(1994). Serbia. World Futures: Vol. 39, The Evolution of European Identity: Surveys of the Growing Edge A Report by the European Culture Impact Research Consortium (EUROCIRCON), pp. 143-148.

The article contains an explanation of the topic to be dealt with by the author in the next research cycle. In the first part of the article author try to identify the main obstacles facing Serbia in the imperative processes of its European integrations. According to the author, those obstacles are numerous and mostly unique, based on the fact that in the last decade Serbian people was a subject of complete state disintegration to which the most powerful external contribution (...) was given by the USA and Western Europe itself. In spite of those obstacles, Serbia faces inevitable duty to carry out a complete political, economic and cultural reconstitution of its destroyed society as a condition sine qua non its own survival and successful development. In the final section of the text, what is pleaded is realistic approach to the multitude of the problems facing Serbia on the threshold of the new millennium. (shrink)

Serbia’s current identity transformation should make it possible to establish internal integrity which coexists with an external integration of European society. Which obstacles are on the way and how they could be surmounted? These are some of questions posed in this article with the aim to conceive more fundamental research of actual problems of the society in Serbia.

Internet gradually becomes the inevitable source of information in almost every field of life and enables very quick information flow between people from various continents. Considering the difference in the level of Internet development across the world and the great number of web presentations, domestic web sites have great competition in informing about Serbia coming from foreign web sites. Internet polako postaje nezaobilazni izvor informacija u gotovo svim sferama zivota i obezbedjuje da informacije velikom brzinom cirkulisu izmedju ljudi sa (...) razlicitih kontinenata. Internet ima znacajnu ulogu i u prezentaciji zemlje, njenih institucija i vrednosti. S obzirom na razlike u nivou njegovog razvoja u svetu i na ogroman broj prezentacija na web-u, domaci sajtovi u informisanju o Srbiji imaju veliku konkurenciju od strane inostranih sajtova. (shrink)

The paper contains a retrospective of the thesis that 'social learning' may be deployed as analytical framework to understand political change in Serbia, first proposed in 2001. The thesis contends that the events immediately before and after the toppling of Milosevic's regime in 2000 may be interpreted as outcomes of a process of collective learning by Serbian citizens. On the basis of the findings of three-wave qualitative study 'Politics and Everyday Life', as well as other research, the paper seeks (...) to answer the question whether the idea of 'social learning' stands or falls when confronted with the developments taking place in Serbian political life between 2001 and 2008. U clanku se izlaze retrospektivan pogled na tezu o 'socijalnom ucenju' kao analitickom okviru za razmatranje politickih promena u Srbiji, prvi put iznetu 2001. godine. Prema toj tezi, dogadjaji neposredno pre i posle smene Milosevicevog rezima 2000. godine mogu se protumaciti kao ishod jednog procesa kolektivnog ucenja, ciji su subjekt gradjani Srbije. Na osnovu nalaza tri talasa kvalitativne studije 'Politika i svakodnevni zivot', te rezultata drugih istrazivanja, u tekstu se pokusava odgovoriti na pitanje da li ideja 'socijalnog ucenja' opstaje ukoliko se suceli sa zbivanjima koja su obelezila politicki zivot u Srbiji u razdoblju od 2001. do 2008. godine. (shrink)

This paper examines different forms in which?Third Serbia? is being discursively constructed. This concept has recently been offered within the public arena as the alternative to the former division into?First? and?Second? Serbia. Although the name is the same,?Third Serbia? is not one but many. They all share an explicit call for overcoming cleavages and extremes, which are perceived as overdrawn, artificial, and/or removed from genuine concerns and interests of Serbian society. There is also a moral claim contained (...) in this, since what is offered is presented as better and more correct than the previous dichotomy. The various facets of?Third Serbia?, their similarities and divergences, will be explored based on the analysis of a corpus of texts from daily and weekly press in which this signifier is found. (shrink)

In the last decade and a half the process of desecularization has been undoubtedly verified in Serbia. Not only that the changes have been verified in the religious complex in general, but in traditional religious groups in particular as well. The revival of religiousness and people?s attachment to religion and church have been clearly proved in all aspects of religious life: in the areas of religious identification, doctrinaire religious beliefs and ritual religious practices. It should also be noted that (...) in times of extremely turbulent political and social changes in the Balkans, all traditional religious complexes, orthodox, catholic and Muslim, began forming close ties with political and state, public and binding domains, which was absolutely unthinkable of a decade and a half ago. Which leads us to the crucial question: can religion make a contribution to the process of integration coming form the surrounding countries as the imperative of foreign powers on one hand, and as the striving of the majority of population in all the post socialist countries in the Balkans on the other hand, or will it only cause damage and interfere with the process of integration of those societies into the European commonwealth of nations? This article discusses different opinions that view the traditional complexes of religion, language and nation as disruptive factors of modernization of the Balkan countries, as well as completely opposite opinions based on the experiences of traditional Islamic societies in which religion is not a factor that hinders their rapid modernization. U poslednjih petnaestak godina proces desekularizacije je u Srbiji nedvosmisleno empirijski verifikovan. Verifikovane su promene u religijskom kompleksu uopste, a posebno kod tradicionalnih religijskih zajednica. Revitalizacija religioznosti i vezanosti ljudi za religiju i crkvu jasno je dokazana u svim podrucjima religijskog zivota: u podrucju konfesionalnog religijskog identifikovanja, zatim doktrinarnih religijskih verovanja i u podrucju obredne religijske prakse. Takodje, u vremenu izuzetno burnih politickih i socijalnih promena na Balkanu, tradicionalni religijski kompleks, bilo pravoslavni, katolicki ili islamski, poceo je da stupa u tesnu vezu sa politickim i drzavnim, javnim i obavezujucim, sto je pre jedne i po decenije bilo potpuno nezamislivo. Odatle, presudno pitanje: moze li religija u tom vidu da doprinese integrativnim procesima koji dolaze iz okruzenja, sa jedne strane kao strani imperativi, sa druge strane kao teznja preteznog dela stanovnistva ovih balkanskih post socijalistickih drzava, ili ce samo da steti i presudno da ometa proces ulaska ovih drustava u evropsku porodicu naroda? Ovaj projekat treba da odgovori na pitanje: da li tradicionalni kompleks religije, jezika i nacije u balkanskim uslovima predstavlja otezavajucu okolnost za integraciju balkanskih drustava u Evropu ili ovaj tradicionalni kompleks nece biti tome smetnja, kao sto pokazuju neka iskustva tradicionalnih islamskih drustava u kojima religija nije faktor koji ometa njihovu ubrzanu modernizaciju. (shrink)

Author considering, appearing and existing modern idea about university like one of the most important institution of knowledge which is arise in modern epoch. In this work particular attention will be initiated on considered different ideas and conception university which were before so-called Himbolt?s idea of university which has global disposition and which is in the last two centuries regardless on period of crisis, had dominant position in contemporary high school education.. The second part of work is consecrated on analysis (...) constitute the first Serbian university. In this part of work will be analyze different treatise and projects of university which are during 19. and on the beginning of 20. century arise in circle of Serbian intellectual elite in which are essentially influence at form of institutionally profile the first Serbian university. The third part of work surround there different phase of develop on university and university education in Serbia in XX and on the beginning of XXI century. The first phase present the time between two war; the second phase is consecrate the time of and the third phase consecrate the last decade of XX and the first decade of XXI century in which are tempestuous changes in society announce new searching and fundamental over questioning the state in our high school institution with primary target that theirs work coordinate with standard of European universities and that way accomplish theirs integration in net of European universities. Autor razmatra uslove nastanka srednjovekovnog univerziteta, shvacenog kao korporacije fakulteta, i govori o filozofskim idejama koje su uticale na stvaranje i sirenje moderne ideje univerziteta, sigurno jedne od najznacajnijih institucija znanja koja je nastala u modernoj epohi. U ovom radu posebna paznja bice posvecena razmatranju razlicitih filozofskih ideja univerziteta koje su prethodile stvaranju tzv. Humboltove ideje univerziteta koja je u poslednja dva veka, bez obzira na periode krize, imala u savremenom visokom skolstvu dominantnu poziciju. Drugi deo rada posvecen je razmatranju procesa konstituisanja prvog srpskog univerziteta. U ovom delu rada bice analizirane razlicite rasprave i projekti univerziteta koji su tokom 19. i pocetkom 20. veka nastali u krugovima srpske intelektualne elite i koji su bitno uticali na institucionalni karakter i obrazovni profil prvog srpskog univerziteta. Treci deo rada obuhvata razmatranje cetiri razlicite faze razvitka modernog univerziteta i univerzitetske nastave u Srbiji u XX veku. Prvu fazu cini period od osnivanja Beogradskog univerziteta do pocetka Prvog svetskog rata. Druga faza je posvecena razmatranju univerzitetskog obrazovanja u medjuratnom periodu, a treca i cetvrta faza obuhvataju analizu razvitka i funkcionisanja univerziteta u doba komunizma i pocetak tranzicije. Burne promene u nasem drustvu devedesetih godina XX veka, najavile su nova traganja i temeljna preispitivanja stanja na nasim visokoskolskim institucijama s osnovnim ciljem da se njihov nacin i program rada uskladi sa savremenim evropskim univerzitetskim standardima i na taj nacin pripremi njihovo integrisanje u mrezu evropskih univerziteta. (shrink)

Autor je zamislio da objavi tri teksta u tri sveske "Filozofije i drustva" u kojima ce, oslanjajuci se na stvorenu iskustvenu naucnu evidenciju, pokazati obim i stepen religioznosti nekih evropskih drustava, potom u posebnom tekstu ruski slucaj i na kraju religioznost i vezanost ljudi za religiju i crkvu u Srbiji. Ovakav sled objavljivanja ima svoju logiku: ocekujuci sprovodjenje empirijskog ispitivanja pod nazivom "Evropsko istrazivanje vrednosti" u gotovo svim evropskim zemljama, i po prvi put u Srbiji sredinom 2008. godine, autor zeli (...) da najpre prezentuje rezultate prethodnih socioloskih istrazivanja, reprezentativne za evropski prostor, a potom i za pravoslavni prostor u zemlji sa najvecim brojem pravoslavaca u svetu. Tako ce u poslednjem prilogu autor moci da komparira religijsku situaciju u Srbiji ne samo sa religioznom Evropom nego i sa religioznom pravoslavnom Rusijom. (shrink)

For the contemporary Serbian sociology of religion it is evident that the process of desecularization has been present on the social scene of Serbia in the last fifteen years. Sociologists have provided arguments for this claim based on data gathered in Serbia during this period. The religious changes in question have been empirically recorded in all aspects of attachment to religion and the church, that is, in aspects of religious identification, doctrinal beliefs and religious behavior. Certain political subjects (...) and social scientists feel that social life in Serbia is getting increasingly, and that religion and church are exerting influence within social fields they are not supposed to, if Serbia is to become a secular, democratic state. The paper analyzes some major conditions of the clericalization of the Serbian society. U savremenoj srpskoj sociologiji religije nije sporno da je u poslednjih petnaestak godina na drustvenoj sceni proces desekularizacije. Sociolozi su taj proces argumentovali pozivajuci se na iskustvenu evidenciju koja je za to vreme stvorena u Srbiji. Navedene religijske promene empirijski su evidentirane u svim segmentima vezanosti za religiju i crkvu, dakle: u segmentu religijskog identifikovanja, doktrinarnog verovanja i religijsko-obrednog ponasanja. Postoji misljenje nekih politickih subjekata i drustvenih naucnika da se drustveni zivot u Srbiji sve vise klerikalizuje i da religija i crkva ispoljavaju svoj uticaj tamo gde ne bi smelo da ga bude ukoliko Srbija treba da bude laicka, demokratksa drzava. U tekstu se analiziraju neki od vaznih uslova klerikalizacije drustva. (shrink)

U vremenu novog definisanja srpskog nacionalnog identiteta od odlucujuceg je znacaja uspostavljanje kopce izmedju kriticki vrednovane tradicije s jedne i zahteva vremena globalizacije, s druge strane. Produktivnu vezu izmedju starog i novog mogu ce je ostvariti ukoliko Srbija izgradi demokratske i nekompromitovane i nekorumpirane drzavne institucije preko kojih bi se obrazovala racionalna svest o vlastitoj posebnosti, kao i vrednostima spoljnog sveta. Glavna odgovornost u tom osetljivom procesu samo definisanja je na politickim elitama i ideoloskim projektima koje oni otvoreno ili prikriveno (...) proteziraju, a koji se na najprozirniji nacin ogledaju u medijima (javnom mnjenju) i institucijama obrazovanja. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore the experiences of women who found refuge in Serbia during the war in the former Yugoslavia. I look at the women's experiences of both leaving home and coping with everyday life in refuge. The exploration of refugee women's experiences is mainly based on analyses of their own stories, which I collected while researching women and war. In spite of all the hardship of their lives, refugee women who fled to Serbia have been treated (...) by Western media, the public and aid organizations as ‘UNPEOPLE’ or as non-existent. Making their experiences visible as women, refugees and citizens is the main purpose of this article. (shrink)

This paper is structured in three sections. The first discusses the institutional framework pertaining to bioethics in Serbia. The functioning of this framework is critically assessed and a number of recommendations for its improvement presented. It is also emphasized that philosophers are underrepresented in public debate on bioethics in Serbia. Second, this underrepresentation will be related to two issues that figure prominently in Serbian society but are not accompanied by corresponding bioethical discourses: the first is abortion and the (...) second is the largely unrestricted use of neuropharmacology since the 1990s, both for therapeutic and for cosmetic/recreational purposes. Finally, the perspective of bioethics in Serbia is addressed. It is asserted that this perspective can be based on the enhancement of public philosophical debate on bioethical issues, especially those with notable features in Serbian society . Such enhancement would also strengthen the corresponding institutional and legal frameworks. (shrink)

Sandžak has the largest Muslim Slav (Bosniak) community in the Balkans outside Bosnia–Herzegovina. In 1990, Sandžak Bosniaks organized a branch of the Party of Democratic Action (Alija Izetbegović’s party) and began to agitate for regional autonomy. During the 1990s under Slobodan Milošević’s regime, local Bosniaks became the victims of state terror that saw widespread official discrimination and the ethnic cleansing of entire villages. In spite of having a high birth rate, the Bosniak population of Sandžak declined by 7.88% in the (...) years 1991–2002 entirely because of the Milošević regime’s policies. Since the overthrow of Milošević, however, the Belgrade government has begun investing in the region’s infrastructure and economy. As a result, the situation for Bosniaks of Sandžak has improved since 2001. (shrink)

A worrying trend of autocratization that has been spreading globally in recent years, has thrust forward a new wave of appeals for deliberative and participatory democracy as a remedy for the crisis. With a few exceptions, the majority of participatory and deliberative institutions were implemented in stable democracies. The efforts to institutionalize participatory and deliberative models are almost completely absent in Serbia and other Western Balkan countries. Yet, there has been a trend of citizen mobilization in the form of (...) social movements and local civic initiatives, which are both a symptom of unresponsive and quite openly authoritarian institutions, as well as a potential pathway to democratization. The pace and scope of these developments in the undemocratic societies of the Western Balkan region, in terms of both bottom up and top-down democratic experimentation, call for a better understanding of their internal dynamics, and their social and political impact. Responding to this need, the articles in the special issue focus on social movement mobilizations and deliberative experimentation. To begin with, our introductory article focuses particularly on understanding the possible role deliberative institutions could have in hybrid regimes. It looks at the first two cases of deliberative mini publics (DMPs) ever organized in Serbia, analyzing their rationale, specific design, implementation, as well as considering the possible role deliberative institutions could play in the hybrid regime of Serbia. (shrink)

This paper examines different forms in which?Third Serbia? is being discursively constructed. This concept has recently been offered within the public arena as the alternative to the former division into?First? and?Second? Serbia. Although the name is the same,?Third Serbia? is not one but many. They all share an explicit call for overcoming cleavages and extremes, which are perceived as overdrawn, artificial, and/or removed from genuine concerns and interests of Serbian society. There is also a moral claim contained (...) in this, since what is offered is presented as better and more correct than the previous dichotomy. The various facets of?Third Serbia?, their similarities and divergences, will be explored based on the analysis of a corpus of texts from daily and weekly press in which this signifier is found. (shrink)

Pilgrimage is an ancient form of religious expression, inherent in almost every confession. Modern pilgrimage differs from past pilgrim travels in various attributes. Pilgrimages contribute to the tourism development because they affect interreligious and international communication. In the first place, significance and topicality of the subject is explained, and basic concepts are defined. After that, a theoretical and methodological framework has been provided. Research relays to religious and ethical?mixed? pilgrimages and also includes Orthodox chancels: St. Petka?s chapel in Kalemegdan and (...) Madonna of Djunis monastery and catholic chancel Madonna of Tekije near Petrovaradin. These places are visited regardless of the visitor's faith. In depth interviews were conducted in 2007 in Belgrade, and the sample consisted of 25 Orthodox and 25 Catholic interviewees. We were monitoring religiosity of pilgrims through time by using three categories: upbringing, conversion, and self-assessment of religiosity. Regarding the category of upbringing, three groups were identified: those with a traditional religious formation, an irreligious formation, and those from devotional families. According to the self-assessement of religiosity, the following typology was formed: assured and practical believer, missionary, and traditionalist. We noticed three straight lines in believers? religious life: progression, stagnation and regression. The results of this exploration confirm that family influence on examinees? religiosity is strong, but the key category for progression in their religious lives is conversion understood as a dynamic category. (shrink)

The issue of the policy of multiculturalism toward ethno-cultural minorities in contemporary Serbia has been reviewed within the project Regional and European Aspects of Integrative Processes in Serbia held by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory. The aim of this paper is directed toward examination of theoretical and empirical problems regarding the phenomenon of multiculturalism. In spite of the fact that multiculturalism is one of the striking characteristics of modern life in Serbia our social sciences pay (...) a little attention to this topic. Ethnicity as an important part of multicultural discourse is based on nonscientific knowledge and in this manner it presents basis for policy and practice for the protection of rights of minorities in the country. Problem politike multikulturalnosti prema etno-kulturnim manjinama u savremenoj Srbiji autor razmatra u okviru projekta Instituta za filozofiju i drustvenu teoriju "Regionalni i evropski aspekti integrativnih procesa u Srbiji: civilizacijske pretpostavke, stvarnost i izgledi za buducnost". Cilj rada na ovoj temi je usmeren ka razmatranju teorijskih i empirijskih problema u vezi sa fenomenom multikulturalnosti. Uprkos tome sto je multikulturalnost jedna od upecatljivijih karakteristika drustvenog zivota u Srbiji, u nasim drustvenim naukama malo paznje se posvecuje proucavanju ovog fenomena. Stavise, na neutemeljenim saznanjima o etnicitetu kao bitnom delu multikulturalnog diskursa eklekticki je osmisljena politika i konstruisana praksa zastite manjinskih prava u zemlji. (shrink)

Empirijsko terensko istrazivanje obavljeno je u 20 gradova n Srbiji metodom dubinskog intervjua sa ciljem da se ispita kako su sami gradjani doziveli poslednje godine rezima Slobodana Milosevica i nastale promene posle 5. oktobra 2000. Paznja je bila usmerena na stavove ispitanika o uzrocima pada bivseg rezima, o razlozima koji su ih motivisali da se (ne)angazuju u borbi za drustvene promene, o dozivljaju 5. oktobra, o promenama nastalim posle demokratskog prevrata, pretnja novoj vlasti, kao i prema medjunarodnoj zajednici i odnosu (...) prema ratnim zlocincima, sa posebnim osvrtom na stav prema Haskom sudu. Dokumentacija koja je prikupljena bice obradjena kvalitativnom metodom koja omogucuje da se odgovori razmatraju u kontekstu svakodnevnog zivota ispitanika i sacuvaju originalni stavovi koji se razlikuju od uobicajenih shema iz dnevne stampe i zvanicnih izvestaja. (shrink)

In 2005 The Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory has undertaken a reputed interview, based on identical methodology but on a reduced sample in six towns in Serbia. The objective was to examine how citizens see the circumstances in society today, five years after the October turn, and what conditions their attitudes towards: the policy of new democratic powers, of democratic parties and those of the ex-regime, as well as towards the problems they are confronted with, and whether the (...) initial optimism has gone and why. The results obtained by this interview show that after five years of experience with democratic transition the interviewees are more critical regarding the actual democratic policy, and more likely to forget the reasons created by the former regime as obstacles to a successful democratic transition. For this reason, disappointment has grown, and an initial optimism gives its place to pessimism, with vanishing of the hope in the possibility of radical democratic change. This makes it possible to give a chance to the Radical Party in a future election. But, in spite of current confusion among citizens produced by the examined state of affairs, as well as the ambiguities in certain attitudes, this inquiry suggests that the interviewees have provided a quite realistic evaluation of the actual conditions in Serbian society today, and that their criticism, which arises from disappointment, does not completely cancel a positive attitude towards democratic transition, since their criticism results from dissatisfaction with the unrealized democratic principles and values after October 5th. Institut za filozofiju i drustvenu teoriju je obavio 2005. ponovljeni intervju, radjen istom metodologijom, ali na skracenom, desetoprocentnom uzorku i u sest gradova Srbije, sa ciljem da se proveri sta se promenilo u vidjenju gradjana o politici u drustvu posle pet godina od oktobarskog prevrata i sta uslovljava njihove stavove prema: politici demokratskih vlasti, prema strankama bivseg rezima i problemima sa kojima se suocavaju, kao i da li je nestao pocetni optimizam i zasto. Rezultati pokazuju da su posle petogodisnjeg iskustva ispitanici kriticniji prema politici demokratskih vlasti, skloniji da zaborave razloge koje je proizveo bivsi rezim kao prepreke za demokratski preobrazaj drustva, te da je poraslo razocaranje i nezadovoljstvo postignutim, a pocetni optimizam sve vise ustupa mesto pesimizmu i gubljenju nade u mogucnost radikalnijih demokratskih promena, sto uslovljava i stav o mogucem davanju sanse radikalima na sledecim izborima. Ali i pored zbunjenosti gradjana zbog nastale nepovoljne situacije i ambivalentnosti izvesnih stavova, istrazivanje sugerise da su ispitanici realnije procenili aktualno stanje drustva i da kriticnost, koja proizlazi iz nezadovoljstva zbog neostvarenih obecanja, ali i zbog neartikulisanih ciljeva razvoja, ne potire u potpunosti pozitivni stav prema demokratskoj transformaciji, buduci da se kritika uglavnom pokazuje kao rezultat razocaranja sto se ne ostvaruju demokratski principi posle 5. oktobra. (shrink)

Ovaj prilog je nastavak autorovog teksta iz proslog broja casopisa 'Filozofija i drustvo'. U prilogu autor razmatra evoluciju religijske svesti ruskog stanovnistva i medjusobni odnos drustva, religije i crkve predstavljajuci je u vidu svojevrsnog religijskog klatna. Ispitujuci kretanje pomenutog klatna autor analizira religijsku situaciju i vernicku strukturu carske, sovjetske i savremene Rusije. U tom dugom vremenskom periodu mogu se postulirati tri tipa vernicke strukture: stabilna vernicku strukturu dorevolucionarne Rusije, destabilizovana vernicka strukture u sovjetsko vreme, restabilizovana struktura tokom 90-ih godina proslog (...) veka i nova stabilizovana vernicka struktura poslednjih godina. (shrink)

Ovaj tekst je poslednji prilog teme iz naslova i nastavak dva prethodna autorova teksta objavljena u ovom casopisu. U prilogu se razmatra evolucija religijske situacije, pre svega vezana za pravoslavlje, u Srbiji tokom proslog veka i u prvoj deceniji ovog veka. Religijska situacija u tako dugom vremenskom periodu uvek se razmatra u kontekstu globalnog srpskog drustva a poslednjih godina i u komparaciji sa religioznom Evropom i Rusijom.

U tekstu je rec o pokusaju da se pronadje odgovarajuci koncept za moguce rekonstruisanje i integrisanje razlicitih kulturnih identiteta koji su i unutar sebe razliciti i slojeviti. Pogled na problematiku identiteta koji je moguc iz Srbije - zemlje u 'tranziciji' kroz razlicita iskusenja u traganjima za odgovarajucim identitetom koji bi znacio mogucnost integriteta u procesima identitetskih preobrazaja - jeste specifican po tome sto moze da posmatra sebe i kao subjekt istorije, a ne samo kroz 'drugost' koju su joj drugi namenili.

The paper is devoted to outlining the research topic to be dealt with by the author in the incoming period within the project of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory. Starting from "globalization" as the keyword of current debates on political, economic and cultural destiny of contemporary world, the author delineates the subject matter of his research as the critiques of the globalization process formulated in Russia and Serbia. In terms of contents, the research will be devoted to (...) analyzing and interpreting different philosophical-theoretical, political and ideological arguments used by the critics of the globalization process in political and cultural life of Russia and Serbia. The proposed comparative approach ought to provide an insight into the influence exerted by Russian opponents of globalization on domestic critics of the process, as well as to help understand the differences in resisting globalization that stem from different political, economic, military, cultural and international positions of the two countries in today's world. The basic aim of the research is to asses theoretical-argumentative and practical-political potentials of the critiques of globalization in these two post-communist countries. U radu je izlozen nacrt teme kojom ce se autor baviti u narednom istrazivackom ciklusu u okviru projekta Instituta za filozofiju i drustvenu teoriju. Polazeci od "globalizacije" kao kljucne reci tekucih debata o politickoj, ekonomskoj i kulturnoj sudbini savremenog sveta, autor je predmet svog istrazivanja ogranicio na kritike procesa globalizacije koje su formulisane u Rusiji i Srbiji. Sadrzinski, planirano istrazivanje ce biti posveceno analizi i interpretaciji razlicitih filozofsko-teorijskih, politickih i ideoloskih argumenata kriticara procesa globalizacije u politickom i kulturnom zivotu Rusije i Srbije. Predlozeni komparativni pristup treba da omoguci sagledavanje uticaja koji na domace kriticare globalizacije imaju protivnici tog procesa u Rusiji, kao i da olaksa razumevanje razlika u opiranju procesima globalizaciji koje su posledica razlicitog politickog, ekonomskog, vojnog, kulturnog i medjunarodnog polozaja ove dve zemlje u savremenom svetu. Osnovni cilj istrazivanja je procena teorijsko-argumentativnih i prakticno-politickih kapaciteta kritika globalizacije u ove dve postkomunisticke zemlje.. (shrink)

Pilgrimage is an ancient form of religious expression, inherent in almost every confession. Modern pilgrimage differs from past pilgrim travels in various attributes. Pilgrimages contribute to the tourism development because they affect interreligious and international communication. In the first place, significance and topicality of the subject is explained, and basic concepts are defined. After that, a theoretical and methodological framework has been provided. Research relays to religious and ethical?mixed? pilgrimages and also includes Orthodox chancels: St. Petka?s chapel in Kalemegdan and (...) Madonna of Djunis monastery and catholic chancel Madonna of Tekije near Petrovaradin. These places are visited regardless of the visitor's faith. In depth interviews were conducted in 2007 in Belgrade, and the sample consisted of 25 Orthodox and 25 Catholic interviewees. We were monitoring religiosity of pilgrims through time by using three categories: upbringing, conversion, and self-assessment of religiosity. Regarding the category of upbringing, three groups were identified: those with a traditional religious formation, an irreligious formation, and those from devotional families. According to the self-assessement of religiosity, the following typology was formed: assured and practical believer, missionary, and traditionalist. We noticed three straight lines in believers? religious life: progression, stagnation and regression. The results of this exploration confirm that family influence on examinees? religiosity is strong, but the key category for progression in their religious lives is conversion understood as a dynamic category. (shrink)

The author presents and analyses, in regard with the subject, the data from a systematic sociological research study of religiosity of the citizens of Serbia which is relevant for the Republic of Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija. The study named?Religiosity in Serbia and the EU integration process? was conducted twice, in 2010 and 2011, by the Christian Cultural Centre from Belgrade with the financial assistance of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Center for European Studies from Brussels. (...) Before analysing the data, the author briefly discusses the various dimensions of religiosity. (shrink)

The importance of male dominance in the scientific community is no strange to us all. Science, as a source of respected and influential information is a staunchly guarded male domain for millennia. What is specific for our time and place is the nervousness with which female presence is accepted. It is also the time of great changes in the axis of power, and the struggle for control is very aggressive. What is even more so in Serbia and Montenegro one (...) of the pieces of ruins of the late SFRJ, is that the dysfunction of the war and sanctions brought about more inequality than before. And science is a field of professional achievement with slow and uncertain rewards, vast investment of time, effort and funds, for a career that is beneficial more to vanity than to the bank account. Women are seen as frivolous when they devote a huge amount of work and other resources to self-improvement and personal achievement and not to the comfort of the immediate family. Osnazivanje zena i njihovo ravnopravno ucesce u drustvenom, ekonomskom politickom i kulturnom zivotu kao i eliminacija svih oblika porodicne ekonomske, politicke, obrazovne i svake druge rodne diskriminacije i nasilja nad zenama spada u milenijumske ciljeve Ujedinjenih nacija prihvacene od Evropske unije i preporucene vladama svih zemalja u formiranju njihove nacionalne strategije. (shrink)

The paper examines the meanings of representations of Serbia, the Balkans and Europe at the time of encounter between Enlightenment and Romanticist traditions. The analysis starts from the assumption that the emergence of negative representations of South Eastern Europe cannot be discussed without placing it within the broader context of 18th and 19th century philosophy and literature and the consequences of new philosophical and literary ideas. Underlying the substantial change of the previously dominant paradigms that is expressed in the (...) symbolic division into 'West' and "East', there was a factual rather than symbolic division into an industrial and an agricultural Europe, whose boundaries coincided with the reference points of the symbolic distinction. Insisting on the importance of both analytic levels - the 'symbolic' and the 'factual' - the first section of the paper briefly outlines the development of symbolic geography in the context of 'Balkan' studies in the 1990s, as well as the failure of this genre and the constructivist paradigm in Serbian social theory. The second section is devoted to the discourses of conceptualizing broader communities in symbolic, linguistic, imagological, cultural, political, economic etc. terms, focusing on the beginnings of ideological and linguistic unification of South Slavs and their inclusion into the "enlightened Europe". By analyzing Vuk Stefanovia: Karadzix's writings, as well as correspondence, articles and commentaries referring to Vuk's work in the first half of the 19th century, the author takes the perspective of the past in order to identify the reasons for the failure of imagological and constructivist approach today. U ovom tekstu autorka istrazuje znacenja predstava o Srbiji, Balkanu i Evropi u vremenu susreta prosvetiteljske i romanticarske tradicije. Polaziste je u pretpostavci da se o pocecima negativnih predstava o jugoistocnom delu Evrope ne moze govoriti izvan sireg konteksta filozofije i knjizevnosti XVIII i XIX veka i posledica novih filozofskih i knjizevnih ideja. Sustinska pramena do tada vladajucih paradigmi, izrazena simbolickom podelom na 'Zapad'i 'Istok', u osnovi je imala manje simbolicku a vise fakticku podelu na industrijsku i zemljoradnicku Evropu, cije su se granice uglavnom poklapale sa referentnim tockama simbolicke distinkcije. Potencirajuci vaznost obaju nivoa u analizi, 'simbolickog 'i 'faktickog', prvi deo teksta odnosi se na sazeto predstavljanje razvoja simbolicke geografije u kontekstu studija o Balkanu devedesetih godina proslog veka, kao i na neuspeh ovog zanra i konstruktivisticke paradigme u srpskoj drustvenoj teoriji. Drugi deo teksta posvecenje diskursima osmisljavanja vecih zajednica na simbolickim, jezickim, imagoloskim, kulturnim, politickim, ekonomskim i dr. osnovama, sa fokusom na pocetke idejnog i jezickog ujedinjenja Juznih Slavena, kao i njihovog ukljucenja u prosvecenu Evropu. Analizom tekstova Vuka Stefanovica Karadzica, kao i prepiskama, clancima i komentarima koji su se odnosili na Vukov rad u prvoj polovini XIX veka, autorka iz perspektive proslosti pokusava da ukaze na razloge neuspeha imagoloskog i konstruktivistickog pristupa u savremenosti. (shrink)

U Rusiji, dve decenije nakon urusavanja Sovjetskog Saveza, Staljinova popularnost je po anketama javnog mnjenja ogromna, posto se mnogi prisecaju nekadasnjeg ugleda zemlje i svog osecaja sigurnosti. Slicno tome, mnogi Srbi, koji su bili najveca grupa u bivsoj Jugoslaviji, s nostalgijom su gledali na vreme nacionalnog ponosa i materijalnog komfora. Nasuprot tome, potcinjene etnicke zajednice u isto to vreme osecale su frustraciju u teznji za nacionalnim ponosom. Svaki politicki poredak ima jednu pripovest sacinjenu od odabranih i povezanih dogadjaja koji promovisu (...) nacionalne interese. Iako se zavrsila oruzana borba, u bivsoj Jugoslaviji ostala je podeljenost koja je perpetuirana konkurentskim narativima o tome sta se i zbog cega dogodilo. U Rusiji,?nevidiljivi staljinizam? u porastu jos jednom je omalovazio iskustvo zrtava represije. Ovaj clanak pruza preliminarna razmatranja o razdvajanju narativa u Rusiji i Srbiji i pokusava da objasni jednu od kljucnih prepreki u pomirenju s prosloscu. (shrink)

In this article, our aim is to examine the difference between the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice of the multinational companies (MNCs) and of the domestic companies operating in Serbia, as well as the influence of internal self-regulations such as statements of corporate values and codes of conduct, and external self-regulations such as the implementation of the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards on CSR practice. The CSR practice is observed in five CSR areas: employee relations, customer relations, environmental (...) practice, community and social involvement, and transparency in business activity. The findings indicate that the CSR practice of the MNCs is significantly different in comparison to domestic companies only in the area of employee relations. Furthermore, the overall results suggest that internal self-regulations have more influence on CSR practice than the implementation of generic management system standards. However, the existence of transparent corporate values, codes of conduct and implemented management systems according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards does not prove to be strong predictors of CSR performance. (shrink)

Political extremism remains relatively insufficiently explored due to the fact that the phenomenon is controversial and hard to define. Its ambiguity and variability depending on time and spatial point of view further complicates its definition. Its structure is amorphous and eclectic as it often includes elements from different ideologies and connects incompatible ideas. A multidimensional conceptualization and an interdisciplinary approach - sociological, social, psychological and historical, are the Author’s tools in explaining the phenomenon of political extremism in Serbia, hopefully (...) contributing to its clarification and laying a foundation for its further explanatory theoretical studies. (shrink)

With growing opportunities for medical doctors to work either in academia and industry, research ethics education for health sciences research, meaning research which includes humans and animals and/or their tissues and cells with the goal to understand underlying mechanisms of disease occurrence and disease treatment, is of paramount importance, especially in regions, such as Serbia, where comprehensive research ethics curricula for physician researchers are lacking. This article addresses the spectrum of research ethics topics that were identified through analysis of (...) the existing research ethics curricula in medical schools, international organizations, Serbian legislative codes and the PubMed database applying the key search terms: ethics, research, biomedical, education, curriculum, program, course and their combinations. Selected topics were classified in eight syllabi based on their similarity: #1 Responsible conduct of research, #2 Justice in human subjects research, #3 Research on human subjects, #4 Vulnerable population groups, #5 Conflict of interest, #6 Research on animals, #7 Research on genes, cells and embryos, and #8 Organization of research ethics. Justifications for each syllabus are discussed based on empirical evidence and local context. Higher education authorities could use this framework to strengthen, adjust or refine research ethics education for physician researchers in Serbia. (shrink)

Times of uncertainty and fear were brought on by Covid-19. The ongoing pandemic is a fruitful ground for fake news, as citizens try to find explanations that fit into their worldviews. This process polarizes society and creates echo chambers amplified by recommender systems. Our main goal is to detect anti-vaxxer echo chambers in Serbia by analyzing online reactions to the recent detention of prominent anti-vaxxer Dr. Jovana Stojkovic. A content analysis of online comments is deployed in anti-regime left-leaning, anti-regime (...) right-leaning, and pro-government media to explore attitudes towards a vaccination conspiracy theory, police action towards anti-vaxxers, and the government crisis response team. We clearly identify the anti-vaccine echo chamber among commentators of anti-regime right-leaning media (YouTube podcasts). Additionally, we describe attitudes expressed around issues related to vaccination. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed. (shrink)

The social and institutional background of this research can be summarized as the relation between public and governmental policies on the one hand, and the experience of patients and IVF experts on the other. Namely, one third of all pregnancies achieved in state-funded in vitro fertilizations obscure some ethical and health issues, especially among patients who abandon the state-funded IVF programme in Serbia. The goal of the current research is to identify, describe and understand ethical and social issues that (...) parents encounter in attempts to fulfil their idea of a sovereign life through IVF. The method comprised a tri-level analysis based on semi-structured interviews with participants who exhibit personal experiences of basic ethical principles and social and health needs within IVF. The results obtained indicate that all three explored levels of patients' experience build a picture of Assisted Reproductive Technology as a means of a sovereign or good life. However, the cultural image of the fulfilment of expected parental social roles resulted in a denial of autonomy and led to self-abnegation through silent acceptance of unethical practices. There is an overlap of the margins of secular ideas and roles on the one hand, and religiosity on the other, making such consent socially acceptable and more easily explainable. Finally, the conclusion reached is that apparently a decrease in sovereignty of parental decisions causes a loss of trust in state clinics and medical procedures, reduces solidarity and establishes norms and patterns of social injustice and inequality. (shrink)

Considering this issue to be particularly significant as a research challenge for the sociologies of religion in the so-called post-socialist countries, the subject of this research has been to determine the character, status and direction of religious changes in predominantly orthodox territories of Yugoslavia and Russia that became evident in the last decade of the twentieth century marked by turbulent socio-political changes in those countries. With the subject of the research being defined in that way, the main goal of the (...) research has been to identify and examine basic tendencies in religious changes. Relying on the huge empirical material on the changes in question, an attempt has been made to precisely detect the scope of these changes in the various areas of religious, spiritual and social lives of people in the period of the so-called post-socialist transformation. Therefore, the goal of the research has not been just to determine the scope and direction of changes of religiousness with people, but also to try to set the above mentioned religious changes into the proper social context, which is the starting point in their theoretical explanation. Smatrajuci da je predlozena tema posebno znacajana kao istrazivacki izazov za sociologije religije u zemljama tzv. postsocijalizma, predmet ovog istrazivanja je odredjen kao utvrdjivanje karaktera, stanja i smera religijskih promena na pravoslavno dominantnim prostorima Jugoslavije i Rusije aktuelnim u poslednjem desetlecu burnih socijalno-politickih previranja u njima. U ovako odredjenom predmetu istrazivanja glavni zadatak istrazivanja sastoji se u identifikovanju i preispitivanju osnovnih tendencija u religijskim promenama. Oslanjajuci se na obiman empirijski materijal o pomenutim promenama, u radu treba uciniti pokusaj preciznog detektovanja obima tih promena u razlicitim sferama religijskog, duhovnog i drustvenog zivota mnostva ljudi u tzv. postsocijalistickoj transformaciji drustva. Stoga cilj istrazivanja nije samo utvrdjivanje obima i smera promena religioznosti gradjana, nego je jedan od glavnih ciljeva istrazivanja pokusaj smestanja navedenih religijskih promena u odgovarajuci drustveni kontekst od koga se polazi u njihovoj teorijskoj eksplikaciji. (shrink)

The author presents and analyses, in regard with the subject, the data from a systematic sociological research study of religiosity of the citizens of Serbia which is relevant for the Republic of Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija. The study named?Religiosity in Serbia and the EU integration process? was conducted twice, in 2010 and 2011, by the Christian Cultural Centre from Belgrade with the financial assistance of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Center for European Studies from Brussels. (...) Before analysing the data, the author briefly discusses the various dimensions of religiosity. (shrink)

This article explores three dimensions of the current state of gender equality in Serbia: public policy on gender equality, public opinion on gender equality and the context of Serbia’s accession to the EU. Using data from the recent public opinion survey of citizens’ attitudes towards gender equality, the authors address the following issues: harmonization of public policy on gender equality in Serbia with EU policies; differences between public policy on gender equality in Serbia and citizens’ preferences; (...) convergences/divergences between citizens of Serbia and EU citizens regarding gender equality. As Serbia’s policy of promoting gender equality in the last decade has been dominated by the political goal of accession to the EU, it shows where the opinions converge, and where there are certain differences. The authors show the complexity of ideological positions among average Serbian citizens, while highlighting different paradigms in the official public policy on gender equality. While Serbian citizens still do not place gender equality high on their political agenda, they are convinced that it has a certain value, which does provide some important pointers for the future. (shrink)