Cyber Westphalia and the Post-Digital Man: The Case of Culture Wars in Liberal Democracies After 2014

Liberal democracies experienced an unexpected resurgence of nationalism in the 2010s. Although many accounts have sought to explain this development, few acknowledge the sudden, simultaneous, and profound ideologization of both the ideological left and right. Consequently, prevailing narratives about nationalism’s rise fail to capture the broader transformation that defined the decade. This paper argues that technological innovation, reaching a critical threshold around 2014, fundamentally reconfigured the institutional and cultural framework of liberal-democratic states, catalyzing the emergence of contemporary culture wars. These innovations reshaped everyday life, giving rise to a ‘post-digital’ reality and a corresponding ‘post-digital’ individual. The transformation also created new avenues for foreign actors to influence identity formation within liberal democracies, exacerbating a legitimacy crisis in the West. In response, Western governments have begun pursuing a new, ‘Cyber-Westphalian’ liberal-democratic consensus aimed at restoring political stability in the post-digital age

Editorial: Configurations for democratic, economic and policy shifts after popular uprisings in European neighbourhood

While conventional wisdom argues that mass popular uprisings in authoritarian or hybrid regimes usually do not lead to veritable democratization, their aftermath is rarely a clear-cut return to the status quo ante or a decisive move to a new system of government, but rather a longer transitional period that is both politically ambiguous and in flux. Revolutionary moments provoke a range of impacts on institutional, relational, and normative-symbolic dynamics that allow for different outcomes—democratic gains and authoritarian reassembly—to occur simultaneously. Assessing the relationship between mass popular uprising and democratization thus requires taking a more nuanced, longitudinal approach that registers smaller-scale changes on a continuum of democracy-autocracy

Power Sharing Without Democracy: A Comparative Historical Analysis of Power Sharing in National Self-Determination Conflicts in Yugoslavia, Bosnia and North Macedonia

Power-sharing regimes are often misleadingly studied as democracies even when they are a part of authoritarian or hybrid regimes. This article contrasts power sharing without democracy in the national self-determination context—with all four pillars, largely constitutionalised and territorialised—with non-democratic but incomplete, informal and flexible power sharing in ethnic and ideological conflicts. It claims that power sharing facilitates peace and stability under both democracy and authoritarianism; however, problems arise in hybrid regimes and with political change. Evidence is provided from the comparative historical analysis of power sharing without democracy in communist Yugoslavia and postcommunist Bosnia and North Macedonia

The Principles of Proportionality and Energy Solidarity under Article 9 of (ЕU) Regulation No. 1/2003

Предмет рада је примена института нагодбе у ситуацији постојања ризика од нарушавања конкуренције услед злоупотребе доминантног положаја у сектору енергетике, са освртом на разматрање принципа пропорционалности и начела енергетске солидарности. Правни основ анализе представља пресуда Суда правде Европске уније у предмету C–255/22. Циљ рада је указивање на специфичност поступања и обавезу појачане пажње у односним случајевима, с обзиром да понашање које представља повреду из чл. 102 Уговора о функционисању Европске уније (УФЕУ), последично може имати ефекат и на остваривање циљева енергетске политике у смислу чл. 194 ст. 1 УФЕУ. Закључак говори у прилог постојању специфичног ризика нарушавања конкуренције уколико је реч о злоупотреби доминантног положаја на релевантним енергетским тржиштима, с обзиром на додатно изражен секторски јавни интерес. Стога прекид поступка услед нагодбе претпоставља квалификовану анализу у формату два концентрична круга – примарно испитивање ризика од повреде конкуренције, и оцену усклађености са циљевима енергетске политике, уз кумулативну примену принципа пропорционалности и начела енергетске солидарности у односним случајевима.The subject of the paper is the application of commitments in cases where there are competition concerns regarding the abuse of a dominant position in the energy sector, with a focus on the principles of proportionality and energy solidarity. The legal basis for the analysis is the EU’s Court of Justice judgement in case C–255/12. The aim of the paper is to highlight the specificities of acting in such cases and the duty to exercise heightened attention, since behavior that constitutes a violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) can consequently affect the achievement of the goals of energy policies, as outlined in Article 194 (1) TFEU. Th e conclusion highlights that a specific risk of competition violations exist if there is abuse of a dominant position in relevant energy markets, particularly due to the additional public interest in the sector. As a result, the commitment procedure requires a qualified analysis in the form of two concentric circles – primarily addressing competition concerns and assessing alignment with the goals of energy policy, alongside the cumulative application of the principles of proportionality and energy solidarity in such cases

Media and International Relations: Serbian Media Narrative on the EU in Light of the “Lithium Crisis” in Serbia

In this article, the authors address the Serbian media narrative about the EU’s communication on lithium mining in Serbia. In an effort to answer the question of how this narrative can influence the positioning of the EU on Serbia as a candidate country for EU membership, the authors have made a research based on a quantitative–qualitative analysis of media coverage, drawing on a sample of 192 articles (N = 192) published by four Serbian online news portals (RTS, N1, B92, and Blic). The analysis leads to two main conclusions: (1) It indicates an inversion in the general approach to foreign policy orientation across the analyzed media platforms. The customary discourses on Serbia’s foreign policy trajectory temporarily diverged from established patterns—specifically, the fervently pro‑Western orientation characteristic of anti‑government platforms and the ostensibly West‑sceptical orientation typical of pro‑government media. This reinforces the argument that the primary structuring line of media discourse in Serbia lies in the division between pro‑regime and anti‑regime orientations. (2) Media repositioning has exerted a pronounced negative effect on pro‑European segments of the Serbian public, reactivating the thesis of “stabilocracy”, conceptualized as the dynamic relationship between authoritarian regimes in the Balkans and their external supporters. According to the authors, the EU’s inability to anticipate the drastic negative shift in public sentiment toward it—particularly among those segments of Serbian society that had been most supportive—or, alternatively, its decision to continue pursuing its own economic interests despite such awareness, underscores the profound flaws in the political communication it employed in this case

The Supportive Role of Energy Communities in Fostering Just Energy Transition

Energy communities have only recently been recognized as active par ticipants in the energy transition within the European Union (EU). However, there potential in the process of a just energy transition, one that is decentralized, inclu sive, and closer to citizens, has yet to be fully realized. Unlike the traditional para digm, which relied on a centralized, top-down approach to energy system governance, the new paradigm aims to bring more democracy to all stages of the energy life cycle. Energy communities should help drive the transition by providing greater benefits to local communities, such as increased self-sufficiency, improved consumption management, enhanced efficiency and savings, promotion of clean energy, a reduction in energy poverty, job creation and support for local economic growth. This chapter aims to analyze the position of energy communities within the existing regulatory framework. We apply a multi-level governance model to the EU’s energy system to understand this role. Currently, we still rely heavily on cen tralized energy systems managed by incumbents and public authorities. In this con text, energy communities can have a supportive role in the just transition, complementing centralized energy structures and the top-down decision-making process. Recognizing citizens as equal participants in the energy transition, together with market players and public bodies, is crucial for gaining wider acceptance of fundamental changes in the energy sector. While this is just one of the objectives that active local communities can help achieve, they can also contribute to other social goals, such as promoting green jobs and economic growth, by utilizing locally available resources

Serbia’s Turbulent Democratization

Since the late 1980s Serbia has travelled a long way, from communist authoritarianism to democracy and then back again below a democratic threshold. Its hesitant transition from communism was part of the wave of regime change in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union amidst the global ‘third wave’ of democratization in the last quarter of the 20th century. While the legacy of Yugoslavia’s tolerant and decentralized communism provided more favourable conditions for democratization than in the Soviet bloc, the breakup of Yugoslavia and concomitant nationalist violence resulted in a hybrid regime that mixed democratic procedures with authoritarian rule, and in the country’s international isolation. Massive demonstrations in October 2000 ended non-democratic rule and launched a vibrant democracy in the European continental model, which lasted a decade and a half. A slow decline of democratic institutions began in the early 2010s and accelerated once the coalition of refurbished old-regime parties returned to power, culminating in a return to a hybrid regime in 2015–2016, which continues until today. Overall, Serbia experienced democracy for roughly half of the post-communist period, while the other half was consumed by political struggles under non-democratic rule. This trajectory largely reflects political development in the wider region, although the swings from authoritarianism to democracy and back to a hybrid regime were more dramatic in Serbia

Mediji kao strana u ratu: politička agenda i medijski odgovor u prikazivanju rusko-ukrajinskog rata

Napad Rusije na Ukrajinu, ali i medijska priprema rata koja je tome prethodila, otvorili su iznova pitanje učešća medija u ratu i prilagođavanja novinarskih principa “pravoj strani istorije”. Mediji su uzeli učešće u stvaranju strategijskog narativa, dok su odustajali od mirovnog novinarstva (peacejournalism) i težili ka patriotskom novinarstvu (patritioticjournalism). Ovaj rad ima za cilj da ustanovi na koji način su novinari odstupili od svojih profesionalnih načela i uzeli učešće u ratu, na koji način su vrednosti na kojima je zasnovana Evropska unija, a koji stoje u novinarskim kodeksima, prilagođeni medijskim i političkim agendama i na koji način se takva praksa reflektovala na domaće medijsko tle u Srbiji. Rad se bazira na sistemskom pregledu literature i analizi postojeće prakse, a dopunjen je intervjuima sa ekspertima, novinarima sa višegodišnjim iskustvom izveštavanja iz Belgije, Nemačke, i ruskog državnog medija (RT) u Americi

On Shestov’s depiction of Dostoevsky’s and Nietzsche’s situations

У овом раду настојимо да артикулишемо одређене моменте у мисли Лава Шестова усредсређујући се пре свега на његово дело Достојевски и Ниче – философија трагедије. На ово дело се посебно осврћемо будући да желимо да концептуализујемо оно што именујемо као Шестовљево „сликање ситуација” Достојевског и Ничеа. Ова концептуализација нам је важна да бисмо испитали улогу таквог Шестовљевог „сликања њихових ситуација” у његовом трагању за потпунијим поимањем постојања. Прекретнице у животу и делу Достојевског и Ничеа показују се као значајне за Шестова будући да у њима налази потпору за oсликавање драме која се тиче проширивања опсега искуства постојања и проширивања опсега поимања постојања. Имајући у виду ове прекретнице Шестов ће говорити о подземним аспектима мисли ова два аутора, о неуобичајеној области људског духа – „у којој, није било добровољаца”. Питаћемо се како проширивање опсега искуства постојања (које jе повезано са трагичним догађајима у њиховим животима) намеће нове захтеве спознаји и у каквој су вези ти нови захтеви са Шестовљевим фундаменталнијим схватањем улоге философије, са неким видом „иницијације” у истинско бивање и философирање. КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ: Шестов; Достојевски; Ниче; сликање ситуације; подземно; живот; трагичноIn this paper, the aim is to articulate certain moments in the thought of Lev Shestov, focusing primarily on his work Dostoevsky and Nietzsche - The Philosophy of Tragedy. Special attention is paid to this work while seeking to conceptualize what is termed Shestov’s “depiction of situations” of Dostoevsky and Nietzsche. This conceptualization is important for examining the role of such “depictions” in Shestov’s pursuit of a fuller understanding of existence. The turning points in the lives and works of Dostoevsky and Nietzsche emerge as significant for Shestov, as he finds in them the basis for illustrating a drama concerning the expansion of the range of existential experience and the broadening of the understanding of existence. In light of these turning points, Shestov speaks of the underground aspects of the thought of these two authors, especially of an unusual realm of the human spirit “in which there were no volunteers.” An inquiry is made into how the expansion of existential experience (linked to the tragic events in their lives) imposes new demands on cognition and how these new demands relate to Shestov’s more fundamental understanding of the role of philosophy itself, that is, to a certain form of “initiation” into true being and philosophizing