Časopis Napredak objavljuje radove iz oblasti političke teorije i prakse.
Fondacija za srpski narod i državu, Beograd
Between Hollywood glamour and bureaucratic grayness: film as a means of influencing the public opinion determinant of foreign policy
Film represents a powerful instrument capable of influencing public opinion. This paper therefore examines this medium and its impact on shaping foreign policy and determining the course a state pursues in international relations. Furthermore, it explores how different models of film vary in their influence on public opinion, as well as how they affect public attitudes toward specific issues. The theoretical foundations of foreign policy determinants, public opinion, and film are presented with the aim of identifying their common intersection—that is, the ways in which the cinematic medium can indirectly, through public opinion, influence foreign policy. The hypothesis positions film as one of the most significant factors in shaping the public-opinion determinant of foreign policy, while also partially addressing the effects it may have on the public.
Ljubica Buba Miljković – A sanctuary for the soul
Social power and a new understanding of the world in the age of artificial intelligence
Indo-Pacific strategy and Europe – from politics through defence and economy to cultural and AI diplomacy. The example of the Czech Republic
In the past decades, the increase in the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, which has become not only a new geopolitical and geoeconomic, but also a geotechnical centre, led to a series of activities both of individual countries and the European Union and its member-states, resulting in a set of strategies for the Indo-Pacific during the second decade of the 21st century. The same process continued in the current, third decade. Due to their significance, the enacted strategies soon became the subject of study, whereas lately the focus has been placed exactly on analyzing the activities of individual countries. On this occasion, we have dedicated attention to the research of the activities of the Czech Republic, which adopted its strategy in 2022, immediately after the adoption of the European Union’s Strategy for the Indo-Pacific (2021) and subsequently, this region also found its place in the official politics of this country, namely in the Foreign Policy Concept (2025), as well in the National Cybersecurity Strategy (2025).
Dragoš Kalajić – A Serbian critical attitude towards western culture and civilization
Abstract: Through the presentation of Dragoš Kalajić’s journalistic texts with the subject of war, as well as by emphasizing Kalajić’s participation in war conflicts during 1992-1995, the author strives to point to the basic corpus of values by which Kalajić was guided in life and which he fiercely defended, as well as to the higher, literary quality of his war reports. Analyzing Kalajić’s understanding of war and the place allotted to the writer in war, the author gives a clear picture of Kalajić’s “ideal” war correspondent, “the writer of God Mars”. He dedicates special attention to Kalajić’s observations regarding the character and spiritual strength of the fighters, who are the main bearers of the values about which he leaves a trace. In the conclusion, the author also gives a personal evaluation of Kalajić’s war records, as well as of the character of the war correspondent/writer standing behind them.
Rethinking Machiavelli’s The Prince: Humanist Critique and the Ethics of Objective Inquiry
This paper demonstrates that a proper understanding of Machiavelli’s The Prince requires a careful reconstruction of the historical and cultural context of the Renaissance at the turn of the fifteenth to the sixteenth century. Particular attention is given to the humanists’ teaching on the virtuous man (vir virtutis) and the “mirror for princes” genre that emerged from it. Within this framework, the persistent humanist critique of Machiavelli – one that continued to exert influence well into the twentieth century – can be fully comprehended. In contrast, the interpretation advanced here contends that Machiavelli was the first to introduce a principle of methodological objectivity, later described as the value-neutral inquiry. By adopting this stance, Machiavelli can be regarded as a pioneer of political science: without the methodological foundation he established, the discipline itself could not have developed. Through adherence to this principle, he was able to present an objective account of political reality and to make it publicly intelligible, demonstrating remarkable intellectual courage. In light of this achievement, Machiavelli deserves rehabilitation from the long-standing accusations and recognition as an impartial investigator of the nature of politics— a role that humanist criticism has never been able acknowledge.
Waste incineration is a controversial topic, even in technologically advanced and highly industrialized countries. Due to the complexity of this issue, it is necessary to approach the analysis from a broader perspective that encompasses all relevant aspects of the incineration process. This paper examines not only the technological dimensions but also the institutional conditions that support the implementation of the waste management hierarchy, as well as the principles of proximity and self-sufficiency. Special attention is given to the energy recovery of waste through various incineration and co-incineration technologies, with a focus on mechanisms that enable the control and reduction of harmful emissions.
(Tragi)comedy of errors: state double and student plenums
The paper is based on the assumption that workers’ self-management as a road of leaving the “monopoly for power possession” of the state and party bodies developed a hybrid “state double” model as a Yugoslav predecessor of the anarcho-liberal idea of de-etatization, i.e., that self-management direct decision-making and financing social activities of common interest is the beginning of direct democracy of the plenums during the students’ university blockade. The research is aimed at perceiving the roadmap of the Yugoslav liberal “state double” model which has developed into a West-centric post-Yugoslav model of direct democracy of plenums as an alternative form of civic activism at the faculties and universities in Serbia. The research methodology is founded on the comparative historical analysis of the “state double” model in the sphere of social activities, starting from workers’ self-management. The empirical research refers to the alternative system of extra-institutional decision-making of the student plenums at the universities in Serbia supported by university professors and interested social groups which has articulated the crisis of democratization and institutionalization through introducing participatory and direct democracy of plenums.
Military force mobility as a challenge for the European Union in the field of defence
The paper analyzes the triggers for the consideration and the extent to which the European Union has improved military force mobility in Europe. Military force mobility ensures efficient, timely and safe transport and deployment of military staff, weapons and equipment for the needs of conducting missions, operations, exercises or everyday activities. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict pointed to an urgent need of substantially improving military force mobility within and outside the European Union through the realization of projects related to military mobility and through the development of the dual-purpose transport infrastructure within the trans-European transport network. Free movement of military forces in Europe, without any obstacles, is the question of strategic importance both for the EU and the NATO. However, it has been concluded that the current state of traffic communications is not at the satisfactory level and, according, the EU (and the NATO) undertake comprehensive measures to create conditions for completely unobstructed movement of their own military forces. The conclusions in this paper have been drawn mainly by the use of the analysis method and the comparative method. The data were collected by the qualitative content analysis of the relevant documents and statements, while the presentation is mostly chronological. In disciplinary terms, the paper is founded on science of international relations, chiefly on the foreign policy analysis.
When history falls silent, geopolitics starts speaking
Geopolitical features of the position of Serbia and Serbian nation in modern international relations
In this paper, the author analyzes geopolitical features of the position of Serbia and Serbian nation in the context of current international circumstances, with a focus on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Geopolitical features which will be the subject of the analysis are: knottiness, borderliness and fragmentation, since these are the paradigmatic features of the Balkan territory. Having this in mind, in this paper we will define the above-listed features so as to be able to analyze them further in the given contexts. We will analyze in particular how the former and the latter affect the conflict and, accordingly, make a synthesis and show how their consequences are reflected on the position of Serbia and Serbian nation. In addition to the description, analysis and synthesis methods, we will also use the geopolitical method for the purpose of understanding a strong cause-and-effect relationship between the political and the spatial in the current context. It is assumed that the ongoing conflicts complicate the geopolitical features of the position of Serbia and Serbian nation and aggravate the international position between the East and the West.
True Multilateralism: Conceptual Development, Core Essences, and China’s Practices
At present, the profound changes unseen in a century are intensifying globally, and global governance encounters a growing array of challenges. The international community needs to advance global governance through true multilateralism. Nevertheless, unilateralism and hegemonism are undermining multilateralism, which faces significant obstacles. China actively advocates and practices true multilateralism, a concept it has proposed, refined, and developed. The core principles of true multilateralism include upholding fairness and justice, maintaining openness and inclusiveness, adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, promoting extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and keeping pace with the times. China advances true multilateralism through concrete actions, such as nurturing the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind, safeguarding the UN system, enhancing multilateral mechanisms, providing high-quality international public goods, and promoting legal frameworks in global governance.
Reviving the Monroe Doctrine – Trump’s Campaign for Panama, Canada and Greenland
The research subject in this paper is the foreign policy of the newly-appointed US president Donald Trump in relation to the parts of the Western Hemisphere – primarily Panama, Canada and Greenland, openly claiming them for the United States of America. The starting hypothesis is that Donald Trump wants to revive the Monroe Doctrine formulated as early as 1823 and stipulating that the United States should be the indisputable master of the Western Hemisphere. The research results show that, despite Donald Trump’s pompous announcements that he would expand the territory of his country during the first six months of his mandate, no significant steps were taken in that direction. In the research, the historical method, the analysis method and the case study method were applied.
35 years from the fall of the Berlin Wall: consequences and modern tendencies
The paper examines modern processes in Europe three and a half decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The time distance offers more favourable conditions for perceiving the Berlin wall and its role, as well as the causes of the fall of real socialism and the ensuing processes by using the historical and comparative method, and also the synthetic-analytical method. The paper is divided into three segments: the first one deals with the demystification of the Berlin Wall and its historical role from the time of its construction to its destruction; the second segment deals with the analysis of direct and long-term consequences of the fall of the Berlin Wall, while the third one is dedicated to the forms of changes and their tendencies in Europe. The conclusion of the paper synthetizes the findings from all three chapters and gives a critical review of today’s state of affairs on the European continent.
International cooperation in disaster risk reduction in the region of South Eastern Europe
Different kinds of natural and anthropogenic disasters are increasingly numerous in modern “risk society”, while their consequences are larger and larger, often exceeding the possibilities of responding to them not only at the local, but also at the national level. All this calls for various forms of international cooperation in disaster risk reduction and emergency management. Apart from global organizations, an important role in disaster risk reduction is also played by institutional organizational forms in the EU and some of its regions. In the region of South Eastern Europe, generally prone to crises, there is only one regional initiative – Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative (DPPI) and International Sava River Basin Commission (Sava Commission). It is certainly both necessary and possible to improve the existing institutional arrangements and to devise other ones to raise the capacities of these countries for disaster risk management.
Geopolitical concepts: definition and importance
In practical terms, geopolitics is manifested through geopolitical concepts. These concepts are strategic perceptions based on geographical (socio-geographical and physical-geographical) and political indicators relevant for shaping certain goals. This paper explains the definition and importance of geopolitical concepts, as well as the necessary conditions for their legitimization. In that context, to understand certain geopolitical concepts (i.e., to understand the constants on which concepts are based), it is necessary to know the long-standing historical processes which also form collective strategic perceptions. Illegitimate geopolitical concepts cannot be successful, nor can they last in time, which is essentially opposite to the objectives of geopolitics. That is why a conclusion is imposed that successful geopolitics may not be based on any ad hoc actions, but they imply strategic deliberation, long-term planning and a multidisciplinary approach in ensuring interests of the state and the nation creating the state.
Geopolitics of Chaos and Geopolitical Vacuum
The paper elaborates on the current geopolitical issues with potential far-reaching consequences for establishing the future order of power in international relations, as well as on the geopolitical powers themselves. The paper will analyze primarily the existing and potential crisis hotspots, as well as the changes occurring after US President Donald Trump came to power, and anticipations of potential results and consequences of the changes he initiated in his second presidential mandate. Moreover, attention will also be drawn to the analysis of the current position of large geopolitical powers with the already proven status of rivals, competitors and disputers of decades-long domination and hegemony of the Atlanticist West. In addition, we will try to answer the question about the possible end of the globalization era and the potential emergence of the post-globalization order.
Hearing of General Philippe Morillon in the French National Assembly
Comic Strip Studies as a Comprehensive Cultural-Historical Insight and Model for the Future
The Role of the Institute for Political Studies in French-Serbian Scientific Cooperation and Cultural Diplomacy
The Francophonie is extremely important for the development not only of “cultural diplomacy”, but also of increasingly broader scientific cooperation, implementation of joint projects, activities and exchange of knowledge with the Republic of Serbia, as well as the whole region of the Western Balkans. The research is aimed at determining the scope, results as well as perspectives of the cooperation between the Institute for Political Studies, as one of the most outstanding actors in scientific, expert and cultural relations, and French scientific-research and educational institutions. In the research preparation, the author used the content analysis and limited observation with participation. In conclusion, Serbia is one of the key countries in the region for building scientific cooperation with France and, with rather limited funds allocated to social sciences and humanities en générale, the Institute for Political Studies manages to maintain the image of good partner through its exchange of knowledge, publications and implementation of joint project activities.
Letter from a traveler to the president of the Republic
This essay reflects on the legacy of Montenegrin artist Dado (Miodrag Đurić, 1933–2010), who spent most of his career and life in France, in a context where new narratives in art history emerge giving more visibility to non-Western artists. Through the complex and fertile bond between the East and the West cultures, the importance of the landmark retrospective of paintings of the artist at the SASA Gallery in 2024, and the restoration of his in situ masterpiece, the Orpellières, his “Guernica in color”, the author shows Dado’s extreme contemporaneity. New insights, not only in art history, but also in aesthetics, philosophy and literature, show the fascinating echo of Dado’s work in our times.
Georges Clemenceau and Serbian National Issue
This paper examines Georges Clemenceau, a distinguished French statesman, particularly his reflections on Serbia and the Serbian people during the first two decades of the 20th century, especially during the First World War. To provide a comprehensive understanding, we shed light on issues such as Clemenceau’s Balkan policy, his relationship towards the Thessaloniki front, the Yugoslav idea and, consequently, the process that led to Yugoslavia’s international recognition at Versailles. The research has been supported by archival sources and literature from Serbian and French historiographies.
The context and consequences of 2024 early parliamentary election in France: the rise of actors from the right and left spectrum of political action
After the poor electoral result of his political option in the European Parliament elections, President of France Emmanuel Macron decided to call an early parliamentary election. This move is unusual in the functioning of the French political system because early parliamentary elections are quite rare in this country. The voters’ dissatisfaction with various decisions of Macron during his two presidential mandates were used by the political options from the right and left spectrum of political action for increasing their own rating. However, owing to the electoral system and post-electoral calculations, the political movement led by Macron kept a sort of political power in the Parliament; namely, the opposition actors are not able to form the majority that would lead to cohabitation, which has not been recorded since 2000, when the shortening of the presidential mandate from seven to five years led to the merging of presidential and parliamentary elections in the same year. Such calling of early parliamentary elections, in case they are held at their regular time in the future, separates elections while increasing the possibility of cohabitation being established in the forthcoming period. This paper will analyze and explore the manner in which the French political system will function in that situation, as well as the direction in which further growth of political options on the right and left spectrum.
France and Geopolitics: A Complicated Story Threatened by EU and NATO Memberships
The author of this paper addresses French geopolitics, or today’s position of France in the context of its membership in the European Union and the NATO. The starting assumption is that the membership in these two organizations limits the French position and opportunities for reviving French geopolitics which formerly put forward national interests and the sovereignty of the state. Having in mind that the EU and the NATO are a threat to France’s true geopolitics, in the first part of the paper the author justifies his thesis, first in the context of France’s position in the EU and the NATO, and the in relation to the ideology of positivist liberal internationalism. In the second part, the author analyzes the introduction of geopolitics in the French educational system and recognizes advantages and disadvantages in the system itself. Finally, the author offers a solution to the foundation of the French geopolitical thought which should be based on glorious history and a patriotic elite.
The influence of France on sports in the Kingdom of Serbia
During its struggle for independence in the 19th century, Serbia considered physical culture primarily through the soldiers’ skills or the preparation of future soldiers. It is because of these reasons that military structures had a dominant influence on the introduction and development of physical exercise until the Great War. Gained independence and promoting the principality to the rank of the kingdom encouraged Serbian society to make significant changes in different social spheres. Physical culture also experienced positive changes after the 1880s. With the arrival of Charles Doucet, a Belgian fencing instructor, in Serbia at the end of the 19th century, Serbian society was introduced to the French fencing method. Doucet’s pupils promoted the fencing sport in the Kingdom of Serbia, as well as subsequently in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the aim of specializing in physical culture, Officer Dragomir Nikolajević was sent to France, to Joinville School of Physical Education. After his return from schooling, Nikolajević worked on the development of the Sokol movement and the Olympic movement. By accepting Baron de Coubertin’s ideas, the Kingdom of Serbia ranked among few countries which introduced Olympism before the Great War. The influence of France at the beginning of sports in the Kingdom of Serbia was the foundation for further development of physical culture in the territory of the Republic of Serbia and in the region on the whole.
Trade and investment relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Tropic French Republic – modern trends
Trade and investment relations between Serbia and France are an important aspect of the overall bilateral cooperation between these two countries. Starting from the history of their economic relations since 1878 to date, the research conducted for the needs of this paper encompasses the analysis of modern trade and investments. The methodology includes the qualitative and descriptive analysis, based on the data of international and national institutions. The results show a stable and dynamic trade exchange with a significant increase in French foreign direct investment in Serbia. New aspects of this research include primarily the overall analysis of current trends and challenges in the analyzed spheres of bilateral cooperation. In conclusion, the paper highlights optimistic prospects for further development of bilateral economic relations between these two countries.