Političke stranke kao akteri integracije nacionalnih manjina u Srbiji
Political parties as actors of the integration of national minorities in Serbia

Author(s): Ksenija Marković
Subject(s): Civil Society, Governance, Sociology, Government/Political systems, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: Political parties; Serbia; National minorities; multi-ethnicity
Summary/Abstract: In plural societies, the multi-ethnicity of society is often perceived as a threat to stability and social cohesion. This attitude is not only represented by certain political actors, but is also present in political theory, various theorists believe that for the stable functioning of liberal-democratic institutions, it is, if not necessary, then certainly desirable, for states to be culturally and nationally homogeneous. However, the emergence of successful multi-ethnic democracies, such as Switzerland and Belgium, challenges these claims and shows that ethnic diversity need not be an obstacle to democratic development. An increasing number of theorists within the liberal tradition accept multiethnicity as an inevitable social reality and advocate the development of institutional mechanisms that would overcome the structural obstacles and inequalities faced by members of national minorities in traditional nation states (Smith, 2014: 15). The theory of multiculturalism gives us two important insights: first, that state/national institutions promote national culture and are organized in accordance with the needs and interests of the titular nation, thus destroying the myth of ethnocultural neutrality of the state; the second is that the individual rights woven into the concept of citizenship are not sufficient and cannot adequately solve the inequality of position faced by members of minority communities. The criteria for advocacy and defense of minority rights become the principles of ethno-cultural justice. In other words, the concept of a political community made up of equal citizens must be complemented by providing additional and separate rights to national minorities, rights that can be applied collectively, such as, for example, the right to preserve culture or the right to education and schooling in the mother tongue, i.e. the right to use the mother tongue in public life, state and local institutions (Marković & Pavlović, 2019: 84).

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