Food as an essential ingredient of human existence, has always played an important role in interstate relations and diplomatic practice. It has been used as a medium for projecting influence, communicating one's culture, identity and messages that express friendship or enmity. Its role is becoming increasingly prominent in the public diplomacy practices of various countries, while academic accounts on gastro diplomacy, food diplomacy or culinary diplomacy within the International Relations (IR) discipline have so far been limited. The aim of this article is to introduce different aspects of this new, developing field of interdisciplinary research to the wider academic community, building on the hypothesis that food is becoming more recognized as an official soft power or public diplomacy tool. The article contains an analysis based on an initial survey conducted among the diplomats accredited in the Republic of Croatia as well as among the students of the

Politics has traditionally been reserved for men, meaning it has been very difficult‎ for women to enter at the highest level. The progress in gender equality‎ in politics has been uneven so far and significant differences exist among‎ states and regions. The male dominance in state politics has translated into the‎ international realm in international entities and multilateral political platforms‎ as well. Although these entities gradually introduced the principles of gender‎ equality and promoted an increased participation of women in political life in‎ their constituent states through key documents, they face the same problem –‎ how to ensure at least a formal and descriptive representation of women at the‎ highest level and how to translate stated or symbolic gender equality from key‎ documents into practice (symbolic to substantive representation). The aim of‎ this paper is to give an overview of the historical development of the international‎ framework for the equal participation of women in politics. Particularly,‎ this paper analyses how two international entities – the UN and the EU – contribute‎ to overcoming the gender-gap in politics, and whether their activities‎ have influenced an increased participation of women in politics (descriptive‎ representation).‎

Odnosi Europske unije i Kine, pored dominantno ekonomske, sve više poprimaju političku, ali i sigurnosnu dimenziju. Početak odnosa Europske unije i Kine vezan je za sredinu sedamdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća, od kada je Kina za Europsku uniju sve više postajala strateški partner. Kineski se globalni utjecaj, pa tako i utjecaj na Europu, sve više širi. To se ponajprije događa na području ekonomije, kroz institucionalizaciju u okviru programa "Pojas i put", te inicijativu 16+1, kojoj se 2019. pridružila i grčka. U radu se, polazeći od političke i ekonomske dimenzije odnosa Europske unije i Kine, razmatra i sigurnosna dimenzija. U 21. stoljeću pitanja sigurnosti se sve više globaliziraju i utječu na političku i ekonomsku dimenziju odnosa između aktera u međunarodnoj zajednici. To se posebno može vidjeti u odnosima Kine s drugim međunarodnim akterima, kako s drugim državama tako i međunarodnim organizacijama. U radu se posebno analiziraju sigurnosni aspekti odnosa Kine i Europske unije u kontekstu globalnih odnosa. Polazi se od pretpostavke da je Europska unija strateški važan partner Kine, zbog čega sigurnosna dimenzija suradnje dobiva sve više na značaju.

This paper analyzes Croatia's policy towards NATO enlargement in the Western Balkans. After the Cold War, NATO has undergone major changes, which included organizational and strategic adjustments to new conditions in international relations, as well as the expansion to new countries. These processes can be viewed as an effort aimed at positioning NATO as inevitable actor in global security processes on the one hand, and at widening the trans-Atlantic security community on the other. Its actions in the post-Cold war period have not been limited to the territory of the Member States only (collective defence), but have been predominantly carried out in the wider environment in which conflicts occurred (collective security). One such area was the Western Balkans, where NATO had decisive impact on stopping the conflict and the establishment of peace and stability. This was particularly true in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. NATO enlargement to the countries of Southeast Europe has significantly affected the improvement of the security situation in the region. NATO membership of Croatia, Albania and eventually Montenegro serve as the case in point. Croatian position is specific, not only due to its geo-strategic position, but also because of its special interest in stability and Euro-Atlantic perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper is based on the hypothesis that the expansion of NATO to the countries of the Western Balkans has had positive impact on the stability and security of the region, which is why Croatia strongly advocates further NATO enlargement to the rest of the countries of the region (to those which declared NATO membership as their foreign and security policy objective). This hypothesis will be elaborated through the analysis of NATO strategic documents and Croatian foreign and security policy, especially those parts that are related to the Western Balkans.

Autorice u radu analiziraju institucionalizaciju discipline međunarodnih odnosa i sigurnosnih studija na Fakultetu političkih znanosti vodeći se kriterijima stabilnosti, identiteta i autonomije, koji se testiraju na osnovi specifičnih pokazatelja njihove manifestacije. Pritom je naglasak na razvoju u posljednjih tridesetak godina, s kraćim osvrtom na ranija razdoblja kada se ponajprije međunarodni odnosi ugrađuju kao jedna od konstitutivnih disciplina na tada novoj sveučilišnoj instituciji, koja je emancipirala politologiju u odnosu na ostala, starija znanstvena polja iz kojih vuče korijene. Pored toga, kako bi se stekao uvid u paralelni razvoj međunarodnih odnosa i sigurnosnih studija od sredine dvadesetog stoljeća, u radu se propituje moguća emancipacija sigurnosnih studija kao zasebne znanstvene discipline i pokušava se odgovoriti na pitanje je li moguće ili pak korisno razdvajati ih s obzirom na međusobnu isprepletenost i preklapanje pojmovno-kategorijalnog aparata, teorija i fenomena koje istražuju. Posebno se komparira razvoj discipline međunarodnih odnosa i sigurnosnih studija u Hrvatskoj s državama u okruženju (Srbija i Slovenija) te se izvode zaključci o međuodnosu sigurnosnih studija i međunarodnih odnosa. U radu se polazi od tvrdnje da je disciplina međunarodnih odnosa i sigurnosnih studija, koja se od druge polovice 1990-ih intenzivnije razvija u pogledu znanstvene produkcije i nastavnih planova i programa, snažno institucionalizirana.