Serbian Majority Research Articles

GEOPOLITICAL RISKS AND RECONFIGURATIONS: SERBIA AND THE CHALLENGE TO MONTENEGRO’S STABILITY

Serbia aims its returnment or the achievement of the Serbian World (Greater Serbia) in Montenegro through the model of Bosnia with federalism, the model of North Macedonia - like the Albanians, the third model is Kosovo - an association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, the fourth model is the possibility of a referendum where partial or complete union with Serbia can be requested from Montenegro and the fifth possibility is the change of favorable geopolitical circumstances leading to full scale invasion. These conclusions on the paper are based on a historical, geopolitical analysis, Serbian hegemonic appetites, statistical, ethnic engineering, “landlocked territory” as well as economic reasons. The paper emphasizes how the electoral democracy allowed Serbia and Russia to gradually change the political structure after 2020. The result predicts that Serbia's geopolitical interests appear as part of a strategy for maintaining its influence in the Balkans and managing regional developments, creating challenges and complex changes for the stability and perspective of Montenegro on the international stage.

Beyond the label: Exploring the role of ethnicity in the Kosovo conflict

AbstractThe Kosovo War (1998–1999) that played out between ethnic Albanians and Serbs in the former Yugoslavia is often portrayed as an ethnic conflict because it involved different ethnic groups in confrontation with each other. This characteristic presupposes that ethnicity played an important role in the Kosovo conflict, but is that actually the case? To explore this question, the experience of Albanians in Kosovo is compared with that of Hungarians in Vojvodina. The latter formed the second largest minority in Serbia, behind Albanians, and their institutional and legal position greatly paralleled that of Kosovar Albanians. Despite this, Hungarians experienced far less conflict with the Serbian majority than did their Albanian counterparts.

Segregation, fertility, and son preference: the case of the Roma in Serbia

AbstractWe study the link between residential segregation and fertility for the socially excluded and marginalized Roma ethnic minority. Using original survey data we collected in Serbia, we investigate whether fertility differs between ethnically homogeneous and mixed neighborhoods. Our results show that Roma in less-segregated areas tend to have significantly fewer children (around 0.8). Most of the difference arises from Roma in less-segregated areas waiting substantially more after having a boy than their counterparts in more-segregated areas. We exploit variation in the share of Serbian sounding first names to provide evidence that a mechanism at play is a shift in preferences toward lower fertility and sons rather than daughters induced by a higher exposure to the Serbian majority culture.

A Purposelless Effort

In this paper, the authors analyses the relation of international community (European Community) to minority legislation of Republic of Croatia in 1991-1992. In concrete, establishing beyond dispute and evaluating the reasons why the Yugoslavia Peace Conference or special institution which European Community formed in order to find a peaceful solution of the conflict, pressed Zagreb strongly to make deep changes of minority legislation. Special attention is given to the Conference's fixation on special status or regional political autonomy for the territories of Republic of Croatia with Serbian majority.

Women’s strategies in balancing career and family in the academic community in Serbia: Differences in ethnic and social origins

Even though the confrontation of women with the necessity to seek a balance between career and family in academia has become a subject of various research studies, a structural solution for this phenomenon still does not exist. The goal of this paper is to compare the narratives of Hungarian ethnic minority and Serbian majority female university staff members working at the Universities of Novi Sad and Belgrade, with respect to the difficulties they face when balancing family life and academic career. The qualitative research was based on twenty semi-structured interviews, conducted in 2014 and 2015. The findings show that women when balancing between their careers and families used certain strategies to explain their views and decisions. The challenge of finding work-life balance is great for women, who decide to deal with it on a micro level, in their own family and in their own way, to keep up with their commitments. Although these are women with the same socio-economic status, the intersectional analysis showed that there is a difference between the strategies used by respondents of different nationalities when balancing their career and family, and that their different social origin, family and life circumstances lead to establishing differences between these professional categories of women. The abovementioned differences lead to new inequalities between women in academia.

Disintegration of the former SFR Yugoslavia and changes in the ethno-confessional structure of some cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Disintegration of Yugoslav state union, which was carried out marked by ethnic conflicts and creation of new political and geographical subjectivities, resulted in major changes in ethnical and ethno-confessional structure of most of the urban settlements in Bosnia and Herzegovina and especially those which until 1992 had a heterogeneous structure according to listed features. In this context, the biggest changes were recorded in three urban settlements: Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar. Today, these settlements have a role of poles of development and affirmation of individual ethno-national ethno-confessional interests. Sarajevo - of Bosniaks and Islam, Banja Luka - of Serbs and Orthodoxy and Mostar - of Croats and Catholicism. Changes in ethnical and ethno-confessional structure of population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the period from 1992 to 1995, strongly contributed to the territorial organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina into two entities, the Republic of Srpska with Serbian majority and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina within which the cantons are formed either with the Croatian or Bosniak majority. This division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to ethnical or ethno-confessional principle, is again a source of different, and usually conflicting, geopolitical relations and aspirations between mentioned constituents.

Segregation and Fertility: The Case of the Roma in Serbia

We study the effect of residential segregation on fertility for the socially excluded and marginalized Roma ethnic minority. Using original survey data we collected in Serbia, we investigate whether fertility differs between ethnically homogeneous and mixed neighbor- hoods. Our results show that Roma in less segregated areas tend to have significantly fewer children (around 0.9). Most of the difference arises from Roma in less segregated areas waiting substantially more after having a boy than their counterparts in more segregated areas. We account for the endogeneity of the level of segregation using (il)legal possibility to build in the area at the time of its creation as an instrument. We find that the true gap due to segregation is actually larger than that estimated by OLS (around 1.4). We finally provide evidence that exposure to the Serbian majority culture is the main mechanism at play, as opposed to differences in opportunity cost of time, migration patterns, family arrangements and returns to education.

Challenges for the Local Governance in the Republic of Kosovo

This paper will deal with the challenges of local government in Kosovo from the time of international administration of UNMIK (after the end of the war) up to the construction of democratic decentralized system of local government, difficulties of political changes and human and financial resources. After the war ended in 1999, Kosovo was placed under international administration. Kosovo was faced with multiple challenges such as poor economy, transformation of state planned economy to a market economy, the low economic development, political transformation from a socialist system to a democratic system and the transfer of power from the provision Institutions of UNMIK to the independent Kosovo institutions. The aim of this paper is to analyze and tackle challenges of local government such as the lack of legal regulations and approval for local government, the establishment of new municipalities, reform of the local governance, the establishment of the association of municipalities distinguishing association of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo. What was the role of the international community in the establishment and organization of local governance? What challenges accompanied the process of local government? In Kosovo, the reform of local governance was a very sensitive, complicated and sometimes unstable process as a result of political development but that has proved to be successful. Challenge for Kosovo institutions was integration of the three northern municipalities with Serb community in local self-government system, although construction and development departments of local self-government system was based on the principles of European values for the local government. One of the main challenges for the future will be the foundation of the Association of Serbian majority municipalities in northern Kosovo who claim that this association have the powers of a legal entity, independent from Kosovo. The methodology of the research will be mixed like: descriptive method, research, explanatory methodology, predictive methodology. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3s1p661

Emotional activation measured using the emotional Stroop task in early Hungarian-Serbian bilinguals from Serbia

The primary goal of this research was to examine the processing of emotionally valenced and neutral words in the context of bilingualism. The objective was to find out, using an experimental measure of automatic emotional activation, if there were differences in response time in the first and the second language, Hungarian and Serbian respectively. The sample consisted of early Hungarian-Serbian bilinguals, assimilated into the Serbian majority culture.The emotional Stroop task is an experimental paradigm, which has been adapted to measure bilingual population in the past few years. The emotional Stroop interference could be counted from response time latencies, which is usually an effect showing longer responses to negative vs. neutral information.Hungarian and Serbian negatively, positively and neutrally valenced words were used in the research. Our hypothesis was that there would be a similar emotional activation in the first and the second language and that negative words would be processed the longes...

Northern Slavs from Serbia do not show a founder effect at autosomal and Y-chromosomal STRs and retain their paternal genetic heritage

Studies on Y-chromosomal markers revealed significant genetic differentiation between Southern and Northern (Western and Eastern) Slavic populations. The northern Serbian region of Vojvodina is inhabited by Southern Slavic Serbian majority and, inter alia, Western Slavic (Slovak) and Eastern Slavic (Ruthenian) minorities. In the study, 15 autosomal STR markers were analysed in unrelated Slovaks, Ruthenians and Serbs from northern Serbia and western Slovakia. Additionally, Slovak males from Serbia were genotyped for 17 Y-chromosomal STR loci. The results were compared to data available for other Slavic populations. Genetic distances for autosomal markers revealed homogeneity between Serbs from northern Serbia and Slovaks from western Slovakia and distinctiveness of Serbian Slovaks and Ruthenians. Y-STR variation showed a clear genetic departure of the Slovaks and Ruthenians inhabiting Vojvodina from their Serbian neighbours and genetic similarity to the Northern Slavic populations of Slovakia and Ukraine. Admixture estimates revealed negligible Serbian paternal ancestry in both Northern Slavic minorities of Vojvodina, providing evidence for their genetic isolation from the Serbian majority population. No reduction of genetic diversity at autosomal and Y-chromosomal markers was found, excluding genetic drift as a reason for differences observed at autosomal STRs. Analysis of molecular variance detected significant population stratification of autosomal and Y-chromosomal microsatellites in the three Slavic populations of northern Serbia, indicating necessity for separate databases used for estimations of frequencies of autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR profiles in forensic casework. Our results demonstrate that regarding Y-STR haplotypes, Serbian Slovaks and Ruthenians fit in the Eastern European metapopulation defined in the Y chromosome haplotype reference database.

Parallel Governance and Boundary Strategies in Gracanica, Kosovo

In the period after 1999, the international community abrogated Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo. It took responsibility for governing Kosovo and actively supported the development of autonomous Kosovar government institutions. Simultaneously, the Serbian authorities immediately started to rebuild Serbian government institutions in the parts of Kosovo that hosted a Serbian majority population. This article analyzes how this situation of parallel governance affects ethnic boundary strategies in the village of Gracanica, the largest Serbian village in central Kosovo. The article is based on evidence collected during fieldwork in Gracanica one year after Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008. In this period, the Kosovar government implemented a decentralization program, which would transform Gracanica into a Serb majority municipality. Using Andreas Wimmer's multilevel process theory on boundary making, the article argues that in the period studied, “the scripts of action” concerning how to deal with the Kosovar government do slowly change, but this is largely a pragmatic response and Kosovo Serbs still identify themselves with Serbia. Important explanatory factors for these changing local dynamics are the changes in institutional structures (less Belgrade, more Pristina), the changes in (the balance of) resources offered by either government at the local level, the characteristics of the local political networks, and the weakness of local leadership.

Vojvodina - a region based on the Serbian ethnicity and its denial

The issue of regionalism and the autonomy of certain areas is mainly related to the ethnic composition of the population. The idea of the autonomy of Vojvodina as a Serbian region in the Habsburg Monarchy was created back in 1690. It came into being 150 years later by the decision of the 1848 May Assembly. In a significantly different form, it lasted ten years as the Serbian Voivodship and Temisvar (Timisoara) Banat. In the next fifty years, a autonomous Serbian Vojvodina was just a dream. At the end of World War I the areas of Vojvodina, on the basis of the right to self-determination, entered the Kingdom of Serbia and thus became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, i.e. Yugoslavia. The idea of the autonomy of Vojvodina was then discarded. Some liberal politicians, supported by the Croats, tried to restore it in the interwar period but this option did not receive any support of voters at the elections. The illegal Communist Party politically promoted the idea of the autonomy of Vojvodina in a federalized Yugoslavia, which was achieved during World War II. At the end of the war, the autonomous Vojvodina remained part of Serbia, and according to the 1974 Constitution, it became a part of federal Yugoslavia. During the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the autonomy of Vojvodina within Serbia was preserved but recently, after the so-called democratic changes of 2000, domestic and foreign (EU and NATO) political engagement in Serbia has been more directed towards the greater autonomy of Vojvodina, and even its separation from Serbia, despite the two-thirds Serbian majority living in the Province.

Laboratory of the International Community? Role of International Organizations in the Re-establishment of the Rule of Law in Kosovo

INTRODUCTION (1) Various interventions of an international community in failed states or otherwise unstable territories have showed the crucial importance of the rule of law in re-establishing order in post-conflict societies. The territorial status of the world's newest state, Kosovo, was resolved by its unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. The current situation in Kosovo brings many points of major legal interest. This paper discusses the roles and goals of international and local organizations and institutions in Kosovo and evaluates their impact upon post-conflict capacity-building efforts. However, the effectiveness of these institutions is undermined by various challenges which erode respect for the rule of law in Kosovo. There are many areas undermining the rule of law efforts, such as organized crime and corruption, serious deficiencies in the justice system (including, inter alia, lack of witness protection), human rights violations, and high unemployment. This paper focuses on two of these areas--organized crime and human rights concerns. First, the legal basis of the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) and its task in fighting the organized crime will be briefly examined. Second, the role of a newly established Constitutional Court of Kosovo acting also as the final arbiter of the interpretation and application of European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) will be assessed. The final chapter offers some recommendations for the future since it is argued that most of the challenges which were faced by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) still exist in Kosovo. WHAT ROLE DOES THE EULEX MISSION PLAY IN KOSOVO? EULEX is the EU's largest civilian operation ever deployed, both in terms of personnel and budget. (2) In order to strengthen stability in the region, the European Union shall assist Kosovo by means of a European Security and Defence Policy mission. EULEX is a technical rule of law mission which covers three main components: police, customs, and justice. EULEX should assist Kosovo authorities by mentoring, monitoring, and advising while respecting the local ownership. The legal basis for the establishment of EULEX is the Council Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP (Joint Action) supported by all twenty-seven EU member states. In addition to the Joint Action, EULEX is also claiming to be operating under the general framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), (3) which is explicitly mentioned in the Joint Action. One could argue that this is a rather broad interpretation of Resolution 1244. Resolution 1244 was clearly adopted in a different time (1999) and a different context (UNMIK as an international administration, and KFOR as international security force entered Kosovo as the part of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Serbia), i.e., in a situation which in no way anticipated the independence of Kosovo. Obviously, there is no reference in Resolution 1244 to EULEX as such. At the same time, the UN Security Council did not replace Resolution 1244; therefore, the legal basis of a new mission from an international law point of view was not clear-cut. This can be illustrated by the fact that the Kosovo authorities have repeatedly stated that Resolution 1244 is no longer relevant and that the institutions of Kosovo have no legal obligation to abide by it. The relationship between and EULEX has often been described as EULEX taking over from UNMIK or replacing UNMIK. However, a change of the legal status of Kosovo has and will continue to have a significant impact on a different role and mandate of EULEX. EULEX is not a successor of UNMIK; accordingly, there was no formal handover. In addition, the issue of the (non)recognition of the independence of Kosovo has an impact on EULEX status and effectiveness in the whole territory of Kosovo, including the parts with the Serbian majority. …

Vasilica and self-determination of Roma

Vasilica and Đurđevdan are the two most important holidays in the yearly cycle among the Roma of Vranje (Southern Serbia). While they connect the celebration of Đurđevdan (6th of May) mainly with the culture of the Serbian majority group (whose elements they assimilate, giving them a specific interpretation), Vasilica is considered to be a true Roma holiday. During the discussions, all the informants emphasized that Vasilica is the most important Roma holiday, more significant than Đurđevdan. Vasilica consists of two segments. The date of the first one, which can be called the preparation, greeting and celebration of Vasilica, is a fixed one (from 12th to 17th of January, 14th of January being the actual holiday), while the date of the second segment -farewell to the goose - is set individually by every household. This paper offers a thick description of both segments of Vasilica, depicting the way it has been celebrated between 2001 and 2004 in the settlements Gornja Carsija and Sarajina of Vranje. It also includes selected statements of the informants, as well as the text of the local TV broadcast dedicated to the celebration of Vasilica. The different explanations of the origin of this most important Roma holiday, in light of the current identity problems in Serbia - both of the majority and of the minority group - point to the complexity and polysemy of the answer to the question: Who am I? The aim of this paper is to offer an empirical insight into the situation.