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Safeguarding the security of the state and society is the meaning and reason for the national security system's existence and its functioning. How security will be achieved depends on the organisation of the state security system, which is determined by the level of vulnerability of proclaimed national values. Since the 'frozen conflict' represents a latent and permanent threat to the security of state and the identity of society, the national security system adapts to the dynamics of the security environment by revising its defence capabilities. Reconsideration of the readiness for defence is most often manifested through an increase in military potential, which can generate a security dilemma problem and threaten regional stability. Due to the escalation of violence on the Eurasian continent and the security situation in the Western Balkans region, this study critically examines the need for the development of a defence system in the case of the Republic of Serbia. The purpose of the research paper is to encourage reflection on the implications of the independent state's concept for international peace and security. Is the solution that brought peace to Europe nearly four centuries ago a source of nowadays conflicts? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moral capital is of great importance for both the economic and non-economic well-being of a society. However, moral capital is likely to erode during transitions, especially economic ones. The aim of the work is to determine the mechanisms through which the economic and political transition contributes to the erosion of moral capital, but also which measures can affect the rebuilding of moral capital. Analyzing individual cases, especially in Serbia, we draw general conclusions about the impact of economic and political transition on the decline of moral capital in transition countries. In this paper, we argue that the processes put in motion during economic and political transitions that lead to loss of moral capital are likely to result in a new equilibrium state. This state is characterized by the migration of the bearers of moral capital both to the margins of society and out of society and is highly unlikely to be reversed without a focused intervention by the state and society. We further argue that economic theory could both offer a justification for such an intervention and inform on the most effective way to conduct it. This is because the loss of moral capital can be seen as an instance of market failure in transition, one in which parts of the transitional elite are imposing a negative externality on the rest of society. Internalizing this externality -by making the culprits responsible could make the transition more successful; it would benefit justice and prosperity not only in the current economic transition but also in the future restructuring of the national economy and society. We argue that measures to restore moral capital ought to combine monetary transfers, improvement of institutional framework, and immaterial incentives with the aim of initiating processes that could benefit the whole society. Legally required monetary transfers should repair direct damage caused by corrupt actions, but should not benefit any particular individual, while immaterial incentives should be initiated both by the state and the wider society. We found out that activities of transition elites contribute to negative externalities, such as deterioration of moral capital, which results in less social and economic well-being. Additionally, we propose measures which can contribute to the internalization of these externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to research local sustainable development strategic planning processes and practices in the Drina River Basin (geographical area delineated by the river Drina and shared among Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia). Design/methodology/approach – Research methodology included the analysis of the existing country-based strategic documents and processes, as well as the local strategic documents and processes of implementation in 21 municipalities in the Drina River Basin, including interviews with the representatives of central and local governments and civil sector and a questionnaire-based assessment of the situation and needs in municipalities. Findings – The paper argues that local sustainable development planning, although still lacking the proper methodological approach and facing insufficiencies in institutional and implementation capacities is becoming more appreciated by local authorities in the region. Originality/value – The findings should help better understand the interactions between local government institutions and civil society in the Drina River Basin municipalities in achieving local sustainable development, as well as the conditions enabling improved communication networks and capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologija/Sociology: Journal of Sociology, Social Psychology & Social Anthropology is the property of MOD International and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Slavia Meridionalis is the property of Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Slavic Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The underlying assumption of this paper is that over the last seven decades Serbia has been subject to anti-modernization processes that have reached their peak over the last two decades in the form of anti-urbanity. Consequently, the paper analyzes the sustainability of "standardized" rural-urban dichotomies which serve as the foundation of most models of cultural shaping of society. Resistance to the values of civil society, which is urban by its very nature, spreads through culture channels as both a cause and an effect. The paper attempts to posit an answer to the question of whether the "crisis of culture" emerges as a cause or as a consequence of anti-urban processes. Additionally, the paper determines the role of social actors in producing material and spiritual paradigms of anti-urbanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the main features of the non-governmental sector in Kosovo engaged in peace building and multi-ethnic coexistence. It seeks to answer the question why this Western-designed civil society sector, well integrated in the flows of the transnational aid industry, has not so far developed significant leverage against the dominant ethno-nationalist politics in Kosovo. It argues that the main problem of this civil society segment—its lack of capacity to engage in defending and legitimizing the peace-building agenda—results from an incomplete analysis of local civil society in Kosovo before 1999. It also arises from the tendency in transnationally exported definitions of the practices of a ‘good’ civil society to neglect the limits imposed by the local context where, as in Kosovo, the parameters of state sovereignty are based on ethnic homogeneity and segregation. The paper concludes by proposing that plans for Western-style multiculturalism as a programme to stabilize Kosovo may inadvertently perpetuate nationalist (ethno-centred) state building agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Socioloski Pregled is the property of Srpsko Sociolosko Drustvo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Temida is the property of Victimology Society of Serbia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper addresses the organised civil society efforts to bring excombatants into the public sphere in Serbia, and investigates the potential for constructive use of ex-combatants' war experiences in theatre. By staging the theatre performance Tanatos, the Group "Hajde da..." (the Group) from Belgrade aims to challenge negative views of this category of the Serbian population. So far, ex-combatants have been largely ignored, and as such, their capacities for contributing to transitional justice processes in the Serbian community have been neglected. Not only does the Tanatos bring four ex-combatants onto the stage to share their combat-related experiences with an audience, but it also gives the audience an opportunity to meet the ex-combatants after the performance in an open 'question and answer' session. As a qualitative case study, the paper draws from multiple sources: direct observation of the theatre performance in Belgrade in 2011, documentary research and fieldwork in Serbia undertaken during the summer of 2013, analysis of internal documents produced within the Group, and an interview with the dramaturge of the performance. The paper concludes that through Tanatos, the Group has opened public space for a dialogue about the recent past that acknowledges ex-combatants as an important factor in transitional justice processes in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologija/Sociology: Journal of Sociology, Social Psychology & Social Anthropology is the property of MOD International and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) establishes that people with disabilities shall enjoy their human rights on an equal basis with others. Those rights include the right to legal capacity and to protection against discrimination, including intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination on the basis of disability and gender. In an effort to support the realisation of the CRPD, the United Nations team in Serbia undertook a project to address the implementation of these rights under the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) programme. Namely, by bringing together stakeholders from the UN, government and civil society, the UNPRPD project in Serbia sought to create structural changes to uphold the rights of people with disabilities. With a view of understanding the process of change within, rather than the outcomes of, this UPRPD project, twenty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted using the Most Significant Change Technique (MSCT) with key stakeholders involved in such a project. The interviews were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to preserve the unique and diverse perspectives of participants who had differing roles across the project. The analysis allowed us to identify a number of facets of the process that facilitate structural change: coalition-building events; strengthening stakeholder capacity and relationships; the participation of persons with disabilities; and innovation in terms of what made the project significant, novel and in itself a change. All these facets are discussed in this article, with the purpose of supporting global efforts in alignment with the CRPD. On the whole, this article aims to support a better understanding of disability-inclusive development projects in line with the CRPD and to give evidence on how countries may begin to tackle the structural exclusion of persons with disabilities in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Don't let Belgrade D(r)own, protest movement against the city's controversial waterfront development, is one of the largest civil society campaigns in post-Milošević Serbia. Despite engaging an eclectic mix of activists, there has been no tangible participation by Belgrade's well-established environmental NGOs (ENGOs). The absence of ENGOs is all the more surprising given the project's well-documented threat to surface water, increased risk of flooding, and air pollution. The extant literature would suggest that EU enlargement, distancing of green organisations from domestic grassroots agendas as a consequence of external donor funding, and widespread NGO fatigue are to blame. In addition to these explanations, we contend that the limited participation of ENGOs was also due to ideological differences and initial framing of the activism by those who had emerged from, and become disenchanted with, the NGO sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologija/Sociology: Journal of Sociology, Social Psychology & Social Anthropology is the property of MOD International and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Synergies Roumanie is the property of GERFLINT (Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches pour le Francais Langue Internationale) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociologija/Sociology: Journal of Sociology, Social Psychology & Social Anthropology is the property of MOD International and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

After regime change in 2000, the Serbian Ministry of Education introduced two new subjects in the schools: civic education and religious education. Representatives of local civil society associated the establishment of religious education in schools with a rise in nationalism and a split of the society into "believers" and "citizens". Representatives of the church, on the other hand, criticised the concept of civic education as redundant, and its establishment as merely the minister's "plot" to weaken the reintroduction of religious education. The paper discusses the debate on the new school subjects against the background of Serbia's socialist past, the rise of militant nationalism in the 1990s (respectively its recent ascension), and the democratisation and human rights discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Serbia, during the 2015 European refugee crisis, the Orthodox Church mobilized communities in providing humanitarian aid before local authorities and the government issued an organized response. Two years later, in December 2017, with the support of the Orthodox Church, Ukraine exchanged war prisoners with the separatist authorities in Donbas. In both countries, the social and political involvement of Orthodox Churches in dealing with forced displacement was unprecedented. Drawing on literature review and interviews with 25 representatives of governmental and civil-society bodies, members of the clergy and academics, this article explores the ways in which, in Serbia and Ukraine, when states fail to offer support for populations affected by violence, religious communities have been among the first actors to take over state governance and provide human security. It argues that, by doing so, Orthodox Churches become open to politicization from state authorities. The article contributes to the study of religion and forced displacement by linking the politicization of Orthodox Churches to the concept of state failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil societies in the post-Communist new democracies are largely regarded as underdeveloped and not sufficiently influential in national politics. After the initial stages of democratization, when the role of civic mobilization and pluralistic associations was recognized in several instances, the predominating picture has become that of a weak civil society. This evaluation is even more relevant with regard to the new East European democracies. These conclusions are derived predominantly from research on the NGO sector, while other associations, such as trade unions and business associations, are far less studied. The analysis in this article is based on fresh empirical data on the political behavior of civil society and interest groups in Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The author focuses on classic themes in interest groups literature, including the characteristics and structure of the populations of national interest groups, their organizational characteristics and their relationships with political institutions. The analysis shows that, sharing similar contexts of democratization, Europeanization, and with a shared past in a federal state, interest groups in Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia show remarkable similarities. Most of the research findings are in line with the literature on interest groups in old democracies, but there are a number of differences that indicate the rather poor quality of the relationship between the state and civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically assesses the role of pro-reform and pro-EU civil society in the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union (EU). Civil society (the so-called non-government or third sector) has played a fundamental role in the democratisation of former Communist countries, including in the Western Balkans where the majority of aspirant EU members still reside. Serbia's democratic transformation began soon after its regime-change occurred on 5 October 2000. This country's process of democratic consolidation is ongoing and is strongly supported by pro-EU civil society actors who are key drivers of Europeanisation. Civil society organisations and actors have increased general knowledge about the quality of democratic reforms in Serbia and brought in technical expertise which has assisted Serbian society to align better with the EU's acquis. Specific examples of civil society's activism in this article will demonstrate some unique characteristics of Serbia's third sector. Its evolution from an anti-war movement and loosely connected individuals and citizens' associations in the 1990s to becoming a major advocate of EU membership in Serbia and a partner to the Serbian Government on EU accession is worthy of further academic research and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article identifies an emerging trend in the reconstruction of identities in the Balkans which involves the memorialisation of foreign celebrities, including Rocky Balboa, Tarzan, Bruce Lee, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, and Samantha Fox. The article aims to understand the meaning and the purpose of foreign celebrity monuments to the local communities. The findings suggest that the monuments represent radical political statements by emerging civil societies in a process of transition from Yugoslav socialism, 1990s nationalism, and foreign-led liberalisation and democratisation in post-conflict times. The monuments are constitutive in themselves as democratic expressions and examples of citizens performing political acts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Yearbook of the Faculty of Political Sciences / Godisnjak Fakultet Politickih Nauka Beograd is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyses from an anthropological perspective the 2010 Belgrade Pride Parade, the first state-supported Parade in Serbia, as a part of the building of a democratic and European Serbian nation. In their discursive framing of the Parade and making claims on the state to take it under its auspices, the organising NGOs bound the event to the EU integration process of Serbia. This policy link helped them forge a political alliance with the state, but was also instrumentalised by the government to avoid an ideological conflict with the opponents of the Parade. Owing to the perception of the alliance as “elitist” and to the militarised and depoliticised nature of the state’s involvement, the event materially actualised and reified rather than transcended the enduring conflict of liberal and collectivist citizenship visions in Serbia. The article argues that the overall discourse of the government on Europeanisation is informed by the same top-down and instrumental logic. However, members of civil society develop political subjectivities which demand active citizen participation and critically engage with the discourse to restore its democratising potential. Similarly, the emerging “populist” politics of LGBT rights, illustrated by the pop singer Jelena Karleuša’s participation in the domestic debate, are better placed to face the legacies of socialist and ethnonationalist nation-building than the human rights and Europeanisation approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article starts with basic information about historical developments and circumstances concerning Serbia as a country still in the process of transition. Media restructuring is explained from the point of view of an activist who has been fighting for civil society media both in research and practice. The process of transition that is taking place in Serbia is a good opportunity for an attempt to establish a ‘third media sector’. However, this endeavour has been unsuccessful so far because most media organizations restructuring from government monopoly have chosen the commercial privatization option, even though civil society media are a legally sanctioned and recognized option. This article presents results that are far from optimistic. The main part of the article is dedicated to reasons that explain how a specific type of broadcasting media has been prevented from growing in Serbia. The civil society media model was, and still is, a blind spot of media transition. It is ignored in the political sphere, and the public is not properly informed about it. Journalists are not keen to try media restructuring in the direction of civil society media either, as a survey of their opinions and attitudes shows. The survey indicates that professional journalists also have poor knowledge about civil society media as an alternative to privatization. Consequently, they did not attempt to make use of civil society media legislation in the restructuring of their own media organizations. An encouraging finding of the survey was that working journalists are aware, in principle, of the liberating and participatory potential of people's media. It seems that only the rise of civil society in Serbia can create the societal conditions in which civil society media can graduate from hope to reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing knowledge suggests that available international mechanisms are not very suitable for dealing with interconnected international and local conflicts in terms of overcoming denial and bringing forth acknowledgment of atrocities and sufferings of people from both powerful and powerless states. At the same time this means that they are not suitable for dealing with conflicts and victimisation in a holistic and inclusive, rather than partial and exclusive, way, and for stopping the cycle of violence and bringing positive rather than negative peace. This article explores the possibility of expanding the use of restorative justice for dealing with interconnected (internal and international) conflicts from national/local to global-level/governance. Bearing in mind Castellos's statement about the existing gap between the space where issues are defined (global) and the space where the issues are managed (the nation-state), the article intends to contribute to development of a theoretical framework for building new ways of dealing with both internal/regional and related international conflicts. The solutions are sought within global civil society's potential for bringing together different stakeholders, as well as for making visible the multitude of truths and advocating change. The article deals with these problems using the case study of the Kosovo conflict and the NATO war waged against Serbia in 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil society literature attributes the weakness of post-communist civil society to the communist heritage. It is structurally weak, the argument goes, because post-communist citizens are averse to voluntary organizations and because of ethnic nationalism. This article goes beyond the heritage argument and contends that post-communist civil society is weakened by democratization itself. Post-communist democratizing states are fragmented structurally and ideologically, and lack a consensus on the liberal state as a provider of public goods and an inclusive citizenship. Simultaneously, the non-state sector in post-communism is expanding in both liberal and illiberal directions. While the liberal segments of the state respond to a liberal civil society, its illiberal segments reinforce an illiberal civil society. Consequently, ‘good’ civil society is forced to confront ideologically both the illiberal state and illiberal non-state groups, which limits its potential contribution to promoting good governance. The argument is illustrated by a study of civil society's transformation in post-Milošević Serbia and the struggle by liberal civil society groups for acceptance of responsibility for Serbian war crimes committed in the wars of Yugoslavia's disintegration in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the reasons for the ten-year delay in the democratic transition in Serbia, focusing in particular on opposition parties and civil society. It argues that the policy of opposition parties was partly responsible for the failure of an earlier fall of the Miloševic regime. While civil society has been similarly weak and divided, the article details how a number of NGOs proved to be crucial in the coordinated campaign which lead to the overthrow of the Miloševic regime in October 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]