To address the challenge of decision making in close-range air combat for fixed-wing unmanned air vehicle (UAV) swarms, this paper proposes a distributed Hierarchical Cooperative Soft Actor-Critic with maximum entropy (HC-SAC) framework. A top-level target decision-making and bottom-level maneuvering framework is designed to resolve convergence issues in traditional multi-agent reinforcement learning, typically for long mission durations and complex state spaces. Friendly tactics are incorporated into top-level decisions to enhance coordination, with both offensive and defensive sub-policies balanced for swarm confrontations. These policies are trained using the Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) deep reinforcement learning algorithm with specific reward functions, and the effectiveness of this method is verified through 5v5 swarm game confrontation simulations.
Recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) have significantly enhanced reasoning capabilities for complex tasks. However, the substantial computational demands and high deployment costs of these LLMs remain significant barriers to their widespread adoption. Although progress has been made in applying knowledge distillation to improve the performance of resource-friendly small LMs on general tasks, developing compact yet powerful financial reasoning expert LMs remains underexplored. In this paper, we present a comprehensive evaluation of leading reasoning and non-reasoning LLMs on their financial reasoning abilities by challenging these models to solve financial problems with detailed reasoning Chain-of-Thought (CoTs). Based on the benchmark results, we introduce a federated reasoning distillation framework where financial reasoning CoTs from various teacher LLMs are refined following "LLM-as-a-Judge"fashion to better supervise the training process of the student financial expert. Our experiments show that a 7B distilled LM can achieve competitive performance on two public finance question-answer datasets by learning from multiple teachers. To foster future research in financial AI, we will open-source the refined financial CoT dataset at https://github.com/yjump/FinCoT.
This paper explores the relationship between the rights of national minorities and the national security of the Republic of Croatia through theoretical, legal, and practical dimensions, with a particular emphasis on the challenges in implementing the legal framework. The theoretical framework of this paper analyses the interrelation between national security and the rights of national minorities, with a particular focus on post-conflict societies such as the Republic of Croatia. National security is defined as a state in which key state and societal interests are preserved without the presence of internal or external threats, while the rights of national minorities refer to a set of special rights guaranteed to preserve their identity and ensure equality. Security is viewed in an objective sense as the absence of threats, and in a subjective sense as the feeling of safety. The concept of national security formally emerged for the first time in the United States in the 1940s, and in the contemporary context it includes political stability, respect for human and minority rights, and the preservation of legal order. Theorists such as Wolfers and Booth emphasize that security must also be understood within subjective frameworks—that is, through the community’s sense of safety, not merely through the absence of threats. In this sense, the realization of national minority rights contributes to reducing social tensions and preventing conflict, thereby directly strengthening the internal stability of the state. In the Republic of Croatia, following the Homeland War, ensuring the rights of national minorities—particularly Serb, Bosniak, Albanian, Roma, and Italian minorities, among others—was crucial for building a stable and secure society. Failure to respect these rights can cause social tensions that are perceived as threats to national security. This highlights the importance of including minorities in political and social spheres. In theoretical discourse, national security is often used as a political tool, which can lead to distorted portrayals of threats and flawed strategic decisions. A threat to security encompasses events that can significantly undermine the quality of life of citizens and the political capabilities of the state. Human and minority rights also serve as safeguards against irredentism and secessionism—processes that can jeopardize the sovereignty of the state. The concept of national minorities is not universally defined in international law. The Council of Europe’s 1993 Recommendation offers an informal definition based on long-term residence, citizenship, and cultural distinctiveness. Different European Union member states define minorities in various ways, with distinctions made between national, ethnic, linguistic, and historical minorities. International standards for the protection of national minority rights include: the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; and the European Convention on Human Rights. These documents promote equality, cultural pluralism, and protection from discrimination, and oblige states to actively include minorities in all aspects of social life. Practical examples from countries such as Spain, Italy, and Finland show diverse approaches to minority rights protection, while some cases—such as in Myanmar—highlight severe forms of discrimination. The Republic of Croatia ensures the protection of national minority rights through a comprehensive legal and institutional framework aligned with international standards. In the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, national minorities are explicitly recognized as an integral part of the state's identity, with guarantees of equality and the realization of national rights. The key piece of legislation regulating national minority rights is the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities, which defines the concept of a national minority and prescribes specific rights in areas such as political representation, the official use of language and script, cultural autonomy, and access to media. The Croatian model includes positive measures, such as reserved seats for members of national minorities in the Croatian Parliament and in bodies of local and regional self-government, thereby ensuring political participation. The official use of minority languages and scripts is guaranteed in local self-government units where a national minority makes up at least one-third of the population. According to the 2011 Census, this right was exercised in 27 local self-government units, including the City of Vukovar. However, its implementation sparked tensions, particularly with the introduction of cyrillic script, which led to social resistance and political disputes. Following the 2021 Census, in some areas, including Vukovar, the share of the minority population fell below the legal threshold, resulting in the cessation of the obligation of bilingualism. Institutions such as the Council for national minorities, the Government office for human rights and rights of national minorities, and the Ombudsman are responsible for the implementation and oversight of minority rights. Despite the existence of a legislative framework, challenges in implementation persist, especially regarding political will and local resistance. The Roma community is particularly affected by structural discrimination, poverty, low levels of education, and high unemployment, demonstrating the limited impact of integration strategies such as the National Roma Inclusion Strategy 2013–2020. On the other hand, the example of the Italian national minority in Istria County illustrates successful integration, with a well-developed model of bilingualism and education in the minority language. In some self-government units, even where national minorities do not constitute one-third of the population, equal use of the minority language has been enabled through local statutes, confirming the potential for good practices beyond the legal minimum. The paper explores the relationship between national minority rights and national security through theoretical approaches that explain ethnic peace and social stability. Special focus is placed on the role of political institutions in maintaining peace and preventing conflicts among ethnic groups. Scholars have supported various theories of ethnic peace: primordialism, instrumentalism, and constructivism. While primordialism explains ethnic violence through deeply rooted identities, and instrumentalism sees it as the result of political and economic interests, constructivism emphasizes the power of political institutions and their ability to ensure ethnic peace through democratic mechanisms and the creation of trust in the system. The theory of relative deprivation is also analysed, highlighting the discrepancy between expectations and reality as a trigger for discontent and potential conflict. Through a critical analysis of these approaches, their partial effectiveness in explaining the complex relationship between minority rights and security is recognized. On this basis, a new theory is introduced — the theory of reciprocal trust — which for the first time integrates national minority rights, institutional trust, and national security into a unified theoretical framework. Unlike earlier theories that focus on static factors (ethnic affiliation, institutional structure, economic interests), this theory views the dynamics of mutual trust between minority communities and state institutions as a key factor in stability. It emphasizes the two-way nature of this relationship: the government must act transparently, responsibly, and inclusively to gain the trust of minorities, while minority trust in turn legitimizes institutions and contributes to sustainable stability. The theory of reciprocal trust expands the concept of security to include human rights, arguing that national minority rights are not only a matter of legal protection but also a strategic tool for preserving social cohesion and preventing radicalization. Key elements of the theory include equal access to political participation, education, employment, and other social resources; institutional transparency and accountability; openness of government to dialogue; and the consistent implementation of laws and other regulations. The active inclusion of national minorities in political and social life contributes to a sense of belonging, reduces feelings of marginalization, and lowers the risk of political conflict and violent extremism. The theory of reciprocal trust represents an innovative contribution to the scientific literature and a practical guideline for the development of policies that acknowledge the security dimension of minority rights. It offers a sustainable and integrative model of internal stability based on mutual trust, thereby surpassing existing theoretical approaches and providing a concrete framework for enhancing national security through the protection of human rights. The theory of reciprocal trust emphasizes the importance of the two-way relationship between national minorities and state (local and regional) institutions, highlighting that the stability and security of the state depend on the level of inclusiveness, equality, and trust in institutions. The rights of national minorities must be equal to those of the majority population, particularly in the areas of political participation, education, healthcare, and employment. The integration of national minorities through political participation strengthens their representation and loyalty to the state, reduces ethnic tensions, and contributes to democratic legitimacy. To achieve this, it is essential to develop inclusive policies that foster a shared identity and mutual respect, ensuring that citizens of different national affiliations
ABSTRACT With the establishment of Islamic banks throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Islamic finance became institutionalized. The emergence of new Islamic banks was accompanied by the emergence of Islamic insurance firms and other Islamic financial organizations. The Maqasid al-Shari’ah in financial transactions reveals the overarching goals and significance to which it aspires through decision-making. It is clear from the careful and continuous examination of several Qur'anic verses and the Prophet's (PBUH) Sunnah regarding financial matters that the Shari'ah has adhered to specific objectives in formulating its financial laws and regulations. These objectives include the fair distribution of wealth within society, continual wealth investments, the satisfaction of economic prosperity for all through the satisfaction of basic human needs, the openness of financial transactions to avoid disputes, and the legitimacy of ownership of private and public wealth. The study offers a Maqasid-based development paradigm, which views development from the perspective of extracting benefit and removing harm. This calls for fostering things that make life simpler, more meaningful, and prosperous while preventing all causes of harm, socioeconomic hardship, and underdevelopment. The approach's strength lies in the proper weight it accords to morality, spirituality, and faith as catalysts for prolonged moderate growth and in its emphasis on all-encompassing yet restrained material progress. The study argues for a detailed investigation of the economic growth and the science of Maqasid al-Shari'ah. The qualitative method is applied in this study to evaluate the fundamental concept of Maqasid Al-Shariah from the primary and secondary sources of knowledge in Islam, which shows the model of the economic system to identify the challenges of governing the Islamic banks and Islamic financial activities accordingly. Keywords: Islamic banks, Islamic Insurance, Financial Institutions, Maqasid al-Shari'ah
