Streamlining for democracy: Intercultural predispositions of the Croatian secondary school population

This work interprets the results of empirical research conducted into the intercultural predispositions of secondary school students in Croatia. Data were collected in 1993 and in 1998, using specially constructed questionnaires in which, for a variety of democratic values, a Likert-type battery of questions, were given to respondents. In 1993 the stratified research sample consisted only of secondary school students, while in 1998 the research sample also included students, parents and teachers. An analysis of the results shows that: (1) students had, generally speaking, affirmative attitudes both in 1993 and 1998 and that the hierarchy of support for these values remained the same; and (2) all three groups examined in 1998 shared a common hierarchy of values. However, they differed in the degree to which they accepted democratic values; teachers ranked the highest, students the lowest. The fact that students' attitudes were much closer to their parents' than to their teachers' leads to the conclusion that schools are not the major factor in the "political" socialization of young people in Croatia. This indicates a need for the introduction of new curriculum in all secondary schools. This curriculum should include educational content that emphasizes democratic values and intercultural relations, and methods that stress students' participation through action, reciprocity, dialogue, and solidarity, led by well-trained teachers.     

Environmental awareness and energy problems in Croatia

The article discusses the results of sociological research on environmental awareness in Croatia. A strong anti‐nuclear attitude is present, especially with respect to radioactive waste. Education is by far the strongest determining variable: those of high educational qualifications are critical in general as well as vis‐à‐vis specific issues, yet not necessarily critical in a negative sense.     

Preference and choice

A theory of preference and choice based on that of von Wright is developed whereby the choice of a state of affairs is determined by preferences between pairs of them. The method used is letting preferences eliminate states of affairs from the choice set according to axiomatized rules. Formal properties of extensions of von Wright's preference logic are investigated.     

Writing After the Genocide: Lessons from Srebrenica and the Meaning of Community After Violence

Abstract

This essay explores four themes that run as a thread through recent writings about the genocide in Srebrenica and its aftermath: systemic and premeditated character of violence used by the Bosnian Serb forces during the war, which still echoes in politics of Republic Srpska; delicate politics of witnessing and identification which draws Srebrenica's survivors into the courts but also into the past; layered yet often self-serving interests circling around Srebrenica and annual commemorations in Poto?ari; and changing, multiple and, at times, conflicting understandings of “community” since the war. The essay draws on four books—Sarah Wagner's To Know Where He Lies, Hariz Halilovich's Places of Pain, Robert Donia's Radovan Karad?i?: Architect of the Bosnian Genocide, and Lara Nettelfield and Sarah Wagner's Srebrenica in the Aftermath of Genocide.     

US Neoconservative Support and Policy Activism for Bosnia, 1992–1995: Correcting the Record

Abstract

The aim of this article is to trace neoconservative thought in the US and policy activism on the role of the US in Bosnia during the 1992–1995 genocide. This paper argues that, on the issue of intervention in Bosnia, neoconservatives in the US comprised two camps. Neoconservative former government officials were early and consistent advocates of an assertive US intervention in Bosnia. However, the neoconservative academics were a heterogeneous group divided over the question of US intervention. Yet, both the former government officials and several academics came together in supporting President Bill Clinton's decision to deploy US troops to enforce the Dayton Peace Accords. While sharply criticized in the Muslim world for their Middle East policies, neoconservative advocacy for Bosnia and Bosnian Muslims during 1992–1995 has been largely overlooked. Analysing neoconservatives’ activism on Bosnia provides for a more nuanced understanding of the US neoconservative foreign policy legacy.     

Commemorating Srebrenica: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

The aim of this Special Issue is to commemorate the genocide victims in Bosnia on the occasion of 20th anniversary of the capture of UN safe area of Srebrenica in July 1995. Recognized as the worst atrocity in Europe since 1945, the horrors of Srebrenica reverberate far beyond Bosnia with commemorations held across the globe from Canada to Australia. While there has been a growing literature on this subject over the last two decades, this Special Issue seeks to make a scholarly contribution to the study of genocide by bringing together works on understudied aspects of this period in Bosnian and European history.     

Migration,Precarization and the Democratic Deficit in Global Governance

This article attempts to provide a critical understanding of the dual signification of “precarity”. It explores what “precarity” as a concept may potentially offer to studies of the changing contemporary political economy of migration. It discusses shifting trends in global migration and point to tendencies for a possible convergence between “South” and “North”, “East” and “West”. Based on a review of current advances in research, it discusses, with reference to the classical work of Karl Polanyi, the potential for a contemporary “countermovement” which would challenge the precarity of migrants. Bringing forward the issue of the “space for civil society” the article addresses a still lingering democratic deficit in the global governance of migration.

Policy Implications

The article is relevant to policymakers, trade unions and civil society organizations. It contributes to the understanding of policy making processes in emerging multilevel global governance and focuses on issues of precarization, migration, and the implementation and accountability of human, migrant and labour rights.     

Roman emperors and identity constructions in modern Serbia

Drawing from the constructivist approach to heritage that defines it as a reflection of contemporary social circumstances, we attempt to outline the key agencies and processes shaping the reception of the Roman heritage in contemporary Serbia. Our case study points to the process of creation of the main narrative of Roman heritage in the country as Serbia – homeland of the Roman Emperors and to its role in the construction and promotion of social ideologies and identities. Analysis of the increasing popularisation of the legacy of the Roman past in public discourse presents considerable opportunities for questioning the social reality reflected by the reception of Roman heritage in Serbian context.