Revolucija i/ili politologija? Dvojba iz povijesti hrvatske politologije

Author(s): Tonči Kursar / Language(s): Croatian Publication Year: 0

Kad su se 2002. godine pojavile prve sustavnije studije (Knežević i Ravlić, 2002; Prpić, 2002) povijesti hrvatske politologije, bilo je jasno da smo se pridružili globalnom trendu istraživanja povijesti discipline, koji je počeo još prije pedesetak godina. Studije te vrste općenito su namijenjene prikazu povijesnog razvoja discipline i davanju nekih umjerenih preporuka za njezin budući razvoj. Takvo je stanje, s jedne strane, znak sazrijevanja politologije općenito, pa tako i hrvatske, a s druge je strane to možda i znak krize identiteta. Kriza identiteta politologije obično se može definirati na osnovi “boljki” većine društvenih znanosti. John G. Gunnell, američki politolog i jedan od vodećih promicatelja povijesti discipline kao “žanra”, kaže da su posrijedi dvojbe o spoznajnim kapacitetima discipline, nejasne granice prema drugim disciplinama, dramatične promjene u predmetnom području. Sve su se te krize obično odmah preobražavale u “sporenja o budućem usmjerenju, greškama i postignućama u prošlosti i uvijek su imale povijesnu dimenziju” (Gunnell, 2002, 341). U tom smislu vjerojatno imaju pravo Dryzek i Leonard kad kažu da se povijesne rekonstrukcije u našoj disciplini “koriste za legitimiranje određene perspektive, a delegitimiranje konkurentskih pristupa” (Dryzek i Leonard, 1988, 1247).

Politologija i hrvatska politika. Transformacija istraživanja političkog sustava Hrvatske

Author(s): Nenad Zakošek / Language(s): Croatian Publication Year: 0

Ovaj se ogled bavi pitanjem promjena što su se u politološkom istraživanju hrvatske politike dogodile tijekom posljednjih četvrt stoljeća. Razmišljanje o jednom segmentu hrvatske politologije ima dvostruku zadaću. Prva je metodološka refleksija promjena u pristupu istraživanju političkog sustava u hrvatskoj politologiji. Ta refleksija ima sasvim osoban značaj, budući da pišem sa stajališta istraživača koji i sam sudjeluje u pothvatu koji je predmetom razmatranja. Svjestan sam da stoga moja refleksija neminovno uključuje vrednovanje rezultata politološkog istraživanja koje je izraz mojih osobnih istraživačkih preferencija. Osim toga, element vrednovanja sadržan je i u selekciji relevantnih tema i tekstova koji se razmatraju, čime su zanemareni neki drugi pristupi i tekstovi koje bi možda valjalo uvrstiti u ovakvu refleksiju, ali su ispušteni jer su mi nepoznati ili nedostupni (referencije na kojima ogled počiva dane su na kraju rada). Druga je zadaća ovog ogleda didaktička: uvjeren sam da metodološka refleksija i opis osobnog iskustva mogu biti od koristi mlađim kolegama koji su na početku svoga istraživačkog puta i, prije svega, može im pomoći da razumiju dileme, poteškoće i ograničenja s kojima se u istraživanju hrvatske politike susretala moja generacija. Uvjeren sam da je rijetko što metodički toliko instruktivno kao uvid u osobno istraživačko iskustvo.

Interes za izbore i izborna participacija

Author(s): Ivan Šiber / Language(s): Croatian Publication Year: 0

Sudjelovanje u političkim procesima, prije svega u procesima konstituiranja predstavničkih tijela, ključna je pretpostavka demokratskog društva. Kako to naglašava Franklin (1996), “participacija je krvotok demokracije, uključuje različit broj ljudi u različite aktivnosti u različito vrijeme.” Obično se smatra da je ključni pokazatelj elementarne političke zainteresiranosti sam čin izlaska na izbore (Campbell, 1962). Dok se katkad pod političkom participacijom razumijeva isključivo participacija u izborima, Nie, Verba i Petrocik (1976) smatraju da politička participacija obuhvaća sve oblike ponašanja u politici. Prema tim autorima, sukladno demokratskoj teoriji, participacija je proces kojim se određuju ciljevi i sredstva u odnosu prema svim vrstama socijalnih problema. Pretpostavlja se da su na temelju participacije ciljevi društva postavljeni na način da maksimaliziraju alokacije društvenih dobara s obzirom na potrebe i želje populacije. Participacija nije usmjerena nekom određenom društvenom cilju, već je to postupak za određivanje ciljeva, izbor prioriteta i odlučivanje o načinu njegova postizanja. Osim toga, participacija ima još dvije dodatne svrhe.

Мониторинг и оценка на публични политики и програми

Author(s): Andrey Nonchev / Language(s): Bulgarian

The report entitled Monitoring and Assessment of Public Policies and Programmes (available in Bulgarian only) reviews the methods for monitoring the activity of the public sector, central and regional authorities and public-private partnerships. The systematic and thorough use of integrated tools for the monitoring and evaluation of public policies and programs is yet to become the normin Bulgaria. He underestimating of the importance of these practices is one of the reasons for the relatively low level of preparedness of the country in adjusting to the requirements and challenges of EU membership. The lack of monitoring and evaluation of public policies and programs leads to many problems, e.g. related to the mismanagement of EU pre-accession and structural funds, the implementation of the harmonized European legislation, the capacity of the Bulgarian administration. In this context, the knowledge and use of these methods and techniques is a prerequisite for sound, effective and accountable governance. They are also needed for increased public participation and involvement of all stakeholders in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and programs.

Държавата КТБ

Author(s): Zornitsa Markova,Tatyana Puncheva- Vassileva,Nikolay Stoyanov,Rosen Bosev,Ilin Stanev,Ani Kodzhaivanova,Desislava Leshtarska / Language(s): Bulgarian

This book is the result of a two-year journalistic investigation that traces the history of Corporate Commercial Bank from its origin to its bankruptcy (1994-2014). The investigation was conducted on the basis of dozens of meetings with direct participants or witnesses of the events, representatives of state structures, political parties, business, regulators. In the process, hundreds of official and informal documents have been analyzed. Access to information by Bulgarian and international organizations has been requested many times. The collected facts, data, documents, and exclusive testimonies included in this book contain for the first time conclusive evidence of political corruption in Bulgaria. The aim of the KTBfiles project is to show the genesis of the "CCB model" (Corporate Commercial Bank model) and the technology of its expansion to magnitude, which pressed all key state institutions to the wall. The book explores the circumstances that made this vicious model possible, as well as the mechanisms for its eradication. This makes the investigation much more comprehensive, multi-layered and important than the chronology of bank bankruptcy, whether it is the largest in Bulgarian history. This qualitative journalistic investigation answers not only to the question #WHO but also to the questions how, why and especially what follows if we stop asking and live permanently with civil indifference and cynicism.

Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (IMES 2018)

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The 6th International Conference Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (IMES 2018) took place on May 31 – June 1, 2018 at the University of Economics, Prague. The conference was organised by the Department of Entrepreneurship of the University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic in cooperation with other partners. Sound keynote speakers – Roy Thurik (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Ute Stephan (Aston Business School), Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena), Stefan Schaltegger (Leuphana University Lüneburg), Marina Dabič (University of Zagreb and Nottingham Trent University), Martin Srholec (CERGE-EI) and Jiří Hnilica (University of Economics, Prague), discussed the trends in the fields of innovation management, entrepreneurship and sustainability. The conference aimed to achieve academic excellence in a regional context and to establish a platform for mutual collaboration, exchange and dissemination of ideas among researchers and professionals. These conference proceedings contain contributions of the conference participants presented during both days of the conference. Authors of papers come from 30 countries all over the world, namely from Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, USA, Vietnam. All these contributions have successfully passed the doubleblind peer-review process.

THE STRATEGY FOR EVALUATING THE APPLICATION OF THE BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION

Author(s): Iulia Staicu,Viorel ORDEANU,Mihail-Silviu Tudosie / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

From the weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) the most dangerous are the biological weapons (BWs) that use living organisms, which after their dissemination, can get out of control and their effects could thus be devastating. As such, BWs were the first WMD sto be prohibited by means of law by the United Nations (UN) thus in 1972, at Geneva, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) was signed.As a result, the necessity of a coherent strategy that could evaluate the application of the BTWC at a national and international level emerged and specific mechanisms of evaluating the convention’s application were created, including at UN level. Yet, because of the contradiction between, on the one hand the need for transparency and on the other hand the need for maintenance of the military secret, these evaluation methods were not efficient.As such, some states possess or could possess own BWs, creating a potential danger for the international community.In this article we aim at presenting some elements of the strategy for evaluation of the application of the BTWC.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL JOB ANALYSIS IN THE MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS

Author(s): Corneliu Axente,Costache Rusu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The officers’ advancement in the military career is represented by the translation from execution posts to command posts. Commitment to a command post involves an exponential increase of the task diversity and analyses information flow. Also there’s a need for continuous skills development in leadership and resource managing. Under these circumstances, the occupied command post involves a mix of various challenges in managing simultaneously and synchronously human, material, and time resources available within the organization.This paper proposes a classification used for analyzing the management positions within the military organizations, thus obtaining a way of expressing their complexity and their value, as well as identifying the coordinates needed to be achieved by the military organizations managers from the point of view of different skills or managerial types imposed by the specifics of the occupied post.

CONTINUOUS GENERATION OF MILITARY CAPACITIES – AN ESENTIAL CONDITION IN ORDER TO ENSURE NATIONAL AND EUROATLANTIC SECURITY

Author(s): Robert-Mihai Poenaru / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

At a global level, we are witnessing an arms race that has not been seen since the Iron Curtain was lifted. The threats to our country are mainly coming from the East,where Russia exercises its status as a regional power and tends to change the world order by redefining the power poles and redefining the spheres of influence. At this point, Romania can assume the position of guarantor of security at the level of the eastern part of NATO and of the European Union, which generates stability in the region, including in the Balkans. But in order to achieve these goals, besides a very well-established diplomacy, there is a need for military capabilities that can lead to discouragement.

And Yet the Black Sea Can Be an Essential Geostrategic Pivot in the Solution of Euro-Asiatic Endogenous Conflictuality

Author(s): Sebastian-Gabriel Popescu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

One of the geopolitical and geostrategic synthesis key areas on the strategic axis Black Sea - Baltic Sea reluctance re-opened following the Ukrainian crisis is the more or less extensive Black Sea region. The historical, political, economic and civilian arguments, as well as the new challenges of the regional security environment, but also cross-border and global, leave the great powers on both sides of the strategic axis Black Sea - Baltic and riparian countries a chance that we consider not only an alternative to ... war, otherness, but also a way of transforming divergences into confluences and confluence in unity, prosperity and security. Even though the complicated and tense realities at this point seem not to encourage such a prospect, we believe that the Black Sea area can become − and indeed become − an East-West welding space, a true geopolitical and geostrategic, economic, social synapse and inter-civilization, which will put an end to the strategic flaw effect here in bitter weather. In the following, we will present this point of view.

Поларизирачкиот дискурс и влијанието врз политичката и социјалната поларизација во македонското општество

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova,Ana Blazheva,Zdravko Saveski,Mariglen Demiri / Language(s): Macedonian

“Capture” of the Post-Socialist State as a Challenge to the EU Integration

Author(s): Andrey Nonchev / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Different trajectories of post-socialist societal transformations and their alternativeconceptualizations are discussed. The paper addresses the specific mode of post-socialist societydesignated as "state capture" and its economic, political and social dimensions. The paper offers atheoretical model of the captured state, identifying its differentia specifica and its economic,political and social effects. The interaction between state institutions, political and economicpower networks and their rational strategies to capture the state is identified. The implementationof these strategies involves the formation and operation of politico-economic power networks thatseek to control key public legislative, executive and judiciary institutions and to extract economicand political benefits. The state capture has fundamental political, economic and social consequences that could become serious barriers to deepening European integration and even stimulate disintegration processes.

The Balkans’ Image as Constructed in Donald Trump’s Public Statements (2017-2018)

Author(s): Kalina Ishpekova-Bratanova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This study was prompted by the strong academic and research interest in President Donald Trump’s governance and rhetorical style, which is atypical of any senior government official holding a high post in the state administration. Another major motivation for selecting thisresearch object is the topicality of political discourse, and its linguistic and pragmatic aspects, inthe era of post-truth politics. Yet another reason was the typically negative image of the Balkans ina historical perspective. The findings in this study largely confirm those established in previousresearch with regard to Donald Trump’s foreign policy priorities. Even though Trump is differentin form – in language and rhetoric – in his foreign policy, he shows continuity with his post-ColdWar predecessors in substance, especially in the Balkans and South-eastern Europe.

The Western Balkans in the EU Accession Process: PES(I) Assessment

Author(s): Galya Mancheva,Elena Simeonova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Despite the internal destabilization and ongoing asymmetric crises, European Unionstill tends on extending its borders. The main target destinations are Western Balkans countries,which, undoubtedly, present a more complex case compared to previous rounds of the EU enlargement. In the same time, as a result of acceleration, EU has set standards higher than ever. Inthe strive to cover the EU-set acquisition standards, and to attract foreign investments, WesternBalkans countries produce different degrees of political risk which affects the business and investors. The article presents a part of the results of a complex authors’ research with а main focus of evaluating the Western Balkans countries political, economical, social, and risk environment inthe Eurointegration processes in the region. A specially designed modification of the well-knownPEST analysis (PES(I)) analysis is applied on 10-year period (2007-2017). It is concluded thatWestern Balkan accession to EU is more a political rather than an economical issue. Based on theanalysis, Republic of Albania is shown to be the best performing country among the region, doingthe biggest progress in economic and political aspects, generating the lowest political risk levels.Keywords: Western Balkans, political regime, democracy score, exchange rate regime, GDP,GDP per capita, population growth, age and educational structure, key interest rate, sovereignspreads, sovereign credit risk, credit rating, financial markets, political indicators, political risk.

Cross-Border Cooperation between Slovakia and Ukraine: Volume IV: Perceptions of local and regional actors

Author(s): / Language(s): English

This publication is the latest of a series of four publications that present the findings of the research project titled the “Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine and Cross-border Cooperation between Slovakia and Ukraine: Implications and Opportunities”. The research project was implemented by the Institute of Political Science at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prešov and supported by the Slovak Research and DevelopmentAgency over the period of 2016 ‒ 2019 (project no. APVV-15-0369). This fourth publication presents the results of empirical research focused on perceptions, preferences, motivations and strategies of regional and local actors on both sides of the border. The book entitled Cross-BorderCooperation between Slovakia and Ukraine: Volume IV: Perceptions of Localand Regional Actors, co-authored by Michal Cirner, Martin Lačný, Anna Polačková and Gabriel Székely, consists of two extensive scientific studies.The first one provides interpretation of the empirical research results at the local level, and is divided into nine sub-chapters, focusing on different sets of issues from the structured questionnaire for local CBC actors: migration and social interaction; identifying barriers to interaction and cross-border cooperation; perceptions and ideas about the residents on the other side of the border; evaluation of cross-border cooperation policies; the expected impact of cross-border cooperation; expected impacts of the EU AssociationAgreement with Ukraine. The second study, presenting interpretationof empirical data obtained at regional level, is structured according to thestructure of the questionnaire for regional CBC actors and thus similarly to the study at local level, but includes one extra sub-chapter, tracking a set of questions focused on types and levels of mutual economic interaction. The final part of both studies consists of the interpretation of correlation analysis results and the final commentary in the form of policy considerations.

Да преосмислим Европейския съюз? Доклади от Четвъртата международна научна конференция на катедра „Европеистика“, Софийски университет, май 2017 г.

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Bulgarian

This book presents reports from Rethinking the European Union?, International Conference of the European Studies Department, Faculty of Philosophy at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The conference was organized in May 2017 with the support by Hanns Seidel Foundation. The collective book was a project of the European Studies Department at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence in teaching and research on the Europeanisation of the countries of Southeast Europe (2016-2019), co-financed by the Erasmus+ program.

Polity Modelling. Political Culture Based Modelling of the Eastern European Polities

Author(s): Camelia Florela Voinea / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper addresses the area of political methodology and presents an approach on polity modelling. Polity modelling is analyzed from both historical and paradigmatic perspective by emphasizing the differences between classic (empirical) approaches and complexity-based approaches. The contribution of the paper consists in the modelling method: it combines democracy modelling with political culture modelling into a unified simulation framework. The modelling approach is focused on the Eastern European polities which have combined after the fall of the iron curtain in 1989 democracy-building with state-building processes. The paper presents a class of simulation models which explain operation of a polity as a complex adaptive system of interdependences between processes of democratization and political culture processes. The paper presents preliminary research results which combine agent-based system with complex adaptive system modelling.

DR. FRANJO TUĐMAN IZMEĐU POLITIKE I POVIJESTI: POVIJESNA PREDODŽBA O HRVATSTVU I JUGOSLAVENSTVU, SLAVENSTVU I INTERNACIONALIZMU

Author(s): Nikša Stančić / Language(s): Croatian Publication Year: 0

Croatian history and the changes of Croatia’s political position in the tides of European history, in particular in the 19th and 20th centuries, were in the focus of Franjo Tuđman’s historical research, wherein he paid special attention to political ideas and programs in the period that had shaped the identity of the modern Croatian nation and the program of its political independence, the period in which different variants of pan-Slavism and the ideas about Southern Slavic/ Illyric/ Yugoslav unity had played an important role in the formation of political programs and their implementation both in Croatia’s political forces and the political forces in Croatia’s immediate environment. He noted the continuity of Croatia’s struggles for a higher level of independence in multinational states, first in the Habsburg Monarchy, and later in Yugoslavia, and felt that the different variants of pan-Slavism and idea about Southern Slavic unity in Croatian politics had emerged from the political position of the Croatian territories in individual periods or from political situations (political dividedness and exposure to denationalization attempts in the Habsburg Monarchy, danger of the Croatian territory being divided at the time of World War I, and so on). On the other hand, Tuđman observed how these ideas were used for imperial purposes, for instance, how pan-Slavism was used in the service of Russian imperial politics, and how the idea about the unity of Southern Slavs was used to implement the program of Great-Serbian hegemony. He tracked the continuity of the existence and the political implementation of different forms of pan-Slavism and South-Slavic ideas to the time when he wrote his research papers, mostly the 1960s, a period in which Croatia was a part of the Social Federalist Republic of Yugoslavia, and the world was in the middle of the Cold War between two social, political, and military blocks. Tuđman felt that both the Universalist idea about world integration on the foundations of modern technological accomplishments, advocated by «Western democracies», and the Soviet insistence on socialist internationalism and limited sovereignty of the socialist countries were manifestations of imperial goals at the expense of small and dependent nations. He contrasted these two ideas with the activities of the Nonaligned Movement and the idea about coexistence in a world divided into blocks, the activities of the United Nations, the process of colonial territories establishing their national independence, and the headway of the idea about a united Europe, which he felt to be Europe’s way of distancing itself from both the United States and the USSR.

POVJESNIČARI KOJI PRORIČU UNATRAG I POVJESNIČARI KOJI PIŠU BUDUĆU POVIJEST

Author(s): Miroslav Tuđman / Language(s): Croatian Publication Year: 0

The answer to the question about the perception of the nature and the role of historical knowledge and historical science explains how historian Franjo Tuđman, previously in complete isolation, was able to take the helm of his party and his country in a matter of one year (1989/1990) and to attain the goal that generations before him had striven to, but never managed to achieve. The answer to this question also shows how important the knowledge of history had been for the establishment of the independent Croatian state and for the running of state politics, and which knowledge specifically had played the vital role. The paper analyzes the patterns according to which public and historical knowledge is organized and formed. The crucial aspect for the functioning of the dominant political paradigm that shapes the public knowledge is that it will not admit to the existence and functioning of anomalies and irregularities, nor will it discuss them. If the political elite in power were capable of dealing with the anomalies it produced and the irregularities it was faced with, they would discuss the essence of the problem. However, unwilling to discuss the essence of the problem, the dominant dogma attempts to eliminate its opponents, the so-called «revisionists», from the public life using a variety of methods and techniques of propaganda and information war, as well as criminal persecution and physical elimination. An analysis of the political elements of «sloppy science» and the political fates of the «revisionists» and their writings yields two completely opposite approaches to the research of historical events and two opposite understandings of the purpose of historical research and the task of historical knowledge. These differences in the methodology of historical research change not only the subject of the research, but also the nature of historical knowledge. The historians who look into the past while anchored firmly in the present see the past, the present, and the future as the only possible, logical, and regular sequence of events. They normally define history as a sequence of events that hardly could have resulted in a different outcome. The protagonists of these events who had not managed to fulfill their potentials are seen as irrelevant persons with subordinate roles in history.