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This paper deals with the relationship between science and politics and social responsibility of science during social crises that have consequences for the survival and well-being of citizens. The analysis is based on the data analysis of nine interviews conducted with Croatian biomedical experts who were on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic (2020-2022), whether they were involved in the adoption of pandemic measures or in mitigating the consequences. The results show that science had internal discussions during the crisis, but the complex relationship between politics and science, and science and the media comes into focus, because those difficulties have spilled over to the relationship between science and the public. The paper discusses these findings in the context of the social responsibility of science, but also underlines the importance of understanding the socio-political context and managing policies in constant dialogue with important sectors of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetishism is one of the fundamental concepts of Marx’s critique of political economy. The goal of this paper is to explore the relationship between the concept of fetishism and the concept of ideology, i.e. to consider the ways in which the concept of fetishism can be related to theories of ideology developed by Marx himself and Marxist theorists. Conception of fetishism in Marx’s critique of political economy is presented in the first part of the paper, while the second part explores various Marxist interpretations of ideology, with an emphasis on the distinction between critique of ideology and theory of ideology. The third part of the paper focuses on the conception of modernity developed by contemporary Marxist theorist Jacques Bidet. His theory, which heavily relies on Marx’s insights, provides an original solution to the problem of the relationship between ideology and fetishism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this paper offer an overview and analysis of the rise and fall of the liberal international order that emerged after the end of the Cold War and along with the rising power of the United States. The foreign policy agenda of the post-Cold War sole superpower was guided by the idea of creating a global order based on the ideology of liberalism, which incorporates theories of liberal peace, democratic peace and neoliberal institutionalism. The establishment of a liberal order has been accompanied by numerous political, social, economic and security crises. The current era is characterized by the rise of the relative power of global actors, primarily China and Russia, as the main challengers to the world domination of the United States, geopolitical revisionism and ideological struggle around the world. The authors of this paper use the dialectic of political mechanics as a method that relies on the teachings of Friedrich Hegel on the dialectic of history and Carl Schmitt on the phenomenon of the political. The authors advocate the view that the political field “permanently pulsates”, which, in everything that is social and political, necessarily creates action and reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the occasion of the hundredth anniversary, this paper analyses the political, existential and cultural reasons for the rise of the mining revolt in the southeastern part of Istria named The Republic of Labin, during March and April 1921. Characterized by the occupation of mines and wider territory, the organization of life, defence and production “for themselves and their account” during 36/37 days, and finally the conflict between the Italian authorities and the miners, it was organized after similar processes took place throughout Italy. This period (1919-1920), also known as biennio rosso, the red biennium, throughout the Apennine Peninsula would be intensified in September 1920 by the occupation of industrial plants in light and heavy industry. Despite the similarities and connections between the events on the peninsulas, it is the miners of the Labin region – in the wake of advanced revolutionary ideas about “proletarian republics”, “workers’ self-governments” and “mining councils” – who would insist on several significant dynamics and characteristics during the uprising: non-nationality, cooperation with peasantry and ultimately an armed conflict with the authorities. Also, the paper builds upon an anthropological thesis on the specifics of mining communities that made a significant difference in the articulation of these events in relation to the wider working class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores organizing dynamics of Croatian war veterans and the key attributes of membership in veterans’ organizations. We use data from the Register of associations of the Republic of Croatia for the period 1991-2014, as well as data from 2015 survey research on sociodemographic profile, veterans’ identity and political preferences of members of veterans’ organizations. The results show that membership of veterans’ organizations is determined by the war experience, socio-demographic and political factors. Veterans’ organizations are predominantly local in nature, and the key internal divisions are based on victimization and the status of volunteer. Members and non-members of veterans’ organizations significantly differ in political orientations. Members of war veterans organizations are more oriented towards the right side of the political spectrum, indicating that on certain occasions veterans’ organizations could direct the collective action of war veterans in support of right-wing political parties and candidates in the political arena. The paper discusses insights on associational density, differences between members and non-members of veterans’ organizations as well as patterns and cycles of veterans’ organizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on the concept of poverty and its implementation into regulations, policies and practices for the protection of the poor during the period in which socialism was the official doctrine in Yugoslavia (1945-1991). The introductory part of the paper is followed by the Marxist explanations of poverty and their adaptation in socialist Yugoslavia. The description and analysis of poverty during the socialist period in Yugoslavia, as well as its ideological and administrative constructions and reconstructions in and through the social welfare system are put forward in the central part of the paper. The objective of the paper is to present the way that the concept of poverty was framed in the policy field, how it was interpreted, as well as how these policies were implemented with a view to guaranteeing “freedom from necessity” in the society of post-war Yugoslavia. The methodological approach deployed is the qualitative analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with various analyses by Croatian economists of the so-called process of transformation and privatization in the 1990s. In recent decades, especially since the first multi-party parliamentary elections in April 1990, the process of political-economic transformation has not only decisively changed the socio-economic structure of Croatia, but also influenced the Croatian polit-economic thought. By reviewing works by Croatian economists, political economists and sociologists, this paper has the ambition to make a contribution to a new approach of studying the process of transformation and privatization. This paper develops the thesis that the process of transformation and privatization was essentially a restoration of capitalism through primary accumulation of capital. What is also called wild capitalism, cronyism, and even tycoon capitalism – was in fact the usual course of the emergence and development of peripheral capitalism. Its specific feature is connected with the nation-state which had the role of system-maker as well as ruling-classmaker, rather than the other way around – that the ruling class had created its own state and economic system. At the same time, we reject as simplified various conclusions that the transformation and privatization process should have been and could have been more just and fair. In the end, one can better understand the paradox of Croatia starting the process of transformation and privatization as one of the countries with the best features and finishing as one of the most unsuccessful examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the author highlights the contemporary relevance of Machiavelli’s teaching as contained in The Prince and Discourses. In a dialogue with Claude Lefort and his groundbreaking interpretation of the Florentine (1972), this paper offers an alternative, subversive reading of Machiavelli’s theory of political conflict. At the same time, the author highlights the elements of a specific Machiavellian theory of recognition through a critical engagement with Honneth (1995). The author argues that the fundamentally democratic character of Machiavelli’s project is directly related to the ability of the plebs to recognize their novel function in the social field and to audaciously adopt queer “identity”. This is made possible only with the help and the support of the prince. In the text, the plebs represent a dynamic collation of diverse groups (of Others) which are being oppressed in the society. The plebs are invited to transform their desire not to be oppressed into a positive desire “to be” and become in such a way that enables them to maintain their difference in contrast to the greats. By discovering the “self” as a place of radical alterity, the plebs ceaselessly invent new modes of being which are opposed to the “regimes of the normal”. In this way the plebs become an inexhaustible source of innovations which are available for the entire citizenry. Queering of the plebs enables a higher degree of (our) common being in the society. The strength of a democratic society directly depends on the vitality of the plebs’ desire and their ability to imagine, produce and sustain new modes of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the relevance of Marx’s analysis of capital and the manner in which that contribution is presented in the book on Marx’s critique of political economy written by Dag Strpić. At the beginning of the paper, the author indicates some elements of the general theoretical framework within which Strpić formulated his research on Marx’s critique of political economy. The paper raises two fundamental questions concerning Marx’s critique of political economy: 1. Can a fundamental starting point be drawn from Marx’s theoretical framework for understanding the importance of institutions in the economic process, as seen by the representatives of old and new institutionalism in political economy? 2. Can a unique explanation of economic crises be derived from reading Marx’s categorical apparatus? The answer to the first question shows that there are certain similarities between Marx’s approach and the approach advocated by economic institutionalists, but also there exist significant differences between the two approaches. The answer to the second question shows that Marx did not develop a unique theory of crises, since there are arguments indicating the existence of two or three different crisis theories which can be found in his work. After that, the author shows, using most general terms, that Marx’s critique of political economy is primarily situated by his attitude towards the classical school, but that it also has some potential to correspond with modern economics. The author shows that the direction of correspondence refers primarily to the explanation of fundamental tendencies in the development of the capitalist system. The conclusion of the paper reviews some of Strpić’s fundamental contributions to political economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the notion of alienation in a dual sense: first, as a significant articulation of philosophical and sociological problems in Yugoslav socialist thought and beyond, but also as a very present accentuation of the work conditions detected in industry. This double position builds a partial comparison with and analysis of the context of today's working conditions in the "cognitariat" sector, but from which detection of alienation is almost completely removed and replaced with terms such as "hopelessness", "indifference", "futility", "self-exploitation", or "burnout". The paper interprets the lack of such substitution, since alienation, despite the constantly emphasized abstractness of its meaning, connotes criticism, change and overcoming the current issues. This implies strong effort towards disalienation, which is not the case with the mentioned substitutive terms. For this reason, linguistic analysis and attempts to answer the question on the possibility of speaking and analysing a part of today's, especially working, conditions in terms of alienation are a dominant part of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a complex state union composed of two entities and three constituent peoples. This fact is a consequence of the 1992-95 civil war, which changed the ethnic structure of BiH. From the institutional perspective, the two entities were given in Dayton a high level of political autonomy. The so-called "entity veto" was created in Dayton, and it is implemented by many key political bodies - from the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Beside that, it is argued that BiH lacks the "internal recognition" and many of the political actors advocate radical constitutional changes which would disrupt or even completely change the "Dayton" architecture of BiH. Because of that it is not surprising that secessionist rhetoric exists in BiH's political sphere. The secessionist rhetoric in the Republic of Srpska (RS) will be analysed in this paper and possible secessionist strategy will be described. The aim of this paper is to determine whether secessionist arguments, rhetoric and possibly politics represent an integral strategy and coherent political platform, or whether they are just generated for daily political purposes. Authors will also try to determine whether this secessionist rhetoric is "institutionalised", i.e. whether it is present in official documents of RS institutions and/or major political parties, or just in the activities of social movements and/or individual political subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marxist theory, as all other theories, is subject to the consequences of the division of labour into the material and the mental one. In The German Ideology Marx marked this division as the first real division of labour in class societies. Regarding Marxism itself, the consequences of this division are very obvious especially within the phenomenon of so-called Western Marxism, but most of all in post-Marxist transformations. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to apply the method of historical materialism to post-Marxism itself and to describe and explain the transformations of revolutionary subjectivities which follow this mutation in Marxist theory. Before that, it is necessary to roughly outline the periodization of Marxism relying on some terms coined by Perry Anderson and, on that trajectory, to present post-Marxism as the second phase of Western Marxism. Thus, the central part of the paper focuses on the main characteristics of post-Marxism such as replacement of class politics with identity politics, the particularisation and fragmentation of social struggles, and their cooptation in the dominant socio-political framework. All of that is accompanied by remarks on some changes in the relations of production and the concomitant neoliberal turn in the economic, political and cultural agenda. In order to allow for a better understanding of it all, a short review of some post-Marxist forerunners and theoretical concepts which have noticeably influenced post-Marxist theories is offered. This is followed by explanations of the most prominent examples of the constitution of different revolutionary subjectivities in some post-Marxist theories. Finally, the necessity of overcoming these particular positions and theoretically affirming universalism, including its practico-political importance and potentiality, is emphasized. This paves the way for the return to the historical sources of Marxism, which are what allowed for its auto-reflexivity in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the authors analyze the emotions of survivors of the camp system Gospić-Jadovno-Pag, where people of Serb and Jewish ethnic descent were murdered during the summer of 1941, as well as communists and other political enemies of the ustashi regime. The approach to the study of emotions is based on the eyewitness accounts published by the historian Đuro Zatezalo. The paper starts with an analysis of the emotions in history with a particular emphasis on the testimonies of survivors as a distinctive and extremely important source in the studies of the Holocaust and genocide. Afterwards, the authors examine the intentions of those who collected the testimonies, as well as memories and emotions as aspects which a historian who researches testimonies ought to have in mind. A description of the impact of race laws issued by the Independent State of Croatia is provided together with an overview of the history of the camp system Gospić-Jadovno-Pag, followed by an analysis of the emotives expressed in the testimonies, with the focus on the emotions of fear, anxiety, hope and joy. The relation between recollection and emotions is also discussed, in addition to the way in which the flow of time can alter the intensity and the contents of emotion, which can provide a valuable methodological insight to the researchers focusing on the history of genocide and oral history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the decisionist approach to organization theory and presents the work of American Nobel laureate Herbert Simon as its chief representative. Information is collected from the work written by Simon himself, from books and papers authored by other people, most notably his close associates and critics, as well as Croatian literature dealing with decision-making in organizations and decision-making in general. Although his extraordinary contribution to several disciplines is recognized in the domestic literature, there is no systematic overview of Simon's work. This paper aims to fill this void. First part of the paper tackles the basic concepts of Simon's decisionmaking theory: rationality of decision-making and, in particular, bounded rationality, search for a satisfying solution (satisficing), heuristics, and differentiation between programmed and non-programmed decisions. The paper proceeds by presenting Simon's understanding of decision-making within the organizational setting. It is argued that Simon's understanding of organizations is anchored in the differentiation between two types of decisions: decision to participate and decision to produce (intraorganizational decisions). Finally, the last part of the paper explores criticism of Simon's work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main hypothesis of the paper is that Orientalism, as a form of cultural violence, represents a long-term historical structure which is reproduced through discourses and practices of various social systems. The authors apply genealogy and longue durée approaches to analyze discourses of colonialism, antisemitism, nationalism, and humanitarianism, indicating the long-lasting identity division along the West-East (Orient) axis, as well as continuity of the cultural content that implies the superiority of the Self and the inferiority of the Other. The analysis also shows that all these discourses, although mutually different, can be rooted in the Orientalist matrix and thus become instruments for legitimizing and justifying various forms of indirect (repression, exploitation) and direct violence (wars, genocide, ethnic cleansing). The paper aims to understand the different forms of violence and their complexity as precondition for violence prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze attitudes of members of the legal professions in Croatia and Serbia with regards to the judicial systems - the trust in judicial institutions and satisfaction with their performance. In the first part of the paper we present arguments of the cultural and institutional approach to explaining the foundations of trust in institutions, then define the characteristics of a "good" judiciary in the context of the democratic rule of law, and present the socio-political context of judicial reform in both countries over the last twenty years. In the second, empirical part of the paper we analyze the data collected through the online survey conducted among members of the legal professions in 2018 in Croatia and Serbia. The results from both countries show a low level of trust in judiciary and deep dissatisfaction with the functioning of judiciary on a list of dimensions. Our analysis confirms the link between (dis)trust in institutions and (dis)satisfaction with their work and thus also the assumptions of the institutional perspective on trust. We conclude that the obtained results point to an "internal" crisis of trust in judiciary in both countries, which accompanies the evident "external" crisis of the Serbian judiciary and the latent tensions in and around the Croatian judiciary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze the influence of populist ideas on the emergence and organization of new political parties in Serbia after the elections in 2007 and 2008. These elections represent the turning point in the development of the party system because only after the pro-European consensus among Democrats and Socialists was formed, the division within Serbian Radical Party occurred and the ideological space occupied by the relevant parties has narrowed. On the other hand, high level of distrust in politics among the citizens and lowering of the state of democracy facilitate the emergence of new actors who are, almost by rule, under the influence of the growing wave of populism in the world. In this paper, we apply the ideational approach to populism and, using the new actors as example, we aim to identify ideological and organizational variations which can develop under the influence of populism, as well as differences which emerge from the interpretation of populism in Serbia compared to some other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines distinctiveness of war veterans compared to general population in Croatia according to three important political phenomena: political participation, party preferences and ideological self-identification. Analysis of sociological survey conducted in 2015 shows that there is no difference in the level of political participation measured by voting turnout in 2011 and 2015 parliamentary and 2015 presidential level between Croatian war veterans and the rest of the public. On the other side, war veterans differ from the rest of the electorate, with other variables held constant, in terms of party preferences and ideological self-identification. Compared to non-veterans, war veterans are more inclined to vote for the right and center-right parties and position themselves to the right side of the political spectrum. The paper discusses these differences, as well as its roots and consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper the authors address three research topics. First, the authors show that inequality of the distribution of gross and net wages in Croatia has increased during the period examined in this paper, thus showing that the First stylized fact about the increase of inequality recognized in the literature is present in Croatia. Second, they show the same is true for the Second stylized fact that concerns changes in the top end of the distribution. Third, that the changes in the Atkinson index and the relationships of the top and bottom tails of the distribution also conform to the stylized facts. The analysis in the paper is limited to changes in the inequality of the distribution of net (take home) and gross wages in Croatia after 2000. Inequality is measured by standard measures of economic inequality. The analysis of the paper contributes to the relatively poor understanding of levels and changes in economic inequality in Croatia generally and wage inequality specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens’ involvement in the regulatory process has become a very prominent issue in administrative science and practice. Despite growing and more refined interest in the topic, the complex issue of public participation effectiveness still preoccupies scholars. The existing research generally recognizes the desirability to recognize the perspectives of different actors involved in the participatory process. It also points at the existence of various actors’ perceptions with regard to participation effectiveness. Public consultations represent a common instrument of administrative participation. In Croatia, public consultations (e-consultations since 2013) represent a rather novel instrument for involving the public in the regulatory process, which has not undergone wide scientific analysis. The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitudes of two main categories of actors involved in e-consultations – civil servants and interested public (participants) – in order to answer the research question regarding the existence of different perceptions of e-consultations effectiveness. Research findings, obtained by means of questionnaires and interviews, suggest that civil servants’ and participants’ attitudes significantly differ in the evaluation of public influence as well as in the detection of the main problems related to e-consultations implementation, while the perceptions of the main purposes of e-consultations vary only moderately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to critically assess Quentin Skinner’s linguistic contextualism by using the perspective of Laclau and Mouffe’s theory of hegemony. It strives to show that the theory of hegemony can offer a sort of middle way in the currently dominant discussion between so-called textualists and contextualists. By insisting on the strategic aspect of context in the interpretation of political discourses, Laclau and Mouffe are introducing a model of contextualization that does not follow traditional dichotomies between history and philosophy or particularity of context and universality of ideas. The strategic role of context would simultaneously represent a symptom of the deeper stratification of political language and meaning, and would function as a tool of the transformation of that very context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In The Mandrake, Machiavelli uses the form of a comedic play to point at a way of establishing a constitution suitable for people who put their personal interest before the common good. In this paper we first present the play’s characters as champions of an age that is radically deprived of sense and purpose. In Ligurio’s plan to win over the beautiful but married Lucretia, we recover the guidelines for the peaceful creation of a new constitution within the shadows of the old political system which, debilitated and weak, offers no resistance. Finally, in this seemingly frivolous play, we uncover a pathway to a hidden revolution, accomplished by the statesman’s bravado and his advisor’s cunning. We conclude that in The Mandrake Machiavelli sketches up the scenario which never got sufficient attention in his other works: how to establish a good constitution within a corrupt republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a comparative study composed of four studies conducted between 1997 and 2015. The authors examine the connotative meaning of politically relevant concepts in 18-19 years old students from various types of secondary schools. The connotative meaning is an additional, emotionally colored meaning of words, and this coloration originates from the social environment and the spirit of the times. Therefore, with the changes of this meaning it is possible to follow the changes of dominant social values and social climate. The sample consisted of a total of 750 students assessing the following concepts, at four time points (sub-samples at these points were balanced in terms of socio-demographic characteristics): nation, nationalism, socialism, leader, democracy, peace, left, right, present and future. Each of the concepts is examined by Ozgud's scale of semantic differential, through 12 opposing pairs of adjectives like bad - good or worthless - worthy. The results showed considerable variation in both: 12 adjective pairs on each single concept at a single point in time - giving a more subtle profile of meaning than in case of a general assessment of the concepts - and over time. The variations over the years give indications of a change in social climate and values, at least in the generation of young people, in these turbulent two decades in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How could we rethink and organize memories of the Left in an operational and active way? How could one openly confront the Left-Wing culture of defeat? The paper considers some dimensions of the Left-Wing defeat after 1989, the nature of the linear and the contingent time, various defeat experiences of fascism and liberalism and the dialectic of hope and disappointment. One should reject the language of psychoanalysis (longing, nostalgia, sorrow, melancholy) and the teleological vision of the neoliberal winner. The Left Wing and Right Wing should be understood in new dimensions of time within a new relationship between Cairos and Chronos in the digital age. The Left needs self-reflective review of its own mistakes, if it wants to learn lessons for the future. Theory can awake practical ambition. A desirable multilayered Left-Wing memory has been damaged by dominance of one type of memory. The Left needs self-control and a balanced memory of both badly missing socialist welfare state and its own violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper begins with an overview of contemporary liberal-egalitarian theories in order to show the diversity among different understandings of justice. Then, the paper draws a borderline between luck egalitarianism (Arneson, G. A. Cohen, Roemer) and a pro-democratic, relational egalitarianism (Rawls, J. Cohen, Anderson, Barry) that focuses on the society's structure, i.e. the production of its inner relations. The following part introduces the idea of reflective equilibrium and its theoretical benefits in terms of "de-metaphysised" ethics. Furthermore, this part elaborates Dworkin's liberal principle of justice as the basis of his liberal moral doctrine. Finally, the paper shows that a "de-metaphysised" ethics could not be equated with the conception of justice as mutual advantage, and neither is it lost in an Archimedean skepticism. By referring to Barry's work, the paper elaborates the idea of justice as impartiality through the debate between moral objectivism and skepticism. The paper ends with synthesising a conclusion of the previous three parts. Also, it defines justice as implied by Rawls' liberal egalitarianism. Ultimately, the paper identifies the need for further research of the topic that would elaborate and answer the questions highlighted by this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the link between Kant's "Perpetual peace" and the democratic peace paradigm with which contemporary International Relations are being interpreted. In doing so, the monadic and dyadic versions of liberal theory of democratic peace are explained through the institutional-structural and cultural-normative models. The theory of democratic peace is critically analyzed, with emphasis on the causal relationship between the independent variable, the democratic regime, and the dependent variable, peace. Empirical studies of cases in which the crises among democratic states have not resulted in war are also questioned, which brings into doubt the causal logic of the theory itself. In critical thought about the democratic peace theory, special emphasis is placed on the realistic interpretation of causes that are believed to contribute to democratic peace, as well as on the existence of the so-called "democratic war". There exist a number of factors explaining this foreign policy behavior of democracies and their hiding behind the theses of the theory of democratic peace. An example is the position of power that democracy occupies in International Relations, with which, aside from liberal dependent variables, realistic variables must be taken into account as well, such as the concentration of power, economic interdependence and national interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]