje naroda jedno je od najspornijih pojmova u međunarodnome javnom pravu. Jednako tako, taj je pojam ne samo pravni već i filozofski, politološki, sociološki i povlači za sobom razna pitanja i reperkusije. Zbog toga se njegovoj analizi treba pristupiti detaljno, postupno i interdisciplinarno kako bi se sagledali razni važni aspekti toga pojma koji dovode do odgovora na pitanje je li samoodređenje naroda princip ili pravo i koga se tiče, je li to pravo jus cogens de facto i de iure ili je uvjetovano i ograničeno drugim pravilima suvremenoga međunarodnopravog poretka. Tu se prije svega misli na kogentnu zabranu narušavanja teritorijalnoga integriteta postojećih država te ugrožavanja međunarodnoga mira i stabilnosti proklamiranih još u Povelji Ujedinjenih naroda. To povlači za sobom razmatranje načela uti possidetis i njegovih korijena i obveznosti primjene, jednako kao i secesije kao najčešće posljedice afirmativnoga ostvarivanja prava na samoodređenje naroda. Također se na to nadovezuje i pitanje disolucije država, najčešće federalnih, za koju se treba proanalizirati ima li ona materijalne razlike s obzirom na secesiju koja također nije izrijekom ni dopuštena ni zabranjena. Autor sve te povezane pojave i pojmove interpretira kroz nama najbliže poznat slučaj, i dalje nedavnoga, raspada bivše Jugoslavije koja je bila moderni presedan za federalne države, a ima odjeka i u aktualnim zbivanjima poput onih u Ukrajini i Španjolskoj. Da bi se imao još potpuniji dojam o povezanosti prava, politike i raznih interesa, progovara se i o konstitutivnosti naroda, manjinama i njihovim pravima na osnovi raznih dokumenata i mišljenja teoretičara te i o državotvornosti i državnom priznanju za koje jednako tako nema konsenzusa o tome je li ono konstitutivni ili deklaratorni akt trećih država i međunarodne zajednice. Da bi se izbjegao najgori mogući scenarij, a to je onaj prihvaćanja pravnoga "statusa quo", treba kroz otvoreno raspravljanje i davanje prijedloga de lege ferenda precizirati pravnu problematiku kako se ne bi političkim i javnim diverzijama ili distrakcijama prikrivali interesi koji su ili suprotni duhu Ujedinjenih naroda ili su, s druge strane, legitimno suprotstavljeni jedni drugima. ; The right to self-determination of peoples is one of the most controversial concepts in public international law. Also, this concept is not only legal, but also philosophical, and also pertains to political science, sociology and entails various issues and repercussions. Therefore, its analysis should be approached in detail, gradually and with an interdisciplinary approach in order to comprehend the various important aspects of the concept that leads toward the answer to the following question - Is the self- determination of peoples a principle or a right and what else in involved here? Is this right jus cogens de facto and de jure or is it conditioned by the organic other rules of contemporary international order? This primarily refers to the cogent ban of breaching the territorial integrity of existing states and jeopardizing international peace and stability as proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations. This entails a consideration of the principle of uti possidetis and its roots, as well as secession, the most common consequence of the affirmative exercising of the right to self-determination of peoples. Also on the continuation and dissolution of states, mostly federal, which is necessary for an analysis whether or not there are any material differences in relation to secession, which is also neither permitted nor prohibited. The author here will interpret our closest known case (one still recent) the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, which was a modern precedent for a federal state and has reverberation in current events like those in the Ukraine. In order to have a more complete impression of law, policy and various interests will also make mention of the constitutionality of peoples, minorities and their rights through a variety of documents and the opinions of scholars and also concepts concerning the nation and state recognition. There is no consensus whether it is a constitutive or declaratory act by third countries and the international community. In order to avoid a worst case scenario, the acceptance of the legal "status quo", it should be openly debated in order to avoid political and public diversions or distractions that hide interests which are either contrary to the spirit of the United Nations or, on the other hand, legitimately opposed to each other. ; Il diritto di autodeterminazione dei popoli è uno dei termini più discussi del diritto internazionale pubblico. Inoltre, questo termine non è soltanto giuridico, ma anche filosofico, politico, sociologico e lega a sé varie polemiche e ripercussioni. È per questo che l'approccio all'analisi del termine dev'essere dettagliato, graduale ed interdisciplinare affinché si possano osservare i vari aspetti del termine che portano alla risposta del quesito se l'autodeterminazione nazionale è un principio o un diritto e relativo a chi, se è un diritto jus cogens de facto e de iure o se è condizionato e limitato da altre norme del diritto internazionale contemporaneo. Qui si parla in primis del divieto cogente di lesione dell'integrità territoriale e della pace internazionale e della stabilità proclamati persino nella Dichiarazione delle Nazioni Unite. Il tutto suppone l'osservazione del principio uti possidetis, delle sue radici e dell'obbligo d'implementazione, come anche della secessione, conseguenza più frequente della realizzazione affermativa del diritto di autodeterminazione dei popoli. Inoltre, ciò è relativo al fenomeno della dissoluzione degli stati, soprattutto federali, per i quali è doveroso analizzare la presenza di distinzioni materiali riguardanti la secessione, la quale di per sé non è esplicitamente né opzionale né vietata. L'autore interpreta i relativi fenomeni e termini per mezzo del caso a noi più vicino e più familiare, la dissoluzione dell'ex Jugoslavia, la quale è stata un precedente moderno per gli stati federali, e che ha ripercussioni anche nei casi attuali dell'Ucraina e della Catalonia in Spagna. Con lo scopo di cristalizzare il legame fra il diritto, la politica e i vari interessi, si parla anche della costitutività dei popoli, delle minoranze e dei loro diritti in base ai molti documenti e alle opinioni degli analitici, ed infine della creazione e del riconoscimento di uno stato, per i quali nemmeno prevale un consenso se si tratta di un atto costituente o declaratorio da parte di terzi e della comunità internazionale. Al fine di evitare degli esiti catastrofici, ossia l'interiorizzazione dello "status quo" a livello giuridico, è opportuno discutere in maniera aperta per precisare la problematica legislativa ed evidenziare gli interessi contrari allo spirito delle Nazione Unite o semplicemente giustificatamente opposti.
This article offers several interlinked hypotheses aimed at greater understanding of sustainable internal self-determination (political autonomy) within multinational states. At its core is the argument that political grievances of the largest national collective are a critical element in understanding the possibility of accommodation of claims for internal self-determination. Where majority grievances are intense and directly linked with the claims to self-determination of smaller national communities, self-determination will be a constant source of destabilizing political tensions. The second part of the article posits that even in such circumstances, there are ideational and organizational pathways through which majority grievances can be tempered. I use the example of socialist Yugoslavia and post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina to illustrate this point and suggest future areas for research. Adapted from the source document.
For Croatia as an independent state, the regulation & the realization of the freedoms & rights of national minorities have become a major test & measure of the degree of the democratization of the society as well as one of the essential conditions for economic & political integration into Europe. Taking the Croatian legal framework as our starting point, the realization of the rights of national minorities in the Republic of Croatia can be viewed at four levels: cultural autonomy, education in minority languages & alphabets, proportional representation in government both at the national & the local level, & the cross-border cooperation of national minorities. A review of the condition of the rights of national minorities in Croatia shows that the cultural autonomy rights are optimally utilized, due to their good organization, by those national minorities that enjoyed those rights before the creation of the independent Croatia. The "new" national minorities are still organizing themselves in order to realize more fully their minority rights. A variety of European organizations & institutions that promote European stability & security are especially active in encouraging the protection of national minorities in Croatia. 2 Tables, 14 References. Adapted from the source document.
For Croatia as an independent state, the regulation & the realization of the freedoms & rights of national minorities have become a major test & measure of the degree of the democratization of the society as well as one of the essential conditions for economic & political integration into Europe. Taking the Croatian legal framework as our starting point, the realization of the rights of national minorities in the Republic of Croatia can be viewed at four levels: cultural autonomy, education in minority languages & alphabets, proportional representation in government both at the national & the local level, & the cross-border cooperation of national minorities. A review of the condition of the rights of national minorities in Croatia shows that the cultural autonomy rights are optimally utilized, due to their good organization, by those national minorities that enjoyed those rights before the creation of the independent Croatia. The "new" national minorities are still organizing themselves in order to realize more fully their minority rights. A variety of European organizations & institutions that promote European stability & security are especially active in encouraging the protection of national minorities in Croatia. 2 Tables, 14 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author looks into the concept of the "small nation" & whether it is high time for its scientific or linguistic revision. If "small nations" are a qualitative category, why define them quantitatively as "small"? Small nations gained independence in two waves: between the German-French war (1870-1871) & the end of WWI, & after the end of the Cold War in 1990. However, not all small nations gained independence (eg, Basques, Catalonians, Bretons). They pose a major challenge for Western Europe. The example of Croatia & its relationship with Serbs serves to illustrate the vacillations in the European ideology & attitudes toward small nations. The pressures exerted on the Croatian state regarding the political attitudes of the Croatian people toward small nations did not stem from the logic of globalist economism or neoliberal political doctrine but were the consequence of the war waged by the mother country of the Croatian Serbs (Serbia) with the aim of annexing the territories in which they were a majority population. 9 References. Adapted from the source document.
Ovaj rad bavi se ostvarivanjem neovisnosti Kosova i Abhazije te uspoređuje ta dva slučaja ističući ključne prednosti i nedostatke borbe za neovisnost i međunarodno priznanje Kosova i Abhazije. Većina današnjih država stvorena je u posljednjih stotinjak godina kao rezultat procesa dekolonizacije i raspada multietničkih država. Velike svjetske sile, ponajprije SAD i Rusija, u slomu jednih i stvaranju novih država vide svoju šansu za širenje utjecaja i jačanje moći držeći se maksime, koja se pripisuje Machiavelliju, da cilj opravdava sredstvo, dok se međunarodno pravo vješto zaobilazi, a politički saveznici samo slijede politike koje diktiraju ti centri moći. Rad donosi kratak povijesni pregled izgradnje kosovske i abhaske države i analizira momente koji su ključni za njihov status danas. ; This paper deals with the issue of achieving the independence of Kosovo and Abkhazia, and compares their cases, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages that are crucial in achieving independence and establishing sovereignty over their territory, as well as gaining international subjectivity. Through the 20th and at the very beginning of the 21st century, most of the states known today were created. Most of them were created by the process of decolonization, but there are also those states that fought for independence by separating from multinational state communities, which ceased to exist after the mentioned secession. This left many questions open. Some of their successors were immediately guaranteed independence, while others had to fight both with arms and through diplomatic channels to reach the desired status of an independent state. The great world powers, in this case primarily the US and Russia, saw in these state breakdowns and the creation of new ones their chance to expand their influence and increase their own power in a historical period that we can freely call the Second Cold War, if the first ceased at all. These great powers, according to the famous Italian Niccolo Machiavelli and the proposition that the ...
Nakon povijesnog pregleda razvoja grčke lokalne samouprave u razdoblju nakon stjecanja neovisnosti o Otomanskom Carstvu analiziraju se novije reforme krajem 20. i početkom 21. stoljeća. Velika teritorijalna reforma dovršena je 1999. Postoje dvije razine samoupravnih jedinica te regije kao razvojne jedinice s određenim dodatnim ovlastima. Na prvom su stupnju općine i komune, a na drugoj prefekture. Reforma grčke lokalne samouprave pokazuje da ukidanje malih lokalnih jedinica ne mora značiti njihovo potpuno nestajanje, nego ih se može pretvoriti u oblik sudjelovanja građana u lokalnom upravljanju koji zadržava svoj prijašnji teritorijalni identitet. Također, pokazuje se da teritorijalna reforma bez promjena u financijskim izvorima lokalnih jedinica ne dovodi ni do kakvih promjena u mogućnostima financiranja i obavljanja šireg kruga javnih poslova. U tom smislu teritorijalna reforma sama po sebi nije decentralizacijska mjera. Ni neposredni izbor načelnika ne mora sam po sebi donijeti napredak u smjeru demokratizacije – iz grčkog se primjera vidi da bez podrške velikih nacionalnih političkih stranaka praktično nije moguće osvojiti mjesto načelnika ili prefekta. ; Following a historic overview of the development of Greek local self-government after gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire, the author analyses recent reforms at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. A comprehensive territorial reform was completed in 1999. There are two tiers of local self-government units, and regions as statistical units with certain additional competences. The first tier consists of municipalities and communes, and the second of prefectures. The reform of Greek local self-government has shown that abolition of small local units does not have to mean their complete disappearance, but that they can be turned into a form of citizens' participation in local governance and thus keep their former territorial identity. Moreover, it has become obvious that a territorial reform without a reform of local units' financial resources does not lead to any changes in their financial capacity and does not widen the scope of public affairs they perform. Thus, a territorial reform is not a decentralisation measure in itself. Furthermore, it is clear from the Greek example that even the institution of directly elected mayors does not necessarily mean a progress in democratisation – it is practically impossible to win the elections for a mayor or a prefect in Greece without the support of large national political parties.
In the present-day Balkans, the conflicting desires for self-determination & for recognition of the legitimate rights of the new states constitute a potential source of regional upheavals. The conflict in the territory of former Yugoslavia has affected the specific attitude profiling of the Balkan states & reconfirmed the necessity of the Balkan security community, which makes it impossible to view national security outside the regional Balkan framework. Using various means, each of the Balkan states strives to overcome the afflictions brought about by the latest Balkan crisis & create conditions for strengthening its national security. Adapted from the source document.
Jedan od praktično i teorijski najvažnijih problema teritorijalne organizacije lokalne samouprave svodi se na dilemu uspostave jednog stupnja ili više stupnjeva lokalnih samoupravnih jedinica. Stupnjevanjem se odgovara na problem i potrebu integracije sustava lokalne samouprave te na potrebu povezivanja tog sustava sa širom državnom organizacijom. Nakon opće rasprave o prednostima i nedostacima stupnjevanja, opsežno je komparativno analizirano stanje u 39 zemalja, 23 razvijene i 16 tranzicijskih. Ustanovljena su četiri tipa teritorijalnih okvira za integraciju sustava lokalne samouprave, jednostupanjski, mješoviti ili segmentirani, dvostupanjski i trostupanjski. Kao glavni faktori koji uvjetuju izbor jednog od tih okvira u pojedinoj zemlji utvrđeni su: veličina lokalnih jedinica, njihovo monotipsko ili politipsko uređenje, veličina države izražena brojem stanovnika te oblik društvenog uređenja (federacije, unitarne države). ; The dilemma about the establishment of one or more levels of local self-government units is one of the most important problems of territorial organisation of local self-government. Levelling is structural answer to the problem and needs to integrate local self-government system itself and to integrate that system into a wider organisation of a state as a whole. At the beginning, the paper deals with general discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of levelling. The situation in almost forty countries has been analysed, including two groups of countries: developed democracies (Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Island, Italia, Japan, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA) and transition countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Serbia). Four different types of territorial frames for local self-govern mentsystem integration have been identified: one-tier, mixed or segmented, two-tier, and three-tier systems. Decision to select one of them is conditioned by the average size of local units, monotypic or polytypic design of territorial division of a country, the size of a country in terms of the number of inhabitants, and form of political organisation (federation or unitary state).
