Marlene Streeruwitz' Nachwelt (1999) und Lilian Faschingers Roman Wiener Passion (1999)

Marlene Streeruwitz' Nachwelt (1999) und Lilian Faschingers Roman Wiener Passion (1999)

Author(s): Svjetlan Lacko Vidulić / Language(s): German / Issue: 8/2004

Die Arbeit bespricht zwei Frauenromane aus dem Jahr 1999, die sich kritisch mit herrschenden Mustern historischen Bewusstseins bzw. historiografischer Reflexion auseinandersetzen. Die Interpretation der jeweiligen Geschichtsbilder geht mit der Aufdeckung funktionaler Zusammenhänge zwischen expliziter Geschichtsreflexion, dargestellter Geschichte, den Formen der Darstellung und den geschichtstheoretischen Implikationen dieser Darstellungsformen einher. Im Zentrum steht die Frage nach der spezifisch weiblichen Geschichtserfahrung, die in diesen Romanen zur Sprache gelangt.

Geschichtsphilosophie auf der Bühne

Geschichtsphilosophie auf der Bühne

Author(s): Viktor Žmegač / Language(s): German / Issue: 8/2004

Der Titel des Beitrags bezieht sich auf den Umstand, daß repräsentative Dramen des 20. Jahrhunderts auf eine sehr bezeichnende Weise auf die Behandlung geschichtlicher (in herkömmlicher Art) verzichten, u. zw. zugunsten geschichtsphilosophischer Projektionen (Frisch, Dürrenmatt, Beckett, Dorst, Turrini u.a.). In der Analyse dieser Wandlung geht der Vf. von Kants geschichtsphilosophischer Triade in der Schrift Der Streit der Fakultäten aus. Dabei drängt sich der Schluß auf, daß paradigmatische Werke des 20. Jahrhunderts eine Art von Katastrophendramatik darstellen: Allegorien des Untergangs.

"Jeder Zeuge ist ein falscher Zeuge". Fiktion und Illusion in Marcel Beyers Roman Flughunde (1995)

"Jeder Zeuge ist ein falscher Zeuge". Fiktion und Illusion in Marcel Beyers Roman Flughunde (1995)

Author(s): Sven Hanuschek / Language(s): German / Issue: 8/2004

Marcel Beyers Roman Flughunde (1995) gilt unumstritten als adäquater Versuch eines Nachgeborenen über Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust. Der Aufsatz zeigt mit Hilfe des von Droysen in seiner Historik entwickelten methodischen Instrumentariums, dass es gegenläufige ästhetische Strategien sind, die zum Erfolg des Romans bei den unterschiedlichen rezeptiven Gruppen Publikum, Literaturkritik und Germanistik geführt haben.

Postmodernes in Stefan Heyms Der König David Bericht

Postmodernes in Stefan Heyms Der König David Bericht

Author(s): Željko Uvanović / Language(s): German / Issue: 8/2004

Stellt Heyms Roman eine Art Satanic verses gegen das Alte Testament und dessen historiographische Glaubwürdigkeit dar? Jedenfalls wird in ihm in postmoderner Form und mit postmodernen Aussagen die Geschichte der ersten israelitischen Gründungszeit, die von den Königen Saul, David und Salomo geprägt ist, einer subversiven, verfremdenden Revision unterzogen. Explizite historiographische Metafiktion, Montage, Intertextualität, pla(y)giarism, und labyrinthische Struktur bestimmen die postmoderne Form des Romans, während der Zerfall des jüdisch-christlichen métarécit, Ambivalenz, Heterogenität, Skepsis, Konstruktivismus und Indifferenz die postmoderne Aussagefolie des Romans bilden.

Slovenia and the world - statistical comparison

Slovenia and the world - statistical comparison

Author(s): Bogomil Ferfila / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: economic development; international comparison; economic indicators

Slovenia is compared with three groups of countries: the OECD group, the group of newly industrialized countries and the group of former socialist countries. Different economic, political and social indicators are divided into several groupings. 1. Domestic economic strength (GDP, growth rates etc.); 2. Internationalization (balance of trade, export, import etc.); 3. Government (total debt, government employment, tax system etc.); 4. Infrastructure (telephones, electricity generation); 5. Management (productivity); 6. Science and technology (expenditure on research and technology, personnel); 7. Human resources (labor force, education, employment etc.).

After four years of democracy: fragility and stability : lessons from an accelerated evolution of the political system

After four years of democracy: fragility and stability : lessons from an accelerated evolution of the political system

Author(s): Frane Adam / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: (semi) consociative democracy; political system; societal (self) regulation; neocorporatism

The author proceeds from the (hypo)thesis that is easier to reach a stable political system as a framework of accelerated societal self-regulation within an inclusive and consensual model rather than through majoritarian-competitive policy making. In order to discern the capabilities of Slovenian politics and society in general, to generate a consensual basis for decision-making, he devotes special attention to those tendencies and trends which are directed towards (semi)consociative democracy and the neocorporatist arrangement considered as a part of political crisis management. The analysis reveals ambivalent and fluid configurations, and therefore it is not alltogether clear whether these tendencies and trends are short time experiments or more lasting structures.

Families in urban centers

Families in urban centers

Author(s): Nevenka Černigoj-Sadar / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: family; living conditions; activity patterns of parents; informal support networks

The purpose of the article is to give an insight into the living conditions of families and the activity patterns of employed parents in urban centers in Slovenia . The analysis is based on statistical data, survey data and qualitative interviews. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses are applied to the survey data . The two-parent family is the dominant family type, followed by the extended family and one parent family type. Material living conditions correlate with family type, one-parent families being the most deprived. Until the nineties in young and middle aged generations the dual earner family type had been dominant. Employed parents utilize mainly traditional social networks when informally resolving family problems. Employed fathers in urban centers help their partners, but the division of family tasks to a certain extent, and often free time, remain gendered The lack of financial resources and high insecurity concerning employment status of parents has seriously endangered life in the nineties.

Life in transition : from socialism to post-socialism and beyond

Life in transition : from socialism to post-socialism and beyond

Author(s): Gregor Tomc / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: postsocialism; transition; modernisation; social form vs. cultural meaning

The socialist transition was an example of a partial process of modernisation. As the central project of cultural revolution was soon abandoned, socialist societies had permanent problems with border maintenance. On the level of the person, the situation could be described as one of personal modernity and public socialism, as persistence of public social forms devoid of almost any intimate cultural meaning. In this context, the present-day process is not so much a transition from pre-modernity to modernity as from partial to complete modernity.

Deterritorialization and re-territorialization of cultural identities

Deterritorialization and re-territorialization of cultural identities

Author(s): Zdravko Mlinar / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: cultural identities; cultural diversification; deterritorialization; re-territorialization

Increasing accessibility in space is manifested in a shift from cohabitation to confrontation and interpenetration of (territorial) cultural identities. A simultaneity of the processes of homogenization and diversification can be understood as appearing at different levels of territorial organization. While the traditional cultural identities (communities) are becoming more similar, the diversity of their (sub)groups (sub-cultures) and individuals is tending to increase. In the past, cultural identities were shaped because of limited accessibility (discontinuity in communication); the trends for the future indicate that intensification of selective communication will lead to increasing cultural diversification on the basis of unique combinations of people, goods and ideas in specific locations in space. This implies both deterritorialization and re-territorialization of cultural identities.

Social and ethnic stratification : global social and ethnic relations

Social and ethnic stratification : global social and ethnic relations

Author(s): Peter Klinar / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: social and ethnic stratification; nationalism; immigrants

The author deals with problems of social and ethnic stratification. Regarding social stratification, he points to a fast class and stratum polarisation, generated by the increased importance of economic capital. On the other hand, the new nation state causes occurrences of ethnic stratification (immigrants pushed into an underprivileged position). Tolerant ethnic pluralism and interculturalism seem unlikely at the moment.

How the new political elite in Slovenia understands democracy

How the new political elite in Slovenia understands democracy

Author(s): Janez Jug,Jan Makarovič / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: democracy; attitudes of political leaders; comparative analysis

The authors present three variants of the statistical analysis of the answers to the open-ended questions "What do you understand by democracy" - an item in the questionnaire "New Democracy and the Local Governance"; presented to a sample of 275 Slovene political leaders. These definitions of democracy are compared to other data obtained by this questionnaire in Slovenia and 12 other European countries The Slovene conception of democracy stands out as conspicuously libertarian, subjectivist, and individualist. This appears to be typical for countries in the phase of transition from the communist to the capitalist system, but neither for the developed capitalist countries, like Sweden and Austria, nor for those on the territory of the former Soviet Union.

The rise and fall of the civil society project

The rise and fall of the civil society project

Author(s): Ivan Bernik / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: civil society; intellectuals; transition from socialism

Sociology and social sciences in general failed to predict the imminent collapse of the socialist regimes in Central Europe, but they nevertheless played an important role in paving the way for these changes. This role cannot be ascribed to all social sciences but primarily to a "civil society approach" in social sciences This approach implied that the socialist societies were characterised by a zero-sum game between the civil society and the authoritarian state; the broader were the prerogatives of the state the more limited or even totally suppressed were the faculties of the civil society. It provided a cognitive framework in which the opponents of the regime defined the motives and aims of their activities; they perceived themselves as advocates of societal potentials in front of authoritarian state . This ideology, which was highly operative in the preparatory stage of democratisation, lost much of its influence in the period, lost much of its influence in the period of the institutionalisation of democracy. The fall of civil society project also signalled the decline of influence of nonconformist intellectuals, the main proponents of the project. The democratisation, which was fostered by dissenting intellectuals, as developments in Slovenia show paradigmatically, thus has not brought the most benefits to its most ardent supporters.

The catholic church, recatholicization and gender hierarchy

The catholic church, recatholicization and gender hierarchy

Author(s): Maca Jogan / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: Catholic Church; religious revitalization; gender relationships; subordination of women

Contemporary processes of social restructuring (particularly in the postsocialist societies) show the tendency of simultaneous revitalization of church activities and of repatriarchalization. Regarding the modern aims of recatholicization the recognizing of the special role of the Catholic Church concerning gender relationships is undoubtedly justified. The author discusses the basic Christian and Catholic explanations of special gendered personal identity included in the postcouncilian official documents. She reveals the symbolic construction of women's marginal and subordinate status . Particular attention is devoted to women's marginal and subordinate status . Particular attention is devoted to women's dignity. The author's analysis of the `Apostolic Letter on the Dignity of Woman" (Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988) by Pope John Paul II provides a basis for revealing the continuity of interpretations regarding the `proper' role of women in this contemporary document and those traditional explanations which have contributed to the petrification of androcentric culture. Finally, the author discusses the results of the latest empirical investigations into gendered secularization in contemporary Slovenian society.

Urban mobility and housing shortages: the case of Slovenia

Urban mobility and housing shortages: the case of Slovenia

Author(s): Barbara Verlič Christensen / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: urbanization; polycentric development; immigration; housing shortage

Slovenia has experienced significant immigration flows within the last few decades. The high rate of urban growth, which we experienced in the 60s, has nevertheless decreased, which led to the development of a polycentric urban network during the 70s. Smaller urban centres have grown, together with a strong trend towards suburbanization. Absolute housing shortages were overcome in the late 80s, but structural shortages persist. The controversial effects of private (as opposed to social) housing policies enabled the application of a specific housing practice, mostly oriented to the construction of one-family houses in the countryside and in suburbs. The consequences of social development and urban planning on both traditional and modern mobility and housing policy are discussed in the retrospective analyses of the specific urbanization patterns in Slovenia.

Challenges of Slovenia's technological strategy : some thoughts

Challenges of Slovenia's technological strategy : some thoughts

Author(s): Marjan Svetličič / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: technological strategy; limitations of small countries; integration into Europe

The author discusses Slovenia's technological strategy. Any strengthening of technological capacities calls for cooperation with technological leaders, wherever they might be. ft means that the priority of integration into Europe must not be the only (technological) strategy . It should rather rely on an ideal evaluation of the status of Slovenia as a small country in the world and the present stage of its development in science and technology.

The informal postsocialism

The informal postsocialism

Author(s): Drago Kos / Language(s): English / Issue: 015-016/1994

Keywords: transition from socialism; informal activities; formal regulative mechanisms; complex modern societies

The "development" of the informal sector in socialism was indirect proportion to the unproductive centralized regulative mechanisms, which were constantly overburdened at a relatively low level of complexity. The postsocialist systems thus inherited informal activities developed in almost all domains. This is one of the most important characteristics of postsocialist societies, which considerably increases the transition's contingency. It is therefore somewhat surprising that the research of these phenomena in postsocialism is in such a disproportion with their frequency. The ignorance of the sophisticated informal sphere is one of the major reasons why systemic formal measures do not attain suitable results. This article recommends research of the informal sector in transition societies not only because of its important structural position but also because the informal activities are a possible supplement to the rigid formal regulation of the developed modern societies as well.

THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS SEEN FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ISOLATED CONFLICT OR DRIVING AGENT FOR REGIONAL SECURITY DYNAMICS?

THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS SEEN FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ISOLATED CONFLICT OR DRIVING AGENT FOR REGIONAL SECURITY DYNAMICS?

Author(s): Maria Sabina Lazar / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2014

Keywords: Amity-enmity; crisis; power relations; Regional Security Complex; Ukraine; Wider Black Sea

Ever since last year’s refusal of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to sign the EU Association Agreement, there has rapidly been unfolded a series of events leading to an ongoing internal crisis and regional security issue. The growing trend of this development has revealed the lack of rapid and effective structured response by the West to deal with the continuing crisis. What are the reasons for which the Trans-Atlantic community’s efforts have not met the expected results? The current paper seeks to show that the Ukrainian crisis is linked to other regional security issues, which, as consequence of their inter-connectivity, attract the Wider Black Sea cluster of states into a process of regionness based on security matters. In order to provide evidence in this regard, the paper will look through the Regional Security Complex Theory’s reference factors’ lenses to analyze the reactions of the regional states based on patterns of amity-enmity, “weak”- “strong” typology of states, and the modalities through which the conflict has reverberated across the region enabling security dynamics. The employed methodology is partly based on content analysis and partly on discourse analysis. The findings of the paper reveal that the Ukrainian crisis influences and is influenced by the overall security dynamics in the region, and the inter-state relations, respecting a pattern of long-lasting relations of amity-enmity, and power relations.

EUROPEAN ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY - SUPPORTING THE UNSUPPORTED

EUROPEAN ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY - SUPPORTING THE UNSUPPORTED

Author(s): Maria Ligor / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2014

Keywords: Community method; donor community; EU neighbourhood; European Endowment for Democracy; governance model; hybrid budget; sustainability

In the summer of 2013, the European Endowment for Democracy - EED started to operate from Brussels, as the newest additional instrument meant to project EU’s influence in its neighbourhood. Its objective is to encourage democracy initiatives from the emerging civil societies and to support the political transition in the East and South, within the geographic scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy. This article is examining the sui generis nature of the Endowment, a private foundation created and managed by the EU institutions and Member States, established as a result of ad-hoc negotiations within the EU framework, with innovative governance and operational models, and a hybrid budget provided by the European Commission and national voluntary contributions. It gives a description of the context in which the initiative appeared, and of the process that led to its creation. The analysis includes the inception phase of the Endowment, and the decisions of its governing bodies that led to autonomy from the EU institutional setting. It explores the added value of the EED by examining the new categories of beneficiaries that it can finance, and the new types of interventions, both not covered by other donors of assistance for democracy and human rights, as well as the methods it uses in order to increase the flexibility of its operations. In addition, there is an emphasis on the complementarity of the EED with above-mentioned donors or other institutional stakeholders. Finally, it examines the challenges that the Endowment is facing in terms of sustainability of political support and financing.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2014

The Offended Romania

România ofensată

Author(s): Cristian Ghinea / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 512/2003

Keywords: new Penal code in Romania

Cristian Ghinea is very unhappy with the new Penal code in Romania. He considers that there are some bad paragraphs in this law and they are comparable with the old dictatorial laws because of their aggressiveness. The commenter gives some examples that sustain his opinions about this controversial subject.