Razvoj agende upravljanja migracijama u regiji Zapadnog Balkana

By applying a neo-institutional approach hybridized with ‎Foucauldian concept of `governmentality` this analysis is mapping ‎architecture of major institutional, legal and security models ‎of migration management designed and developed by three‎ Western Balkans countries – Serbia, North Macedonia and Bosnia ‎and Herzegovina, during 2015/2016 and in the aftermath of‎ massive migratory inflow from Middle East to Western Europe ‎via Balkan route. Analysis identifies multiple national and international ‎stakeholders involved in implementation of migration‎ management policies: national governmental and parliamentary ‎bodies, civil society organizations, UNHCR, EU agencies, OSCE ‎field missions. The analysis reveals that the process of development ‎of portfolio of migration management in Western Balkans was‎ technocratically harmonized with the EU acquis and politicized –‎predominantly conceptualized and funded by the EU as the issue ‎of securitization. `Europeanisation` and securitization of Western‎ Balkans migration management policies was outcome of the rational ‎choice politics, as expression of `governmentality` of Balkan ‎decision-makers. Use of innovative Information and Communication ‎Technologies (ICTs), such as biometric technology, which is‎ already employed in key areas of digital migration management is‎ also analysed as very potential, but disputed tool.‎Primjenom kombinacije neo-institucionalnog pristupa sa Foucaultovim‎ konceptom `guvernmentalnosti` - `umijeća vladanja`, ova‎ analiza mapira arhitekturu ključnih institucionalnih, zakonskih i sigurnosnih‎ modela upravljanja migracijama koje su osmislile i razvile‎ tri zemlje Zapadnog Balkana – Srbija, Sjeverna Makedonija i Bosna i‎ Hercegovina, za vrijeme 2015/2016. godine nakon masovnog migracijskog ‎vala sa Bliskog istoka ka Zapadnoj Europi preko Balkanske rute.‎ Analiza identificira mnogostruke nacionalne i međunarodne aktere‎ koji su bili uključeni u provođenje politika za upravljanje migracijama:‎nacionalne vladine i parlamentarne organe, organizacije civilnog društva,‎ UNHCR, agencije EU, OESS-ove misije. Analizom je ustanovljeno‎ da je proces razvoja agende za upravljanje migracijama na Zapadnom‎ Balkanu bio tehnokratski harmoniziran sa pravnom stečevinom EU i‎ politiziran – prevladavajuće konceptualiziran i financiran od strane EU‎ kao pitanje sekuritizacije. `Europeizacija` i sekuritizacija zapadno-balkanskih‎ politika upravljanja migracijama je predstavljala ishod politike ‎racionalnog izbora, kao izraz `umijeća vladanja` donosioca odluka na‎ Balkanu. Upotreba inovativnih sredstava informacijske i komunikacijske ‎tehnologije (IKT), kao što je biometrijska tehnologija, koja se već‎ primjenjuje u ključnim područjima digitalnog upravljanja migracijama ‎također je analizirana kao vrlo učinkovito, ali diskutabilno sredstvo.

New modes of acculturation and democratic institutional change during COVID-19 crisis

The Covid-19 crisis has brought swift and tremendous challenges and changes, and this experience is making us revisit the patterns of the contemporary political culture of citizens and explore the capability of basic democratic institutions to adapt, and to prove sustainable in the time of pandemic turmoil. The Covid-19 crisis management triggered new modes of social acculturation and the “health Enlightenment” of citizens. In parallel, new modes of institutional change and adaptation of democracy are invented. The analysis describes what new modes of acculturation can be observed among citizens, and finds out that parliaments are still preserving institutional capacities of performing their constitutional role in the decision-making process. Even with the lower turnout at the elections, that is held during the pandemic, elections are remaining the main realm and tool of citizens' participation in democracy

Hybrid Election Management Methods During the Covid-19 Crisis

This paper is based on qualitative secondary data analysis to provide more comprehensive insights into innovative electoral policy choices of election management bodies (EMBs), faced with multiple challenges of COVID-19 to different aspects of organisation of electoral cycle: its regulatory, operational, and procedural framework to ensure safe voting environment, voter participation and democratic legitimacy. Various COVID-19 related arrangements are reviewed: health safety measures and more extensive use of already existing special voting arrangements (SVAs) – early, postal, mobile or proxy voting and possibilities for online voting in the future. Strengths and weaknesses, costs and benefits of these hybrid voting methods are compared. Conclusion of this analysis is that the traditional preference of EMBs for in-person, in-polling station voting with low-tech paper ballots remains unchanged by COVID-19. There was not enough time, resources and political incentive of decision-makers to introduce innovative or high-tech online SVAs. Analysis shows that postponement of elections during pandemic challenges institutional stability and should not be regarded as an example of future good practice. Decreased or inadequately high voter turnout during COVID-19 was registered as a significant threat to democratic legitimacy and to resilience of democracy. Necessity for strategic contingency planning of electoral cycle is confirmed and recommended

Development of migration management portfolio in Western Balkans region

By applying a neo-institutional approach hybridized with ‎Foucauldian concept of `governmentality` this analysis is mapping ‎architecture of major institutional, legal and security models ‎of migration management designed and developed by three‎ Western Balkans countries – Serbia, North Macedonia and Bosnia ‎and Herzegovina, during 2015/2016 and in the aftermath of‎ massive migratory inflow from Middle East to Western Europe ‎via Balkan route. Analysis identifies multiple national and international ‎stakeholders involved in implementation of migration‎ management policies: national governmental and parliamentary ‎bodies, civil society organizations, UNHCR, EU agencies, OSCE ‎field missions. The analysis reveals that the process of development ‎of portfolio of migration management in Western Balkans was‎ technocratically harmonized with the EU acquis and politicized –‎predominantly conceptualized and funded by the EU as the issue ‎of securitization. `Europeanisation` and securitization of Western‎ Balkans migration management policies was outcome of the rational ‎choice politics, as expression of `governmentality` of Balkan ‎decision-makers. Use of innovative Information and Communication ‎Technologies (ICTs), such as biometric technology, which is‎ already employed in key areas of digital migration management is‎ also analysed as very potential, but disputed tool.

Institucionalna efikasnost parlamenta Srbije (2008-2020)

Primenom neo-institucionalnog normativno-empirijskog pristupa i kriterijuma Interparlamentarne unije za ocenu demokratičnosti parlamenta, četiri saziva Skupštine Srbije (VIII-XI) analizirana su u skladu sa pet indikatora: reprezentativnost, transparentnost, pristupačnost, odgovornost i efikasnost, da bi se dobio odgovor na pitanje u kolikoj meri je Skupština Srbije u periodu 2008-2020. bila institucionalno efikasna, naročito u vršenju zakonodavno-kontrolne nadležnosti. Analiza je pokazala da je tokom ovog perioda institucionalna efikasnost Skupštine Srbije varirala, i da su pozitivne tendencije, pokrenute tokom VIII i IX saziva (u periodu 2008-2014) zaustavljene ili derogirane i postepeno dovele do institucionalne krize, koja je kulminirala u XI sazivu (2016-2020) kada dolazi do sloma političkog modus operandi parlamenta na relaciji vladajuća većina - opoziciona manjina. Konačan ishod ove političke i institucionalne krize se očituje u fenomenu delegitimizacije i deparlamentarizaciji Skupštine Srbije

Role of history in self-constitution of an antagonistic leadership: a Foucauldian perspective

This article is exploring the relationship between political narrative and reinterpretation of history in self-constitution process of an antagonistic style of leadership performed by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin with the aim to legitimize military invasion of Ukraine. Excerpts from Putin`s public speech are interpreted by using Michel Foucault`s insights on ancient practices of fearless truth-telling, parrhesia, with the aim to deconstruct legitimization matrix of Putin`s political articulation and reasoning of war affairs. Analysis shows how political leader is presenting his own revisionist reinterpretation of historical past and current events in order to influence and change public “culture of memories”

Gender Sensitivity of the Serbian Parliament – mapping the power of women MPs

Mapping the power of women MPs in the Serbian Parliament, through the analysis of the membership and the leadership of the Parliament and parliamentary committees, indicates that women MPs dominate the socio-cultural cluster of the committees, well as foreign affairs and European integration committees. Women MPs are increasingly more visible in legislative-judiciary committees, while interior, defence and security affairs committees and minimally open to their membership. There is a growing trend of engaging women MPs in committees for ecology, then in trade and finance and, to a lesser extent, in infrastructure. Institutional gender sensitivity of the Serbian Parliament is still inadequate, and changes to the Rules of Procedure and the Code of Conduct are necessary in order to introduce gender-sensitive rules and procedures

Migration and Diversity – digital activism, identities and boundaries

This paper is intended to do four tasks. First, analysis is intended to explore the process of creation of different narratives on migration and how the popular discourses are reflecting diversity of identities. Second, analysis should scan what are capacities, strengths and weaknesses of human capital of migrants and how they could be empowered. Third, analysis will try to discover open spaces for alternative, constructive social and political activism of both migrants and native population in relation to migrant issues. Forth, analysis should explore what are obstacles - boundaries for development of diversity in migrations, and what are modern tools for boundarisation and securitization of migrations. These four tasks will be implemented mainly through desk analysis of the contemporary academic and research literature, international humanitarian organizations and media reports on migrations

Ideološko-politički profil učesnika protesta u Srbiji 1990–2022.

Analiza je usmerena na istraživanje vrednosnih stavova učesnika masovnih protesta u Srbiji u protekle tri decenije i na rekonstrukciju njihovog ideološko-političkog profila. Protestna politička participacija građana posmatra se u tri vremenski razgraničena perioda (1990–1999; 2000–2011; 2012–2022) u skladu sa periodizacijom ključnih promena na vlasti u Srbiji. Upotrebom analitičkog konstrukta homo politicusa kao apstraktnog, idealnog tipa protestno aktivnog građanina, prati se evolucija ovog tipa revolucionarnog građanstva u Srbiji. Evolutivni put se rekonstruiše i analizom kategorija ideološke samopercepcije učesnika protesta koji pripadaju različitim ideološkim familijama: Evropejaca, socijaldemokrata, levičara, liberala, monarhista, konzervativaca, nacionalista, patriota i desničara. Analiza pokazuje da su 90-e godine XX veka bile „zlatno doba” građanskog protestnog aktivizma, a da je potom usledio talas demobilizacije građanskog aktivizma, u deceniji nakon 5. oktobra 2000. godine. Protestna politička participacija se upoređuje sa normativno-ekspresivnim stavovima učesnika protesta prema ključnim institucijama političkog sistema: demokratiji, vođi, parlamentu, vladi, sudovima, partijama, izbornim uslovima. Zaključak analize ukazuje na negativnu korelaciju ovih varijabli: nizak stepen poverenja građana u institucije implicira veći stepen njihove mobilizacije u protestima