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In the paper, the author analyses the evolution of the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Western Balkans, particularly regarding the relationship of the Republic of Serbia to this organisation. He also points to the current NATO acting in the West Balkan region, this especially including the position of the Federal Republic of Germany to accession of the states in the region to the organisation mentioned above.

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The paper consists of seven chapters presenting the history and nature of relations between Turkey and the European Union and their influence on the Turkish policy towards the Balkan countries. The author notes that a constant re-Islamization of the political elite and of the public space has been going on since the first multiparty parliamentary elections in 1950. It culminated with the rise to power of the Justice and Development Party in 2002. Relations between the EU and Turkey indicate that a definite slowdown or pause has probably occurred, which both players are aware of, and to which both parties have contributed. The seemingly paradoxical fact is that the EU was a key external instigator of weakening of the traditional stronghold of secularism – the Turkish military. Disillusioned by the possibility of entering the EU Turkey emphasizes its independent policy by projecting itself as a regional power that should restore the influence of Minor Asia in some countries that were once a part of the Ottoman Empire. The last chapter discusses the decreasing possibility of carrying out this plan, at least when it comes to the Balkans.

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The paper presents several segments which are significant for minority communities. Defining is an important part of any issue, this also including the issue of minorities. For this reason, we have presented several definitions of minorities. So far, no uniform definition of minorities has been adopted and there are various reasons for that. Minority protection can be observed through the prism of internal protection, or protection within a state or through international protection. Discussing international protection of minorities, we should consider two questions. First, what are the instruments or what international treaties relate to minorities guaranteeing and protecting minority rights? And second, what relevant bodies are in charge of minority rights? Finally, one must not omit to present the most important minority rights that should be protected by international law and what minority rights, among others, are mentioned in international documents dealing with this topic.

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The accelerating globalization of the world market\'s rapid development as well as the current economic crisis impose to all countries increasing demands for constant change, particularly to improve their competitiveness. It enables the expansion of export competitiveness, high economic growth, development, and social well-being, which is manifested in increased employment and higher living standards of the population. Whether it is a micro or macro concept of competitiveness in the fiercely competitive game winners are those that increase productivity and efficiency. At the micro level, productivity affects the rate of return on investments made in the mechanical engineering (companies) as one of the key driving forces of economic growth. At the macro level, the level of productivity determines the level of sustainable growth and development, economic development and prosperity. According to the majority of indicators of relevant institutions and research, the competitiveness of the Serbian economy is low. The Serbian mechanical engineering should be based on increasing efficiency of production processes to increase the product quality. Development and growth should be based on production and technological innovations.

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The article deals with the political nature of diplomatic relations, stressing possible states of them as following: normal or correct relations, good relations, neighborhood and good neighborhood relations, allied relations, amicable or friendly relations, brotherhood relations, privileged relations, cordial relations, reciprocal relations, neutral relations, cold relations, imposed relations, deteriorating relations, tense relations, strained relations, downgraded relations, interrupted or broken relations, retorsion, ceased relations, suspended relations, re-established or normalized relations, intermediary relations, indifferent relations, informal relations or de facto relationships.

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Japan is one of the leading world powers. Taking gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power parity (PPP) as parameters, Japan is the third largest economy in the world, behind the USA and China. It differs from other economies by a high degree of adaptability to changes on the world market. The following text is composed of three parts. The first contains a short overview of the history of development of the Japanese economy focusing on the changes that appeared in trade and in the industrial structure as well as on the technological progress that was a driving force of its structural reforms. The second part shows the changes in the Japanese demographic structure analysing their impacts on the Japanese economy, while the third presents the adjustment of Japan’s export structure to new needs on the world market. By analysing the three aspects mentioned above the objective of the paper is to show the way Japan is adapting to changeable economic conditions by taking efficient structural changes in all fields.

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Modern terrorism in globalization represents a threat to society and to the individual. As a complex political phenomenon, terrorism is characterized by the appearance of many manifestations whose common characteristics are political, ethnic or religious motivation; it causes fear and panic, innocent victims, pursuit of publicity. One of the most significant and important ways for expressing effects of terrorist activities are terrorist activities in air traffic, whose role in the modern society is immeasurable. Terrorist activities in air traffic in the world are also relevant because of the effects they make in broad masses and also the achievement of these effects is the aim of terrorist organizations. Modalities of attacks are different and range from hijacking, planting explosive devices in airplanes, airports, through overthrowing of aircraft from the ground, aircraft crash or hijacking, and suicide plane crashes into an object of importance to the country. More and more frequent incidents caused by terrorist activities have resulted in changes in terms of aviation safety and the prevention of new deaths in air traffic. Consequently, the international community has adopted many of conventions, while the technology also contributes to achieving this aim.

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In early 1992, the impossibility to bring into accord the political goals of the Croats, Serbs and Muslims/Bosniaks in Bosnia Herzegovina brought the international community to arbitrary and co-creation positions within the context of finding a solution for this state. Initially, the international community had regarded that for that republic and the harmonisation of relations among its nations the most suitable was a complex, (con)federal system, what was manifested in the Cutillero plan. It was considered as such to the extent that the adoption of the Cutillero was one of the conditions for its international recognition. However, soon after the outbreak of war in April 1992 the international community changed its opinion considering that it was only the unitary model of organisation of BH that was ethnically justifiable and functional. Therefore, it started to act in that direction. Although the war conditions were not suitable for such form of acting, what was finally manifested in the establishment of „Dayton“ BH, the support to unitarisation will keep on being a constant in the approach of the international community to this country. Based on what has been previously said, the paper analyses the circumstances that during 1992 led to the international support to unitarisation of BH as well as the reflection of this support on the relations among nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Taking as a starting point the verdicts taken by the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the decision of the Appeals Chamber to release generals Gotovina and Markač as well as Haradinaj the paper does a complex analysis of this and previous international tribunals which have in a way reflected the collateral influence of legalised hegemony of great powers. The continuity of such legalised hegemony of power and influence has as its ultimate goal the following: enlargement of the NATO, consolidation of political systems being under the influence of the USA and full legalisation of humanitarian interventions. As for Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, the last practical objective is to make Kosovo an independent state that should be as fast as possible recognised by as many countries as possible demonstrating the power for new geopolitical needs under the new conditions. Numerous controversies followed the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. However, freethinking people were predominantly convinced that one should give a chance to the progressive development of international law and that the Tribunal should justify its existence by the consistent affirmation of the supreme international law principles, customs and natural law and by the respect of detailed and procedural standards controlled by the Security Council that would through its statute and implementation eliminate any shadow of impartiality and double standards in determining responsibility of both domestic and foreign perpetrators. If the Tribunal had managed to collect evidence conscientiously and take impartial decisions without taking tremendous efforts to recompose the history of one nation (the Serbian party) according to the geopolitical needs of legalisation of hegemony, it would have equally convicted the unforgivable violence committed by all parties considerably contributing to the reconciliation of the peoples in the Western Balkans.

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The paper has systematised multilateral endeavours to limit proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as biological, chemical, radioactive and nuclear materials and agents in the last five years. Along with the thematic fields mentioned above, the author has also analysed activities concerning non-state actors or actually the implementation of the Resolution No. 1540 as well as the acting of the European Union. The global security context is determined by the „Arab Spring“, military intervention in Libya, conflicts in Syria as well conflicts between the Palestinians and the Israelis, insufficient integration of Iran and especially of North Korea in the existing WMO regimes as well as the financial crisis. Continuous technological progress and an important role of non-state actors intensify the need to re-examine strategies, procedures and institutions at the global and national levels, strengthening and expansion of the existing agreements concerning the safety of all types of weapons of mass destruction and to re-examine the ability to respond to all possible scenarios of terrorist attacks. Although the number of states signatory to WMD conventions has been on the increase, it is evident that their approaches to the basic goals of the conventions are different, this especially concerning the intensification of measures of verification and inspection.

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Bearing in mind the economic organisation of the federal state where the single market includes the single currency (for example, the United States of America) the creators of the Treaty on European Union, which was adopted in Maastricht in 1993, established the programme for introducing the European Monetary Union based on the common European currency called „euro“. Prior to the treaty mentioned above, the establishment of the bodies like the European Central Bank and the European System of Central Banks had been provided for with the task of managing the common currency. According to the Treaty Establishing the European Community, the bodies of the European Monetary Union were separated from other Union’s main institutions. The approach presented above was radically changed by the Lisbon Treaty that was adopted in 2009. Actually, the European Central Bank is mentioned in Chapter III of the Treaty on European Union together with its main institutions such as the European Parliament, European Council, Council, Commission, Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors. The bodies of the European Central Bank are the Executive Board, the Governing Council, and the General Council. By its nature, the European Central Bank is a supranational, independent body and its executives can neither receive nor ask for instructions from Union’s institutions, government of member countries or other organisations. The powers of the European Central Bank are very significant and are reflected, above all, in its right to issue and approve money issuing, to pursue the exchange rate policy and fix interest rates.

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The idea of creating the European Union is the result of a thousand years old integration process of the single European continent. The entire historical, geopolitical and economic development of our continent is permeated by the idea of creating a fully unified Europe. The theoretical bases for the creation of a unified Europe were a common spirit and an expression of pluralism of opinions. The emergence and development of institutions of economic integrations in Europe after World War II had created favourable conditions for the application of the existing theories and the development of new one.

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In this paper, the author presents the EU reaction to the crises in Libya and Syria that developed within the broader frame of “Arab Spring“ in 2011. Noticing similarities and differences in the EU external action concerning these two cases, in his final remarks the author considers the reasons for such actions as well as the conclusions on the functioning of institutional novelties of the Lisbon Treaty in the field of external action. The main data source of the paper is official documents of the European institutions and the presentation is predominantly chronological.

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Sixty years after the inception of the European idea, the European Union is in trouble. The euro area is experiencing a crisis related to sovereign debt in several countries, which has eroded confidence in the European project and severely hit public finances of the single currency area. The crisis has its roots in the build-up of excessive financial, fiscal and economic imbalances in the euro area. Furthermore, the eurozone budgetary discipline was not a great success. A sharp deterioration in the public finances in Europe since the financial crisis erupted, combined with the increasing debt-to-GDP ratio in many eurozone countries, has contributed to the fragility of the public finances. Therefore, the imperative in many countries is to restore sound public finances. In order to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area there is a need to enhance the existing crisis mechanisms and improve economic governance in the euro area as a whole as well as on national levels of some of its member countries. Fiscal integration within Europe is a necessary and fundamental part of the project designed for saving the euro. The key strategy for the European economies should be the right mix of fiscal tightening, growth-oriented policies and deeper integration.

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1978 Vienna Convention was adopted with the aim of codifying and achieving progressive development of succession of international treaties. Since it relies on the respect of general rules of the international law of treaties and principles that are built in the United Nations legal system, the Convention contributes to attaining legal security, but also to strengthening of peace and international co-operation in the world. Generally speaking, the criteria adopted in the Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties shows the necessary flexibility. As provided by the provisions of the Vienna Convention “Succession of States means the replacement of one State by another in the responsibility for the international relations of territory”. Succession does not apply to the cases resulting from the documents which are not in conformity with international law. The effects of the Convention are limited to the agreements concluded between states. The Convention does not prejudice the validity of an agreement, and by all this, if it results from international law rules it cannot be implemented to the detriment of agreements concluded by other subjects of international law. Also, the Convention is not applied to the agreements constituting international organisations and treaties, which are adopted under their auspices.The Vienna Convention consists of 50 Articles that are methodologically classified in seven parts (the first relates to general provisions; the second to succession in respect of part of territory; the third to the effects of succession in case of creation of newly independent states; the fourth to succession in case of uniting and separation of states; the fifth includes miscellaneous provisions; the sixth relates to peaceful settlement of disputes and the seventh contains final provisions. The Convention differentiates the effects of succession on international treaties. In this sense, the Convention differentiates the rules on automatic succession (ipso jure continuity) and optional succession based on the rules on “clean slate” those on moving treaty frontiers. The Convention does not bring into question succession of treaties on internationally recognised borders and territorial regimes. Its provisions do not prejudice any question that could be posed concerning the international responsibility of a state or starting of hostilities between states, or the question that could be raised regarding the military occupation of a territory. If an international treaty accidentally lost its legal effectiveness on a state due to its change, treaty rights and obligations could be maintained by applying cogent norms of international law. This is a confirming rule of international law, which is also codified by 1969 Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties. It does not prejudice questions that could be posed for treaties when the succession of states occurs. In spite of the fact that the provisions of the Convention are applied to succession after it has come into force, so far, successor states have had full freedom to make arrangements on its retroactive implementation. Implementation of some provisions of the Convention on its own succession is understandable in a way, bearing in mind that states can make a conclusions that some rules of the Vienna Convention are an expression of the existing customary law and international practice. Finally, the approach mentioned above, has contributed to more efficient regulation of contemporary succession cases. This has also confirmed the practical significance of the adopted solutions contained in the Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties.

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At this revolutionary time in the development of telecommunications, universal access/service is the fundamental tenet to be taken into account in the development of telecommunications policies and legislation. The new context of international trade, the increasingly competitive environment, convergence, technological progress, the establishment of consumers’ rights and the implementation of the Global Information Society (GIS) and Global Information Infrastructure (GII) are adding new dimensions to the concept of the universal access/service in every country in the Americas. The member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) have undertaken to note efforts to promote and achieve economic and social development with equity. They have also recognized the vital role of telecommunications as a tool to achieve that objective. They have thus placed special emphasis on the need to consolidate and promote telecommunication modernization and coordination in the region. Among the numerous attempts to increase cyber security in the Americas, the largest share of the burden has assumed the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) on itself. The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission was established at 1994 under the auspices of the Organization of American States. It consists of public sector – 35 Member States and over 200 Associate Members (international, national, professional and non-governmental organizations) – private sector. CITEL serves as a permanent forum that brings together the government and the private sector for coordinating the Member States’ diverse political, economic, social and technical perspectives required to assist in meeting their specific infrastructure needs. CITEL’s evaluations include relevant legal, regulatory and technology-related issues such as universal access to ICTs, common standards, network interoperability and compatible use of the radio spectrum. CITEL has technical autonomy to perform its functions within the limits prescribed by the OAS Charter, its statutes and the mandates of the General Assembly. Its objectives include facilitating and promoting the continuous development of telecommunications in the Hemisphere. These CITEL activities uniquely promote country and regional economic development and contribute to consolidated representation of the Members’ positions at regional, hemisphere and international policy meetings. Contributing to the region’s economic and social development is the objective of all elements of the work of CITEL, whether it is coordinating the rules needed to facilitate infrastructure deployment and telecommunication service delivery, harmonization of the radio frequency spectrum to reduce the cost of providing wireless services, information and communication technology (ICT) training, or helping countries devise telecommunication development strategies. There are a number of factors regarding the organization and operation of CITEL that are rather obvious. Probably, the most important of these is the fact that CITEL must confront the future in partnership with the private sector in order to position itself to be of assistance to the member states. With the increased participation of the private sector, it is anticipated that the scope of activities CITEL will be addressing in the future will also broaden. This is already taking place, especially in support of the establishment of a free trade zone in the Americas. One obvious step in this direction would be the expansion of the standards coordination activities into the area of information technology standards, which not only supports the trade negotiations but also the implementation of the global information infrastructure.

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One of the most important aims of the international community is to maintain international peace and security and settle international disputes by peaceful means. OUN was established with that purpose. The main act of OUN is the Charter which provides the existence of regional organizations. When an international dispute breaks out regional organizations have the leading role in its peaceful settlement. If the international dispute cannot be solved by peaceful means, the UN Security Council takes actions. The Security Council is the only body that can apply enforcement measures and regional organizations participate in their implementation only when the Security Council approves it. The approval must be explicit and refers to the specific case. In practice, regional organizations often violate rules set by the Charter and use force without authorisation of the Security Council.

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Globalisation is the process that brings about controversial opinions. According to some authors, globalisation is the highest level of development of our society. However, on one hand, it has enabled economic strengthening and prosperity to some states, while to some others it has done harm and has even more deepened the economic gap between developed and underdeveloped countries in the world. The cause of that lies in the fact that not all countries have equal opportunities for development and economic growth. Some countries have used globalisation processes and energy sources they are rich in to achieve strong economic growth and strengthening of their economies. The others, which are not rich in energy substances and have no natural resources, are usually at low level of development, their unemployment rate is very high, they have numerous social problems and their foreign trade and balance of payment deficits are high, which they usually try to reduce by taking new credits. When states are becoming economically dependent they first lose their economic and then political sovereignty. Globalisation and an increasing number of factors in the international negotiating process, including the creation of numerous NGOs, have additionally made international negotiations difficult. Diplomatic activities are becoming increasingly complex and one of the possible ways for correcting the process of globalisations includes international multilateral negotiations at the interregional level.

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The paper analyses the concepts of public and state administration focusing on the key elements of their distinction and the concept of local self-government, which is closely related to them. Within the context of contemporary needs and trends of the global development administrative organization, the principles of good public, local, and regional management will be discussed. At the end of paper, the level of decentralization and local government positions in the Western Balkans countries will be presented by a comparative approach as well as the harmonization of legislations of these countries with the European Union law in this area.

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The paper deals with the occupation of Bačka by the Hungarian Army in the period from 1941 to 1945 as well as with the mass war crimes committed by the Hungarian army, gendarmerie, the police and their collaborators who were members of the ethnic Hungarian and German minorities acting against the Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and other nonHungarian nationalities. The article is focused on 1942 Novi Sad raid that was carried out by the Hungarian army, gendarmerie, police, military counterespionage and the security authorities with the help of local collaborators from the Hungarian and German minorities. This was one of the most severe and biggest war crimes committed in Vojvodina. One of the persons that were directly responsible for the Novi Sad raid is Dr. Sandor Kepiro. He had been a Hungarian gendarmerie captain, a Hungarian citizen, who after World War II fled to Austria and then to Argentina. Kepiro returned freely from Argentina to Hungary in 1996. On the initiative of the “Simon Wiesenthal” Centre in Budapest, he was charged with the war crimes committed in the Novi Sad raid in 1942. The Republic of Serbia did not seek his extradition, but only provided documentation and evidence because it agreed that the Hungarian Constitution did not allow its nationals to be extradited. The Court acquitted him on 18 June 2011 and he died of natural causes on 3 September 2011 at the age of 98. The author is of the opinion that the Republic of Serbia should have sought the extradition of Dr. Sandor Kepiro on the basis of 1943 Moscow Declaration and the Agreement on Termination of the State of War with Hungary of 20 January 1945 and the Peace Treaty signed with Hungary on 10 February 1947 that are still valid and provide for the extradition of war criminals – because they have more legal power than the Constitution of Hungary.

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The primary aim of this study is to investigate the impact of knowledge transfer and learning on success of international acquisitions. In knowledge-based economy, knowledge and learning are imperative for development of sustainable competitive advantage and long-term profitability. International acquisitions form a new combined community, in which two organizations with different cultures are integrating, providing the ability for transfer and improvement of knowledge, which is necessary for competition in the uncertain and complex business environment. In recent time, researchers, as M&A success factors emphasize the importance of learning, both in the form of knowledge improving and developing in the international context and based on previous accumulated experience in takeovers. In addition to specifying the different motives and incentive factors for international acquisitions, the study will focus on whether and how knowledge transfer and learning can affect the success of acquisitions. This study will examine possibilities for knowledge transfer and learning in context of international acquisitions, factors of effective knowledge transfer and results of the existing empirical research focusing on the impact of knowledge transfer and learning on acquisition success.

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The beginning of the twentieth century in the Balkans was marked by the preparations for the liberation from centuries-long Turkish occupation. The Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Romanians won their independence, but they not achieve national unity as a great country (Italy, Germany). For the Romanians, they were the sole territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while the Serbs, Turks, Austro-Hungarians, Greeks and Turkish Bulgarians were the only ones under the rule. This situation made Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece find ways of cooperation in order to liberate their territories from the Turkish rule, particularly given the unstable political, ethnic and economic situation in Turkey. After long negotiations, the Balkan alliance was created in 1912 by the four countries. This alliance showed how mighty it was by defeating Turkey on all fronts in a short time (with the key role of Serbia in major battles). The London Peace Conference confirmed the new delimitation with Turkey, but not between the allies. Big powers (the Austro-Hungarian Empire) wanted a conflict between the allies, using primarily dissatisfaction of Bulgaria. The new war between Bulgaria and the former allies ended as a disaster for this country, which had caused it (Turkey and Romania entered the war against Bulgaria). The Bucharest Peace defined the new borders in the Balkans.