Identity and statehood - A Contribution to Resolving the Identity Issues and Problems in Multiethnic and Multireligious States

The ‘I’ identity is the fundamental and essential human identity. It is surrounded by numerous ‘we’ identities. An individual’s identity is networked into group, i.e. collective identities. The networking of identities shows the depth of a person. It is essential that the ‘I’ identity is not cancelled by group identities. If ‘we’ is imposed over ‘I’, а person vanishes and becomes personless. Group, collective identities most often open problems and conflicts due to ideological action. When ideology interferes into identity, individual identities within a group are being cancelled, while the other group identities are being put in question. The ideologization of collective identities initiates intolerance towards all those who do not belong to our group. Intolerance-cum-exclusion leads to enmity and conflict. It is through the ideologisation of identity that prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination of others and the different are imposed. All those in my group who think differently are traitors, while all members of other groups are enemies. This is how the ‘friend and enemy’ pattern is established in the political field of state and society. The exit from this situation is the establishment of statehood identity within the state, under which all citizens – regardless of their ethnic and other identities – would be perceived in their collective identity of citizens. This, however, should not jeopardize their particular identities. Particular identities would belong to their privacy and should as such be legally guaranteed. Over time, a pattern of trust and respect would be established between different particular identities. Such approach to identity would preserve differences, but also find a similarity which would connect them within the state and society, thus bringing safety, stability, and normality into societal and political life

Corruption in folk customs in Serbia: Socio-ethnological approach

The paper analyzes corruption in the framework of folk customs in Serbia from the socio-ethnological aspect. The analysis includes manners and forms of corruption generated and practised in the last period of the Ottoman Empire rule in Serbia. Through the records of the most eminent students of Jovan Cvijić, first Serbian great scientist, it is shown how corruption emerged and developed in Serbia and how it affected Serbian people's folk customs. The analysis covers research ventures showing the manners, forms and types of corruption practised in Serbia at the time of formation the new-century Serbian statehood in the 19th century, as well as at the beginning of the 20th century and between two world wars. Typologically speaking, corruption in Serbia belongs to parochial, institutional and political corruption. The paper particularly analyzes disapproval and justification of corruption in the Serbian national tradition. In the conclusion of the paper, it is emphasized that socio-ethnological records show that corruption and/or bribe emerged as a consequence of people's greediness, but also of unfavourable historical and social circumstances leading to the negative experience and negative patterns of corruptive behaviour. This was crystallized in the form of messages passed from one generation to another

Antropološke, etnopsihološke i karakterološke studije o korupciji u Srbiji

U radu su razmatrana viđenja i pristupi antropologa, etnopsihologa i karakterologa Jovana Cvijića i Vladimira Dvornikovića s početka, i Bojana Jovanovića i Žarka Trebješanina, s kraja dvadesetog veka. Njihova viđenja i istraživanja uzroka, razloga i motiva zbog kojih su stanovnici Srbije prihvatali koruptivne radnje i učestvovali u njima značajna su i vredna za savremena istraživanja korupcije. Prema njima, uzroci su povezani sa tamnom stranom ljudske prirode, posebno pohlepom, na osnovu koje su došle do izražaja loše osobine u karakterima. Te osobine su: prituljenost, skrivenost, nepoverljivost, podmuklost i neiskrenost. Razlozi su proistekli iz nepovoljnih životnih okolnosti kao što su porobljenost i siromaštvo. Motiv je bio povezan sa zadovoljenjem potreba i interesa i sklonošću da se ne biraju sredstva da se preživi, odnosno opstane. Prihvatajući korupciju kao način preživljavanja, vremenom je stvaran obrazac koruptivnog ponašanja. Taj obrazac je dubinske prirode i dugog trajanja. On i danas pritiska savremenike u Srbiji. Ovaj obrazac posebno se pojavljuje u trenucima temeljnih promena političkog poretka i društvenih kriza. Cilj rada je da se analiziraju istraživanja navedenih autora, kako bi se na osnovu rezultata mogli dobiti obuhvatniji uvidi u poreklo, strukturu, oblike i razvoj korupcije u savremenoj Srbiji

Threatened identity under the onslaught of global crises

The paper analyzes the causes, reasons and consequences of global crises in relation to identities. Globalization as a phenomenon has a twofold impact on identities: it brings them closer together and affirms them, but at the same time, it threatens identity differences through the processes of assimilation and identity uniformity. The aim of the work is to see how global crises, primarily political and economic ones, disintegrate identities. Such identity disintegration under the influence of global, political and economic crises has been manifested in migrations during the two decades of the 21st century. The paper also analyzes two migrant waves: the first, from 2015 to 2019, and the second, from 2022 to date. The first is a consequence of the political crisis caused by the wars in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria and Eritrea, and the second is a consequence of the war conflict in Ukraine. The migrations that are a consequence of those wars have moved millions of people, especially towards the countries of the European Union. This also includes economic migrations as a consequence of poverty and misery in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. These migrations open up and fuel major identity problems, both now and in the futur

Obrazovanje nacionalnih manjina u osnovnim školama u Republici Srbiji

U radu se zastupa stav da razvoj društva zavisi od položaja, uloge i značaja obrazovnog sistema i da obrazovanje značajno utiče na formiranje ličnosti. Cilj rada je da utvrdi stanje osnovnoškolskog obrazovanja pripadnika nacionalnih manjina kako bi na osnovu toga mogle bolje da budu sagledane mere da bi se otklonili normativni i praktični nedostaci. Analizirana su tri modela osnovnoškolskog obrazovanja na jezicima nacionalnih manjina: celokupno obrazovanje na jednom od osam jezika nacionalnih manjina, uz obavezan nastavni predmet srpski kao nematernji jezik; celokupno obrazovanje na srpskom jeziku uz mogućnost pohađanja izbornog predmeta/programa s elementima nacionalne kulture (na maternjem jeziku); i dvojezično obrazovanje na srpskom jeziku i jeziku nacionalne manjine. Takođe, data je empirijska argumentacija za period od školske 2013/2014. do 2020/2021. godine. U zaključku rada ističe se da bi trebalo podići kapacitet obrazovnog sistema razvojem programa za stručno usavršavanje nastavnika jezika nacionalnih manjina, što bi obezbedilo kompetentan nastavni kadar. Uz to, treba unapređivati odgovarajuće kurikulume, udžbenike i druga nastavna sredstva za učenje manjinskih jezika u skladu s modernim pedagoškim metodama

Tolerance and Intercultural Dialogue vs. Discrimination of National Minorities – Application of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Serbia

This paper aims to analyse the application of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Serbia, i.e., obligations arising from Articles 4 and 5 of this Convention. The analysis deals with prerequisites and conditions that are of relevance for the purpose of protecting national minorities, the latter being significant in order to ensure that national minorities are protected against discrimination. For the minority national and ethnic identities to be accepted, it is important to raise the level of population’s culture, especially political culture, whereby it is particularly significant to embrace and respect differences. Without this, a harmonious cohabitation of all ethnic groups, both the majority and minority ones, is not possible. Substantial means for the fulfilment of obligations stipulated by the Framework Convention are upbringing, education, socialisation, dialogue, tolerance, compromise, and consensus. The purpose of this paper is also to review conditions for the specific application of Articles 4 and 6 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. This analysis includes the Fourth and the Fifth Periodical Reports on monitoring the application of the Convention, the reports pertaining to mutual interactions and communication, use of the language in everyday communication, education, and protection against discrimination. We have additionally analysed proposals and views of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee and reports compiled by the Republic of Serbia. Finally, we have drawn certain conclusions presented in the form of measures which, according to the Framework Convention, Serbia should undertake for the purpose of protecting national minorities