From Inclusive Identities to Inclusive Societies: Exploring Complex Social Identity in the Macedonian Context

Republic of Macedonia is an entity described as cultural mosaic, with strong multiethnic and multi-confessional basis, it is a point where East and West meet, it is well-known for the system of Macedonian salad. But, this society even after 25 year of social transition and 2001 Ohrid Agreement did not achieve to find the way of conclusive peace, stability and social eudemonia. The diversity is issue that from time to time produces turbulences, especially at the line of two main identity groups Macedonians-Christian Orthodox and Albanians-Muslim community.Quantitative data in this study were obtained on a sample of 219 young adults from Skopje (95 of Macedonian and 17 of Albanian ethnicity) and Tetovo (76 of Albanian and 31 of Macedonian ethnicity), aged from 18 to 35 years (M = 24.85, SD = 3.2). Main research question is that if there exist differences between young Macedonians and Albanians in their ethnic, religious and national identity? The objective of this paper is to give a scientific picture how categories as gender, marriage, family, ethnicity, religion, living place, Balkan, Europe are perceived by the youth, all this in favour of using them in producing affirmative actions, more productive societal policies and constructive society-building. Multiple social identities: their complexity and inclusiveness, the correlation of identity variables with SII and SIC are among issues analyzed in this paper. National dominance was more frequent among Macedonians. Our findings demonstrate that Albanian participants expressed strong social identity, as Albanians and as being Muslims. Only social identity inclusiveness is significantly related to societal and political attitudes, but ethnicity should be taken into consideration when this relationship is explored

Concept of radicalization

The term radicalization is wide spread today, but the search for what exactly radicalization is, and how to de-radicalize those who are considered violent extremists or terrorists is still a challenge for the academic and professional community. In this paper, the key terms and literature focusing on radicalization will be explored in more detail. Political violence encompasses a wide range of political action - persuasive politics, pressure politics and violent politics - by those with state power, as well as by non-state militant actors. With this in mind, it should also be recognized that radicalization is not necessarily a one-sided phenomenon, as it is equally important to explore the role of state actors and their potential for radicalization. There are a number of factors that can lead to radicalization, as well as factors that may influence de-radicalization. It is a complex phenomenon, where particularly vulnerable category are young people with incomplete education, mostly from unstable social environments, who are easily susceptible to manipulation. Stimulated by political, economic or socio-cultural factors, these individuals find themselves and identify with the ideologies of extreme and radical structures. In the past, this problem of security has been of interest primarily to the intelligence services, which by their nature deal with the consequences, but not with the causes of radicalization. However, experience has indicated that repression is not the only solution. The growing trend of this phenomenon and the challenge of early prevention have emphasized the need for increasingly inclusive community engagement. Considering the complexity of radicalization and violent extremism leading to terrorism, these phenomena are among the top security priorities of contemporary democratic states. Nevertheless, without a clear definition of radicalization, intelligence security agencies will not be able to cope successfully and have a realistic perception of the driving force that lead the individual to extremism and terrorism

Life role salience and subjective well-being among Macedonian employees: Does family-supportive organization perception moderate this relationship

Objectives As many studies have shown, one of the most important tendencies of employees nowadays is to achieve work– life balance. Organizations should develop various activities and create supportive climate, within the framework of which employees will have opportunities to realize aforementioned goals which in turn would increase work productivity and work motivation. The aim of this paper was to examine how subjective well-being (life satisfaction and exhaustion) is associated with commitment to work and family roles under the conditions of strongly and weakly perceived organizational support for family life among health care professionals, teachers and bankers in Macedonia. Marriage duration and the number of children were introduced as control variables. Material and Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 198 full-time employed doctors, nurses, teachers and bankers. Research variables were assessed using self-reported measures/ questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple linear regression was performed for data analysis. Results It was revealed that occupational role commitment contributed to highly expressed life satisfaction, while exhaustion was predicted by marital role commitment. These relationships were stronger among surveyed employees who reported positive family-supportive organization perception, but tested moderation effect of this variable was not statistically significant. Findings demonstrated that family-supportive organization perception moderated association of the number of children with life satisfaction, that is, participants who perceived an organization as family-supportive and had more children were more satisfied with their life in general. Conclusions Results highlighted the importance of organizational orientation toward employees, their commitment to work and family roles, and their subjective well-being, as characteristics that might contribute to higher work engagement, success and family satisfaction. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(3):281–29