POLITICS - BASIC TERMINOLOGY

politics - set of activities working for public interest

• art or skill of governing a community aimed at achieving common good

• the study of politics is called political science or politology

politics is multidimensional → political triad

1) politics - procedural dimension (processes)

• how the decisions are made

  2) polity - institutional dimension

• who makes the decisions

  3) policy - content or material dimension

• what the decisions are about

public policy - content of political decision making

• concerns all aspects of life, everybody feels the consequences

• represents interventions by the state directed at achieving common good

• in democracy → uses authority which comes from legitimacy after winning the elections

Types of Political Policies

1) general policy → according to territory

• local, regional, national, global

  2) specific policies → according to topics

• health, foreign, tourism, tax, economic, agricultural, financial, educational, or military policy

Overview of Political Thought in Philosophy

1. Plato → Politeia (philosophers as rulers)

2. Aristotle → Politics (man is a zoon politikon)

3. Cicero → De re publica (res republica = common good)

4. A. Augustine → City of God (Heavenly city (Lord’s) vs. Earthly (Devil’s) city)

5. T. Aquinas → Summa theologiae (correct policies follow God’s commandments, common good)

6. N. Machiavelli → The Prince (end justifies the means)

POLITICAL ACTORS

• everyone who is politically active

  1) politicians

• goal: to seize political power

• in democracies → voters give them their trust and expect professional behavior in return

  2) citizens

• goal: to impact the political power

• civil society → citizens enroll in organizations

  • NGO (non-government organizations), unions, religious communities, interest groups, social movements etc.

• activities → petitions, volunteering, boycotts, protests, voting, plebiscite, strikes, ethical buying, civil disobedience, citizen initiatives, involvement of media, town meetings

• citizens try to be part of the problem solving for the community in order to achieve a better quality of life

big corporations → actors who try to impact the political power

• lobbying (influencing the decisions of a government)

citizen → individual in a state

1) active citizen - a citizen who participates in the public sphere defending one’s specifics

• implies differences

• they express their own interests

• EU citizens have the right to live and move freely within the EU borders, as well as the right to address the European ombudsman (pučki pravobranitelj)

  2) citizen as a member of the nation-state

• implies equality

• equal political rights regardless of specific characteristics (age, sex, creed, race, financial status etc.)

• aware of their belonging to a nation

Acquirement of Croatian Citizenship

• birth on Croatian territory

• origin (by parents)

• naturalization (long-time residence, marriage, adoption etc.)

• special cases

→ dual citizenship is allowed :)

→ main document of Croatian citizenship is called domovnica

PEOPLE, NATION AND SOVEREIGNTY

people

• community of people who live on the same territory, use the same language, and nourish the same customs → etnos (ethnos)

• not all people have their own country (Kurds, Roma people, Catalans, Flemish etc.)

  nation

• politically sovereign people, usually within a country

• people become a nation when they form their own country

• national identity is achieved by national symbols (anthem, flag, historic events, national holidays etc.)

→ Croatian people developed their country in 1990.

→ first constitution was adopted on December 22 1990 (božićni ustav)

sovereignty

• supreme and independent power or authority in a state

• unrestricted on specific territory, within internationally recognized borders (land, sea, and air)

• inalienable (neotuđiv), indivisible (nedjeljiv), and non-transferable (neprenosiv)

national minorities → smaller ethnic groups who are part of a nation

• modern democratic countries protect their rights and guarantee equality (unity in diversity)

• crimes against minorities: discriminations, deportation, ethnic cleansing, genocide

Treatment of Minorities

1) assimilation - minority abandons their customs and adopts customs of the majority

2) melting pot → mixing of different cultures and creation of a new cultural group

• USA - spontaneous and voluntary, USSR and Yugoslavia - planned and forceful)

3) cultural pluralism → coexistence of different ethnic groups regardless of their number

• Switzerland

minorities in Croatia: Serbs, Italians, Albanians, Roma people, Slovenians, Hungarians, Czechs

POLITICAL ACTION

• every political action is based on freedom, political culture and upholding human dignity

• political culture is needed → requires education, access to information and the will to participate

Types of Political Culture

1) parochial

• no awareness of nationality or central government, people are focused on their parish (župa) or small community

2) subject

• vague awareness of belonging to a larger community (nation), but people remain passive because they don’t think they have any impact on the government

3) participant

• high awareness of nationality and community, notion of citizen significance

  life in political community is formed by political action

• abstinence → giving up on political action

Types of Political Action

1) physical political action

• signing petitions, party organizing, civil disobedience, peaceful protests, ethical buying, strikes, voting, taking part in referendums

2) political writings

• books, essays, articles, leaflets, brochures, billboards with slogans

• more common during an election campaign

3) political communication

• communication between all political actors, media, and the public

• includes speeches and debates

• visible in public speeches, manipulation, and censorship

political speech

purpose: form opinions, impact views of political actors and affect their behavior

Types of Political Speeches Considering the Target Audience

1. exclusive - professional speeches among politicians

2. totalitarian - discriminates those who don’t think alike

3. democratic - dialogs, tolerance, respects different opinions

Types of Political Speeches Considering the Speaker’s Skills

1. emotional - keywords (family, motherhood, blood, sweat, tears etc.)

2. expressive - vast vocabulary, poetic figures of speech

3. extensive - avoiding weak points, manipulation

4. iterative - repetition of important key phrases

5. coherent - precise and concise, no additional strategies

• free media is important for a democracy

• censorship is prohibition of publishing of certain content, mostly present in totalitarian regimes

• more freedom = less censorship

• spin is a kind of political marketing with a purpose of drawing attention

  • intention: criticize the opponent, buy time or make a selection of facts that fit the political figures

• propaganda is a planned spreading of ideas through media

  • systematically impacts points of view of the audience

POWER, AUTHORITY AND RULE OF LAW

• power according to Max Weber is the chance that an individual in a social relationship can achieve through their own will, even against the resistance of others

authority

• legitimate power that one person or a group possesses and practices over another

• power can be exerted by the use of force or violence

• authority depends on the acceptance by subordinates and of the right of those above them to give them orders

• the acceptance lies on traditional beliefs and winning the election

• legitimacy is not the same as legality → being in conformity with the law

Types of Authority According to M. Weber

1) traditional - power legitimized by respect for long-established cultural patterns

• “It’s always been that way.”

2) charismatic - power legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion and obedience

• needs to be proved on an everyday basis

3) rational-legal - power legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations

• someone’s ability plays an important role, not their suitability

rule of law

• legal and political concept which requires all parts of society (especially politicians!) to act according to law

• laws represent reason and stability

Charles Montesquieu → obedience to the law should be the supreme principle

• in order for power not to be concentrated in the hands of an individual → separation of powers

• separation of powers disables misuse (all three parts are independent)

• independent within their powers, but they control each other and cooperate

Branches of Government

1) legislative - parliaments

• writes constitutions, makes laws, represents the people

• one or a two-house system

2) executive - government and presidents

• enforces laws, has responsibility for the governance of a state

3) judicial - hierarchy of courts

• ensures uniform application of laws and equality of citizens

• court of first instance (prvostupanjski), appeal court (prizivni), and supreme court (Vrhovni)

Models of Democracy

1) parliament democracy

• strives to achieve the balance between legislative and executive power

• laws are proposed by the government and the parliament passes them

• representatives are elected directly to the parliament

• the government must have the support from the parliament majority

• the parliament supervises the work of the government and elects the president

  • Croatia has had this system since the 2000 with the exception of the direct presidential election

  2) presidential democracy (e.g. USA)

• the president is elected directly, as well as the members of Congress

• Congress passes the laws, but the president has the power of veto (temporarily)

• technically there is no government → the president appoints the co-called president’s men

  3) semi-presidential democracy

• a directly elected president appoints the government members

• the government must be approved by the parliament

• the government answers to both the president and the parliament

• executive branch more powerful than the legislative

  • e.g. Republic of France

  • Croatia had this system until the end of 2000

laws and the Constitution are written rules in modern societies

Constitution

• highest legal act of any country, defines its political system

• all other legal acts are formed based on the Constitution

• it shouldn’t be changed often!

• lists basic civil rights, the institutions, and the cooperation with other countries

Ustav RH: Izvorišne osnove, Temeljne odredbe, Zaštita ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda, Ustrojstvo državne vlasti, Ustavni sud RH, Mjesna, lokalna i područna (regionalna) samouprava, Međunarodni odnosi, Europska unija

laws

• regulate social life, must be in harmony with the constitution and moral values

• apply equally to all citizens, nobody is above the law

• procedure of passing laws must be public, transparent, and according to rules (urgent passing only in justifies circumstances)

• quorum → a minimum number of representatives in the parliament necessary to pass a law (above 50% of representatives)

• most laws are passed with the overwhelming majority of present representatives

• for particularly sensitive laws a large majority is needed (⅔) of all representatives, not just the present ones

• consensus → unanimous passing of a law

• citizens are required to know and obey the laws (duties, obligations, prohibitions, and penalties)

• legal state → a state in which the authorities must stick to legal principles, rules and procedures

• police state → opposite of a legal state; a state in which there is no certainty of the law and citizens can be subjugated to various treatments, otherwise illegal

MORAL, LEGAL AND POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY

→ in order to choose the best politicians, we need to look for those of who have similar system values to ours

• we need to demand responsible performance and have them obey the laws and integrity

• politicians should be professional, consistent and tolerant

• it is our duty to supervise their performance

Politicians’ Responsibilities

legal

• responsibility when breaking the law or the constitution (nobody is above the law)

• the Croatian parliament supervises the government, the Constitutional court supervises the president, the State judicial council supervises the judicial branch etc.

  political

• responsibility for mistakes when making decisions

• the media and the public reconsider the conduct of politicians

• public condemnation, distrust, retaliation at the next elections etc.

  moral

• respecting the moral norms of the society

• lies, adultery, hypocrisy etc.

corruption (lat. corruptio)

• it signals a dishonest behavior, working towards their own interests at the costs of others

• misuse of power, bribery, hiring without competition, embezzlement, nepotism, clientelism, conflict of interest

• fighting corruption: disclosure, publication, harsh punishment, anti-corruption education

• ought to be led by prevention authorities → their goal must be disabling corruption, education about the harmful effects of corruption and encouragement of positive social values, such as honesty and integrity

• USKOK (2002) = Ured za suzbijanje korupcije i organiziranog kriminala

• TIH = Transparency International Hrvatska

  • non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the responsibility and fighting corruption on a national scale

  • it does NOT investigate specific cases of corruption (that’s what the branches of government do), but rather educate and impact change of the system

  • not enough to change the laws and expect people to be honest

POLITICAL SYSTEMS

• seven basic types of political systems (forms of government by power source): democracy, republic, monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, dictatorship and totalitarianism

• monarchy and republic are forms of states by system of ruling

democracy (gr. demos - people + kratein - rule)

• “rule of the people” → presents the rule of majority, along with the protection of minorities (liberal democracy)

• based on pluralism

• political goals achieved through the competition of many political subjects

• separation of powers

• fundamental values: equality, freedom and human dignity

  direct democracy

• government in which the people represent themselves and vote directly for new laws and public policy

• today only visible in form of a referendum

• Croatia has held three referendums so far: for independence, accession to the EU and constitutional definition of marriage

  representative democracy

• people or citizens of a country elect representatives to create and implement public policy in place of an active participation by the people, for a defined duration (mandate)

authoritarianism

• government has little popular support, but it does NOT control all aspects of life (often economic, religious, cultural, family issues are left to individual decision-making)

• absolute obedience is expected of citizens, disobedience is met with force

• leaves the appearance of pluralism because political parties (which are not dangerous to the government) are allowed

• does not propagate an ideology, only obedience is required

• political apathy is present among citizens

• personal rule - the ruler is a leader who enjoys unlimited power, often corrupted

  • e.g. Singapore → soft authoritarianism (high standards, otherwise a republic)

  • e.g. UAE → hard authoritarianism (no universal suffrage, otherwise a monarchy)

totalitarianism

• government has complete control over all segments of life

• only one political party with a totalitarian ideology (fascism, communism, national socialism) and its members occupy the most important positions in society

  • e.g Stalin in the USSR, Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy

• phenomenon of the 20th century → mass media used as a tool to impact the subjects

• isolates the individual, civil society disappears

  • e.g. North Korea today

• characteristics: one ideology, one party, secret police, military force, media monopoly (propaganda), centralized economy

Forms of States by System of Ruling

• lat. res republica → country is considered a “public matter”, not the private concern of property of the rulers

• meaning the common good

• the primary positions of power within a republic are not inherited, but attained through elections → expressing the consent of the governed

• such leaderships are therefore expected to fairly represent the citizen body

according to the relationship between the executive and legislative powers a republic can be

1. presidential → executive power independent from the legislative power

2. semi-presidential → part of the executive power responsible to the parliament

3. parliamentary → executive power responsible to the parliament

according to the holder of sovereignty a republic can be

1. democratic → the bearer of sovereignty is the entire nation

2. aristocratic → the bearer of sovereignty is part of the population (e.g. Republic of Dubrovnik)

• the Republic of Croatia is a parliamentary and democratic republic!!

monarchy

• form of government in which a group, usually a family representing a dynasty, embodies the country’s national identity at its head

• monarch exercises the role of sovereignty

• power of a monarch may vary from purely symbolic (parliamentary republic) to completely autocratic (absolute monarchy)

• traditionally the monarch’s post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication

• in contrast, elective monarchies require the monarchs to be elected (e.g. Vatican City & UAE)

• usurpation → non-legitimate monarchy, a ruler claims the rule without legal rights

monarchies in EU: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Spain, Sweden, Denmark

other European monarchies: the UK, Norway, Monaco, Andorra, Lichtenstein, Vatican City

STATE

• provides nations with territory they live in, the government that governs and organizes the entire society and gives citizens a sense of security

• first form of a state that regulates relations between people → France, 17th century (absolute monarchy)

• in absolute states residents are controlled

• in liberal states efforts are made to protect the residents’ rights

  • achieved through the separation of powers (control of one government over another), legislation protects residents and predetermined rules create a rule of law

• modern states are nation-states → sense of a national belonging and the idea of citizenship is developed

ways of state formation: accession, annexation, unification, separation, disintegration, division

constitutive elements of a state:

1. population → citizens who have rights and duties

2. territory → legally determined, sovereignty within the territory

3. organized government → manages and organizes the functioning of a state

• also desirable to have international recognition (confirmation from other countries) and a constitution (every country has some form of a fundamental legal document)

Forms of Government by Regional Control

1) unitary state

• state governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only the power that the central government chooses to delegate

  • Croatia is a unitary state with territorial division called županije

• majority of states have a unitary system of government

• there can be divisions into regions, provinces, districts and municipalities that have some autonomy

  • e.g. France, Italy, Sweden, Slovenia, Japan, China, etc.

  2) federation (aka a federal state)

• political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central (federal) government

• the federation is superior to its units

• the fundamental legal document is the federal Constitution

  • e.g. the USA, Federal Republic of Germany, Federation of BiH, Austria, Brazil. Russian Federation, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium

HUMAN RIGHTS

• human rights are endangered in both developed and developing countries

• phenomena that endanger people: health care, poverty, discrimination, pollution, no rule of law, wars, etc.

• human rights are basic rights of every born person

• deserved rights simply because we exist as human beings

• they are NOT granted by the state

• division based on different areas of human existence

  first generation - civil and political rights

• civil rights protect an individual from arbitrary actions of a state

  • e.g. the right to life, liberty, security, equality before the law

• they guarantee political rights (the right to participate in political life)

• the right to freedom of opinion and freedom of the press

  second generation - economic, social and cultural rights

• every human needs to be provided with the most basic things to survive

  • right to work, compensation for work, social security, rest and leisure, right to education and participation in cultural life

  third generation - concerning the problems of modern society

• developed in recent times by the emergence of new challenges in societies around the world

  • right to peace, healthy environment, humanitarian aid, protection of personal data, communication, rights of the unborn and other living beings