Abstract In 2010 the Croatian Constitution was changed to lower the requirements for the implementation of direct democracy at the national level, in order to save the referendum on Croatia’s EU membership from possible failure. Since then, Croatia has witnessed a sharp increase in people’s initiatives that have managed to block a number of the government’s reform proposals. Therefore, the newly discovered appeal of direct democracy in Croatia has created a new environment for the operation of its representative democracy. Starting from theoretical notions, this paper analyses the practice of direct democracy in selected transitional countries, which could be instructive for Croatia. In its central part, the paper explores the obstacles that stand in the way of the efficient implementation of direct democracy in Croatia.
{"title":"The Rise of Direct Democracy in Croatia: Balancing or Challenging Parliamentary Representation?","authors":"H. Butković","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2017-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2017-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In 2010 the Croatian Constitution was changed to lower the requirements for the implementation of direct democracy at the national level, in order to save the referendum on Croatia’s EU membership from possible failure. Since then, Croatia has witnessed a sharp increase in people’s initiatives that have managed to block a number of the government’s reform proposals. Therefore, the newly discovered appeal of direct democracy in Croatia has created a new environment for the operation of its representative democracy. Starting from theoretical notions, this paper analyses the practice of direct democracy in selected transitional countries, which could be instructive for Croatia. In its central part, the paper explores the obstacles that stand in the way of the efficient implementation of direct democracy in Croatia.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"23 1","pages":"39 - 80"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2017-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/cirr-2017-0002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42863250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In 1997 Albania experienced a collapse of order and widespread violence, which resulted in a situation where the government was overthrown and some 2,000 people were killed. The 1997 disorder came as a result of the collapse of fraudulent financial pyramid schemes that had all the features of a war-like economic structure. During the 1997 events, large-scale confiscation and stealing of state assets occurred. Albania’s transitional period from communism to democracy, which began in 1990, led to the establishment of new structures for profiting from the country’s resources. Some of these political and economic structures, in the aftermath of the 1997 events, disappeared and others, including their structural effects, persist and have had an impact on the country’s political stability and economic progress. Today, both the successes and failures of the country are assessed based on the progress that the country has made since the 1997 events. The paper analyses the 1997 events and the transformation of Albania’s political and economic structures between 1997 and 2016, considering both achievements and failures. It looks at how the country has dealt with the post-1997 peace-building and development agenda from the perspective of it being a success. It looks at the factors that led to state failure in 1997 and at the factors that continue and have generated a path dependency to the current political context of the country. Although a lot has been written concerning the 1997 events, very little analysis has been conducted concerning what it means from the perspective of research on state failure. In this context, the proposed paper seeks to offer Albania as a case study example of a transformation process, from the uprising to the current situation, which is characterized as a mixture of successes and failures. The belief is that the proposed paper will point to some lessons learned for the strategies directed at the transformation processes.
{"title":"Albania’s Transformation since 1997: Successes and Failures","authors":"Islam Jusufi","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2017-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2017-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In 1997 Albania experienced a collapse of order and widespread violence, which resulted in a situation where the government was overthrown and some 2,000 people were killed. The 1997 disorder came as a result of the collapse of fraudulent financial pyramid schemes that had all the features of a war-like economic structure. During the 1997 events, large-scale confiscation and stealing of state assets occurred. Albania’s transitional period from communism to democracy, which began in 1990, led to the establishment of new structures for profiting from the country’s resources. Some of these political and economic structures, in the aftermath of the 1997 events, disappeared and others, including their structural effects, persist and have had an impact on the country’s political stability and economic progress. Today, both the successes and failures of the country are assessed based on the progress that the country has made since the 1997 events. The paper analyses the 1997 events and the transformation of Albania’s political and economic structures between 1997 and 2016, considering both achievements and failures. It looks at how the country has dealt with the post-1997 peace-building and development agenda from the perspective of it being a success. It looks at the factors that led to state failure in 1997 and at the factors that continue and have generated a path dependency to the current political context of the country. Although a lot has been written concerning the 1997 events, very little analysis has been conducted concerning what it means from the perspective of research on state failure. In this context, the proposed paper seeks to offer Albania as a case study example of a transformation process, from the uprising to the current situation, which is characterized as a mixture of successes and failures. The belief is that the proposed paper will point to some lessons learned for the strategies directed at the transformation processes.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"23 1","pages":"115 - 81"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2017-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48202538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infrastructure development, including transport, energy, buildings, electricity, telecommunications, water and sewage, as well as health and education, have been crucially important for China’s growth as well as for Chinese people’s welfare. China’s role in infrastructure development has the potential to contribute positively to growth and welfare in the countries along the Silk Road.
{"title":"State, Market and Infrastructure: The New Silk Road","authors":"Nolan Peter","doi":"10.1515/CIRR-2017-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CIRR-2017-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Infrastructure development, including transport, energy, buildings, electricity, telecommunications, water and sewage, as well as health and education, have been crucially important for China’s growth as well as for Chinese people’s welfare. China’s role in infrastructure development has the potential to contribute positively to growth and welfare in the countries along the Silk Road.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"23 1","pages":"7-18"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/CIRR-2017-0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The article analyses the development of environmental diplomacy in Slovenia since 1991, when the country declared independence. The objective is to present the structural changes (and the lack thereof) in the development of Slovenian environmental diplomacy – from its blueprints (made in the first years of independence) to a more structural approach towards environmental diplomacy, and its regression. With respect to the development and regression of Slovenian environmental diplomacy, the article confirms the thesis that the formulation of Slovenian foreign policy is influenced by two factors: the role of the agent (i.e. the foreign minister and his or her interests) and the external variables, coming from a supranational or international environment.
{"title":"The Development, (Non) Institutionalisation, and (Lost) Opportunities of Slovenian Environmental Diplomacy in the Last 25 Years","authors":"B. Udovič, Miha Pongrac","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2016-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2016-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article analyses the development of environmental diplomacy in Slovenia since 1991, when the country declared independence. The objective is to present the structural changes (and the lack thereof) in the development of Slovenian environmental diplomacy – from its blueprints (made in the first years of independence) to a more structural approach towards environmental diplomacy, and its regression. With respect to the development and regression of Slovenian environmental diplomacy, the article confirms the thesis that the formulation of Slovenian foreign policy is influenced by two factors: the role of the agent (i.e. the foreign minister and his or her interests) and the external variables, coming from a supranational or international environment.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"29 - 51"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/cirr-2016-0005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The paper provides comparative evidence on attitudes towards immigrants, their labour market outcomes and policies in Croatia and two neighbouring countries – Slovenia and Hungary. Three different data sources have been used: the European Social Survey, an ad-hoc Labour Force Survey module for the year 2014, and the MIPEX index. Although immigrants have a disadvantaged position on the Croatian labour market, most analysed indicators do not imply that they are in a worse position than in other European economies. Migrant integration policies related to the labour market are assessed as being relatively favourable for Croatia. Judging by the comparable indicators for the native population in Croatia, immigrants’ adverse labour market outcomes seem to be more related to the unfavourable general economic situation, and particularly by the deep and long recession.
{"title":"Attitudes Towards Immigrants, Immigration Policies and Labour Market Outcomes: Comparing Croatia with Hungary and Slovenia","authors":"Valerija Botrić","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2016-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2016-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The paper provides comparative evidence on attitudes towards immigrants, their labour market outcomes and policies in Croatia and two neighbouring countries – Slovenia and Hungary. Three different data sources have been used: the European Social Survey, an ad-hoc Labour Force Survey module for the year 2014, and the MIPEX index. Although immigrants have a disadvantaged position on the Croatian labour market, most analysed indicators do not imply that they are in a worse position than in other European economies. Migrant integration policies related to the labour market are assessed as being relatively favourable for Croatia. Judging by the comparable indicators for the native population in Croatia, immigrants’ adverse labour market outcomes seem to be more related to the unfavourable general economic situation, and particularly by the deep and long recession.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"28 - 5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/cirr-2016-0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66845991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Institutions of autonomy3 in ethnically heterogeneous states have been conceived as a compromise between a desire to safeguard state unity and to partially accommodate the grievances of ethno-linguistic minorities. However, in practice, the institutions of autonomy often turn into a nucleus of a proto state of the ethno-linguistic minority. Instead of resolving the minority issue and stabilising the central state, they strengthen the local nationalism and secessionism, acting as centrifugal forces, or “subversive institutions”. Recently these processes have been noticed in several ethnically heterogeneous, developed Western democracies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether, and how, the institutions of autonomy influence the rise of peripheral nationalism and secessionism.
{"title":"Can Institutions of Autonomy Become Potentially “Subversive Institutions”?","authors":"Hrvoje Ćurko","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2016-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2016-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Institutions of autonomy3 in ethnically heterogeneous states have been conceived as a compromise between a desire to safeguard state unity and to partially accommodate the grievances of ethno-linguistic minorities. However, in practice, the institutions of autonomy often turn into a nucleus of a proto state of the ethno-linguistic minority. Instead of resolving the minority issue and stabilising the central state, they strengthen the local nationalism and secessionism, acting as centrifugal forces, or “subversive institutions”. Recently these processes have been noticed in several ethnically heterogeneous, developed Western democracies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether, and how, the institutions of autonomy influence the rise of peripheral nationalism and secessionism.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"39 1","pages":"52 - 84"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/cirr-2016-0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The paper advances a realist analytical model for case studies of national soft power policies. First, it argues that for the purposes of realist analysis, a soft power policy must be considered as a rational strategy pursued under the conditions of competition. Furthermore, it emphasises the importance of taking into account the specificities of the recipient state as well as the fact that a soft power strategy is targeted at both its elite and its public. In addition, the article substantiates the necessity to draw a clear-cut distinction between soft power sources and instruments and shows possible shortcomings that research can have should this distinction fail to be made. Finally, the paper discusses the impact of a competitor’s presence on a soft power strategy and specifies the terms under which disregarding this impact may engender a wrong conclusion.
{"title":"Assessment of Soft Power Strategies: Towards an Aggregative Analytical Model for Country-Focused Case Study Research","authors":"A. Patalakh","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2016-0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2016-0007","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The paper advances a realist analytical model for case studies of national soft power policies. First, it argues that for the purposes of realist analysis, a soft power policy must be considered as a rational strategy pursued under the conditions of competition. Furthermore, it emphasises the importance of taking into account the specificities of the recipient state as well as the fact that a soft power strategy is targeted at both its elite and its public. In addition, the article substantiates the necessity to draw a clear-cut distinction between soft power sources and instruments and shows possible shortcomings that research can have should this distinction fail to be made. Finally, the paper discusses the impact of a competitor’s presence on a soft power strategy and specifies the terms under which disregarding this impact may engender a wrong conclusion.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"112 - 85"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This paper offers a critical interpretation of the EU’s recent Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) of 2014, making distinctions between hard and soft conceptions of maritime security. The theoretical approach employed invokes the ‘EU as neo-medieval empire’ (Bull 1977: 254-255; Rennger 2006; Zielonka 2006). By this account, the main objectives of EU maritime strategy are stability and encouragement of globalised maritime trade flows to be achieved using the classic instruments of ‘soft maritime security’. While replete with great possibilities, the EU’s maritime security strategy is likely to be a relatively weak maritime security regime, which suffers from a number of important limits.
{"title":"The EU’s Maritime Security Strategy: a Neo-Medieval Perspective on the Limits of Soft Security?","authors":"B. Flynn","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2016-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2016-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper offers a critical interpretation of the EU’s recent Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) of 2014, making distinctions between hard and soft conceptions of maritime security. The theoretical approach employed invokes the ‘EU as neo-medieval empire’ (Bull 1977: 254-255; Rennger 2006; Zielonka 2006). By this account, the main objectives of EU maritime strategy are stability and encouragement of globalised maritime trade flows to be achieved using the classic instruments of ‘soft maritime security’. While replete with great possibilities, the EU’s maritime security strategy is likely to be a relatively weak maritime security regime, which suffers from a number of important limits.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"37 - 9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/cirr-2016-0001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
EU’s Energy security and trade depend, to a large extent, on sea-based transport relying on open sea lines of communication and Maritime Security. The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region has supplied 13 per cent of oil and six per cent of total EU28 consumption. Between 2003 and January 2015, piracy in the GoG accounted for 31 per cent of attacks (616 of 1,965) in African waters. With that proportion on the rise and a growing threat related to Piracy, illegal over-fishing and crude oil theft; maritime (in)security in the region is attracting attention from regional and international governments and bodies.
{"title":"From Politicization to Securitization of Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea","authors":"P. João","doi":"10.1515/CIRR-2016-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CIRR-2016-0003","url":null,"abstract":"EU’s Energy security and trade depend, to a large extent, on sea-based transport relying on open sea lines of communication and Maritime Security. The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region has supplied 13 per cent of oil and six per cent of total EU28 consumption. Between 2003 and January 2015, piracy in the GoG accounted for 31 per cent of attacks (616 of 1,965) in African waters. With that proportion on the rise and a growing threat related to Piracy, illegal over-fishing and crude oil theft; maritime (in)security in the region is attracting attention from regional and international governments and bodies.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"69-85"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/CIRR-2016-0003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The conservation of fish stocks in the world’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs), which collectively harbour the vast majority of marine-living resources, is the primary responsibility of coastal States. As the effects of failures by coastal States to protect those stocks from the impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing may extend beyond domestic boundaries, this paper questions whether and how coastal States may be made accountable in respect of their regulatory deficits. With the proliferation of non-legal conduct rules to guide the regulatory role of States and their agencies, non-judicial mechanisms have the potential to foster coastal State stewardship of domestic fisheries. Outlining a number of international, transnational and domestic approaches, this paper gives consideration to the opportunities and limitations they present in order to strengthen coastal State accountability for IUU fishing control deficits.
{"title":"Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Control in the Exclusive Economic Zone: a Brief Appraisal of Regulatory Deficits and Accountability Strategies","authors":"M. Rosello","doi":"10.1515/cirr-2016-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cirr-2016-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The conservation of fish stocks in the world’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs), which collectively harbour the vast majority of marine-living resources, is the primary responsibility of coastal States. As the effects of failures by coastal States to protect those stocks from the impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing may extend beyond domestic boundaries, this paper questions whether and how coastal States may be made accountable in respect of their regulatory deficits. With the proliferation of non-legal conduct rules to guide the regulatory role of States and their agencies, non-judicial mechanisms have the potential to foster coastal State stewardship of domestic fisheries. Outlining a number of international, transnational and domestic approaches, this paper gives consideration to the opportunities and limitations they present in order to strengthen coastal State accountability for IUU fishing control deficits.","PeriodicalId":35243,"journal":{"name":"Croatian International Relations Review","volume":"22 1","pages":"39 - 68"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/cirr-2016-0002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66846300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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