Izlazak iz množine? Kraj unutarnje institucionalne kolonizacije hrvatske političke znanosti?

Author(s): Mirjana Kasapović / Language(s): Croatian Publication Year: 0

U svojemu romanu Sve počinje iznova (1970) Ivan Supek opisuje burni politički život sveučilištaraca u Zagrebu uoči Drugoga svjetskog rata. U prologu romanu autor prikazuje negdašnje junake svoje priče nakon gotovo četvrt stoljeća, u doba studentskih gibanja u Zagrebu 1968, kad junaci stare revolucije postaju protuheroji nove studentske pobune koja je bila usmjerena protiv njih i njihovih ostvarenih ili iznevjerenih ideala. U priču su dospjeli događaji na ondašnjem Fakultetu političkih nauka kojega autor prikazuje kao jedno od središta studentske pobune.

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.

A korlátozott szuverenitástól a megosztott szuverenitásig

Author(s): András Balogh / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

The EU and Kazakhstan: Is the pursuit of energy and security cooperation compatible with promotion of human rights and democratic reforms?

Author(s): Bhavna Dave / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Kazakhstan’s continuing socio-economic and political stability, a formal commitment to political reforms and an avowed pro-Western orientation make it the European Union’s most reliable partner in the Central Asian region. Kazakhstan’s expanding economic and security partnership with Europe is part of its ‘multi-vectoral’ foreign policy geared at balancing its ties with Russia, China, the Western states and the Muslim world. Kazakhstan has skilfully utilised its geostrategic location as a corridor between Asia and Europe and the country’s rising profile as the leading oil exporter to Europe after Russia (almost 80% of EU imports from Kazakhstan consist of fuel) to carve out a special niche for itself within the European market.

Tajikistan and the EU: From post-conflict reconstruction to critical engagement

Author(s): Matteo Fumagalli / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

For the European Union, the development of closer ties with Tajikistan within the context of the recently launched Strategy for Central Asia represents a significant opportunity. Tajikistan occupies a geographically peripheral position, but it is precisely this location outside the limelight – and therefore less subject to the pressures of geopolitics and the strugglefor energy resources that shapes much of the politics of the rest of the region – that could allow the EU to foster new forms of cooperation with the local authorities. Policies should be devised that aim at strengthening the Tajik state’s capacities and stability, there by significantly assisting reform and development in the country.

Turkey's strategic future

Author(s): Natalie Tocci,Henry J. Barkey,Natalia Oultchenko,Hüseyin Bağci,Şaban Kardaş,François Heisbourg / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The European Security Forum’s meeting about Turkey’s strategic future took place shortly after the end of combat operations in Iraq, against the backdrop of redefined US-Turkish relations. To set the stage, we had four papers: “Anchoring Turkey in Europe”, by Nathalie Tocci (Research Fellow at CEPS); “A US View”, by Henri J. Barkey (Head of the Dept. of International Relations, Lehigh University); “A Russian View” by Natalia Oultchenkov (Head of the Turkey Desk, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences); and “Post-11 September Impact: The Strategic Importance of Turkey Revisited”, by Hüseyin Bagci and Saban Kardas (both are Professors at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara).

Bilateral Issues in SEE under External Pressure: Risks for the European Prospects of the Western Balkans

Author(s): Dinko Dinkov / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

As in previous times, nowadays processes in Southeastern Europe (the Balkans)have been swirled into the maelstroms of world geopolitical clashes. Following theunprecedented "new world order", initiated by the superpower that has prevailed atthe end of Cold War era, the main features of the current international system havebeen molded within the clashes among new centers of power, declaring ambitions tobe paramount factors in a dynamically changing world.

Political Culture of the Balkans: Historical Background and Contemporary Characteristics

Author(s): Daniela Pastarmadzhieva / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Today’s challenges of the Balkan countries are largely a result of the fact that the national model of statehood is very difficult to operate in a region where the Ottoman Empire existed for many years. This left a strong footprint on the culture and traditions of the population. All these formed the contemporary political culture of the Balkan countries. Thus, the present research focuses on the Balkan states’ political culture. It aims at making a general description ofthe political culture of the Balkans, identifying the common features of the countries, using historical approach and comparative analyses.. Also a comparison is made with the political culture of "full democracies". The analysis covers indicators and builds on data from the European ValuesStudy, 4th wave. The results show that the countries indeed have common characteristics but stillthere are variations. Although the Balkan countries are close to full democracies on some of theindicators, on others – significant differences are observed.

Strategic Approach to Aging Population: Experiences and Challenges

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

People across the world are living longer. According to the World Health Organization (2018), the world population that is older than 60 years will reach 22% by 2050, amounting to 2 billion people, which is a significant increase from 900 million in 2015. The number of older persons will outnumber children younger than five years. The pace of population aging is much faster than before, forcing all countries to face challenges that age brings, from health issues to human rights issues, each requiring proper policy response. As societies grow older due to increased longevity and improved health, older people change in terms of expectations they have related to life in the retirement age. There are many inspiring examples of older persons who want to pursue new activities, such as education, engage in a new career that corresponds to their passion neglected earlier, or continue to be a productive family or community member. It is not surprising to see that some older persons do not make a direct transition from employment to retirement but rather self-employment, implying a positively inverted U-shaped relationship between age and entrepreneurship. For example, to prove it, let us remember the founders of McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken, were all over 50 years old when they established their business. One can conclude that older persons are heterogeneous, making aging difficult to handle research and policy-wise.

Kakvo Izborno zakonodavstvo vodi BiH u društvo evropskih naroda?

Author(s): Slavo Kukić / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian Publication Year: 0

As much as the political democracy is not an ideal model of solution for the achievement of social justice principles and equality, in today’s level of development, it represents the least variance from those principles. Unfortunately, there are many solutions within it that signify an obvious detachment from what political democracy can accomplish. Experiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina based upon Electoral Law from 2001 are very vivid evidences for such a claim. Because all ambiguities within this Law that are more than evident were in 20 years of its functioning a reason for discontentment of almost all actors within the political arena in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, since the first days of its life, we can observe many critics regarding bigger part of embedded solutions – whereat the Law is often accused to be the cause for an individual and collective inequality of citizens and people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, there are requests for this Law to be changed to eliminate various reasons for inequality, disparities, dysfunctionality of state and other institutions, etc. But the questions are, which way and direction of changes within the electoral legislation can contribute to the elimination of these causes and which kind of demands could be suitable and satisfactory? This article offers some of the principles that could lead to this trace.

Finansiranje istraživanja i razvoja u svijetu, jugoistočnoj Evropi i Bosni i Hercegovini

Author(s): Fikret Čaušević / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian Publication Year: 0

Ovaj rad analizira finansiranje naučnog i istraživačkog rada, počevši od globalnog i regionalnog konteksta, završavajući sa specifičnostima i ulaganjima za ove namjene u Bosni i Hercegovini. U prvom dijelu analiziran je globalni kontekst, koji sadrži i analizu deset zemalja s najvećim ulaganjima za ove namjene, kao i strukturom izvora finansiranja po sektorima. U skladu s posljednjim dostupnim podacima UNESCO-a, koji se u vrijeme pisanja ovog rada na globalnom nivou odnose na 2018. godinu, vodeće zemlje po relativnom ulaganju u istraživanje i razvoj bile su Južna Koreja i Japan, dok po apsolutnim iznosima dva vodeća mjesta zauzimaju SAD i Kina. Drugi dio ovog rada fokusiran je na uporednu analizu ulaganja u istraživanje i razvoj u zemljama centralne i jugoistočne Evrope. U ovoj grupi zemalja dominira Slovenija, koju slijede Republika Češka i Mađarska. Treći dio je u cijelosti posvećen specifičnostima Bosne i Hercegovine, kao i nekim od ključnih faktora vrlo niskog nivoa ulaganja za istraživanje i razvoj u ovoj zemlji. U četvrtom dijelu prezentirani su neki od uspješnih primjera bosanskohercegovačkih kompanija po ključnim industrijskim granama u kojima je Bosna i Hercegovina ostvarila natprosječne rezultate u poređenju sa zemljama jugoistočne Evrope, u kontekstu niskih ulaganja u istraživanje i razvoj, s jedne strane, i vrlo dobrih izvoznih rezultata mjerenih Indeksom ekonomske kompleksnosti i Indeksom kompleksnosti proizvoda, s druge strane.

Financing research and development around the world, in Southeast Europe and in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Fikret Čaušević / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper analyses the financing of research and development, starting from the global and regional contexts and moving on to the specifics of such investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first section presents an analysis of the global context and of the 10 highest investing countries, as well as a breakdown of the sources of such financing by sector. Based on the most recent data from UNESCO, which were for 2018 at the time of writing, South Korea and Japan invested most in research and development in relative terms, while the US and China did so in absolute terms. The second section contains a comparative analysis of investment in research and development by the countries of Central and Southeast Europe. This group is led by Slovenia, followed by the Czech Republic and Hungary. The third section is dedicated to the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina and certain factors affecting the country’s very low level of spending on research and development. The fourth section presents a number of successful examples of investment by Bosnian companies in key branches of industry where the country has achieved above-average results for the Southeast European region, as well as very good export results, as measured by the Economic Complexity and the Product Complexity indices.

FIGURA NEPRIJATELJA: PREOSMIŠLJAVANJE SRPSKO-ALBANSKIH ODNOSA

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian

Ideja o pisanju knjige i pokretanju projekta o srpsko-albanskim odnosima javila se, kako to na Balkanu često biva, u kafani (koja je, doduše, u neposrednoj blizini Narodne biblioteke Srbije). Pošto su se u Betonu pojavili tekstovi Milana Miljkovića o predstavljanju Albanaca u srpskoj štampi i Aleksandra Pavlovića o figuri Turčina kao neprijatelja, Milan je uz čašicu predložio da se inicira projekat koji bi okupio srpske i albanske intelektualce, teoretičare i teoretičarke u oblasti društvenih nauka koji bi zajedno obrađivali srpsko-albanske odnose. Verovatno je najčešći način borbe protiv politika neprijateljstva začudna i retka politika prijateljstva. Tako je bilo i u slučaju Aleksandra Pavlovića i Rigelsa Halilija, koji su zbog sličnosti u naučnim temama i interesovanjima najpre uspostavili „naučno pobratimstvo“, a ubrzo došli i do nekolicine drugih srpskih i albanskih kolega zainteresovanih da učestvuju u ovom projektu. Da sve ne ostane na kafanskoj priči (što na Balkanu takođe često biva) zasluga je i urednikā Betona, prevashodno Saše Ćirića, koji je kumovao projektu i knjizi predloživši njen naziv Figura neprijatelja: preosmišljavanje srpsko-albanskih odnosa, a obezbedio je i pomoć prevodilačke mreže Traduki koja je odmah prihvatila da sufinansira prevođenje tekstova sa srpskog na albanski jezik i obrnuto. Usledilo je nekoliko neuspelih inicijativa sa domaćim institucijama – naši prijatelji iz albanskog Ministarstva kulture rekli su nam da misle da za ovako nešto još nije vreme, a na konkursu srpskog Ministarstva kulture uprkos obimnoj dokumentaciji koju smo poslali u traženih 7 (i slovima sedam) primeraka (!), projekat na godišnjem konkursu nije dobio ni dinara. Za razliku od rečenih institucija, kolege iz Instituta za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, pogotovo sadašnje koordinatorke projekta i kourednice ove knjige Gazela Pudar Draško i Adriana Zaharijević, uz mentorstvo Petra Bojanića, založile su se za projekat i značajno ojačale prvobitnu aplikaciju, koja je zatim podržana u okviru švajcarskog Programa za promociju istraživanja na zapadnom Balkanu koji finansira Švajcarska agencija za razvoj i saradnju, na čemu im dugujemo veliku zahvalnost. Pored IFDT-a i KPZ Beton, saradnici na projektu su i „Ćendra multimedija“ („Quendra Multimedia“) iz Prištine, koja je 2011. godine zajedno sa KPZ Beton objavila antologije Iz Prištine, s ljubavlju (o savremenoj kosovskoj literaturi na albanskom jeziku) i Iz Beograda, s ljubavlju (o savremenoj prozi mlađih autora u Srbiji), i „Poeteka“ iz Tirane, ugledni izdavački i kulturni centar koji kontinuirano objavljuje prevode savremene i ranije srpske književnosti na albanski jezik.

Netanyahu for the sixth time: the new Israeli government

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

A new Israeli government was sworn in on 29 December 2022, as Benjamin Netanyahu took the helm as prime minister for the sixth time in his career, after a year and a half in opposition. Negotiations on forming a government coalition had been ongoing since early November, when parliamentary elections were held for the fifth time in four years. The new coalition holds 64 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, and consists of six parties: two are ultra-religious, three combine religious and national radicalism, while the largest of them, Likud, is a secular nationalist party. The make-up of the coalition, the views of individual members of the government and its first moves indicate that the new cabinet is Israel’s most religiously conservative and nationalist in its history. We should expect its policies to institute significant changes in many areas of public life. This applies primarily to domestic affairs, but also to some extent to Israel’s relations with the US and Russia, as well as the war in Ukraine.

Germany and the trade conflict between Lithuania & China

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

The Chinese government’s trade boycott of Lithuania risks causing economic losses for Germany and weakening the cohesion of the EU’s common market. However, Berlin is unlikely to take any decisive actions – such as pushing through retaliation – due to its huge dependence on the Chinese market, as well as differences of opinion within the government on what direction its Beijing policy should tale. Thus Germany will limit itself to diplomatic efforts, counting that the actions taken at the EU level by the European Commission and the French presidency of the EU Council will be effective.

A hydrogen alliance? The potential for German-Russian cooperation in hydrogen energy

Author(s): Michał Kędzierski,Szymon Kardaś / Language(s): English

Joint hydrogen energy projects are components of the comprehensive Russian-German energy cooperation which has been ongoing for more than five decades. Due to increasing demand for hydrogen resulting from Germany’s energy transition (Energiewende) and to the potential of the hydrogen sector in Russia and its focus on export, the fundamental interests of the two states are well aligned. In 2020, Moscow and Berlin stepped up their political dialogue in this field, and companies from Germany and Russia went on to conclude their first agreements. The new aspect of this cooperation with Berlin is also important to Moscow in political terms.

Back to team play. German hopes for renewed co-operation with the USA

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

Germany hopes that Joe Biden’s upcoming presidency will contribute to restoring transatlantic bonds. It is pinning its hopes on both sides sharing a similar perception of the key challenges, the appreciation of the importance of alliances, and on the US returning to the use of multilateral instruments. German-American relations will no longer be burdened by the confrontational rhetoric and strictly transactional approach which were typical of the outgoing president. However, the political change in the United States will not remove the differences of positions and interests that underlie the main disputes between Berlin and Washington. Moreover, given the fact that both Democrats and Republicans were running neck and neck during the presidential race, Germany may modify its expectations with regard to the new American administration to become more realistic. German politicians have signalled their readiness to engage more in maintaining the partnership with the US, but whether they will be able to put these declarations into practice remains an open question, considering that elections to the Bundestag are due to be held next year. The main difficulty for Germany will be making adjustments in the area of security, mainly due to the German public’s reluctance to increase spending on defence. Coordination of policy towards China will be an equally important challenge.

Biden’s policy towards China: the prospects for transatlantic dialogue

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

Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election means that Washington will continue its confrontational policy towards Beijing. At the same time, it will clearly change its tactics and attempt to mobilise the US’s network of alliances to contain China. On 13 November, China congratulated Biden and Kamala Harris, but highlighted the need to resolve possible legal disputes. The expected change in the US administration has been widely commented upon in the Chinese press. The initial reactions from China reveal expectations that competition with Washington will continue in almost all key areas, although Beijing hopes to unblock some channels for diplomatic contacts. It also expects an extensive US-EU dialogue to begin discussing what actions should be taken with regard to the PRC. The first reactions from Europe suggest that this scenario is very likely. Biden’s victory has been presented as an opportunity for a joint response to the challenges linked to China by Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, and some representatives of Brussels. However, creating a common front on Beijing will require a number of structural problems in transatlantic relations to be resolved, including in the areas of trade and services, digital technologies and security.

Border control and invisible threats. Does the closure of borders in Europe stop COVID-19?

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

Border control was introduced in Europe as an emergeny response to the pandemic between March and May 2020. Following a process of re-opening, countries apply restrictions depending on national risk analyses, as well as individual political and economic interests. Quarantine and testing rules have been adopted across member states in various combinations. However, the rapidly changing situation and the lack of adequate risk assessments have proven these measures to be irrational in some cases. This policy paper evaluates the implementation of travel restrictions in Europe due to COVID-19 to provide an understanding of the relevance of the new border regimes. The analysis seeks to answer the question of whether border restrictions are an effective measure to tackle the pandemic in case of ongoing and future outbreaks. The recommendations provided in this paper address national government officials and security experts. Among the discussed options, closing borders shall be the option least preferred by policy makers due to its negative consequences for the freedom of movement of individuals, goods and services.