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In today’s world, migrations of populations are increasingly more frequent due to a variety of reasons. Different states approach this issue in a different way. Thus, we may distinguish between those that employ more restrictive immigration policies and those that are open to immigration. The Republic of Croatia has built its immigration policy on the fact that it is among the countries with the biggest diasporas in the world. Since its people emigrated from Croatia for many years after World War II, the new Croatian government after the independence shaped its immigration policy that was supposed to stimulate its emigrants to return to Croatia. The Ministry of Immigration was founded with the task of implementing the state’s policy of immigration regarding the return of emigrants.
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Modern civil-military relations theory is concerned with the distribution of power and influence among individual elements representing the civilian authority and the armed forces. This review presents a brief examination of civilmilitary relations in Croatia – including past and present factors affecting its development. The Croatian Constitution, the Law on Defense and other defense legislation represent legal parameters defining the special relationship between popularly elected politicians, appointed bureaucrats and soldiers. The Croatian Ministry of Defense and its General Staff are in the process of reforming and reorganizing. The new structures, although tailored for Croatia's needs, are also very similar to those of Western defense institutions. The present civil-military challenge for Croatia lies in achieving the adequate balance between its “desire” for democratic development and liberalization, on the one hand, and its conservative, traditional “need” for military security, on the other. In Croatia's case, it is a question of the extent and nature of the application of civilian control exercised by the political leadership. Primarily, this implies the critical role of the Croatian Parliament, or rather the potential role it could play in military affairs.
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Designing the phenomenon of security at the level of individual states and the international community, and the explanation of its nature, dates from the beginning of the history of humankind. In the early stages of the development of organized social communities, security (as an objective structural element of individuals, states, and the international community) was primarily seen in the context of two concentrated forms: the war and the relations among states. Given the numerous new conditions in the international system, research would at present, within the framework of security studies, have to focus on comparative empirical studies of security at the level of states and the entire international system. In the former Yugoslavia, the research into security and defence was at first conducted within military research institutions. In mid-seventies, the establishment of the diploma course in civil defence marked the beginning of investigating these issues at universities. In Slovenia, this course is organized within the Faculty for Social Sciences. At first, it mostly involved teaching the institutional approach to the issues of defence and security; in time, research began, particularly after the establishment of the Institute for Defence Research. Today’s defencology department and the Institute for Defence Research conduct research in the fields of security, defence, army, protection, and peace studies.
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Following the disintegration of the socialist system in Europe and the end of the bloc-based relations, American politics has changed the course of its operation. In present-day circumstances, southeast Europe is becoming increasingly prominent in American foreign-policy projections, particularly during Clinton’s administration. Clinton has defined a clear-cut policy towards Europe’s southeast due to its vicinity to certain neuralgic points of American engagement (Near East, the Caspian region, the Gulf, eastern Mediterranean). In this way American politics has proved its leading global role. At the time of scarcity of foreignpolicy events, Clinton’s team has thus been served on a platter a major foreignpolicy arena, in which its engagement – which has all the symptoms of a longlasting one – has not proved too costly.
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After gaining independence in 1991, Macedonia set off on the hard path of maintaining independence and territorial integrity. Fully disarmed, rife with great internal problems and conflicts, surrounded by hostile neighbours, Macedonia has been building its national security system. Due to its modest economic and security resources, it has relied on generous foreign aid, primarily that of the USA, which have considered Macedonia the pillar of its politics on the Balkans. Regarding its national security system build-up and the integration into the international security organisations, Macedonia has accomplished a lot, but is still faced with an array of problems, caused by the internal (primarily ethnic) strifes and the volatility of its environment, particularly in Kosovo. In case of armed conflicts that might – due to any reasons – beset Macedonia, and concerning its economic underdevelopment and military might, there is a small chance for successful defence in a probable simultaneous conflict with the internal para-military units and armies of (possibly) several neighbouring countries.
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The Croatian part of the Adriatic coastal belt and its hinterland are built of specific geomorphological material, karst. This is a highly sensitive system and basically marked by an extremely complex regime of peculiar karst circulation of water. 80% of Croatian capital is natural and only 20% man-made (anthropogenic). The particularly fast Croatian development, can use and even abuse natural capital without any concern for sustainability. Prevention of this type of development is possible with adequate laws and their enforcement. A list of legal provisions shows that they can guarantee sustainable development. The problems start with their implementation. The 1997 Strategy on Spatial Arrangement states that Croatia will direct its development by applying contemporary global principles of environmental protection. Adriatic coastal zone is proclaimed as a space of tourism which implies an increasing need for energy. Croatia is without a real energy strategy that would reflect the concept of sustainable development. A detailed description of a certain number of national energy programs is given to show that they are in their initial phase. The dominant role of HEP is easy to detect in the arena of Croatian energy policy. The provisions from 10 national energy programs aimed at sustainability have not been included in the scenarios regarding the construction of new plants by energents by 2010 and even less in the scenarios until 2030. The short-term strong influence of HEP is noticeable in their effort to impose two new coal-power plant in the Adriatic zone: Plomin II and Lukovo Šugorje – the region that is one of Croatia’s biggest natural assets. HEP policy represents a very heavy toll on the environment of the Adriatic zone, that might be heavier than this fragile karst area can bear.
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The author presents the basic findings of the survey on political participation in Croatia. Data presented indicate that Croatian citizens still have rather satisfactory level of political interest and that they do follow the political information in the mass media, specifically on television. On the other hand, they express low levels of political efficacy and believe that there is very little that can be changed by political participation and activism. The formal forms of political participation, like voting, also show the declining rates. Levels of non-satisfaction with the quality of democratic life are high. Major problems in the country are perceived as economic and major strengths are seen in the natural resources and potential of the people.
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The author’s starting point is the claim that, despite integrative tendencies, the number of national states in the world is on the increase. The opposing national interests and conflicts may be mitigated or avoided if the central concepts and issues, the ways of the accommodation of interests and the features of the post-communist transitions are known. The author explains the concepts and issues such as nation, ethnic group, national state, nationalism, protection of minorities, the right to self-determination, decentralisation, autonomy, federalism, consociational democracy, non-territorial autonomy. He focuses on the issues that reflect the current controversies of the global and the national policies. He concludes that, among other things, the national issues are central to the process of transition and that they cannot be ignored (since nations are a reality which must be coped with), that there are principles and mechanisms of the regulation of the conflicting national interests, that democracy and nation-building are not incompatible but contradictory notions, that democratic societies are nationally tolerant, that the resolution of the national question is a prerequisite for democratic transition.
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In the last ten years, international organizations have defined more clearly the role and the tasks of humanitarian aid in contemporary international relations. The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a good illustration of the advantages but also of the disadvantages of today’s humanitarian operations. The peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the largest operation of this kind that has been set in motion by the international community. In its humanitarian aspect it is complex and multi-layered. Humanitarian campaigns today are more philanthropically- than organizationally-driven, but it is the latter aspect that makes them fail or succeed. It is not enough to provide humanitarian aid, but its distribution to the recipients who need it must be organized. That process involves several essential factors: international and inter-state organizations, governmental organizations as well as non-governmental (international and local) organizations and associations. The example of Bosnia and Herzegovina shows to what extent the mentioned factors contribute to the success of a humanitarian operation, but also the problems which stem from their undefined role and tasks.
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Mass media today are an unavoidable part of life of contemporary civilization. Central to the information system of the mass media are journalists as the key “producers” of information. Their working methods have changed under pressure from state-of-the-art technological advances that have facilitated the functioning of the mass media. In the 1960s, journalists began their careers with a notepad and a pencil, and they are going to retire by using PCs, satellite communication, digital cameras, and electronic data bases. With time, journalists have become educated experts who continually broaden their knowledge and professional training. That is why permanent in- service training is a must for their future, since educated journalists are the most effective barrier to manipulations. A Croatian survey has shown that Croatian journalists are very interested in permanent education.
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