The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland officially left the European Union in 2020. In line with this great geopolitical change, official London has produced a new integrated strategy for the so-called "Global Britain" in international relations. Considering that British influence on the Balkans has been present since early 19th century, this geopolitical change got the attention of the Western Balkan relations analysts as well. This text aims to provide an answer to the question of what kind of United Kingdom's policy can be expected towards the Western Balkans region, and towards the Republic of Serbia in particular, as well as what strategic options Serbia has at its disposal in its relationship with official London. The paper claims that the United Kingdom's actions in the region will be largely determined by the global British strategy, aimed primarily at preventing the spread of Russian and, to a lesser extent, Chinese global influence. It is also claimed that Serbia's attitude towards Russia and, to a lesser extent, China will primarily affect the future of Belgrade-London relations, although other issues will certainly have an impact (Kosovo and Metohija, Bosnia and Herzegovina, security cooperation with NATO, etc.). Through analysis of main strategic documents in the field of foreign and defence policy, as well as through the analysis of the recent UK behavior in international relations, the first part of the paper presents the international strategy of "Global Britain" after Brexit and outlines the general international goals of the UK. The second part of the paper presents British in the Western Balkans region. The third part of the paper presents a brief overview of Serbian-British relations in the last five years and points to key trends, benefits and obstacles in mutual relations. The fourth and last part of the paper summarizes what the goals of Serbian action towards the United Kingdom should be, and in what way certain strategic, but also more concrete political decisions of Serbia can affect bilateral relations between the two countries.
{"title":"Global Britain in international politics and strategic options of Serbia in relations with the United Kingdom","authors":"M. Krstić","doi":"10.5937/spm80-44286","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm80-44286","url":null,"abstract":"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland officially left the European Union in 2020. In line with this great geopolitical change, official London has produced a new integrated strategy for the so-called \"Global Britain\" in international relations. Considering that British influence on the Balkans has been present since early 19th century, this geopolitical change got the attention of the Western Balkan relations analysts as well. This text aims to provide an answer to the question of what kind of United Kingdom's policy can be expected towards the Western Balkans region, and towards the Republic of Serbia in particular, as well as what strategic options Serbia has at its disposal in its relationship with official London. The paper claims that the United Kingdom's actions in the region will be largely determined by the global British strategy, aimed primarily at preventing the spread of Russian and, to a lesser extent, Chinese global influence. It is also claimed that Serbia's attitude towards Russia and, to a lesser extent, China will primarily affect the future of Belgrade-London relations, although other issues will certainly have an impact (Kosovo and Metohija, Bosnia and Herzegovina, security cooperation with NATO, etc.). Through analysis of main strategic documents in the field of foreign and defence policy, as well as through the analysis of the recent UK behavior in international relations, the first part of the paper presents the international strategy of \"Global Britain\" after Brexit and outlines the general international goals of the UK. The second part of the paper presents British in the Western Balkans region. The third part of the paper presents a brief overview of Serbian-British relations in the last five years and points to key trends, benefits and obstacles in mutual relations. The fourth and last part of the paper summarizes what the goals of Serbian action towards the United Kingdom should be, and in what way certain strategic, but also more concrete political decisions of Serbia can affect bilateral relations between the two countries.","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71080742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper is examining Nietzsche's attempt to fuse his studies of antiquity with his critique of modernity. For Nietzsche, modernity is in a state of crisis. If we look at the intellectual relationship early Nietzsche develops with the Greek philosophers, it can be discovered the guiding problems motivating a good deal of Nietzsche's later work, but also and problem-solving strategies that marks the development of his whole philosophical journey. The aim of the work is to prove that the foundation of Nietzsche's philosophy is found in the value system of the ancient Greeks, while the central problem is culture, which he interprets through the prism of Greek cultural values that reconcile thinking, desire and the will to live with the will to power. Nietzsche claims that the Greeks have offered humanity exemplary models of cultural and individual developments. 'Heterogeneous' prePlatonic philosopher is essential to the homogeneity of Greek culture. Nietzsche's classicism amounts is criticism of his own times, but in the time is the base of his whole philosophical opuses. Nietzsche insists, modern Europe could not simply 'imitate the Greeks'. As individuals, the Greeks were psychologically healthier than the moderns were; they were emotionally stronger, in Nietzsche's view, more self-assured, less alienated from their own natures and from nature as such. They enjoyed these advantages because the common culture uniting the Greek world was stronger and more clearly defined, and this strength helped the Greeks find reliable answers to questions concerning the purpose of their being in the world. They knew, instinctually, why they existed, and in their various philosophies and tragic festivals, each of them affirmed to himself the meaning of his own particular existence, and by confirming the basic assumptions and worth of the culture's institutions, each of them affirmed the meaning of existence as such. The most significant problems and concepts arising in Nietzsche's philosophy developed through his engagement with Greek culture and thought and that for these reason studies of Nietzsche failing to take into account these problems and concepts from their origins run the risk of misconceiving Nietzsche's ideas by a considerable margin. Nietzsche does not reject not the tradition or modernity's inheritance of it. In Nietzsche's reading, Greek culture, like all flourishing types, understood the need for meaning, purpose, direction and goals, and responded to this need by 'toppling boundary stones', but also by constructing 'new religions and moralities'. Both responses are the function of such artistic, philosophical visions affected as they were in the age of Greek tragedy. Will to power serves him as a tool for understanding the conventional paths of modern scepticism and pessimism. Nietzsche's notion of self-overcoming contains the meaning of maturity and spiritual growth, based on ancient will to life. The key to the meaning of the will to power is
{"title":"The values of Hellenic culture as the foundation of Nietzsche's philosophy","authors":"Vesna Stanković-Pejnović, Damir Veseli","doi":"10.5937/spm81-45399","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm81-45399","url":null,"abstract":"The paper is examining Nietzsche's attempt to fuse his studies of antiquity with his critique of modernity. For Nietzsche, modernity is in a state of crisis. If we look at the intellectual relationship early Nietzsche develops with the Greek philosophers, it can be discovered the guiding problems motivating a good deal of Nietzsche's later work, but also and problem-solving strategies that marks the development of his whole philosophical journey. The aim of the work is to prove that the foundation of Nietzsche's philosophy is found in the value system of the ancient Greeks, while the central problem is culture, which he interprets through the prism of Greek cultural values that reconcile thinking, desire and the will to live with the will to power. Nietzsche claims that the Greeks have offered humanity exemplary models of cultural and individual developments. 'Heterogeneous' prePlatonic philosopher is essential to the homogeneity of Greek culture. Nietzsche's classicism amounts is criticism of his own times, but in the time is the base of his whole philosophical opuses. Nietzsche insists, modern Europe could not simply 'imitate the Greeks'. As individuals, the Greeks were psychologically healthier than the moderns were; they were emotionally stronger, in Nietzsche's view, more self-assured, less alienated from their own natures and from nature as such. They enjoyed these advantages because the common culture uniting the Greek world was stronger and more clearly defined, and this strength helped the Greeks find reliable answers to questions concerning the purpose of their being in the world. They knew, instinctually, why they existed, and in their various philosophies and tragic festivals, each of them affirmed to himself the meaning of his own particular existence, and by confirming the basic assumptions and worth of the culture's institutions, each of them affirmed the meaning of existence as such. The most significant problems and concepts arising in Nietzsche's philosophy developed through his engagement with Greek culture and thought and that for these reason studies of Nietzsche failing to take into account these problems and concepts from their origins run the risk of misconceiving Nietzsche's ideas by a considerable margin. Nietzsche does not reject not the tradition or modernity's inheritance of it. In Nietzsche's reading, Greek culture, like all flourishing types, understood the need for meaning, purpose, direction and goals, and responded to this need by 'toppling boundary stones', but also by constructing 'new religions and moralities'. Both responses are the function of such artistic, philosophical visions affected as they were in the age of Greek tragedy. Will to power serves him as a tool for understanding the conventional paths of modern scepticism and pessimism. Nietzsche's notion of self-overcoming contains the meaning of maturity and spiritual growth, based on ancient will to life. The key to the meaning of the will to power is ","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135840007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The practice of political representatives trying to provide benefits to voters in their local communities is not new. The phenomenon is most often operationalized through financing of public works, projects, subsidies, direct transfers or social benefits, provided in order to increase the political ratings and ultimately ensure reelection. Although the practice is more pronounced in candidate-oriented electoral systems consisting of single-member districts, it can also be identified within the countries employing the proportional list system. The authors' intention is to examine a correlation between the local representation in the Serbian parliament and budgetary transfers and moreover a general level of local financing. For this purpose, data on the residence of MPs was compared with the levels of transfers, subsidies and amount of local expenditures, while the models are additionally controlled with various variables including size of municipality, development level, unemployment rate, share of elderly population, as well as other developmental and societal factors. The sample covered 145 cities and municipalities in Serbia, for a period from 2013 to 2021. The empirical results indicate that pork barrel practices are indeed present even in the environment of closed electoral lists with at-large single district, which does not create institutional incentives for the cultivation of personal vote. But even in Serbia, it seems that local politicians favor their places of residence by increasing the level of public investments. Consequently, municipalities without deputies will remain without financial benefits that parliamentary representation provides. We found that these practices are primarily accomplished through central level subsidies, but can also be identified in the amounts of local budgets and local expenditures. On the other hand, direct annual transfers from the higher levels of government are mostly fixed due to the exact legal criteria, exempting the interference of elected deputies on this particular financing mechanism.
{"title":"Who sends money home: Fiscal consequences of the territorial representation in Serbia","authors":"Dušan Vučićević, Dejan Bursać","doi":"10.5937/spm81-45091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm81-45091","url":null,"abstract":"The practice of political representatives trying to provide benefits to voters in their local communities is not new. The phenomenon is most often operationalized through financing of public works, projects, subsidies, direct transfers or social benefits, provided in order to increase the political ratings and ultimately ensure reelection. Although the practice is more pronounced in candidate-oriented electoral systems consisting of single-member districts, it can also be identified within the countries employing the proportional list system. The authors' intention is to examine a correlation between the local representation in the Serbian parliament and budgetary transfers and moreover a general level of local financing. For this purpose, data on the residence of MPs was compared with the levels of transfers, subsidies and amount of local expenditures, while the models are additionally controlled with various variables including size of municipality, development level, unemployment rate, share of elderly population, as well as other developmental and societal factors. The sample covered 145 cities and municipalities in Serbia, for a period from 2013 to 2021. The empirical results indicate that pork barrel practices are indeed present even in the environment of closed electoral lists with at-large single district, which does not create institutional incentives for the cultivation of personal vote. But even in Serbia, it seems that local politicians favor their places of residence by increasing the level of public investments. Consequently, municipalities without deputies will remain without financial benefits that parliamentary representation provides. We found that these practices are primarily accomplished through central level subsidies, but can also be identified in the amounts of local budgets and local expenditures. On the other hand, direct annual transfers from the higher levels of government are mostly fixed due to the exact legal criteria, exempting the interference of elected deputies on this particular financing mechanism.","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135840008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
State and local governments in e-tools have important instruments of quality management and the creation and implementation of sectoral policies. Smart city projects provide excellent services to citizens, increase the transparency and accountability of authorities, as well as citizens' satisfaction with services. Participative edecision-making is useful because citizens are indispensable for expressing their needs, assessing the quality of services, and setting requests and initiatives (co-production). On the other hand, it is also important to include public servants who ensure that decisions are optimally shaped and that services are tailored according to the needs of specific people (personalization of services) and the community. Serbia has a systemic problem of centralization, a top-down approach to management, weak participation of citizens and weak involvement of experts in the work of e-government. Good practice indicates that e-government cannot function without the active involvement of citizens, so our system needs to be changed and improved. These changes would also modernize management, decision making and policy making (evidence based decision and policy making). The consequence would be the creation of services according to the needs of citizens, which increases citizens' satisfaction with the quality of services. In addition, these processes strengthen the socialization of citizens, strengthen democratic capacities of communities, and raise the motivation of employees to contribute to the quality of work (strengthening of professionalization, motivation and dignity of public servants).
{"title":"Implementation of it in the public sector by local authorities: Benefits and challenges","authors":"Snežana Đorđević","doi":"10.5937/spm81-45234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm81-45234","url":null,"abstract":"State and local governments in e-tools have important instruments of quality management and the creation and implementation of sectoral policies. Smart city projects provide excellent services to citizens, increase the transparency and accountability of authorities, as well as citizens' satisfaction with services. Participative edecision-making is useful because citizens are indispensable for expressing their needs, assessing the quality of services, and setting requests and initiatives (co-production). On the other hand, it is also important to include public servants who ensure that decisions are optimally shaped and that services are tailored according to the needs of specific people (personalization of services) and the community. Serbia has a systemic problem of centralization, a top-down approach to management, weak participation of citizens and weak involvement of experts in the work of e-government. Good practice indicates that e-government cannot function without the active involvement of citizens, so our system needs to be changed and improved. These changes would also modernize management, decision making and policy making (evidence based decision and policy making). The consequence would be the creation of services according to the needs of citizens, which increases citizens' satisfaction with the quality of services. In addition, these processes strengthen the socialization of citizens, strengthen democratic capacities of communities, and raise the motivation of employees to contribute to the quality of work (strengthening of professionalization, motivation and dignity of public servants).","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135843296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Između institucionalizacije i uzajamnog uništenja - Kostić-Šulejić Marina: Strateška stabilnost u multipolarnom svetu, Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd, 2022","authors":"Mladen Lišanin","doi":"10.5937/spm79-43101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm79-43101","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71079801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The contemporary Balkans are still an area of unfinished peace. Its pacification and development depend on a faster process of regionalization and globalization, but also on changing the transition strategy and opening up to the elites of knowledge as actors in the economic, social, and cultural development of the countries of this region. Current flows in the European integration process are predominantly dictated by geostrategic interests but not by development goals. The paper discusses the actors of cross-border cooperation in the Balkans, with special reference to the role of the knowledge elite and the new diaspora in regional development and the affirmation of the culture of peace in this fragile geopolitical space. The focus is on the problematization of the thesis on the role of the new intellectual diaspora from the Balkans, which is an integral part of the global transnational actors of social changes in modern times and whose cognitive, innovative, and social capital, through the process of return mobility (circular migrations of knowledge elites), can contribute to faster local, national, and regional development. The attachment indicates the high creative-innovative potential of the new Balkan diaspora, embodied in the elites of knowledge, innovators, managers, and entrepreneurs in the world, which can be included in the partnership program for local, national, and regional development with the new wise policy of nomenclature in the region. This requires the redefinition of the ruling strategy of dependent modernization and comprador development management and the establishment of a new autonomous policy of social development based on local wisdom ("ours and the world's"), intensive intra-regional connection and integration, and the reactualization of the value of the slogan "Balkans, Balkan peoples!" Sociological research conducted in the last twenty years shows the slowness of cross-border cooperation processes in the region, the still high degree of exchange with countries outside the region, and the fact that the identity perception of the student population is focused on national or European values while regional values are neglected. It is time to change these priorities in identification, which will be connected with real processes of cross-border cooperation and the strengthening of understanding and a culture of peace in the Balkans.
{"title":"The role of the knowledge elite in the development of cross-border cooperation and the culture of peace in the Balkans","authors":"D. Mitrović, D. Veličković, Ljubiša Mitrović","doi":"10.5937/spm80-44113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm80-44113","url":null,"abstract":"The contemporary Balkans are still an area of unfinished peace. Its pacification and development depend on a faster process of regionalization and globalization, but also on changing the transition strategy and opening up to the elites of knowledge as actors in the economic, social, and cultural development of the countries of this region. Current flows in the European integration process are predominantly dictated by geostrategic interests but not by development goals. The paper discusses the actors of cross-border cooperation in the Balkans, with special reference to the role of the knowledge elite and the new diaspora in regional development and the affirmation of the culture of peace in this fragile geopolitical space. The focus is on the problematization of the thesis on the role of the new intellectual diaspora from the Balkans, which is an integral part of the global transnational actors of social changes in modern times and whose cognitive, innovative, and social capital, through the process of return mobility (circular migrations of knowledge elites), can contribute to faster local, national, and regional development. The attachment indicates the high creative-innovative potential of the new Balkan diaspora, embodied in the elites of knowledge, innovators, managers, and entrepreneurs in the world, which can be included in the partnership program for local, national, and regional development with the new wise policy of nomenclature in the region. This requires the redefinition of the ruling strategy of dependent modernization and comprador development management and the establishment of a new autonomous policy of social development based on local wisdom (\"ours and the world's\"), intensive intra-regional connection and integration, and the reactualization of the value of the slogan \"Balkans, Balkan peoples!\" Sociological research conducted in the last twenty years shows the slowness of cross-border cooperation processes in the region, the still high degree of exchange with countries outside the region, and the fact that the identity perception of the student population is focused on national or European values while regional values are neglected. It is time to change these priorities in identification, which will be connected with real processes of cross-border cooperation and the strengthening of understanding and a culture of peace in the Balkans.","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"98 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71080509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper examines the contemporary geopolitical position of the Republic of Serbia after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with the aim of confirming the hypothesis that even in the new, difficult geopolitical conditions, it is possible to maintain the current policy of military neutrality and increase its own capacities for strategic deterrence. Starting with the geopolitical position of Ukraine in the Eurasian space, the strategies and goals of "Great Powers" in this conflict and the importance that Russia's current military confrontation with the "collective West" is taking in it, the first part of the Paper examines the influence of crisis in East Europe and on Serbia's foreign policy strategy (which, before the beginning of conflict, was moving between neutrality and the "hedging strategy"). Therefore, first part of the Paper gives brief theoretical overlook on foreign policy strategies of small states and their conditioning by geopolitical factor, primarily geopolitical position. With all that taken into consideration, it is easier to have clear overview of Serbia's current geopolitical position and dilemmas. The second part of the Paper is dedicated to the description of Serbia's contemporary difficult position in the new geopolitical circumstances ("lonely and in the encirclement"), in order to better understand both the numerous challenges to which Serbia is exposed and its foreign policy moves aimed at preserving its military neutrality and the ability for strategic deterrence. On the one hand, Serbia wants to keep up its processes of accession to the EU and to continue to develop the best possible relations with the West and not to confront it and be isolated. On the other hand, Serbia wants to maintain existing relations with the Russian Federation which are of vital interest to Serbia because, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is able to prevent the accession of Kosovo and Metohija, the breakaway southern Serbian province, to the United Nations as an independent state. Serbia also wants to preserve the current supply of cheap energy resources for its internal needs from the Russian Federation, because it has no real alternative for them. While remaining military neutral, Serbia also needs to increase its deterrence capabilites: the tightening of relations with certain neighbors increases not only the conflict potential, that is, the possible threat of the use of force, but also requires approaches of using "extended deterrence" with a necessary increase in independent forms of hard, military power, that is, additional investment in increasing one's own combat capacities, which would achieve the maximum achievable deterrence effect. The final considerations in the Paper refer to the geopolitical perspectives of persistence in neutrality, that is, to the confirmation of the basic hypothesis of the Paper on the sustainability of this policy in difficult circumstances.
{"title":"Geopolitical position of Serbia after the beginning of the war in Ukraine: Neutrality and strategic deterrence in a crisis context","authors":"A. Gajić","doi":"10.5937/spm80-44267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm80-44267","url":null,"abstract":"The paper examines the contemporary geopolitical position of the Republic of Serbia after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with the aim of confirming the hypothesis that even in the new, difficult geopolitical conditions, it is possible to maintain the current policy of military neutrality and increase its own capacities for strategic deterrence. Starting with the geopolitical position of Ukraine in the Eurasian space, the strategies and goals of \"Great Powers\" in this conflict and the importance that Russia's current military confrontation with the \"collective West\" is taking in it, the first part of the Paper examines the influence of crisis in East Europe and on Serbia's foreign policy strategy (which, before the beginning of conflict, was moving between neutrality and the \"hedging strategy\"). Therefore, first part of the Paper gives brief theoretical overlook on foreign policy strategies of small states and their conditioning by geopolitical factor, primarily geopolitical position. With all that taken into consideration, it is easier to have clear overview of Serbia's current geopolitical position and dilemmas. The second part of the Paper is dedicated to the description of Serbia's contemporary difficult position in the new geopolitical circumstances (\"lonely and in the encirclement\"), in order to better understand both the numerous challenges to which Serbia is exposed and its foreign policy moves aimed at preserving its military neutrality and the ability for strategic deterrence. On the one hand, Serbia wants to keep up its processes of accession to the EU and to continue to develop the best possible relations with the West and not to confront it and be isolated. On the other hand, Serbia wants to maintain existing relations with the Russian Federation which are of vital interest to Serbia because, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is able to prevent the accession of Kosovo and Metohija, the breakaway southern Serbian province, to the United Nations as an independent state. Serbia also wants to preserve the current supply of cheap energy resources for its internal needs from the Russian Federation, because it has no real alternative for them. While remaining military neutral, Serbia also needs to increase its deterrence capabilites: the tightening of relations with certain neighbors increases not only the conflict potential, that is, the possible threat of the use of force, but also requires approaches of using \"extended deterrence\" with a necessary increase in independent forms of hard, military power, that is, additional investment in increasing one's own combat capacities, which would achieve the maximum achievable deterrence effect. The final considerations in the Paper refer to the geopolitical perspectives of persistence in neutrality, that is, to the confirmation of the basic hypothesis of the Paper on the sustainability of this policy in difficult circumstances.","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71080595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vesna Šućur-Janjetović, Andrea Rakanović-Radonjić, Draško Gajić
Vulnerable groups represent special categories that are at a higher risk of being socially excluded, vulnerable, and sensitive to a spectrum of risks, including poverty. Disabled persons, children, youngsters, women, elders, victims/survivors of violence, illiterate people, people living in rural areas, members of certain minority groups, refugees and displaced persons, members of LGBTIQ+ communities, etc., are considered to be vulnerable. Human rights as a universal concept are guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which guarantees the implementation of human rights for all citizens of BiH. The obligation to implement the international documents that secure the standards, obliging the state to enforce guaranteed human rights is also anticipated by the Constitution. Human rights are the foundation and the framework for social work and social policy when it comes to working with and in favour of vulnerable groups, however, in reality of social work practice, these groups remain on the margins of society. This article focuses on possibilities of social work in helping vulnerable groups to move from the margins of society. The article represents the results of the analysis conducted on gathered relevant documents that include information regarding the current state and processes, status, and changes regarding the vulnerable groups' human rights enforcement in the Republic of Srpska. The theoretical framework used for understanding and trying to search for possible answers to the defined question is underpinned by the critical social work perspectives. The content analysis was used as an independent theoretical-empirical method when research on relevant documents was conducted.
{"title":"Are human rights providing empowerment possibilities for social work with vulnerable groups in the Republic of Srpska?","authors":"Vesna Šućur-Janjetović, Andrea Rakanović-Radonjić, Draško Gajić","doi":"10.5937/spm82-46842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm82-46842","url":null,"abstract":"Vulnerable groups represent special categories that are at a higher risk of being socially excluded, vulnerable, and sensitive to a spectrum of risks, including poverty. Disabled persons, children, youngsters, women, elders, victims/survivors of violence, illiterate people, people living in rural areas, members of certain minority groups, refugees and displaced persons, members of LGBTIQ+ communities, etc., are considered to be vulnerable. Human rights as a universal concept are guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which guarantees the implementation of human rights for all citizens of BiH. The obligation to implement the international documents that secure the standards, obliging the state to enforce guaranteed human rights is also anticipated by the Constitution. Human rights are the foundation and the framework for social work and social policy when it comes to working with and in favour of vulnerable groups, however, in reality of social work practice, these groups remain on the margins of society. This article focuses on possibilities of social work in helping vulnerable groups to move from the margins of society. The article represents the results of the analysis conducted on gathered relevant documents that include information regarding the current state and processes, status, and changes regarding the vulnerable groups' human rights enforcement in the Republic of Srpska. The theoretical framework used for understanding and trying to search for possible answers to the defined question is underpinned by the critical social work perspectives. The content analysis was used as an independent theoretical-empirical method when research on relevant documents was conducted.","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135158020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper illuminates how civil society organisations in Serbia, in the aftermath of the political changes initiated on 5 October 2000, played the essential role in articulating corruption as a vital public issue, raising awareness of the public, and putting pressure on the then governments to include this issue in the political agenda. Our analysis focuses on two planes of civil society organisations activities: 1) research efforts aimed at properly understanding the phenomenology of corruption as the first step towards sound conceptualisation of various anti-corruption measures, and 2) educational initiatives aimed at transferring knowledge and good practice in anti-corruption methodology and policies from post-industrial societies and other post-Communist countries. The timeframe of our analysis embraces the period from 5 October 2000 to December 2005, which we see as the initial phase of engaging civil society organisations in anti-corruption policy in Serbia, before the National Anti-Corruption Strategy was adopted. After the changes in October 2000, civil society organizations in Serbia have acted as a significant factor in raising public awareness of corruption as well as in building anti-corruption institutional and normative infrastructure. From campaigns that targeted all stakeholders (citizens, media, business sector, decision makers) aiming at changing their priorities and interests, to participating in the set-up of public policies in the field of rule of law and monitoring the implementation of anti-corruption laws and strategic commitment, civil society organisations that operated within very wide range of activities, successfully influenced both the institutions and the general public. Despite wide range of activities and modest resources, civil society organisations had an impact on actions of the government, public institutions, and the media. The fight against corruption became one of the central issues in the then Serbia's political debate. Yet the anti-corruption achievements of Serbian civil society organisations in the period 2000-2005, were limited due to a chronic deficit of political, professional, and moral responsibility of all social actors, resulting in "systemic error" of public policies strategic design aimed at combating corruption - the lack of a participatory political culture. The lack of a participatory political culture in citizen action has limited efficiency in achieving development policy goals, and in implementation and monitoring of public policies relevant to curbing corruption. Belief has been established, that citizens do not ask questions and therefore do not have the power to exercise policy influence nor to shape the environment in which they live. As the concept of political community is a special construct based on democracy and human rights, non-inclusiveness as previously outlined here destructively affected society by making deeper asymmetries of all kinds due to disintegrating influence that
{"title":"The role of civil society organisations in initiating an anti-corruption policy in Serbia","authors":"Srđan Korać, Aleksandra Bulatović","doi":"10.5937/spm79-42800","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm79-42800","url":null,"abstract":"The paper illuminates how civil society organisations in Serbia, in the aftermath of the political changes initiated on 5 October 2000, played the essential role in articulating corruption as a vital public issue, raising awareness of the public, and putting pressure on the then governments to include this issue in the political agenda. Our analysis focuses on two planes of civil society organisations activities: 1) research efforts aimed at properly understanding the phenomenology of corruption as the first step towards sound conceptualisation of various anti-corruption measures, and 2) educational initiatives aimed at transferring knowledge and good practice in anti-corruption methodology and policies from post-industrial societies and other post-Communist countries. The timeframe of our analysis embraces the period from 5 October 2000 to December 2005, which we see as the initial phase of engaging civil society organisations in anti-corruption policy in Serbia, before the National Anti-Corruption Strategy was adopted. After the changes in October 2000, civil society organizations in Serbia have acted as a significant factor in raising public awareness of corruption as well as in building anti-corruption institutional and normative infrastructure. From campaigns that targeted all stakeholders (citizens, media, business sector, decision makers) aiming at changing their priorities and interests, to participating in the set-up of public policies in the field of rule of law and monitoring the implementation of anti-corruption laws and strategic commitment, civil society organisations that operated within very wide range of activities, successfully influenced both the institutions and the general public. Despite wide range of activities and modest resources, civil society organisations had an impact on actions of the government, public institutions, and the media. The fight against corruption became one of the central issues in the then Serbia's political debate. Yet the anti-corruption achievements of Serbian civil society organisations in the period 2000-2005, were limited due to a chronic deficit of political, professional, and moral responsibility of all social actors, resulting in \"systemic error\" of public policies strategic design aimed at combating corruption - the lack of a participatory political culture. The lack of a participatory political culture in citizen action has limited efficiency in achieving development policy goals, and in implementation and monitoring of public policies relevant to curbing corruption. Belief has been established, that citizens do not ask questions and therefore do not have the power to exercise policy influence nor to shape the environment in which they live. As the concept of political community is a special construct based on democracy and human rights, non-inclusiveness as previously outlined here destructively affected society by making deeper asymmetries of all kinds due to disintegrating influence that ","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71080012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
It seems that the work of Michel Foucault has, in the last decade, attracted some attention. This attention is a result of media engaging in a sensationalist way with his work and his private life. He is usually being portrayed as a radical postmodern nihilist, while his work is being blamed for inspiring contemporary identity politics and the practice of political correctness. These developments seem to us as a good reason to go back to Foucault's work. Since the relation between scientific work and social engagement is an important problem in contemporary social sciences and humanities, we decided to research the way Foucault conceptualized the relation between his intellectual work and his political activism. We begin our paper by elaborating some of the most important theoretical concepts in Foucault's work. We start from his notion of practice, as a form of social action, and then move on to the two types of practices Foucault distinguishes: discursive and non-discursive practices. In the end of this chapter, we present the notion of the "dispositive", which Foucault defines as an interconnected system of discursive and non-discursive practices, and his notion of subjectivity, which is defined as a relation an individual has with himself. In the next chapter we engage with methodologies Foucault uses in his research. We start with archeology, a methodology he used in the beginning of his work, while researching discursive practices. We then move on to genealogy, which is a methodology Foucault used to study systems that combine discursive and non-discursive practices. Since genealogy is the methodology, he envisions as being connected to political practice, we will especially focus on it. Precisely in the next chapter of our paper we will investigate the ways in which Foucault conceptualizes the relationship between genealogical research and political activism. We will show that he sees political activism as a primary criterion for choosing a research subject. Genealogical research then, for Foucault, provides a reflection on the history of an institution, around which the political struggle in question is waged. The results of the genealogical research are, for him, suppose to show how the institution in question is a product of contingent historical processes and, therefore, can be changed through political action, since it is not grounded in any metaphysical necessity. In the last chapter of our analysis, we will deal with Foucault's attempt to connect his genealogical research and political activism through an ethical framework. In this chapter we will present his concept of enlightenment, as an ethical tradition in which both his intellectual and political work can be situated. He conceptualizes the enlightenment as an "attitude", which consist of various kinds of practices, through which an individual constantly tests and transgresses existing boundaries, which are imposed on our actions and forms of subjectivity. Therefore, through th
{"title":"The politics of critique: On the socio-politically engaged dimension of Foucault's methodology","authors":"M. Urosevic","doi":"10.5937/spm79-42698","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5937/spm79-42698","url":null,"abstract":"It seems that the work of Michel Foucault has, in the last decade, attracted some attention. This attention is a result of media engaging in a sensationalist way with his work and his private life. He is usually being portrayed as a radical postmodern nihilist, while his work is being blamed for inspiring contemporary identity politics and the practice of political correctness. These developments seem to us as a good reason to go back to Foucault's work. Since the relation between scientific work and social engagement is an important problem in contemporary social sciences and humanities, we decided to research the way Foucault conceptualized the relation between his intellectual work and his political activism. We begin our paper by elaborating some of the most important theoretical concepts in Foucault's work. We start from his notion of practice, as a form of social action, and then move on to the two types of practices Foucault distinguishes: discursive and non-discursive practices. In the end of this chapter, we present the notion of the \"dispositive\", which Foucault defines as an interconnected system of discursive and non-discursive practices, and his notion of subjectivity, which is defined as a relation an individual has with himself. In the next chapter we engage with methodologies Foucault uses in his research. We start with archeology, a methodology he used in the beginning of his work, while researching discursive practices. We then move on to genealogy, which is a methodology Foucault used to study systems that combine discursive and non-discursive practices. Since genealogy is the methodology, he envisions as being connected to political practice, we will especially focus on it. Precisely in the next chapter of our paper we will investigate the ways in which Foucault conceptualizes the relationship between genealogical research and political activism. We will show that he sees political activism as a primary criterion for choosing a research subject. Genealogical research then, for Foucault, provides a reflection on the history of an institution, around which the political struggle in question is waged. The results of the genealogical research are, for him, suppose to show how the institution in question is a product of contingent historical processes and, therefore, can be changed through political action, since it is not grounded in any metaphysical necessity. In the last chapter of our analysis, we will deal with Foucault's attempt to connect his genealogical research and political activism through an ethical framework. In this chapter we will present his concept of enlightenment, as an ethical tradition in which both his intellectual and political work can be situated. He conceptualizes the enlightenment as an \"attitude\", which consist of various kinds of practices, through which an individual constantly tests and transgresses existing boundaries, which are imposed on our actions and forms of subjectivity. Therefore, through th","PeriodicalId":34288,"journal":{"name":"Srpska Politicka Misao","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71080034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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