Marijana Maksimović
CHALLENGES OF ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE XXI CENTURY: CONCEPT, DIVISION AND SIGNIFICANCE
At the beginning of the XXI century, we are witnessing great changes, caused by crises, conflicts in the world, and epidemics that change our way of life and work. In recent years, digitalization has progressed so much that it has affected the organization of work and contributed to the way many companies operate differently. Rightfully so, people begin to wonder if they can continue to manage their lives or if they will be forced to surrender to the waves of circumstances created "outside". In this context, there was a change in economic diplomacy, which also faced challenges that affected it so its role and its importance increased. As geoeconomics separated from geostrategy, economic diplomacy gained more importance. Today, international economic policy and economic diplomacy have become as important as the classical issues of peace, security, and general prosperity. Economic diplomacy takes place at all levels, at which classical diplomacy also takes place, but it deals exclusively with economic topics, related to competitiveness, profitability, supply of raw materials, and energy. The author starts from the assumption that there have been major changes in international economic relations in the last decade and that they have significantly influenced the importance and improvement of economic diplomacy. The method of description and analysis was used in the work, and the scientific contribution is reflected in the area of strengthening the economic national identity of a country in international economic relations. Furthermore, the obtained conclusions can serve Serbia for better positioning in terms of international concreteness, but also for the advancement of national economic interests. The aim of this paper is to highlight the emerging challenges in economic diplomacy during the last thirty years. Economic diplomacy became an important tool in international business relations, promoting national companies, products, and services, but also many other forms of economic cooperation in the XXI century.
COVID CAPITALISM AND THE LABOR MARKET
The Corona virus has led to many changes, and they are: 1. The virus pandemic has led to a decline in economic activity in almost all countries of the world. 2. The relationship between the United States and China has become more tense, intolerance and intolerance have increased, because both countries want to rule the world, the United States is calling for success in the 20th century, and China is counting on success in the 21st century. However, the United States no longer has the economic, military, or political power to convincingly dominate and rule over the rest of the world. America has its own internal problems and must first face problems in education, health, infrastructure, and social inequalities, i.e., problems in "its own backyard", and only then the strengthening of NATO, a foreign policy that inherits the ideas of liberalism. Furthermore, the 3rd Green Economy is an agenda that should promote a welfare economy while preserving the environment and stoppint the deppletion of the planet's resources. The development of the green economy will also depend on the context of the country in which it should be developed, but in any case, it should be sustainable and fair. Thus, the 4th COVID 19 pandemic accelerated the implementation of digital technologies. It has contributed to the faster adoption of advanced technologies embodied in Industrialization 4.0, the Internet of Things, and the overall digital economy. Under the influence of the Corona virus, the way of communication has changed. At first, there was a lack of written and oral communication, however, in the second half of 2020, this was compensated for through digital media. Then digital marketing gained an increased role, through social media and networks. Thus, the dialogue between producers and consumers was restarted, which increased communication, the dialogue between employees and employers was improved, which enabled the functioning of the company and enabled consensus. In 2015, UNCTAD determined that in economic geography, the classic north-south division was not made, but the division into the USA and China, which lead the digital economy, was made. So, these two countries are leading the accelerated implementation and connection of products, machines, and systems with "smart factories", which not only provides faster data, but also accelerates their processing. Adopting advanced technology changes the ecosystem, improves the performance of the company, and increases its competitiveness. This is justified only if advanced technologies have a positive impact on the ecosystem through increased use of filters to protect the environment and air, less pollution of soil and water, as well as responsible production and reduction and disposal of waste. So, if more attention is paid to sustainable development. 5. In the labor market, the informal form of work has increased with physical distance wherever possible. When it comes to employment, it can be said that there was a loss of jobs, and that recovery is expected only after 2021 and stabilization only after 2023. The previous world economic crisis of2008, but also this one from 2020, contributed to the further development of informal work as a form of work. The female working population and young people looking for employment, the less educated, migrants and hard-to-employ categories such as people with disabilities found themselves in a completely unfavorable position. Those categories were and remain most affected by this pandemic. 6. During this pandemic, international organizations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations, helped the population of the most vulnerable countries, not leaving underdeveloped countries to fight the pandemic on their own. 7. The role of the state has increased, because social benefits have proven to be a necessity.
