Economic constraints of defense reform in SEE

Defence reforms in general and building of new military capability in particular affect the national defence environment as much as these exogenous variables affect it. A combination of government economic policies, reduced defence budget ceilings, the projected further decline in defence expenditures and escalating manpower and equipment costs serve to put severe constraints on what armed forces can and can not do in the future. Armed forces depend on the government and parliament to decide what annual amount of money they are to receive from the public purse. The government\u27s approach to the question of how much to spend on defence is a time tested one. Beside the total amount per year which state can reasonably afford for defence, there is another principal issue where levels of defence expenditures are concerned. The broad alternatives of SEE countries to downward pressures on defence expenditures are clear: either “drown down” the number of defence and security commitments or finding ways of achieving more by ways of operational effectiveness with progressively less money and fewer resources

Military privatization and Slovenia

Namen prispevka: Avtorji v prispevku proučujejo fenomen privatizacije vojaške dejavnosti in oddajanje storitev na vojaškem področju zasebnim izvajalcem v svetu in v Sloveniji. Metode: V ta namen so uporabljene ključne kvalitativne metode, kot so analiza primarnih in sekundarnih virov, deskriptivna metoda, analiza vsebin ter študije praktičnih primerov. Ugotovitve: V svetu zasebna vojaška in varnostna podjetja vse bolj prevzemajo vojaške naloge, kot so usposabljanje, obveščevalna in varnostna zagotovitev, logistična podpora in deli inženirske zagotovitve (razminiranje), ter s tem omogočajo oboroženim silam, da se ukvarjajo s ključnimi nalogami bojevanja. Čeprav nekatera zasebna vojaška podjetja kažejo vedno večjo željo za sodelovanje v bojnih operacijah, pa trenutno še ni velikih potreb po tovrstnih storitvah. Ni dvoma, da bo v Sloveniji, podobno kot je že v številnih drugih državah, kmalu dozorela in zaživela primerna ideja oz. pobuda za prodor zasebnega kapitala na področje nacionalne obrambe. Zato, da bo res uspešna bo treba pred tem izdelati strokovno neodvisno stroškovno analizo, kaj se znotraj Slovenske vojske splača zadržati in kaj oddati, ter analizo ponudbe, ki bo proučila kvaliteto in koristi zasebnega interesa na drugi strani. Temu pa bi morala hkrati slediti tudi politična volja, da omogoči potrebne spremembe in dopolnitve naše zakonodaje na tem področju. Omejitve/uporabnost raziskave V teoretičnem delu se analiza omejuje predvsem na ekonomske vidike vojaške privatizacije na sploh. Po drugi strani pa se naša empirična analiza omejuje na pravni in izkustveni vidik vojaške privatizacije v Sloveniji, zato ostaja odprto vprašanje stroškovne smotrnosti in učinkovitosti tovrstnega početja pri nas. Praktična uporabnost: Prispevek podaja pregled nad procesom vojaške privatizacije na sploh. Z analizo zakonodaje in študij primerov pa nakazuje, kaj vse je v Sloveniji še treba narediti, da bodo tudi pri nas nastale in obstale različne vrste zasebnih vojaških podjetij. Izvirnost/pomembnost prispevka: Prispevek celovito proučuje pojav privatizacije vojaške dejavnosti in oddajanje storitev na vojaškem področju zunanjim izvajalcem v svetu. Hkrati poskuša podati nekoliko drugačno klasifikacijo različnih vrst dejavnosti, ki so podvržene vojaški privatizaciji. Ta tako poleg zunanjega oddajanja storitev nacionalnih oboroženih sil vključuje tudi zunanje oddajanje storitev v mednarodnih (varnostnih) organizacijah. Prispevek, kot eden prvih, proučuje tudi pravne in izkustvene možnosti ter ovire za ustanovitev zasebnega vojaškega podjetja v Sloveniji.Purpose: In this paper, authors analyse the phenomenon of privatization of military activities and outsourcing of military services to private companies in the world and in Slovenia. Design/Methods/Approach: For this purpose, qualitative methods, such as analysis of primary and secondary sources, descriptive method, content analysis, and case studies are used. Findings: Private military and security companies are increasingly taking over military duties, such as training, intelligence and security operations, logistic and engineering support (de-mining), thereby allowing the armed forces to deal with their core business - combat. Although some private military companies also show an increasing desire to participate in combat operations, there is no need for such services yet. There is no doubt that in Slovenia, like previously in many other countries, a proper initiative for the entering of private capital in the area of national defence will mature, sooner or later. For such an initiative to be successful, an expert independent cost analysis of what is worth keeping inside the Slovenian Armed Forces and what to outsource needs to be done. At the same time, an analysis of the supply taking into account quality of the benefits of private interests needs to be done. This process will have to be followed by a political will to allow the necessary changes and amendments to Slovene legislation in this field. Research Limitations / Implications: The theoretical part of the analysis is limited primarily to the economic aspects of military privatization in general. On the other hand, our empirical analysis is limited to the legal and experiential aspects of military privatization in Sloveniatherefore, the question of cost-effectiveness and efficiency of this kind of action in Slovenia remains open Practical Implications: The paper provides an overview of the process of privatization of the military in general. Analysing the legislation and taking into account relevant case studies, it indicates what has to be done that different kinds of private military companies could be established and operate successfully in Slovenia. Originality/Value: The paper examines the phenomenon of military privatization and outsourcing of military activities in the world. At the same time, it tries to give a slightly different classification of diversified types of activities that are subject to military privatization. In addition to outsourcing military services of national armed forces, it also includes the outsourcing in international (security) organizations. The article is also among the first to examine legal and experiential opportunities and obstacles in establishing private military companies in Slovenia

Ekonomski in socialno-psihološki dejavniki poklicne izbire

Številne ekonomske in socialno-ekonomske teorije poskušajo sistematično povezati glavne dejavnike odločanja na trgu delovne sile. Z vprašanjem o kotekstualni pogojenosti posameznikovih osebnih izbir na trgu delovne sile pa se poleg ekonomskih in socioloških poglobljeno ukvarjajo tudi različne psihološke teorije poklicne izbire. Tako kot teorije poklicne izbire so tudi teorije o odločanju posameznikov za zaposlitev v oboroženih silah raznolike in so del različnih znanstvenih področij. Ekonomske teorije so tako usmerjene predvsem na sredstva za pridobivanje in zadrževanje človeških virov v oboroženih silah in razmere v gospodarstvu, socialno-psihološke pa so bolj usmerjene na lastnosti posameznika in na posameznikove odločitve, njegove vrednote in socialne pritiske nanj. Slovenska vojska je s prehodom na poklicni način popolnjevanja vstopila na konkurenčen trg delovne sile, na katerem glede na zahtevnost dela, ki ga zahteva, težko tekmuje. Proučevanje interesa slovenske mladine za zaposlitev v oboroženih silah je tako poleg samega empiričnega preverjanja teoretičnih izhodišč v zvezi s poklicno izbiro na sploh postalo tudi zelo aktualno za zagotavljanje primerne in racionalne politike zaposlovanja v Slovenski vojski.A number of economic and socio-economic theories try to systematically link key the decision-making factors of the labour market. In addition various economic, sociological and psychological theories of occupational choices focus on the issue of the contextual conditionality of the individual\u27s personal choices in the labour market. The theories on the individualʼs propensity to enlist are like, the theories of occupational choices, very heterogeneous and are part of a diverse range of scientific disciplines. Economic ones are primarily oriented towards resources for manning and the retention of military manpower and towards national economic conditions, while socio-psychological ones are more focused on the individualʼs characteristics and decisions, his/her values, and social pressures on him. With the transition to professional manning, the Slovenian armed forces entered the competitive labour market in which, according to the complexity of the work required, it hardly competes. Therefore, the study of Slovenian the propensity of youth to enlist has become, in addition to empirical verification of theoretical issues related to occupational choice in general, very topical for providing the appropriate and rational employment policy for the Slovenian armed forces