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Elderly people in the developed world are generally the strongest growing age group and their political clout has increased significantly due to these demographic trends. As both young people and the elderly are important beneficiaries of key public policies (e.g. education, care), the competition for already insufficient resources is fierce and may result in either fabricated or true intergenerational conflicts. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways contemporary representative democracies suffer from legitimacy issues related to political participation and the representation of underrepresented groups, primarily young people, as well as to discuss approaches allowing alienated groups to become fully involved in the political process. The article initially explains the evidence behind claims of the emerging new social and consequently political conflict between young people and the elderly, primarily signalling the reversed flow of intergenerational transfers in high-income countries with lower fertility rates. After detailed scrutiny of the problems of legitimacy and representation as related to generational inequity, the article concludes with a discussion about approaches to improving agency and revising the political structure so as to allow for inclusive governance processes and a more democratic polity. V razvitem svetu starejši navadno veljajo za najhitreje rastočo starostno skupino. Posledice demografskih sprememb hkrati pomenijo tudi pretakanje vse večje numerične moči v politično moč. Ker so tako mladi kot starejši pomembni koristniki ključnih javnih politik, ki se nanašajo na blaginjo (t.j., izobraževalna politika, zdravstvena politika, oskrba), se tekmovanje za omejena sredstva lahko prenese na politično polje in manifestira kot navidezen ali dejanski medgeneracijski konflikt. Namen tega prispevka je pregledati plati, po katerih sodobne predstavniške demokracije trpijo za pomanjkanjem demokratične legitimnosti, predvsem ko gre za vprašanja politične participacije in predstavništva podreprezentiranih družbenih skupin, kot je na primer mladina. Prispevek prav tako razpravlja o pristopih, ki omogočajo omenjenim družbenim skupinam, da postanejo polno vključeni v politične procese, še posebej ko gre za institucionalno politiko. Razprava se osredotoča na pristope opolnomočenja posameznikov in preoblikovanja politične strukture, da bi ta omogočala vključujoče procese vladanja in nasploh bolj demokratične politične institucije.

Universities are tasked with providing rigorous education and training for successful entry into disciplinary and professional fields. Their instrumental roles are situated within broader commitments to political communities through cultural stewardship. As such, the process of socializing students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of democratic citizenship is a complementary and acute obligation of institutions of higher education. Student Associations arguably serve as strategic enablers of this key responsibility through their unique identities as laboratories of shared governance. When students participate in co-creating their educational and community experiences, the dividends for learning and development escalate. The deliberative processes and activities of student associations resemble those ideal in the broader civil society and should be supported. We suggest that the respective aspirations and impact of universities and student associations are mutually bound though an experiential curriculum of democratic citizenship. Hence, we propose that it is in universities' interest to provide and protect funding for student associations and their activities. Poslanstvo univerz je zagotavljanje kakovostnega izobraževanja in usposabljanja za uspešen prehod na profesionalna in disciplinarna polja. Prav tako pa je omenjena, bolj instrumentalna funkcija univerz, vpeta v njihovo širše predajanje političnim skupnostim skozi različne oblike kulturnega skrbništva. Tako proces socializacije študentov z znanjem in veščinami kakovostnega demokratičnega državljanstva lahko razumemo kot komplementarno in nujno dolžnost visokošolskih institucij. Študentsko organiziranje služi kot strateški fasilitator omenjene dolžnosti, saj so ravno ta okolja laboratoriji skupnega demokratičnega odločanja. Ko študenti participirajo pri soustvarjanju svojih izobraževalnih in skupnostnih izkušenj, se potencialni učinki na učenje in vsesplošen razvoj skokovito povečajo. Deliberativni procesi in aktivnosti študentskega združevanja hkrati močno spominjajo na procese demokratičnega udejstvovanja v širši družbi ter imajo lahko nanje tudi blagodejen učinek. V prispevku zagovarjamo stališče, da je procese študentskega udejstvovanja vredno zaščititi in podpirati, saj študentsko organiziranje predstavlja pomemben vidik izkustvenega kurikula državljanske vzgoje v visokem šolstvu ter tako pomembno prispeva tudi k izpolnjevanju demokratične funkcije univerze ter njenem doprinosu k izgradnji demokratične politične skupnosti.

The paper discusses the degree of normative sustainability achieved by selected regimes according to their sustainable development strategies. Focussing on Agenda 21, the Mediterranean Strategy of Sustainable Development, the European Union’s renewed Sustainable Development Strategy and Slovenia’s Development Strategy, the paper draws on Becker et al.’s cross-disciplinary concept of sustainability and the operationalisation of normative sustainability. On the basis of the analysis of objectives and rationales behind the investigated strategies as well as examination of the general context, the paper puts forward the differences between the examined regimes and explores the possible factors inducing them. The paper concludes with a general observation that the analyzed regimes reflect a fair degree of normative sustainability.

Introduction. The study focuses on the programmatic bases of Slovenian political parties since independence. It presents an analysis of party programs and their preferences regarding doctors and other health workers, as well as the contents most commonly related to them. At the same time, the study also highlights the intensity of the presence of doctors on the policy agenda through time. Methods. In the study, 83 program documents of political parties have been analysed. The study includes programmes of political parties that have occurred in parliamentary elections in Slovenia between 1992 and 2014 and have exceeded the parliamentary threshold. The data were analysed using the content analysis method, which is suitable for analysing policy texts. The analysis was performed using ATLAS.ti, the premier software tool for qualitative data analysis. Results. The results showed that doctors and other health workers are an important political topic in noncrisis periods. At that time, the parties in the context of doctors mostly dealt with efficiency and the quality of services in the health system. They often criticize doctors and expose the need for their control. In times of economic crisis, doctors and other health workers are less important in normative commitments of parties. Conclusions. Slovenian political parties and their platforms cannot be distinguished ideologically, but primarily on the principle of access to government. It seems reasonable to conclude that parties do not engage in dialogue with doctors, and perceive the latter aspassive recipients of government decisions-politics. Izhodišča. Študija se osredotoča na programsko podlago delovanja slovenskih političnih strank po osamosvojitvi. Predstavlja analizo strankarskih programov in njihovih stališč do zdravnikov in drugih zdravstvenih delavcev ter vsebine, s katerimi jih najpogosteje povezujejo. Ob tem študija izpostavlja tudi intenzivnost prisotnosti zdravnikov na dnevnem redu politike skozi čas. Metode. V študiji je analiziranih 83 programskih dokumentov političnih strank, ki so med letoma 1992 in 2014 nastopile na volitvah v Državni zbor in presegle parlamentarni prag. Podatki so analizirani s pomočjo metode analize vsebine, ki je primerna za analizo političnih besedil. Analiza je bila izvedena s pomočjo programskega orodja za analizo kvalitativnih podatkov ATLAS.ti. Rezultati. Rezultati so pokazali, da so zdravniki in drugi zdravstveni delavci pomembna politična tema v obdobjih, ko ni kriz. Takrat se stranke v povezavi z zdravniki največ ukvarjajo z njihovo učinkovitostjo in kakovostjo storitev v zdravstvenem sistemu, pri čemer se pogosto izpostavljajo tudi kritike zdravnikov in potreba po njihovem nadzoru. V času gospodarske krize se kaže manjša pomembnost zdravnikov in drugih zdravstvenih delavcev v normativnem delovanju strank. Zaključki. Slovenske politične stranke se v svojih programskih izhodiščih ne ločijo po ideološki liniji, temveč predvsem po načelu dostopa do oblasti. Zaključiti velja, da stranke dialogu z zdravniki ne posvečajo pozornosti in dojemajo zdravnike kot pasivne prejemnike odločitev vlade oziroma politike.

On the basis of civil society research in Slovenia, the authors analyse the empowerment of civil society organisations as carriers of civil dialogue. The analysis shows that in Slovenia civil society organisations have general support from the government and that they are invited to participate in the preparation of policies, yet their actual role and contribution to social welfare and cohesion is disregarded. Slovenia is still in the process forming the structure for the actual implementation of civil dialogue and shows a clear discrepancy between the activity (and scope) of civil society and its influence within society and towards the state. The analysis shows that in Slovenia the relationship between civil society organisations and the state can be placed in the model of "separate autonomy", characterised by low government financing and the moderate autonomy of civil society organisations as well as a low level of communication and contacts between civil society organisations and the state. Hence, the conclusion is that the level of the civil society sector's empowerment in Slovenia is relatively low. V članku na podlagi podatkov raziskav civilne družbe v Sloveniji analiziramo stanje opolnomočenosti civilnodružbenih organizacij kot nosilk civilnega dialoga. Izsledki za Slovenijo kažejo, da imajo civilnodružbene organizacije sicer načelno podporo vlade, so tudi povabljene k pripravi politik, kljub temu pa sta njihova dejanska vloga in njihov prispevek k družbeni blaginji in koheziji spregledana. Slovenija je še vedno v fazi oblikovanja zametka strukture za dejansko izvajanje civilnega dialoga ter kaže jasno razhajanje med aktivnostjo (in obsegom) civilne družbe in njenim vplivom v družbi in državi. Na podlagi izvedene analize odnos med državo in civilno družbo v Sloveniji umeščamo v model "ločene avtonomnosti", za katerega so značilne nizka stopnja državnega financiranja, srednja stopnja avtonomije organizacij civilne družbe ter nizka stopnja komunikacije in stikov med organizacijami civilne družbe in državo. Na podlagi tega zaključujemo, da je stopnja opolnomočenosti sektorja civilne družbe v Sloveniji nizka.

In this article, we analyse selected institutional, contextual and personal variables previously proven to have an effect on the level of democratic deliberation in representative bodies. Selected theoretical propositions were tested on a sample of statements derived from a series of parliamentary debates on the so-called Family Act (Marriage and Family Relations Act) that has divided Slovenian politics and society. Initially, the authors present the current state-of-the-art in the field on the basis of a brief literature review of key determinants affecting parliamentary debates. In the second part of the article, on the basis of empirical scrutiny of the exposed determinants the authors assert that the interplay of institutional and personal determinants impacts the level of democratic deliberation, whereby the personal component has proven to have the most equivocal and theoretically sound effect on democratic deliberation in the Slovenian parliament. V članku je analiziran vpliv izbranih institucionalnih kontekstualnih in osebnostnih dejavnikov na stopnjo demokratične deliberacije v parlamentarni razpravi o t. i. Družinskem zakoniku. V prvem delu članka avtorja predstavita analizo obstoječe literature ter argumente, na podlagi katerih bi lahko pričakovali večjo oziroma manjšo stopnjo vpliva analiziranih dejavnikov na stopnjo demokratične deliberacije v izbranem primeru. Na podlagi izvedene analize avtorja ugotovita, da na stopnjo demokratične deliberacije v analiziranem primeru vpliva splet institucionalnih in osebnostnih dejavnikov, pri čemer je moč zaznati izrazito jasen in teoretsko skladen vpliv osebnostnega dejavnika. Po drugi strani, institucionalni dejavniki in strankarski kontekst ne kažejo jasnega vpliva na raven demokratične deliberacije, prav tako pa so ponekod njihovi učinki tudi v nasprotju s teoretskimi predpostavkami.

In the paper we first present relevant discourse about higher education, the labour market and graduates' 'employability'. Second, we discuss general changes in the work of academics and administrators, and problematize the characteristics and particularities of their hybridization. Building on this, we generate a holistic conceptual and research model that questions how the external 'employability' societal and policy drivers are related to a wide range of work in academia (e.g. curricular developments, management and reaccreditations, university-business cooperation, public relations, career success evidence, etc.). Finally, we map and identify these areas further and explore differences and similarities among academic, administrational and hybrid jobs. The analysis is based on mixed methods research - an open-ended survey on the profiles of 234 higher education institutions from 20, mainly European, countries, and on 37 expert interviews. The results indicate differences in the priorities of individuals playing different roles within higher education institutions. Contrary to the administrators, who favoured more practically-oriented topics related to training and career-related issues, and the persons in hybrid roles - often called higher education professionals or similarly - who favoured accreditation, quality assurance and higher education management issues, the academics appear to have the most balanced portfolio of priorities, as will be shown below. Moreover, we can identify the omnipresent urgency to be responsive to labour market needs, the increasing adjustment of academic work to bureaucratically infused assessment as well as the ostensible polarization between research and teaching. V članku najprej predstavljamo relevantni diskurz o visokem šolstvu, trgu dela in zaposljivosti diplomantov. Nadalje razpravljamo o splošnih spremembah v delu akademikov in administratorjev ter problematiziramo značilnosti in posebnosti hibridizacije njihovega dela. Na tej podlagi gradimo celosten konceptualni in raziskovalni model, ki prevprašuje, kako zunanji družbeni in javnopolitični pritiski po zaposljivosti vplivajo na razpon del znotraj akademske sfere. Naposled tudi identificiramo in podrobneje raziščemo podrobnosti in razlike v delu akademikov, administratorjev ter njihovih hibridov. Analiza je osnovana na večmetodskem pristopu - odprtem anketnem vprašalniku o profilih 234 visokošolskih ustanov iz 20 evropskih držav ter na 37 intervjujih s strokovnjaki. Rezultati kažejo razlike med prioritetami različnih nosilcev vlog znotraj visokega šolstva. V nasprotju z administratorji, ki preferirajo bolj praktično orientirane tematike, ki so povezane z usposabljanjem in karierami diplomantov, ter hibridnimi vlogami, ki preferirajo akreditacije, zagotavljanje kakovosti in z menedžmentom povezane ravni v visokem šolstvu, akademski delavci kažejo najbolj uravnotežene portfelje prioritet. Še več, identificirali smo vsepovsod prisotno nujo po odzivnosti potrebam s področja trga dela, vse intenzivnejše prilagajanje akademskega dela birokratiziranim postopkom ocenjevanja ter vidno polarizacijo med raziskovanjem ter poučevanjem.

This special issue of Annales emerges from an initial, exploratory screening of the connection between employability and citizenship in the field of education. This introduction briefly sets out the main dilemmas and research questions in the field, locating them within the broader framework of current trends in citizenship education and the development of (higher) education policies. It chiefly focuses on the intersection between two seemingly conflicting concepts of employability and citizenship, which has not been, is not currently, and should not always be the case as a certain contribution to this volume indicates. This introductory part, as well as the special issue as a whole, attempts to put forward conceptual foundations to provide the grounds for the two concepts to speak to each other and signal premises that endanger either the economic, but primarily the civic function of educational institutions, primarily universities. The authors warn that reducing education systems merely to their economic utility may impair their democratic potential significantly. Ta sklop člankov je plod eksploratornega pogleda na stičišče med konceptoma zaposljivosti in državljanstva v kontekstu področja izobraževanja. Uvodnik v ta sklop na kratko predstavi poglavitne dileme in raziskovalna vprašanja, ki se porajajo na tem področju, pri tem pa jih tudi locira v širši okvir aktualnih trendov na področju državljanske vzgoje in razvoja izobraževalnih politik. Temeljno sporočilo osredotočanja na presečišče med zaposljivostjo in državljanstvom je, da sta si ta dva koncepta nasprotujoča zgolj na prvi pogled, kar jasno identificirajo nekateri prispevki znotraj tega sklopa. Uvodnik, kot tudi celoten nabor člankov, predvsem odstirata konceptualne temelje, ki omogočajo komplementarno razumevanje teh dveh konceptov in hkratno delovanje v smeri njunega uveljavljanja. Obenem pa tudi opozarjata na nevarnosti, povezane z ekonomosko, še posebej pa državljansko funkcijo izobraževalnih institucij. V tem kontekstu avtorja poudarjata nevarnost podreditve izobraževalnih sistemov zgolj njihovi ekonomski funkciji, saj je s tem močno ogrožen njihov demokratični potencial.

Researchers in the field and interested members of the public, supported by official statistics, have observed that the measures adopted have failed to produce any significant improvements in the field. 1. Anti-discrimination measures have proved to be ineffective in terms of achieving a balanced representation of women and men in political life. 2. Rather than the anti-discrimination legislation, regime change in the broader sense in the new millennium has in fact played a more significant role in achieving a more balanced representation, descriptively (numbers) as well as symbolically.

This paper attempts a comprehensive account of the Slovenian citizenship regime which has been only partially mapped by national and regional scholarship. The paper draws on a ‘nationalising state’ approach to demonstrate the nature of membership in a polity that emerged on the ruins of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). By considering the influence of the old regime on the incipient conception of citizenship and the nation-building process, the paper depicts the core dynamic in the field for the last two decades. With explorations of the initial determination of citizenry, the regulation of minorities, dual citizens and refugees, popular attitudes, the political elite’s attitudes towards non-ethnic Slovenes, and the impact of Europe, the paper provides evidence for the primacy of an ethno-cultural conception of membership, which is constrained by the embeddedness of the Slovenian citizenship regime within international and supranational frameworks.

Slovenian illicit drugs policy reflects several key characteristics of Central and Eastern European welfare systems. Due to the marginal character of illicit drugs policy in virtually every democratic society, regulation of the field has proven to be even more challenging since it reflects certain core ideological preferences of decision-makers. Being somewhat determined by the path taken for resolving similar issues in the previous regime, the relatively new policy field of illicit drugs has collided with certain supranational initiatives regarding the resolution of drug (ab)use on one hand, and local community initiatives responding to community needs on the other. We investigate the latter by focusing on Local Actin Groups and identify their amphibious nature which derives from the urge to secure funding and stability. Namely, their greater institutionalisation and dependence on public funds may compromise their responsiveness, introduce another gatekeeper for other civil society actors and eventually leave them to the mercy of local public authorities. Slovenska politika do prepovedanih drog izkazuje nekaj ključnih značilnosti sistemov blaginje držav Srednje in Vzhodne Evrope. Kot posledica marginalnega značaja politike prepovedanih drog v domala vseh demokratičnih družbah je regulacija tega javnopolitičnega prostora postala izziv sleherne javne oblasti, saj se skozi omenjeni proces zrcalijo najosnovnejše ideološke preference odločevalcev. Relativno novo javnopolitično področje prepovedanih drog, ki je v določeni meri determinirano tudi z urejanjem podobnih zadev v prejšnjem režimu, je postalo poligon, kjer si stojijo nasproti različne nadnacionalne pobude glede regulacije področja prepovedanih drog na eni strani ter lokalne iniciative, ki se odzivajo na specifične probleme posameznih lokalnih skupnosti, na drugi. V prispevku proučujemo slednje, pri čemer se posebej osredotočimo na lokalne akcijske skupine ter njihovo ambivalentno naravo, ki v veliki meri izvira iz nuje po finančni ter posledično vsesplošni stabilnosti delovanja. V prispevku namreč opozarjamo, da lahko previsoka stopnja institucionalizacije in odvisnosti od javnih sredstev negativno vpliva na odzivnost same organizacije ter vprašanje dolgoročnega obstoja le-te položi v roke javnih oblasti, hkrati pa uveljavi novega "vratarja" za ostale civilnodružbene organizacije znotraj lokalne javnopolitične arene.

In 2004 female candidates won a relatively large proportion of Slovenian MEP seats due to effective institutional engineering and despite the: a)persistent dominating political culture (unfavourable to women in politics);b)predominant party-centric electoral system and election campaign; and c) further marginalisation of female candidates compared to male candidates in the printed media during the party-centric election campaign. Research findings support the thesis found in political party literature asserting political parties adapt to new electoral rules without radically changing how they function and without them struggling to change the dominant political culture and media reporting that is unfriendly to gender equality.

This article is based on a comparative analysis of five major Slovenian parliamentary political parties at the time of the elections of deputies to the European Parliament (EP). The electoral campaigns of individual national political parties were scrutinized, with a special consideration of organizational features and strategic activities linked to the dynamics of the European Union (EU). The essence of the study lies in the detection of changes in political party election activities brought about by the impact of EU processes. The EU’s political, social and economic influence on the national political discourse through analysis of the EP electoral campaign structures and identities complements the more conventional approach to investigating the Europeanization of national political parties, with a conceptual framework based on Ladrech’s (2001) attempt to embrace the Europeanization phenomenon. Consequently, the emphasis is on identifying programmatic and organizational changes, patterns of party competition and relations beyond the national party system. Party references to transnational interactions and networks, cooperation with foreign national and supranational party structures or representatives, the organizational and power relations of electoral campaign teams, the relevance of EU issues and institutions’ assessments and the perception of the pro and contra EU dimension therefore make up the core elements of this paper.

Policies on illicit drug generally reflect the variety of diverse theoretical beliefs. More often than not, they can be classed between the repressive modelat one end and the common-sense model based on the salutogenetic approach on the other. Our survey of the Slovenian institutional framework in the field of the use of illicit drugs, its prevention and the treatment of their consumers reaffirms frequently made observations on the domination of the public health paradigm in the field. The advanced and complex level of the public health sector coincides with the clear deficiencies of social non-governmental sectors. In addition, the modification of the Slovenian policy on illicit drugs towards pathological models have amplified the already existing imbalance in favour of public health institutions and increased the subordination of non-governmental sector. These conclusions are confirmed by an analysis of public spending on drugs, or the "drug budget", which reveals the dominant position of the public health sector and the stability of its funding, something which the non-governmental sector lacks. Politika do prepovedanih drog praviloma izkazije mozaik teoretskih razmišljanjin se giblje od skrajnosti represivnega pa vse do zdravorazumskega modela, ki temelji na načelih demokratičnosti, človekovih pravicah in skrbi zajavno zdravje in mir. Pregled institucionalnega omrežja na področju preprečevanja uporabe drog in obravnave uporabnikov v Sloveniji pritrjuje pogosto podanim domnevam o prevladi javnozdravstvene paradigme na tem področju ob pomanjkljivostih socialnega in nevladnega sektorja. Hkrati so vidni premiki slovenske politike do prepovedanih drog v smeri patoloških modelov, ki so še povečali neravnovesje v korist javnozdravstvenih institucij in povečali podrejenost nevladnega sektorja. Na to kaže tudi razvita plat medikalizacije in podhranjenost programov nevladnih organizacij. Dodaten indikator teh ugotovitev je t. i. "proračun za droge", v katerem močno prevladujejo sredstva, namenjena javnozdravstvenemu sektorju, zato je ta veliko stabilnejši kakor nevladni sektor.