CROATIAN POLITICS: SYMBOLS AND INACTIVITY

2021 ◽  
pp. 101-126
Author(s):  
Tvtrko Yakovina

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the foreign policy of the Republic of Croatia in close connection with its domestic policy. The author examines the balance of political forces in the country on the eve, during and after the presidential elections in 2019/2020, as well as the elections to Sabor (parliament) in July 2020. He describes in detail the situation in the party that won the elections to Sabor, - the Croatian Democratic Union, - and the internal party struggle between representatives of the centrist and right-wing nationalist groups. Largely thanks to the current leader and prime minister of Croatia A. Plenković, it ended in 2020 with the victory of the centrists. At the same time, the presidential elections in December 2019 - January 2020 were won by the candidate of the left-center - Social Democrat Z. Milanović, who defeated the CDU representative K. Grabar-Kitarović, who held this post. The author believes that in Croatia, as a result of the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2019/2020, a situation has developed in which the president and the prime minister, representatives of the left and the right centers respectively, can, through joint efforts, pursuing their own political goals, update Croatia’s domestic and foreign policy, including in the Balkan / South-Eastern Europe region. The previous policy of Croatia, according to the author, was unsuccessful. The previous leadership of Croatia, using as a basis the ideology of nationalism and fearing that Croatia would be historically associated with Yugoslavia and the Balkans, pursued a policy of self-isolation in the very region in which Croatia could play an important role. The balance of power formed in Croatia in 2020 makes it possible to intensify Croatia’s policy in the region, on the basis of a possible normalization of relations with the Serbian community of the country as well as through the process of improving relations with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Without this transformation, the final stabilization in the Balkans / South-Eastern Europe region is impossible.

Author(s):  
BRANKO PODBREŽNIK

Slovenska vojska mora biti v okviru svojih nalog sposobna izvesti vojaško obrambo države, izpolnjevati mednarodne obveznosti, sodelovati v mednarodnih operacijah in na misijah (MOM) ter v sistemu varstva pred naravnimi in drugimi nesrečami. Odločitev države o sodelovanju v MOM je v številnih državah precej zapletena zaradi različnih in med seboj nasprotujočih si političnih pogledov ter ustavnih rešitev. Republika Slovenija aktivno sodeluje v MOM od leta 1997. Tako želi skladno s svojimi zmožnostmi in interesi prispevati k vzpostavitvi mednarodnega miru in sta- bilnosti, predvsem v svoji soseščini, jugovzhodni Evropi. Sodelovanje RS bo imelo v MOM predvsem funkcije varnostnih in zunanjepolitič- nih interesov ter ciljev RS. SV bo zato v MOM sodelovala predvsem z višjo stopnjo tveganja, ki zahteva poudarjeno vojaško silo, in ne več predvsem z operacijami, ki so bližje policijskim nalogam. Within its scope of tasks, the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) should be capable of providing military defence of the country, fulfilling international obligations, and participating in international operations and missions (IOM) as well as in the system of protection against natural and other disasters. In a number of countries, the decision to take part in IOMs is a rather complica- ted one, due to the versatile and contradictory political views and constitutional solutions. The Republic of Slovenia (RS) has been actively participating in IOM since 1997. This is its way of contributing to the establishment of international peace and stability, especially in its neighbourhood, the South-eastern Europe. The IOM engagement of the RS will thus be mainly marked by security and foreign policy interests and will no longer include operations closer to police tasks, but rather participation in IOM with a higher level of risks requiring enhanced military force.


2021 ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Sergei Romanenko ◽  

The new issue of the journal «Current Problems of Europe» opens with the problem-oriented article, dedicated to the analysis of the state of the Balkans / South-Eastern Europe region and its development in 2000-2020. The author gives a systemic description of the processes taking place in the intra-national and international intra-regional political, social and economic development of the countries of the region, and the problems generated by them. The changes are associated with a difficult transition phase, experienced by the states of the region, for the most part belonging to the post-socialist world (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania). The exceptions are Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, however, these three states are also going through a difficult period in their history, associated with new problems both in interstate relations within this triangle, and in relations with NATO and the EU, as well as with Russia. The article discusses the specifics of translating the terms «people» and «national» into Russian, as well as the toponym Kosovo (Serb.) / Kosova (Alb.), and ethnonyms «Bošnjak» and «bosanac». The first part of the issue contains articles devoted to general problems of regional studies: the relationship between the terms Eastern Europe, Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Balkans, Western Balkans; comparative and political science subjects; the role of the European Union and China in the development of the region; the relationship of national Serbian, post-Yugoslavian and European culture and intellectual heritage as well. The second part of the issue examines the relations of the Balkan states with the states of Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Romania, Belarus), as well as the specifics of their development in the post-socialist period. Thus, there is the possibility of a multilateral - historical, political and cultural, as well as comparative analysis of the development of this complex region, which is of great importance for international relations worldwide.


1982 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
Géza Fehérvári

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in Turkish art and architecture, an interest that embraces not only the monuments in Turkey proper but also those which were erected in south-eastern Europe during the Ottoman occupation. Thus a few years ago, when in conjunction with the World of Islam Festival a symposium was held in Edinburgh dedicated to Islam in the Balkans, the participants dealt with Islamic monuments in Bulgaria, Rumania, Greece and Yugoslavia. The Ottoman monuments of Hungary are admittedly not as numerous as those of these south-east European countries; nevertheless,they represent the achievements of a period which is justifiably called the ‘classical’ period in Ottoman art.


Author(s):  
Wojciech Sowa

Thracian belongs to the group of languages spoken over the entire period of Antiquity in the areas of south-eastern Europe (mostly the Balkans) and which, like other vernaculars spoken in this and neighbouring areas, had died out by the end of the Roman period leaving but scanty evidence. This chapter provides an introduction into the state of our current knowledge about the Thracian language and epigraphy and the perspectives of research of this language. Since our comprehension and understanding of grammatical system of Thracian is limited, the current knowledge of the language makes any translation of attested inscriptions impossible. It is however expected that the progress in studying development and history of the Greek script may provide us with new and relevant data for interpretation of Thracian.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 67-78
Author(s):  
Anita Paolicchi ◽  
◽  

"The aim of this paper is to highlight and briefly discuss some of the most problematic terms and concepts that recur in art historiography: for example, the words Byzantine, post-Byzantine, Eastern, Western and Local. These concepts are used in a misleading way not only by American and Western European authors, but also by Eastern and South-Eastern European ones: in fact, the “Balkan” art historiography based itself on the Western-European one, adopting its periodisation, terminology and interpretative framework, which led to a number of methodological problems that researchers are now trying to identify, discuss and, if possible, solve. Keywords: art historiography, South-Eastern Europe, silverwork, Byzantium. "


2020 ◽  

This collective monograph is a comprehensive study of the causes, evolution and outcomes of complex processes in the contemporary history of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, and aims in particular to identify common and special characteristics in their socio-economic and political development. The authors base their work on documentary evidence; both published and unpublished archival materials reveal the specifics of the development of the political landscapes in these countries. They highlight models combining both European and nationally oriented (and even nationalist) components of the political spheres of particular countries; identify markers which allow the stage of completion (or incompletion) of the establishment of a new political system to be estimated; and present analyses of the processes of internal political struggle, which has often taken on ruthless forms. The analysis of regional and country-specific documentary materials illustrates that the gap in the development of the region with “old Europe” in general has not yet been overcome: in the post-Socialist period, the situation of the region being “ownerless” and “abandoned”, characteristic of the period between the two world wars, is reoccurring. The authors conclude that during the period from the late twentieth to the early twenty-first centuries, the region was quite clearly divided into two parts: Central (the Visegrad Four) and South-Eastern (the Balkans) Europe. The authors explore the prevailing trends in the political development of Hungary and Poland related to the leadership of nationally and religiously oriented parties; in the Czech Republic and Slovakia the pendulum-like change in power of the left and right-wing parties; and in Bulgaria and Romania the domestic political processes permanently in crisis. The authors pay special attention to the contradictory nature of the political evolution of the states that emerged in the space of the former Yugoslavia. For the first time, Greece and Turkey are included in the context of a regional-wide study. The contributors present optimal or resembling transformational models, which can serve as a prototype for shaping the political landscape of other countries in the world. The monograph substantiates the urgency of the new approach needed to study the history and current state of the region and its countries, taking into account the challenges of the time, which require strengthening national and state identity. The research also offered prognostic characteristics of transformational changes in the region, the Visegrad Four, and the Balkans.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-249
Author(s):  
Mitja Žagar

This essay aims to stimulate a broad scholarly and public discussion about the definition, perceptions, identities, (re)conceptualizations, (re)imagining and (re)thinking the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe. It addresses the objectivity and attitudes in research and scholarly literature, historic and current stereotypes and imaginations in general as well as specifically with regard to the region. In this context it discusses also different definitions and competing conceptualizations of the region that often, in European reality, has served as the relevant “other.” In addition to stimulating public and scholarly discussions this contribution also attempts to promote a positive imagining and perceptions of South-Eastern Europe that can build upon the cultural and historic richness, diversities and potentials of the region. It argues for the construction of open, inclusive and positive identities that will stimulate integration and be important segments of successful diversity management.


Starinar ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 85-94
Author(s):  
Wayne Powell ◽  
Ognjen Mladenovic ◽  
Steffanie Cruse ◽  
Arthur Bankoff ◽  
Ryan Mathur

The important role of the Balkans in the origin and development of metallurgy is well established with respect to copper. In addition, Aleksandar Durman, in his 1997 paper ?Tin in South-eastern Europe??, essentially initiated studies into the role of the Balkans in Europe?s Bronze Age tin economy. He identified six geologically favourable sites for tin mineralisation and associated fluvial placer deposits in the former Yugoslavian republics, and suggested that these may have added to the tin supply of the region. The viability of two of these sites has been confirmed (Mt Cer and Bukulja, Serbia) but the exploitation potential for the other locations has remained untested. River gravels from these four sites (Motajica and Prosara in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bujanovac in Serbia; Ograzden in North Macedonia) were obtained by stream sluicing and panning. The sites of Prosara and Bujanovac were found to be barren with respect to cassiterite (SnO2). Streams flowing from Motajica and Ograzden were both found to contain cassiterite, but in amounts several orders of magnitude less than at Mt Cer and Bukulja. Although it is possible that minor tin recovery occurred at Motajica and Ograzden, it is unlikely that they could have contributed meaningfully to regional tin trade. This is supported by the fact that the isotopic signature (?124Sn) of cassiterite from Motajica is highly enriched in light isotopes of tin compared to that associated with Late Bronze Age artefacts of the region.


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