Keywords: Dayton Peace Agreement; transition; BiH Constitution; constitutional reform; BiH political system; political-territorial organisation of BiH;
By producing his most important work "L'Esprit des lois", Montesquieu showed th at the strength of a law is in the spirit that it carries. It is of decisive importance that the law is not simply a mechanistic sum of various influences that have been gathered in one place, but that it combines historical conditions making it consistent. And then the law makes sense and only within the context of realm of reality, set in such manner, it is enforceable. The law, which would be immediately taking over the text of a 'legal science's modern state' does not seem to make sense, as equally as the composition which would be composed on the principles of aesthetics and art theory, and that would not have contained the creative impulse of the spirit of freedom. The Dayton agreement is not the law, but it represents a kind of legal document which has been derived from a certain political will. In this sense, its topicalising can not be primarily based on positive law's issues. Discussing the Dayton agreement as the legal act, unless it has been fully understood in the context of positive law, debate, on these grounds, must remain ineffective an d may not rep resen t the basis of perspective construction of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an orderly society in the state form. As an agreement th a t stopped a war, this document is more a political ac t representing a form of political agreement or a compromise that aims, above all, at the giving of a possibility for creating new perspectives of Bosnian society, which no longer should be based on conflict and violent forms of resolving political issues.
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The volume explores and assesses the origins and current state of the private security sector in four Southeast European countries (Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and Kosovo), with specific reference to principles of good governance and the protection of human rights. In particular, the authors examine when and how the first private security companies developed and whether and how PSCs, their clients, and other factors such as relevant legislation determined the services private security offer today, and which companies were established/have survived in the market. The studies look into the economic importance of private security especially as a source of employment. They also explore if PSCs are able to provide quality security services by looking at the background and qualifications of managers and employees. A number of important questions are addressed: who are the people who work for PSCs, what is their level of expertise and professionalism and what are their working conditions? How important are (political) relationships for the success of a PSC and do domestic political considerations have an impact on which PSC receives contracts and how well they work? How is quality defined and enforced by both PSCs and their clients, especially public sector clients? Finally, do PSCs and state security providers coordinate, cooperate or compete with each other?
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Projekat Centra za evroatlantske studije iz Beograda (CEAS) „Usvajanje Zakona o bezbednosnim proverama - U susret većoj usklađenosti sa Ustavom“, koji je podržala Misija Organizacije za evropsku bezbednost i saradnju (OEBS) u Srbiji, ima za cilj otvaranje šire javne rasprave o oblasti bezbednosnih provera, uređenju ove oblasti u drugim zemljama, normativnom uređenju i stanju u praksi iste u Srbiji, kao i davanje konkretnih preporuka za unapređenje trenutnog stanja.
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Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegowina 2002;
After a review of economic progress over the last few years, the report looks at major critical areas, like privatiza-tion, unemployment, the grey economy, corruption, education, social welfare, healthcare, pensions, gender equality and crime. These, the authors argue, form a nexus of social and economic disease, a national pathology which re-quires radical surgery if the patient is to be restored to health. As explained in the introduction, this pathology is encapsulated in the Human Development Index (HDI) for BiH, presented here for the first time. This is a moment of particular significance for UNDP, as formulation of the index is perhaps the major reason the reports were launched in the first place. Just as little else in BiH is simple, neither has calculation of the HDI been, and the problems we have faced in preparing and in presenting it are a fair symbol of the problems facing economic and social policy in the country as a whole. At first and even second glance, the figures appear alarming. Not merely is the HDI for BiH far below the European Union average, which is not particularly surprising, but the country appears to be in worse shape than almost any other country in the Southeast Europe Stability Pact, Central and Eastern Europe or even in the Commonwealth of Independent States. To cite only the most striking element, the GDP per capita component, the calculations presented in the annex, place BiH 61% below the EU average, 21% lower than the world average and 19% lower than the Stability Pact average. This is not good for a country that, 15 years ago, enjoyed a standard of living among the highest in the region. How sharp the decline has been is revealed by comparison with the data for Slovenia and Croatia, who, along with Hungary, lead the regional table. They are ranked 22% and 12% ahead of BiH, respectively. This is surely a sad state of affairs - if the picture is accurate. And because of the legacy of war and poor post-conflict governance, one is tempted to assume it must be. But that is precisely the problem - it is not accurate. The data is simply not available to allow accurate calculation. The authors are aware of this and the readers should be too. This begs the question - why present and analyze data we know to be questionable? What use is the admittedly inaccurate picture thus gained? Well, a first step is a first step and even data one knows to be distort-ed may be useful, if one can compensate for the distortion. The major achievement of the authors has been precise-ly to focus their analysis on key areas of distortion and to correct for it. There are thus extensive passages in the main text and the annexes that discuss the inadequacy of official figures and attempt to provide more realistic esti-mates. Of course, we have not been able to incorporate these estimates into the HDI, which must be based on offi-cial data. We are however in a position to use it more intelligently. On a final note, the focus of this report on diagnosing the national pathology seems to me to be particularly fitting, as the country prepares to elect the first government with a full, fouryear mandate. The best election result would be a government with a clear, constructive mandate to pursue reform actively, rather than one that will have to be passively reformed by external pressures. This would be a major step towards shedding the mantle of semiprotectorate status. In the absence of such a result (which is uncertain given the fragmentation of the BiH electorate), the leading politicians of BiH must show the maturity to work together to prevent a further slide down the human development ladder. We all want BiH to move up the H.D. index by way of real human development rather that by "sleight of hand" in manipulation of uncertain data. This is where the census comes in so that the HDI for BiH can become reliable.
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Labour migration and economic interaction with the Kosovan Diaspora abroad have a profound impact on the economic opportunities and livelihoods of many individuals in Kosovo. This is not just limited to the household level. Economic interactions with the Kosovan Diaspora are so pervasive that they strongly influence Kosovo’s macroeconomic devel¬opment and, hence, all Kosovans. // In this 2014 Kosovo Human Development Report, we take a close look at how labour migration and interactions with the Diaspora affect human development in Kosovo. While human development has many different dimensions, this report concentrates on opportunities for productive employment (whether in Kosovo or abroad), material wellbeing and poverty reduction. Focus is also placed on access to education and healthcare (through higher income or access to services abroad), the circumstances of women migrants and women-headed households, and the impact of international mobility on social involvement and political participation. On this basis, we draw out the implications for policy interventions that seek to promote human development and especially, to engage the Diaspora in Kosovo’s future.
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Keywords: Dysfunctional Democracy; Dysfunctional Capitalism;
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At the beginning of the year 2014 the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung brought into life, together with leading experts of six distinguished organizations and Think Tanks, a long term project. The aim of this project is to create and stimulate a political and social discussion in Albania about the EU Integration. // The starting point of the contemplation was the perspective that Albania desires to be soon a full EU member, with an economic and social developed society. More than 80% of the population aims at this goal. To reach it Albania must fulfil, inter alia, the minimum social standards of the EU ─ the so called European Social Model (ESM). // The project-path is already part of its objective: active involvement of all actors in one common discourse. It is not about finding quick solutions or just an exchange of statements, it rather aims at developing and building up reciprocal trust. Otherwise stated: this endeavour tries, with this genre of public debates, to ameliorate the rapport of actors - Politics, administration and citizens - and to be conducive for a more efficient cooperation in the organization of a social and democratic society. // ISBN: 978-9928-181-29-9
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Keywords: Asia; Europe; Middle East; missile defence; South Asia
The importance of the issue of missile defence was underlined at the end of 2012 and in the first few months of 2013 by several events, including Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defence, NATO’s Patriot deployments to the Turkish–Syrian border and the nuclear and missile crisis in North Korea.The report adds to the ongoing discussion about the relationship between missile defence and nuclear deterrence while keeping in mind the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons promoted by the current U.S. administration. The interconnections between missile defence and nuclear deterrence are complicated. While in some cases MD development can lead to a decrease in nuclear arsenals, in some regions it might have a more negative effect of fuelling nuclear arms races. The added value of the report is its wide range: readers will find perspectives on missile defence presented by authors dealing with these issues in not only the transatlantic and European contexts but also in Russia, the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East. Regardless of the various perspectives, contexts and conclusions of the report’s individual chapters, there is no disagreement that missile defence is already influencing the thinking about nuclear weapons and deterrence. It also reveals that the interconnections between missile defence and nuclear deterrence might be more complicated than any idealistic expectations about the former as a substitute for the latter. The role of missile defence in shaping the security environment will only be growing. We encourage every reader to engage in further exchanges of opinions with our staff and all the authors of this report.
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Keywords: Family; family policy; policy reforms; changes in family policy; governance; childcare; parenting; human resources; parental leave; maternity leave; legislative changes; stimulating birth rate; preschool care;
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Keywords: Czech Republic; Czech labor market; career; family; equal opportunities; early childcare; parents and their employer; human resources managers; part-time work; flexible work-time;
Dear reader, The following pages provide the results of various studies concerning the position of women and men in the Czech labour market. The analyses were carried out as a part of the EU Equal project “Fifty - fifty: Equal Opportunities for Women and Men” coordinated by Gender Studies, o.p.s, and co-financed by the EU European Social Fund and the Czech Republic state budget. Each study focuses on a topic that had received very modest coverage in earlier research or had not been explored at all. The first paper is a summary of qualitative and quantitative studies carried out by the Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs team headed by Věra Kuchařová. The team’s objective was to find out the possibilities parents have in juggling childcare and work responsibilities and the potential constraints or sources of discrimination that can make the parents’ situation difficult. They looked at the issue from both the mothers’ perspective and that of the employers. The main focus was on finding out to what extent the parents draw their sick child leave and claim their maternity/parental leave entitlement, which are the basic measures enabling parents to balance their personal and professional lives. One of the main findings is the fact that the facilities allowing people to balance their personal and professional lives are used much less in the Czech Republic than in the vast majority of western countries. In the Czech Republic, the range of the flexible work arrangement possibilities used is narrower and can usually be summed up in three options: reduced working hours, part-time work and flexible working hours. However, they are usually not offered systematically, they do not fall within internal company guidelines and are used solely on an individual agreement basis. In the Czech Republic, it is still mostly women who take parental leave to provide care for children and ensure other forms of full-time childcare. It is rather exceptional to see a father on parental leave, with men representing about 1% of all persons drawing the parental benefit. The reason can be financial (as men have statistically higher salaries), but it can also lie in the unsupportive attitude on the part of the employers who expect that the working hours arrangement facilities should be primarily used by women. [...]
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Keywords: Work-life balance; international perspectives; Czech Republic; family policy; employment policy; gender roles; professional babysitting; childcare; paternity leave; parental allowance;
Dear readers, This publication will present you with examples of work-life balance provisions in several European countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland. International perspectives from countries which are geographically, culturally and historically related to the Czech Republic can lend direction and inspiration to the policy makers who shape the family, social and employment policies in the Czech Republic now and in the future. Although we culturally share many notions on gender roles and the position of women and men with our neighbors, the texts in this publication show there are great differences among the specific policies in each country and their impact on the real lives of women and men. Julia Kubisa from Poland, for example, describes the development of family policy in Poland in the last decade and its effects, including the legal aspects regarding professional babysitting, the abolishment of the parental allowance, and the policy of paternity leave. Good practices in these areas are discussed by Oľga Pietruchová and Mária Jacková, who describe work-life balance provisions and flexible parental allowance mechanisms in Slovakia. In addition, examples from Germany illustrate a well-conceived and stable approach to family policy. A series of interviews with Czech women living abroad gives a comparative perspective on work-life balance policies in different countries and the ways these policies affect families’ choices and living conditions. [...]
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Keywords: festival;catalogue;film;
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LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM IN UKRAINE: STATUS, PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS FOR REFORM // CHAPTER 1. INTERNAL AFFAIRS AGENCIES OF UKRAINE: GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS // CHAPTER 2. ACTIVITY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS AGENCIES: SOCIAL ALIENATION AND LEGITIMACY CRISIS // CHAPTER 3. REFORM OF UKRAINIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES: CURRENT STAGE // International technical assistance projects and programmes implemented in Ukraine and funded by international financial organisations, the EU,and donor countries // Preparation of the law enforcement reform in the framework of a comprehensive review of the security and defence sector // CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS // CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO REFORMING THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NATIONAL REFORM PLAN // UKRAINIAN POLICE IN THE EYES OF CITIZENS: ASSESSMENT OF STATUS, PROBLEMS AND REFORM PROSPECTS // REFORM OF UKRAINIAN IAA: ASSESSMENTS AND IDEAS BY POLICE STAFF // POLICE REFORM IN UKRAINE: EXPERT ASSESSMENT // VIEWS OF IAA REFORM PARTICIPANTS // POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT REFORM IMPLEMENTATION IN UKRAINE // REFORM OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS AGENCIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS // UKRAINIAN POLICE ON THE EVE OF MAIDAN AND AT THE OUTSET OF REFORMS // COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE REFORM PROCESS THROUGH THE EXAMPLE OF A PILOT PROJECT MARTYNENKO //
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PROSPECTS OF UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS // Ukraine and the Russian Federation: scenarios of the course of events // New model of relations: conceptual approaches and practical steps // External policy // Economic relations // Energy sector // Security policy // Humanitarian and information sphere // UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN EXPERTS ON THE CURRENT STATE AND PROSPECTS OF KYIV-MOSCOW RELATIONS // RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT: THE VIEW OF WESTERN DIPLOMATS AND EXPERTS // THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT: EXPERTS’ OPINIONS // UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AS SEEN BY THE PUBLIC // THE DEEP DRIVERS OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT // THE IMPACT OF PROPAGANDA // ENERGY ASPECTS OF UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RUSSIAN HYBRID AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE // DETERRING AND DEALING WITH AUTHORITARIAN RUSSIA: TOWARD A UNIFYING WESTERN STRATEGY
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This publication consists of articles written by experts from Visegrad countries (CzechRepublic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and features these countries’ experience in economic reforms on their strategic paths to EU accession. This publication was prepared as part of the “Transferring Slovak Economic Reform Know-How during Pre-Election and Post-Election Debates in Ukraine” project, a joint initiative of the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms INEKO (Bratislava, Slovakia) and the International Centre for Policy Studies (Kyiv, Ukraine). The main goal of this project is to promote further economic growth and alleviate poverty in Ukraine through improved economic reform policy design and implementation.
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GUUAM: REALITIES AND PROSPECTS // 1. GUUAM AS A REGIONAL UNION: THE APPROACHES AND ASSESSMENTS // 2. THE PRESENT STATUS OF UKRAINE'S CO-OPERATION WITH THE GUUAM MEMBER-STATES // 3. FACTORS THAT HINDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUUAM // 4. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS // SPEECHES BY THE PRESIDENTS OF THE GUUAM MEMBER-STATES AT THE YALTA SUMMIT // GUUAM OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS // GUUAM: THE PROBLEMS OF FORMATION AND THE PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT // DIPLOMATS’ REMARKS ON THE EVE OF THE GUUAM SUMMIT IN YALTA // WESTERN SUPPORT FOR GUUAM IN EUROPE’S SECURITY ‘GRAY ZONE’ // GUUAM: SOME ASPECTS OF POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA // GUUAM AS A POST-SOVIET REALITY: THE COMMUNITY GOALS // GUUAM: THE SOURCES AND PROSPECTS
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2006 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS: CONDITIONS, ACTORS, AND IMPLICATIONS // 1. THE FACTORS THAT WILL INFLUENCE THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN // 2. POLITICAL PARTIES AND VOTERS AT THE START OF THE CAMPAIGN // 3. EXPECTED CONDUCT AND RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS // 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS // UKRAINIAN POLITICAL PARTIES AT THE START OF THE 2006 ELECTION CAMPAIGN // THE 2006 ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN EXPERT ASSESSMENTS // THERE WILL BE NO LARGESCALE DIFFUSION AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE BODY OF ORANGE AND BLUEWHITE VOTERS // THE FORMAT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS AND PUBLIC DEMAND FOR RECONCILIATION // WILL PROMOTE A TEMPERATE AND CONCILIATORY CAMPAIGN // UKRAINIAN VOTERS, JUST LIKE VOTERS IN THE WEST, ARE PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN DOMESTIC, NOT FOREIGN AFFAIRS // I HOPE THAT AFTER THE ORANGE FOG HAS CLEARED AWAY, UKRAINIAN VOTERS WILL BE READY FOR A MORE DIFFICULT BUT MORE CONSCIOUS CHOICE // IF THE LEAD POLITICAL FORCES ABSTAIN FROM SPECULATIONS ON DIFFERENCES, UKRAINE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO IMPLEMENT THE PRINCIPLE “SUCCESS THROUGH DIVERSITY” // THE 2006 ELECTIONS WILL BE THE MOST DEMOCRATIC IN THE HISTORY OF INDEPENDENT UKRAINE // UKRAINE’S ELECTIONS: THE EXTERNAL FACTOR // ELECTIONS 2006: RIFT LINES AND SCENARIOS // SPECIFICITY OF ELECTORAL SPIRITS DURING THE 2004 ELECTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN-2006 // UKRAINIAN POLITICAL PARTIES
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The 2014 National Human Development Report clearly shows that the role of the private sector in generating human development transcends that of a tax-payer and a creator of jobs, important though these contributions are. The report presents a thoroughly documented review of global and national experience to demonstrate how the private sector can play the role of catalyst for change by promoting new approaches, technologies, services and policy proposals. We trust these examples will inspire all of the many actors who have a part to play in this and help to drive further the efforts of the Moldovan business community to advance the modernization of the country. // The sustainable and inclusive development of Moldova in a way which benefits all people will occur only if Government, the private sector and society at large join efforts to achieve this goal. The 2014 report seeks to identify what can drive the private sector’s contributions to economic and social progress, what the obstacles are, and how an ecosystem conducive for stronger private–public development engagement can be attained. It provides a set of well-defined policy recommendations for all national actors, including central government and private companies, which we hope will continue the discussions started in the process of formulating the report.
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