Political power of a candidate for the president of the Government of Republic of Srpska: Testing concepts of R. Dahl and J. K. Galbraith on example of program and composition proposal introduction

Within this work, we tested possibility of practical application of concepts of political power defined in Robert Dahl's and John Kenneth Galbraith's work. These concepts were tested on the practical case of election of the head of government in the Republic of Srpska. More precisely, introduction of the program and cabinet proposal in the National Assembly of Republic of Srpska by Milorad Dodik, candidate for the president of the Government of Republic of Srpska in November 2006. This was done first through the short introduction and analysis of four aspects of political power - base, means, scope and amount of power, and Galbraith's three types of political power: condign, compensatory, and conditioned power. Based on identified elements and types of power, we defined the crucial questions to be considered in the analysis of individual cases from the political practice. After that, we applied these questions and concepts on concrete case of Milorad Dodik's address to the National Assembly with proposition of his government program and composition. Results of this work show that Dahl's and Galbraith's concepts of political power have explanatory use in the analysis of political practice and processes. However, based on conducted analysis it can be noticed that they are limited because they do not include all elements that can affect political power. It can be concluded that comprehensive analysis of political power is made more difficult by nature of political processes and by their parts that stay secret and beyond reach of research and general public.

Sino-Italian political and economic cooperation: Perspectives and challenges

The purpose of this article is to examine Sino-Italian political and economic cooperation. The first part of the paper reviews the still ongoing process of China`s ambitions to present itself as a 'non-Other' to the international society by carrying out economic development and political opening and offering the Belt and Road Initiative to international partners. However, Beijing still faces (un)justified accusation that it affects the implementation of the already established norms, principles and procedures of the international law, sustainable development, geopolitical order, and geoeconomic distribution of wealth. For the purpose of this research, our focus will be on Italian understanding of the maritime perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative. The second part examines tools that the two countries use for overcoming obstacles to political and economic cooperation, whilst striving not just to widen and strengthen mutual trust, sincerity, and pragmatism, but to protect national interests as well.

Coverage of violence against children in Serbian daily newspapers

Violence against children arouses significant public interest as a phenomenon that opposes the most appreciated social interests. Media coverage of this topic has been conditioned by the need of the public for complete and truthful reporting, and, at the same time, by the need of media to survive in the increasingly saturated media market. The question is whether the race for the most current and intriguing media content endangers fulfillment of obligations related to the protection of interests of minors and obligations stipulated by the law. The aim of this paper is to point to the aspects of reporting on violence against children that could be improved in the future. Therefore, after the introductory considerations about violence against children and media reporting on this topic and after the review of scientific literature in this field, the central part of the paper is devoted to the analysis of media coverage of three Serbian daily papers on violence against children. The author concludes that positive regulations and professional codes are respected, but that reporting does not always serve an educational and preventive purpose, and that the protection of the dignity of victims is not at a satisfactory level at all times.

Aggression on Kosovo between media construction and reality

Aggression against Kosovo is an example of how the NATO and the 'international community' have (mis)used Serbia and Kosovo in a classic modern exercise of identity construction by disciplining the Balkan 'other'. The discourse of security is not a neutral academic terrain, but a continuous struggle for political power, access to resources, and the authority to articulate new definitions and priorities of security. Modern reasons for war were absent because the conflict in Kosovo centered around the pursuit of moral aims (rather than traditional politics) by other means. The vocabulary employed related more to the tradition of a just war (a notion that preceded the era of modern wars), which was firmly grounded in denationalization and aimed to replace politics with the imperative of universal principles and virtue. The aim of the paper is to show that the Kosovo model of aggression, behind the discourses of moral goals, traditionally political, has aimed to implement the New World Order of imperialist powers under the auspices of the 'international community' and to establish full control over natural resources.

'The second Republic': Does the Republic of Srpska need a new constitution?

In this paper, we will try to suggest the possibility of a new constitution of the Republic of Srpska. By that political act, the 'Second Republic' might be created. With this in mind, our approach has two steps. The first one is negative: it should explain that in the Constitution of the Republic of Srpska there are some deficiencies, both formal and substantial. The second step is positive: it suggests a direction that has to be taken in the process of creation of our new Constitution. Our basic assumption is that the current Constitution of the Republic of Srpska cannot provide effective framework for our political community. In fact, our current constitution is one of the main sources of problems and conflicts in our political community. This diagnosis is quite opposite to the main line of understanding of the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska respectively: the standard perception of the former and the latter is that there is some kind of deficiency as regards the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yet, it is the constitutions of the entities of the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that are almost never discussed.

Media stereotyping of vulnerable groups in Serbia

The paper discusses the contemporary features of stereotypes in media content, with special emphasis on practice and the consequences of stereotyping vulnerable social groups. Particular attention is paid to reviewing the prevalence and modalities of gender, racial, and ethnic stereotypes in Serbian mass media, as well as the consequences of social stereotyping affecting women, minority ethnic groups, people with mental disorders, and members of other vulnerable social groups, including their increased exposure to social marginalization, discrimination, violence, and secondary victimization. The content analysis of electronic editions of three dailies in Serbia of different newspaper format and editorial approach (Politika, Blic, and Kurir), published within the period from January 10 to February 7, 2021, was conducted to gain a closer insight into current representation, forms and other features of media stereotyping of various vulnerable social groups. The obtained findings confirm the initial assumption that stereotypes, especially gender, as well as those directed at minority ethnic groups, are expressed and routinely represented in electronic media content available to the general public, in which these groupsare continuously presented in a very narrow repertoire of social roles, primarily by tabloid dailies Additional content analysis of electronic editions of dailies in Serbia over the past five years features stereotypical portrayal of Roma, and persons with mental health disorders as categories of citizens who are predominantly represented in negative content in the media, with the absence of analytical texts and content dealing with the social background of the circumstances in which they find themselves. Furthermore, no attention is paid to their social needs, which contributes to the strengthening of stereotypes, intolerance, insensitivity, or irrational fear of members of certain vulnerable social groups. In conclusion, the importance of the role of today's mass media in maintaining, but also in deconstructing negative social stereotypes, that is, humanization of modern cultural and social space and denormalization of violence directed at vulnerable groups based on prejudice,isemphasized.

Autonomy of higher education in the European Union: Case C-66/18 European Commission v. Hungary

Aware of the fact that autonomy is an important prerequisite for educational institutions to be able to perform their tasks, in this paper we explore and analyze one of the most interesting cases from the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union in this area. Namely, the European Commission initiated proceedings against the Republic of Hungary for violating the rights of the European Union. The focus is on the Law on Higher Education of that member state, which has caused sharp controversies within the academic community in the countries of the European Economic Area, but also in third countries. Although the work is mostly dedicated to the free movement of services in the field of higher education, we inevitably explore the relationship between European Union law and legal instruments of the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as the views of the Court of Justice regarding their interpretation. The case we are discussing is also important for the status of countries aspiring to become members of the European organization, since the European Parliament adopted a recommendation to include in the Copenhagen criteria for accession the defense and protection of academic freedom and institutional autonomy in order to prevent their endangerment in member states.