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The paper follows the development of the principle of freedom of navigation on a multilateral level, primarily within the framework of the Convention regarding the Regime of Navigation on the Danube, which emphasizes the interests of the riparian countries in the foreground. Bearing in mind that the Convention was adopted in circumstances significantly different from today’s, the question of the need for its revision legitimately arose. For this purpose, the Danube Commission, as a supervisory mechanism, established the Preparatory Committee for the diplomatic conference on the revision of the Belgrade Convention, focusing on: institutional and procedural issues of the Danube Commission, membership, the Commission’s decision-making process, language, and reform of the Secretariat. The goal of the research is to gain a better insight into the importance of the revision process, and provide certain guidelines and predictions regarding the further development of matters related to the necessary revision of the Convention, all by analyzing relevant historical segments and positive legal solutions contained in the Convention, taking into account the previous work on revision. This is a matter that is of particular importance for the Republic of Serbia as the depository of the Convention, but also for the entire Danube region and the strengthening of mutual cooperation. Likewise, the issue of membership, as one of the priorities, was brought up again, from a different angle, in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, which confirms the importance of this research. The hypothesis that will be confirmed in the paper is that the revision of the Convention is necessary to a certain extent, taking into account the changed circumstances that have occurred in the last couple of decades. Simply put, there is no international treaty that would be valid in its original form at all times and in all circumstances.

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The fact that war is prohibited by international law does not mean that a violation of that prohibition cannot occur. After all, this is evidenced by the practice of international relations after the end of the Cold War, when force was applied randomly, without a valid legal basis, leading to serious political crises and confrontations, causing real humanitarian disasters. Even the latest use of armed force in Ukraine is not without the aforementioned consequences. On the Russian side, the use of armed force in Ukraine, called a “special military operation”, is justified by the exercise of the right to selfdefense in order to prevent a threat that is certain and that comes due to the expansion of NATO to the East, but beyond the borders of Russian state territory. On the Ukrainian side, the use of armed force is considered legitimate self-defense against Russian aggression against its independence and territorial integrity. Since both states call for the lawful use of force by exercising the right to self-defense, the analysis is based on the thesis that the background of this conflict is the competition between the great powers – the United States of America (USA) and the Russian Federation (Russia) – for expansion, i.e. by retaining spheres of influence. The conflict in Ukraine therefore has much deeper roots stemming from the Cold War and the process of disintegration of the Soviet Union (USSR), which seriously disrupted the balance of power in the world. The imbalance has led to global political division and polarization based on competing Eurasian and EuroAtlantic geopolitical strategies. The political redistribution of the world is also present in the armed conflict in Ukraine, which, according to the author, seriously undermines the current collective security system of the United Nations, whose fundamental value is the maintenance of international peace.

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In the present article is analyzed the prevention of serious violations of international humanitarian law, particularly in view of the gravity of certain acts, qualified as core crimes (the crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression). In order to achieve the aforementioned, the paper provides scientific examination of the norms that regulate these international crimes in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Geneva Conventions and other important treaty-based sources of the international criminal law. Therefore, the starting point is that the core crimes are deemed to be the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The aim of the article is also to analyze the absence of a treaty that prohibits nuclear and depleted uranium weapons, especially considering court practice. It is confirmed that international humanitarian law prohibits engagement in military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects as the means of destruction, damage or injury. The results of the research show that the rule prohibiting the use of weapons causing superfluous injury is a customary norm applicable to all parties to any armed conflict. The author also presents the development, challenges and perspectives of the international criminal law, in the widely accepted historical narrative.

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This paper investigates the effects of Sweden’s nuclear weapons program in its historical global positioning. Author analyzes the causes and scope of the launched nuclear weapons program, looking at the perspective of the continuity of Swedish neutrality and military non-alignment, until the country’s latest decision to join NATO. By shutting down the nuclear program, Sweden marked the path of the main promoter of global disarmament and the initiator for the elimination of all nuclear arsenals. The main hypothesis that is being proven reads: By joining NATO, Sweden would not only abandon the centuries-old tradition of neutrality, but as a member of the military alliance would lose the image of a global antinuclear promoter. The paper is based on realistic premises regarding the security threat when analyzing the perception of the former Soviet and today’s Russian security threat. Normative approach was used to explain the abandonment of the nuclear program, noting that the security calculation overcame the strength of anti-nuclear norms in Sweden’s political practice. The relationship in the triangle NATO – neutrality – antinuclear posture will become more and more complicated over time, and after formal membership in NATO, Sweden may face the issue of deploying nuclear weapons on its territory. The paradox lies in the fact that Sweden abandoned its nuclear program on the verge of producing its own atomic arsenal, only to accept foreign (nuclear weapons) as part of its defense strategy decades later.

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In this paper, the authors start from the key elements of Serbia’s contemporary foreign policy, proving that economic interest could often be identified as the most important factor of Serbia’s activities in the foreign policy arena. As part of the argument for such claims, the authors refer to regional economic integration within the Western Balkans, starting primarily from the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006) and Serbia’s position within it. The main goal of the authors is to provide an answer to the question of the role of the “Open Balkan” in Serbia’s foreign policy, that is, whether this initiative is one of Serbia’s instruments for achieving foreign policy goals. The authors prove that the basic role of the “Open Balkan” in Serbia’s foreign policy is to create a positive image of Serbia as an initiator of cooperation and reconciliation in the Western Balkans, but also a guarantor of stability in a politically unstable area. The establishment of a free flow of people, goods, capital and services among the countries of the Western Balkans and the creation of a significantly larger market would favor the further attraction of foreign direct investments and solve the problem of labor shortage in Serbia. Serbia’s foreign policy gains are reflected primarily in the achievement of international support, which project is not lacking for the “Open Balkan”, either from the European Union and the United States of America, but also from Russia and China. In the future, the “Open Balkan” could represent a platform for joint accession to the European Union, which creates additional room for maneuver for Serbia to strengthen its leadership position among the countries of the Western Balkans.

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The paper presents an analysis of the variations and types of cooperation between Serbia and Croatia during emergency situations that cause crossborder threats, such as those that existed during natural and other disasters such as floods, earthquakes, the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the refugee and migrant crisis, and so on. Emergency situations, by their very nature, presuppose cooperation with neighboring countries. The first part of the paper will discuss the categorical definition of the concept of emergency situations as a security threat, its constitutive elements, and different types and forms. The following is a comparative analysis of the development of the normative framework in the field of emergency situations, both in Serbia and Croatia. Understanding the specifics, similarities, and differences of positive legal principles in this area will allow us to understand the scope of their application through practical examples, which will be discussed in the third part of the paper. The conclusion of the analysis is that cooperation between Serbia and Croatia in emergency situations in practice records ambivalent or mixed results.

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This paper deals with the relations between the key countries that geographically belong to the British Isles and Latin American countries. By using comparative and historiographical methods, the paper intends to offer an answer to the research question: Does the Republic of Ireland, due to more historical similarities with Latin American countries than the other countries of the British Isles, has to have better economic and political relations with Latin America? The paper is based on the hypothesis that the Republic of Ireland, through cooperation with the countries of Latin America (despite specific differences compared to other countries of the British Isles), strives to exert an identical influence in terms of the affirmation of Western Christian values in the countries of Latin America. Finally, it aligns with the EU’s policy of deeper cooperation with Latin America. After the Introduction, the central section of this paper is divided into four sub-sections that follow historical events in Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as their influences on relationships with Latin American countries, particularly during the Cold War and Post-Cold War periods. After passing the long territorialization process and during the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Republic of Ireland, which geographically belongs to the British Isles but remained part of the EU even after the withdrawal of Great Britain, became a country, formally and essentially capable of maintaining its economic, political, and cultural relationships with Latin American countries. This is the point emphasised in the conclusion.

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Аuthor examines the relationship between religion and nationalism in Mexico from independence until today. Mexico is a country that, after gaining independence, had established the Catholicism as the state religion and a model of religious nationalism, and then with the liberal Constitution of 1857 and the revolutionary Constitution of 1917 had separated the Church and the State and established a model of secular nationalism based on secularism and anti-clericalism. The author raises the twofold research question: what the nature of secular nationalism looks like after a period of “thawing” of frozen relations during the 1990s and whether the unstable form indicates a gradual transition to a model of civil-religious nationalism? The aim of the paper is to point out the changed character of nationalism, the most important identity and state-building characteristic of Mexico, and to offer a prediction of the development trend of the relationship between religion and nationalism in the future of Mexico. Because there is no prospect of secular nationalism being abandoned in the near future, its real provocateurs are drug cartels, which, as a “state within a state”, tend to build their own form of religion. Аuthor predicts that the Roman Catholic Church will respond to it, equally as a national and transnational actor. Its strategy would require the stabilization of secular nationalism, but this time within the limits of “twin toleration” between the Church and government.

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Since the launch of the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries eight years ago, both sides have made positive progress in cooperation in the fields of economics, trade and investment, cultural exchange, and construction. During the changes unseen in the last hundred years, the foundation of China-CEEC cooperation has been preserved. However, this cooperation is entering the “deep water” phase, facing increased EU interventions and games between China and the United States. In order to respond to internal and external challenges, China-CEEC cooperation should take full advantage of various opportunities, constantly improve, actively build public opinion, encourage companies to take the lead and solve problems around the trade deficit in the right way.

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The aim of this paper is to present the thematisation of hybrid threats in the security policy of the European Union and the way in which the Union counters these threats on the practical-political level. Based on a qualitative analysis of the content of strategic documents, as a methodological approach and analysis of the political and institutional framework in this field, it is ascertained that the EU is significantly oriented to hybrid threats in its security policy. However, the legitimate conduct of such a policy requires more coherence and precision in the explanation and operationalisation of hybrid threats, given their vague and complex nature. In other words, it is concluded that the gradual transition to a multipolar world order, associated with the simultaneous strengthening of the technological dimension of modern conflicts and the Union\'s coping with a set of crises, new uncertainties and reconsideration of its own “identity” and role on the global geopolitical scene can be understood as a context that generated a “picture of complexity and hybridity” and a European perception of security threats as hybrid, as well.

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The disintegration of the multinational SFR Yugoslavia and the constitution of new states also resulted in the creation of the so-called new minorities. New national minorities arose from members of ethnic communities who, after the secession, remained separated from their native peoples, and from the constituent people became a minority in the newly formed states. This paper analyses the status of the Macedonian minority in Serbia and the Serb minority in North Macedonia, exercising of their basic human and minority rights, as well as population development and socio-demographic structure based on official census data. Special attention is paid to bilateral cooperation between Serbia and North Macedonia and bilateral agreements in which an important place is occupied by minority rights, integration of national minorities into all segments of society, and the preservation of ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural characteristics, which is also an important factor in European integration processes for both countries.

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This paper aims to analyse the political, economic and legal aspects of cooperation between the European Union and China through the prism of common economic interests and economic complementarity. In the introductory part, the authors talk about the historical development of China as a state and its transformation in both political and economic terms. Special attention is paid to the historical development of relations between China and the European Union, with an emphasis on the development of economic, political and trade cooperation. These relations, among others, stand out as key in China\'s foreign policy priorities. In addition, the Belt and Road Initiative will be briefly explained, but the COVID-19 pandemic will also be discussed, as well as China\'s crucial role in this pandemic that has struck and changed the world.

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In this paper, we discuss the political tensions that arose in the Nile Basin due to the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). We use the concept of hydro-hegemony, authored by Zeitoun and Werner as a theoretical framework. In this paper, we try to clarify the historical context and the quagmire of legal documents that regulate the flow of the Nile River. The aim of this paper is to present the positions of the three most important riparian countries (Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan). We analyse their motives, goals, arguments, and dangers that may arise for these countries in the event of an unfavourable solution for them. We then seek to identify possible compromises that could lead to a favourable solution for all three stakeholders.

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The military-strategic partnership of India and Japan, which was initiated in the mid-2000s, is critically analyzed and perceived in the paper. A definition of this type of partnership is derived based on the findings and insights of other authors, and the structural changes in international relations during this century that enabled/stimulated the emergence of the Indian-Japanese partner relationship in the field of security are described in the paper\'s introduction. The content of that partner relationship, as well as the motivation for initiating it, is described in the central part of the paper, and its positive aspects for both countries, as well as the limitations in its implementation and ultimate reaches, are indicated. Military-technical cooperation is pointed to in the paper as the most precious component of that partnership that has insufficiently been taken advantage of so far. In the final part of the paper, the knowledge of this partnership and its important dimensions is summed up and a forecast of its further perspectives is formulated. The analytical-synthetical research method is used the most in the paper.

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The study investigates the impact of post-Cold War pervasive control measures on Albanians\' reactions to the collapse of such a system and its consequences. It is also necessary to consider Albanian national diversity, the history of the submission of central governments, and the intentions of the communist government in creating a strong government and an integrated Albanian nation. As a result, the research question is: did the lack of democratic experience among post-socialist leaders, combined with (too) rapid social changes, encourage the return of Albanian national differences and the challenge to the authority of central administrations? The qualitative methods of analysis show that the sinking of a highly rigorous system was accompanied by extremes. Likewise, the rapid transition to an organization where non-established government officials have a much smaller regulatory role is more than a fertile ground for restoring internal national diversity and thus rejecting the principles of state organization.

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In the long run, the usage of economic policy measures in the US and EU economies to overcome the consequences of the 2007 global economic crisis has produced different results in different urban agglomerations. In order to perceive the causes of such effects of the measures applied, this paper conducts analyses of the functioning of urban agglomerations, with a focus on specific forms of cluster expansion that are located within them. This is done primarily through the intermediary of two basic economic aggregates, unemployment and GDP, whose changes are monitored during the observed periods. The influence of the potential expanding of the basic cluster in them on economic aggregates is examined, and their mutual relation is observed according to the basic hypothesis of this paper. Based on the given results, suggestions for additional measures of structural economic policy are formed.

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The article examines the institution of honorary consuls from the international legal aspect. Chronologically, the institution of consuls occurred first, and the institution of honorary consuls occurred much later. The institution of honorary consuls was first established and applied in the Middle Ages by the Republic of Dubrovnik in its consulates in the Mediterranean. Later, it was accepted by many countries. During the progressive codification of international consular law, which occurred and intensified in the 19th century, it included, to a greater or lesser extent, the institution of honorary consuls with different views on their legal status. The existing international consular practice has significantly contributed to the establishment of honorary consuls as an institute of international public law. Finally, with the adoption of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations from 1963, the status of honorary consuls was internationally recognized. The existing practice in the past period, from 1963 until today, has only confirmed the generally accepted international consular practice on the existence of honorary consuls.

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Climate change and technological developments have affected changes in the potential hazards that emergencies bring. This has also affected the possible changes in the scope of emergency situations, i.e., the possibility of their consequences being felt on a wider scale. New emergencies can particularly endanger countries that are not at a high level of economic development. The European Union has, therefore, taken steps to improve its civil protection system. The first goal of the European Union is better preparedness and the improvement of the system, which should provide a faster and more efficient response to emergency situations and disasters. The second goal is the possibility of providing more efficient and faster assistance to countries that are not its members. This applies not only to the countries on European soil but also beyond. In order to achieve these two goals, the European Union has adopted decisions establishing the European Civil Protection Fund and the rescEU. Thus, the European Union has united the capacities of the member states into one broader system, with the organization of reserve capacities and forces. By creating a more coherent system of response to emergencies, the European Union has strengthened its own preparedness while creating the preconditions for providing adequate assistance to other countries anywhere in the world.

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The Global Competitiveness Report 2020 ranks Serbia among the countries worst affected by the brain-drain issue globally. It is estimated that approximately 30 to 50 thousand people migrate each year. The research examines the effects of the adopted policy measure and analyses future measures planned for Serbia. The author focuses on the elimination of push factors, reforming sectors of society that are stimulating outward migration and “pull measures”, attracting both the diaspora and foreign citizens to reside in Serbia. The author justifies the initial hypothesis that the issue of circular migration requires a comprehensive approach. Reducing the brain drain problem and fostering repatriation require the simultaneous introduction of public policy proposals that target all key pain points and provide effective results in attracting talented people and supporting the long-term development of Serbia.