Croatia: Deep-rooted Conflict and Its Resolution.The History of Eastern Slavonia

The conflict between the Croatian government and the Serbian minority in the UNPA zones in Croatia was deep and irreconcilable. The Croatian government tried, at any price to bring the UNPA zones under the authority of Zagreb while the Serbian secessionists wanted to separate the UNPA zones from Croatia and bring it under the authority of Belgrade and Serbia. The conflict between Croats and the ethnic Serbs in Croatia corresponds to the concept of deeply rooted conflict as described by John W. Burton and Donald L. Horowitz. The author analyses the process of negotiations between the Croatian authorities and the local Serbs from the UNPA zone East in the fall of 1995. The ethnic Serbs agreed to a compromise with the Croatian government after they had found themselves in a stalemate. By this term William Zartman understand when one ethnic groups sees no other way out, since all the military and political moves have been blocked for it. The author thinks this is the main reason why the local Serbs in eastern Slavonia agreed to a dialogue, accepted the compromise and signed the Erdut Accord on 12 February 1995

Political and spiritual pluralism in Croatia

Autor naglašava kako je višestranačje, kao prvi oblik političkog pluralizma u Hrvatskoj, bilo snažnim pokretačem nacionalnoga i antikomunističkog duha u Hrvatskoj krajem osamdesetih i početkom devedesetih godina. Ono se, bez obzira na stvaranje novih političkih stranaka, pojavilo kao zbiljski nacionalni pokret koji je doveo do smjenjivanja komunističkih vlasti i, na kraju, do hrvatske nezavisnosti i međunarodnog priznanja Republike Hrvatske. Zbog svoje političke prirode, kao opće teorije demokracije zapadnih država, pluralizam se postavlja kao samostojeća vrednota koja se ne da instrumentalizirati niti od države niti od moderne plutokracije. No, produženi nacionalizmi koji traju nakon razdoblja oslobađanja zemlje nastoje politički i duhovni pluralizam učiniti sinkroniziranim dijelom jedne snažne kolektivne sile kakva je mlada nacija-država. Duhovni svijet započinje gubiti svoj identitet, a skupnost i moć, homogenizacija i autokracija postaju novo određenje duhovnosti. Autor piše kako u srazu moći i vlasti, u takvim okolnostima, izrasta drama duhovnog života. Ljudski duh koji traži put do ovozemaljskog i vječnog smisla, postaje dijelom moći koja mu zatvara put za spoznaju i za slobodu savjesti. Istinska, pak, duhovnost, zaključuje autor, a riječ je o ćudoređu i vjeri, ostaje izvan nacije i vlasti, možda dvije najjače sile ovoga svijeta. Ona ostaje sama sa sobom, osamljena, katkad se naslućuje osjećaj njezine praznine i odbačenosti. Duhovnom staležu ostaje samo područje duhov­nosti, ostaje svijet nadnaravnoga, moral i mudrost kao dar koji se može pnuditi ljudima dobre volje. A to sada znači da sadašnja hrvatska duhov­nost postaje dijelom socijalne i duhovne pluralnosti. Sa stajališta političke teorije, duhovnost se uspostavlja kao i sve druge posebne sfere društva.The author emphasizes how multi-party system, as the first form the political pluralism in Croatia, was the strong prime-mover of the national and anti-communistic spirit in Croatia at the end of 80s and at the beginning of 90s. It, without regard to formation of the new political parties, appeared as the real national movement that led to the rotation of communist authorities and, at the end, to Croatian independence, and its international recognition. Because of its political nature, as the common theory of democracy of western societies, pluralism is an independent value which can not be instrumentally conditioned neither by state nor by modern plutocracy. But, nationalism that have been lasting after the period of liberation of the country, tend to make political and spiritual pluralism a synhronized part of a strong collective force as it is a young nation-state. Spiritual people start to loose their identity but collectivity and power, homogeneity and autocracy are getting to be a new disposition of spirituality. The author writes how in the clash of power and authority, in such circumstances, drama of spiritual life grows. The human spirit that seeks the way to this-wordly and eternal sense, becomes the part of power that closes its way for cognition and freedom of consience. The author concludes, then, the real spirituality remains outside of the nation and authority, these two, perhaps the strongest powers of this world. It remains by itself, isolated, sometimes foresees feelings of its emptiness and rejection. To the spiritual estate remains only the sphere of spirituality, remains the world of transcendence, morality and wisdom as a gift that could be offerded to the people in good temper. So, this means that today Croatian spirituality is getting to be part of social and spiritual plurality. From the point of political theory, spirituality is restituted as ali the other, in the society, particular sphere of the society

The Society and the Societal Community as an Open System

The purpose of the paper is to point out the general differentiation within the general theory of systems which took place after new discoveries in the realm of open systems theory, elaborated by Ludwig von Bertalanffy. Namely the cybernetic system which is of great value in explaining the system of managing and communication in live and social systems, lacks the elements that would allow understanding the dynamic and social revolutionary processes. The structure of cybernetic system does not permit this, as it is based on the theory of balance and the classical stimulus-response pattern. The open system, as conceived by Bertalanffy, contributes to the social sciences a specific, isomorph categorial apparatus which could be successfully applied to the interpretation, even explanation of the creative processes, dynamic social changes and revolutionary transformations of the basic social variables. In that sense two key concepts should be stressed: irreversible processes and equifinality. These concepts give the insight into the structural modeling of the society and its subsystems, especially political subsystem, as they start from the position of the unbalanced system and negative entropy. The main distinctive feature of the open system in comparison to the cybernetic model is the irreversibility of the elements\u27 action, and the action starting and staying within the system. The open system action is thus immanent and that of the cybernetic model is not. Alongside the open system theory we also consider the David Easton\u27s system model as indispensable for explanation of the political life and processes. Namely, the Easton\u27s model points out the essential variables of the political system as determining the persistence and the \u27transition of the political groups, regimes or communes

POST-DAYTON CROATIA

Autor istražuje položaj Hrvatske nakon prihvaćanja Daytonskog sporazuma. Daytonskim sporazumom osigurana je cjelovitost Bosne i Hercegovine, na temelju konsocijativnog načela, koji je izložio A. Lijphart. No, u BiH i dalje djeluju žestoki integrativni nacionalizmi, koji prenose vojnu i političku nestabilnost iz BiH u susjedne države. U Hrvatskoj samoj slabi i nestaje populistički i osvetnički nacionalizam, ali ostaje i dalje izvorni demokratski nacionalizam. Ovaj se pokazuje u svom dvostrukom zadatku: jednom koji stremi uključenju u prestižnu zajednicu europskih država i drugom koji hoće nastaviti s ujedinjavanjem cjelokupna hrvatskog etničkog korpusa. Ovaj prvi oblik nacionalizma nastoji svim snagama izboriti Hrvatskoj mjesto u Vijeću Europe, kako bi izbjegla biti dijelom zajednice balkanskih društava, kao što to planiraju eurostratezi u novoj "globalno-regionalnoj europskoj" politici. Bitno, dakle, obilježje postdaytonske Hrvatske bit će u rascjepima i suprotstavljanjima između ova dva nacionalizma; jednog, orijentiranog proeuropski i drugog integrativnog, usmjerenog na cjelovitost hrvatskog etnikuma.The author analyzes the position of Croatia following the Dayton accord. These accords have secured the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the consociational principle as stipulated by Arend Lijphart. However, fierce integrational nationalisms still rage in B&H, they spill over into the neighbouring states where they create military and political instability. In Croatia, the populist and vindictive nationalism is on the wane, but no so the original democratic nationalism. The latter is manifested in its twin task: one is to join the prestigious union of European states while the other is to go on with the unification of the entire Croatian ethnic corpus. The first brand of nationalism has been trying by hook or by crook to ensure a place for Croatia in the Council of Europe in order to escape the trap of a community of Balkan states as envisaged by Eurostrategists and their latest "globally regional European" policy. Thus, the post-Dayton Croatia will be marked by fault-lines and conflicts between these two types of nationalisms; one, pro-European and the other integrational (aimed at bringing together the entire Croatian ethnos)