Anali PAZU HD

Editorial

PETRA CAJNKO, Social Sciences Editor and Technical Editor

You are holding a new issue of Anali PAZU HD, which focuses on three scientific articles addressing current social science and humanities topics that transcend the local context and highlight structural changes in the fields of work, language, and security.

The first article examines the problem of linking collective labor rights to the existing Slovenian concept of the economically dependent person under the Employment Relationships Act (ZDR-1). The author notes that the institution of economic dependency is weakly established in practice and often unsuitable as a starting point for extending collective rights to the self-employed, primarily due to individualized enforcement procedures, a strict threshold of economic dependency, and the heterogeneity of the self-employed population. If collective labor law were additionally tied to this concept, these limitations would further complicate effective organizing, bargaining, and representation of a broader circle of workers outside standard employment relationships.

The second article takes us into a completely different, yet equally crucial, framework for understanding linguistic and cultural development. The analysis of handwritten sermons by the priest Jožef Horvat reveals how a speaker of Croatian origin integrated into the Prekmurje environment through a process of linguistic adaptation and, in later sermons, by combining Prekmurje and central Slovene features, co-shaped a space of linguistic mediation and cultural transition. The sermons thus represent a valuable source for understanding interlingual contact and the processes of Slovene standardization at the beginning of the 20th century, showing how linguistic identity was formed through practice rather than merely through codification.

In the third article, I open a discussion on the transformation of security and armed forces in the context of globalization, where the development of new technologies, geopolitical pressures, and economic constraints generate complex challenges, especially for small states. These must simultaneously adapt, specialize, and seek innovative models of cooperation that transcend traditional national frameworks. The article raises the question of how small systems, under conditions of limited resources, can ensure national security without sacrificing strategic autonomy and societal legitimacy of their measures.

The common thread of all three articles is the reflection on how social systems adapt to change—whether in the labor market, linguistic norms, or security policies. In each case, it is not merely a matter of responding to external circumstances, but of the ability for critical self-reflection, innovation, and the formation of new institutional solutions. A society that successfully confronts challenges is not one that preserves the status quo, but one that understands change as a space of responsibility and creativity.

You are kindly invited to read on!