Cultures of rejection in the Covid-19 crisis

This article offers a collectively developed analysis of the Covid-19 crisis as it relates to contemporary cultures of rejection, i.e. the socio-cultural conditions in which authoritarian and right-wing populist politics thrive, in Europe. We explore how the pandemic and its management reinforces, transforms and/or overrides existing antagonisms and institutes new ones in Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Germany and Sweden. We discuss how the Covid-19 crisis affects the rise of new statisms; gendered patterns of social reproduction; mobility and migration; digital infrastructures; and new political mobilization

Discovering Europe? Identity of the Migrants in the EU

This paper focuses on migration in Europe and European identity. Above all, it aims to explore the capacity of European identity to offer an inclusive form of collective affiliation both for intra- and extra-European migrants. We argue that the probability for both, extra- and intra-EU migrants, to develop European identity is higher than the probability to develop country-of-residence identity since the later one is based on ascriptive criteria and therefore exclusive in its nature. Social scientists from different traditions started only recently to deal with those questions focusing, above all, on the effects of mobility within EU borders on identity and attitudes towards Europe (Favel, 2009; Recchi and Favel, 2009). Our research aims to contribute to this theoretical and empirical debate by analysing also extra-European migrants. The high magnitude of extra-EU immigration (more than 30 million, out of the total 47 million of migrants that reside in EU countries were born outside the EU according to Eurostat 2011) clearly shows the importance of the relationship between migrants and European identity. In our empirical analyses we will rely on 2009 Eurobarometer (EB) and 2009 European Election Survey (EES) dat

Citizens’ assemblies at supranational level: Addressing the EU and global democratic deficit

The problems related to the democratic deficit, lack of democratic legitimacy, and widening gap between citizens and decision-makers seem even more striking in the case of decision-making at supranational level. One response to this crisis of democracy at the supranational level has been the creation of citizens’ assemblies (CAs) promoted and implemented by the various actors: European Union, NGOs, international organizations, and social movements. Still, although all those actors advocated for the use of CAs at supranational level there are significant differences regarding the capacity of those actors as well as the CAs they promote to address the democratic deficit. Starting from this assumption, in the following pages I will analytically differentiate between CAs implemented by the European Union (EU), a system provided by the political authority and those CAs implemented by supranational actors that lack formally legitimate political authorit

Il cittadino deliberativo. Teoria e pratica della deliberazione pubblica nel caso del Deliberative Polling di Torino

Partendo dei presupposti teorici della democrazia deliberativa e la “promessa” di trasformazione del cittadino in cittadino “ideale” per via della deliberazione pubblica questo studio affronta tale problema empiricamente. In particolare, cercando di analizzare se i cittadini, partecipando alla deliberazione si trasformano in cittadini non solo più informati ma anche capaci di riconoscere ed accettare come legittime la pluralità di visioni esistenti nella società, cioè i cittadini caratterizzati da enlarged mentality, si esamina un caso di studio specifico rappresentato da Deliberative Polling svolto a Torino nel marzo 2007. I dati utilizzati in questa ricerca provengono dai questionari sottoposti ad un campione rappresentativo della popolazione di Torino che ha partecipato al Deliberative Polling. All’inizio e alla fine del trattamento sperimentale tutti i partecipanti hanno compilato il questionario identico, sui due temi oggetto dell’esperimento che riguardavano la realizzazione del collegamento ferroviario Torino-Lione e il riconoscimento del diritto di voto nelle elezioni locali per i cittadini non europei

Intra-family Engagement? A Study of Female Academic Staff at the University of Belgrade

According to the results of various studies, women remain responsible for most household duties. Th is distribution is also refl ected in the position of women in academia, since the family-dominant model tends to be reproduced within the academic community as well. Th is imbalance is refl ected in the distribution of “lower rank” jobs in academia, and the shift ing of most responsibilities for such jobs to women, leaving men with more time to pursue academic work. Th is situation, originating in the issue of family responsibilities, actually raises academic questions. Th e analysis in the paper is based on empirical insights from a 2017 survey conducted among academic staff at the University of Belgrade, and focuses on the following question: what factors lead to engagements within the family which seek to change patriarchal patterns as expressed in the unequal distribution of domestic and family care work, and which indirectly aff ect the distribution of responsibilities between men and women in the academic sphere

Nema veze, mogu sve sama: usklađivanje poslovnih i porodičnih obaveza akademskih radnica i radnika i raspodela poslova u njihovim domaćinstvima

Pitanje koje ćemo u našoj studiji otvoriti, i na koje ćemo, nadamo se, bar delimično odgovoriti, je: Da li postoje specifični uslovi organizacije porodičnog života koji su pogodniji za razvoj akademske karijere žena tj. koji omogućavaju postizanje rodne ravnopravnosti u profesionalnoj sferi? Kako bismo pronašle odgovor na ovo pitanje, u drugom delu rada ćemo se posvetiti analizi raspodele poslova u domaćinstvu između muškaraca i žena, pokušavajući da, pre svega, predstavimo situaciju unutar domaćinstava akademskih radnika i radnica, ali i da razumemo specifičnosti te situacije i razloge koji su do nje doveli. U trećem delu rada, fokusiraćemo se na razumevanje načina na koji akademske radnice i radnici na rukovodećim položajima organizuju i usklađuju profesionalne i privatne/porodične obaveze, i razlike koje eventualno postoje između muškaraca i žena u našem uzorku. Četvrti deo rada biće posvećen zaključcima, koji će, uz kritički osvrt na empirijske nalaze, ukazati na njihovu teorijsku ali i političku relevantnost

Opposition in Serbia: oppression, delegitimization and extra-institutional engagement

this chapter analyses the opposition’s position and role in Serbia in its evolution since the introduction of pluralism and the collapse of the communist regime. We observe the opposition during the last 30 years from the two main aspects: institutional and ideational. We also provide an overview of the contextual factors to show some specificities of the post-socialist democratisation process and democratic backsliding in Serbia. The institutional elements we observed provide insight into the actors’ formal position and power; they show us the main mechanisms and resources at the opposition’s disposal and evaluate the possible inequalities or disbalances of powers between the actors. Conversely, the ideational aspect shows the dominant narratives and relationships between the opposition and position. These narratives reflect the understanding of democracy and the role the opposition should play in the political system. They also reflect changes over time and enable us to understand different concepts of democracy and democratisation. The chapter is divided into four sections, corresponding to four different phases reflecting specific circumstances and dynamics. The first phase is the Milošević decade (1990-2000), which covers the initial transitional period, characterised by severe authoritarian tendencies and societal conflicts during the Yugoslav break-up process. The second phase, that of democratisation (2000-2012), starts from the Milošević defeat and initial institutional development, throughout the first troubles in the democratic transition and riffs in the ruling coalition. The third phase (2012-2020) begins with the second turnover of power and optimism about social consensus and the consolidation of democracy. However, it develops into competitive authoritarianism and almost complete annulation of pluralism. The final phase is short (so far) and ongoing – defined by the protest waves, boycotts of elections and Parliament, and the return of the opposition in the institutions

Rodna ravnopravnost u oblasti akademskog rada: normativni okvir

U ovom tekstu biće predstavljena analiza normativnog okvira koja se tiče rodne ravnopravnosti u oblasti akademskog rada. Sticanje uvida u položaj akademskih radnica u Srbiji i identifikovanje mogućnosti za promenu zatečenog stanja, što su osnovni ciljevi istraživanja na kojem je zasnovana celokupna publikacija, zahteva kao prvi korak upravo analizu normativnog okvira. Iako nam nije namera da se ovde posebno bavimo analizom EU normativnog okvira, krenućemo od njega, imajući u vidu neophodnost usklađivanja domaćeg normativa sa evropskim i specifične zahteve za harmonizacijom koji su Srbiji postavljeni od strane EU institucija i njihovih pojedinačnih programa usmerenih na akademsku delatnost. Nakon ovog dela, u našem tekstu biće analiziran širi normativni okvir koji se sastoji od strateških dokumenata i pratećih akcionih planova. U trećem delu rada analizi će biti podvrgnuti zakoni koji se direktno odnose na akademske radnike i radnice i naučnoistraživačku i inovacionu delatnost, zajedno sa setom zakona, koji u oblasti rada, napredovanja i usavršavanja, regulišu zabranu rodne diskriminacije ili predlažu afirmativne mere za njeno uklanjanje. Četvrti deo rada biće posvećen analizi pravnih akata pet državnih univerziteta u Srbiji koji su se našli u našem uzorku (Beograd, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Niš i Novi Pazar)