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French foreign policy has been a reflection of its political history, cultural identity and national conception of France\'s role in the world as a global leader of freedom. In the context of growing interdependence, France faces a dynamic of globalization often perceived as a threat to national identity. The victory of Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election in 2017 enounced the beginning of a different foreign policy. Believing in the diplomatic potential of the French Republic, President Macron underlined the necessity of a new Europe and its strategic autonomy, presenting himself as a potential new leader. Compared to the former French presidents, the youngest French president presented a different approach, staying committed to historical principles. This paper analyzes the main aspects of Macron\'s international activities: establishing a relationship of trust with US President Donald Trump, ”reviving” Europe by revitalizing Franco-German relations, a more cooperative relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and France\'s role in North Africa and the Middle East.

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With the publication of the short technical note titled “The French Strategy for the Western Balkans“ in April of 2019, it seems that after more than half a century, France has decided to regain its influence in the Balkans. By stating that French president Emmanuel Macron desires to formulate a genuine strategy with a concrete set of measures, the paper observes the stated document through the theoretical stipulations of the strategy. Through conceptualizations of the strategy and grand strategy, and with considerations of the place of geostrategy between these concepts, the paper determines that although the text of the note fulfills the necessary elements to be labeled as a strategy, there are discrepancies between the will of France and the objectives, ways and means formulated within the document. Therefore, the paper concludes that the French Strategy for the Western Balkans represents a traced path of French action that could lead to a reformulation of their strategy in the future.

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Significant attention has been paid recently to the European Union’s efforts towards establishing an integrated energy policy and strengthening of the Energy Union. Consequently, many challenges facing these integration steps are subject to numerous analyses as well. One of the most significant contemporary challenges facing European energy integration is the Nord Stream 2 project, whose implementation leads to increased European energy dependence on Russian natural gas. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the recent trends and impacts related to this pipeline, i.e., to assess its impact on further European Union’s integration steps in the field of energy security. Considering the strong regional dimension of this pipeline project, the key theoretical framework that will enable such analysis is the Regional Security Complex Theory, originally developed by the Copenhagen School of Security Studies.

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After the end of the Cold War, the states of the Visegrad Group transformed their political and economic systems in order to join the European Union. They achieved that goal in 2004. Until recently, the positions and policies of these countries were in line with the official positions of the Union. However, to respond more adequately to new external and internal challenges, such as the conflict in Ukraine and the migrant crisis, Brussels has formulated positions that the Visegrad Group countries have not fully supported. By taking different positions in relation to the EU institutions, these countries try to protect their national interests and get opportunities to have a greater influence on the creation of European policies. Although this was opposed by Brussels, some EU members supported the opinions of the Visegrad Group countries. In that way, these countries encouraged the formation of a new block within the EU. This not only allowed them to have their voices heard more but also called into question the existing balance of power in the Union.

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As a crime of special gravity and significance, genocide rightfully causes particular attention and caution in legal life. When it comes to its prosecution in international law, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the only relevant address, and genocide occupies a special place in the practice of the ICJ. Precisely because of that, the authors will analyze the progress achieved before the ICJ in the case of Myanmar, but at the same time, they will present the basic aspects of the concept of genocide and especially the specifics of the case, which shed special light on the whole process.

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In this paper, the author deals with the issue of the reform of the working methods of the Security Council, considering it a key segment of the reform of the Security Council. Using the analytical method, the author examines the following issues that he considers crucial for efficient reform: the use of vetoes in the work of the Security Council, informal forms of meetings within the Security Council, the importance of the annual reports submitted by the Security Council to the UN General Assembly, the contribution of observation missions’ visits, and the key issues of Security Council peacekeeping missions. The aim is to examine the current state of reforms, detect certain defects, and indicate the possible directions of change of the Security Council’s working methods, in order for the principal organ of the United Nations to adequately respond to the future challenges.

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In this paper, we will try to point out that the genocide of the Jews during the Second World War served as a perfect pretext for the re-establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948. The Holocaust, as the biggest Nazi war crime, served as a “trigger event” for the Jews to finally rebuild their country in the Middle East. International circumstances and increasing knowledge about the suffering of the Jews were constantly being used by the founders of the modern Jewish state. We will see that Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, was more than willing to seek financial reparations from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) for Nazi crimes to consolidate his country’s economy and military strength. We will also prove that even though decades have passed since independence, the Holocaust was widely being used as propaganda to create and justify the Israeli policy towards “hostile” Arab states.

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The subject of this paper is the question of the religious identity of the European Union (EU). The author in this paper points to the Christian tradition of Europe, which played a major role in the formation of its identity. The significant influence of Roman Catholicism and the Vatican contributed to the construction of the European Coal and Steel Community and later the European Economic Community (EEC). The European community formed by the “founder’s fathers” was based on two pillars: Christian civilization and democracy. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Maastricht, this has changed. The EU has adopted secular, political values as key values and pillars of the EU. The aim of this paper is to point out that Christianity is an essential element of the EU’s identity, especially in view of the current developments in relation to immigration waves in Europe. This paper will try to provide a modest contribution to the academic debate on the issue of “Islamization of Europe”.

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The paper deals with the contemporary foreign policy and economic relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Kingdom of Spain. First, we will briefly look at the most important moments of diplomatic relations in the 19th and 20th century in order to focus on the relations in the 21st century. The starting point is that the two countries have outstanding political relations, which can be a good basis for improving relations in the field of economy. We will consider cooperation between these countries in the field of protection of their territorial integrity and sovereignty since both countries face separatism. We will then analyze the importance of Spain as one of the largest member states of the European Union for the European integration processes of Serbia. We will also point to the progress achieved in recent years in the field of economic cooperation, although there is much room for improvement.

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The author analyzes the concept of consular protection. At the beginning of the paper, the author deals with Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, regarding the nature of the right it provides. Later, the author considers two very important cases brought before the International Court of Justice: the La Grand case and the Avena case. Using these two cases, the author wants to emphasize the importance of the current case in front of the ICJ: the Jadhav case between India and Pakistan. Discussing former disagreements and disputes between these two states and pointing out to similarities between this case and both the La Grand and the Avena, the author tries to predict the verdict in this case expected in the near future.

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The aim of this paper is to present regional cooperation and bilateral relations with neighboring countries with which Serbia borders through the prism of the position and rights of national minorities. The paper analyzes the status of the so-called new minorities in Serbia (Croatian and Macedonian), as well as the minority rights of the Hungarian and Romanian national minorities. Serbia has signed bilateral agreements with these four countries, which is of great importance for good interstates relations and Serbia\'s entry into the European Union. Also, the paper discusses the position and rights of the Serbian minority in the former Yugoslav republics, as well as in some neighboring member states of the European Union (Hungary, Romania). In addition, it analyses the basic demographic indicators (number and spatial distribution) that determine the realization of the rights and freedoms of each minority. Although the social and legal status of the Serbian minority is determined by European standards, they are in practice faced with assimilation. In order to fully realize minority rights and improve the position of the Serb minority, ratified international documents, bilateral agreements, national laws, as well as well-designed policies and assistance from the home state are of great importance.

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The paper analyzes the economic relations of the Republic of Serbia with the Republic of Italy in new geostrategic and geoeconomic relations. Since the beginning of the 21st century, these two countries have reached stable and growing cooperation in the field of foreign trade. In the last two years, Italy is a very important foreign trade partner of Serbia and also belongs to the group of a small number of countries with which Serbia has a surplus in foreign trade. Italy is also one of the leading countries by the volume and value of foreign direct investments invested in the development of the Serbian economy since the beginning of the transition process to date. The current volume and intensity of economic cooperation between Serbia and Italy have roots in the history of their economic relations. The current political and economic relations of Serbia with the European Union will determine the direction of future development and cooperation.

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Following the creation of states on the territory previously occupied by the SFRY, the question of the interstate relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and her “new” neighboring countries, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia has arisen. This paper shows those first steps made towards the goal of consolidation, normalization and further development of the countries’ relations. Contacts initiated after the Peace Treaty have resulted in the establishment of relations between the FRY and Macedonia and Croatia, while the establishment of relations with two remaining countries happened at the end of 2000. The interesting thing is that economic relations have developed much faster than the political ones, which under the pressure of the past and despite encouraging steps in beginning developed with numerous difficulties.

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After secession from the SFRY, Croatia and Slovenia became independent states, so it was necessary to define the states’ borders. Both countries accepted the application of the principle uti possidetis, but the implementation of this principle was not simple in practice. The reason for this was that the internal borders of the SFRY were not clearly defined. Soon, the question of the demarcation of Croatia and Slovenia became a controversial issue in relation to these countries. In the period from 1991 to 2009, Croatia and Slovenia tried to resolve this controversial issue by peaceful diplomatic means, but after the failure of these attempts, in 2009 in Stockholm they concluded the Arbitration Agreement by which the resolution of this controversial issue was entrusted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Arbitration is an institute of International Public Law that has great potential for application in interstate relations, but it also has disadvantages. The question arises as to whether it is an adequate and absolute substitute for the International Court of Justice, or the International Court of Justice is irreplaceable for certain controversial issues.

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In the last ten years there has been a lot of rhetoric about failure of the concept of multiculturalism in europe. the paper aims to present reasons why concept of multiculturalism in eU had failed. Failure of multiculturalism in eU as a result had a gradual strengthening of the national consciousness and rise of national identities of eU member states. the paper points out the lack of a single model of eU multiculturalism, the emergence of Islamophobia in the eU in the early 2000s and explains the fragility of the concept of european identity. Migrant crisis, started in 2015, represents the latest stage in the backdrop of multiculturalism in the eU. all those tendencies had caused euroscepticism, the weakening of european identity, rise of right-wing parties and gradual strengthening of national identities of the eU member states. the paper concludes that the most important problems of european multiculturalism are integration of Islam into european society, as well as loyalty of Islam to the european way of life.

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This paper is based on a brief comparative analysis of the dynamic development of society and state through the prism of hegemonic masculinity and gender inequality, disregarding the fact that politics and law promote and protect gender equality. the research aims to indicate that gender equality endeavours to dispute hegemonic masculinity as an irreplaceable basis for normative heterosexuality. One assumes that hegemonic masculinity is unfounded not only from a political and legal standpoint but also because it does not comply with the principles of the modern state. On the other hand, from an economic and sociological standpoint, hegemonic masculinity is well-founded which the paper hypothesis supports: hegemonic masculinity is a paradox because of its unwitting tendency to ignore politics, law and gender equality.

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this manuscript is focused on the importance of international field exercises in the field of emergency management from the perspective of the countries that organize them, as well as the participating countries. International institutions, such as the EU and the North atlantic treaty Organization (NATO), are examples of good practice in creating and organizing field international emergency management exercises. the priority in organizing this form of exercises is to promote mutual cooperation and interoperability among the participating countries. In addition, the host country takes the opportunity to see the shortcomings in the internal organizational setting or further develop their own capacities based on lessons learned that are identified during the exercise. today, several international field exercises are organized under the patronage of the EU or NATO on an annual basis. the concept of the exercise involves the participation of a large number of countries, with EU exercises targeting the area of the european Union, while NATO international field exercises in the field of emergency management provide the opportunity for states outside the EU to take part. In October 2018, the Republic of Serbia hosted an international field exercise \"SERBIA 2018\" organized by the euro-atlantic emergency Coordination Center (EADRCC), which is a part of NATO. Besides, as a member of the european Civil Protection Mechanism in the EU, the representatives of the competent emergency services of the Republic of Serbia take an active part in the EU-organized exercises. the article will explore how international field exercises will contribute to raising national capacities of the Republic of Serbia in the field of emergency situations. the EU, as well as NATO, through its organizational units, organizes international field exercises to assist countries in whose territory the exercises are realized. thus, in addition to the development of international cooperation, significant progress is achieved in the field of national capacities.