HELSINŠKE SVESKE №35: How Susceptible are the Youth to Islamic Extremism

Author(s): Vladimir Ilić,Srđan Barišić,Stefan Stefanović,Jovana Saračević,Izabela Kisić / Language(s): English

The crucial question here is: Are the Muslim youth in Sandžak imbued with religious extremism or not? Hardly any interethnic and inter-religious incident has been registered in this part of the Republic of Serbia. On the other hand, fighters from Sandžak are being involved in the Iraqi and Syrian wars. Depending on the answer to the question above, the authorities could take appropriate actions aiming at young people in Sandžak. Both domestic and international stakeholders – and there are many of them, including the non-governmental sector – could develop plans and take a variety of concrete steps depending on the answer to this very question.

Extremism: A Follow-up to the Greater Serbia Project

Author(s): Sonja Biserko / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Novi Sad Courts – double standards

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Integrácia ľudí s medzinárodnou ochranou na Slovensku. Hľadanie východísk

Author(s): Miroslava Hlinčíková,Martina Sekulová / Language(s): Slovak

Miroslava Hlinčíková a Martina Sekulová v texte analyzujú integráciu ľudí s medzinárodnou ochranou v kontexte integračných programov vytvorených štátom, ktoré sú určené na podporu procesu začleňovania tejto skupiny do spoločnosti. V deviatich kapitolách pozorne sledujú reflexie verejných inštitúcií, mimovládneho sektora a utečencov a na ich základe formulujú odporúčania pre každú z oblastí integrácie. Snažia sa tak odpovedať na otázku, ako by sa dal integračný program nastaviť tak, aby mal na každodenný život a integráciu utečencov čo najpozitívnejší vplyv a aby dorovnal ich často ťažké začiatky na Slovensku. Publikáciu vydal Inštitút pre verejné otázky (IVO), s podporou vedeckého projektu ÚEt SAV Občianske aktivity ako determinant udržateľného rozvoja mesta (etnologický pohľad), VEGA č. 2/0024/14.

Annual Report: Serbia 2008 - Human Rights, Democracy and – Violence

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The trend of institutional disintegration continued in 2008 in parallel with economic standstill, all of which negatively affected citizens’ mood. The pro-European coalition that won the spring 2008 election failed to meet their expectations as it was not politically courageous enough to make a breakthrough in fundamental reforms. In the meantime Serbia, like all other countries in the region, entered recession. The global economic crisis will only aggravate Serbia’s recession caused by domestic crisis. Eight years after Milošević’s ouster it turned out that Serbia had failed to get transformed – for, its elites have basically remained the same and it has not distanced itself from Milošević’s program. The national program has not been defeated yet: its ideology still enjoys strong support from a part of the Serb elite. This is about the elite that had inspired the Memorandum of the Serb Academy of Arts and Sciences and created the program itself. The ICTY has never examined the part academicians, the Serb Orthodox Church, the Writers’ Association, journalists and cultural elite from this circle played in the Greater Serbia project. Their role has not been morally condemned either in Serbia or beyond it. So their activity in the post-Milošević era remained the same. They are still dictating a cultural matrix and “moral” values for the society as a whole. And this is what mainly obstructs establishment of a moral vertical without which the Serbian society can hardly recuperate. In addition, territorial aspirations are still present, which is best mirrored in the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina, i.e. Republika Srpska.

Annual Report on Human Rights: Serbia in 2009 - Europeanization – Accomplishments and Limitations

Author(s): / Language(s): English

In 2009, Serbia made necessary progress in defining its future as a European country. The measures taken by the Serbian Government in that direction opened its European perspective. This inevitably provoked adverse reactions by one part of the Serbian elite, which is feverishly defending its position and insisting on the greater-state national project. This specifically refers to its resistance to NATO membership, interpretation of the recent past and defense of Bosnia’s status quo. Regardless of the opening of its European perspective, Serbia is still torn between its wish to join the European family and a strong conservative bloc trying to preserve the model of a patriarchal and populist state. The aggravating factors are a total blockade of the economy, bad privatization, monopolistic status of tycoons and incapable leaders at all levels. A drag on development is also centralism that stubbornly resists any decentralization and regionalization, which are a prerequisite for democratization and the undertaking of responsibility at all levels. Serbia’s progress toward the European perspective also implies a more resolute internal transformation, involving the status of Vojvodina, change of the Constitution, decentralization and regionalization, status of minorities and reform of the country’s media space. This is a prerequisite for breaking away from Milošević’s legacy.

The Indian Diaspora and Poland–India Relations

Author(s): Patryk Kugiel,Konrad Pędziwiatr / Language(s): English

The Indian diaspora is one of the largest national overseas communities. Around 22 million Indians and people of Indian origin live abroad and are in almost all countries of the world. They play an increasingly important role in Indian national and foreign policies, as Delhi has been dynamically re-engaging with Indians globally and involving them in the development of the country. The overseas Indians have a significant political, economic and soft power role in Indian domestic and international aspirations. As this diaspora continues to grow and the government in Delhi emphasises its importance, one may expect it will play a larger role in cooperation with India. The Indian minority in Poland is a relatively new phenomenon, which emerged only after the end of the Cold War, especially after Poland joined the EU, since when the number of Indians in Poland has more than doubled. It seems that the size of the community will increase in the future, as the Polish economy continues to grow, and as more foreign direct investments, including those from India, are made in Poland, enhancing the country’s economic attractiveness for migrants. Today, the Indian community in Poland is made up of almost 4,000 people. This makes it the eighth largest immigrant community in Poland. Although still relatively small, if compared with those established in many Western European countries, it is the main concentration of Indians in Central Europe, and among the New EU Member States. This gives Poland a certain comparative advantage over countries in the region vis-à-vis India.

Critical Race Theory. Impact on Black Minority Ethnic Students within Higher Education

Author(s): Dilshad Sarwar / Language(s): English

This book is an attempt to address the notion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the underlying parallels with the experiences of Black Minority Ethnic Students (BMEs) under the guise of Widening Participation policies and practices within the realms of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The book attempts to explore and compare the post entry academic and social inclusion concepts for BME non-traditional students. The author carried out an extensive level of investigation through her PhD titled “Critical Race Theory A Phenomenological Approach to Black Minority Ethnic Students within Higher Education Institutions”. Moreover, the author within the PhD work identified the habitus structuring models and the academic and social constraints applied within HEIs. This book attempts to illustrate the impact of CRT upon the recruitment, retention, race and racism, learning and teaching themes which are embedded within HEIs. Themes at macro level, meso and micro levels are investigated.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria: Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Author(s): Thomas Schmidinger / Language(s): English

This book is based on papers presented at the conference. However, it is not a typical publication of academic conference proceedings because the topics are not completely congruent with those of the conference. Some lectures that could not be held due to travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic were submitted as book contributions. In addition, I also wrote a short contribution on the Jewish history of the region, which has been often neglected in previous presentations of the region.The various authors for this volume have been intensively involved with the region in recent years. However, the authors do not only focus on the situation on the ground, but also on the international context of the autonomous administration. The conflict in Syria is no longer just a civil war, but a transnational conflict with important roles played not only by actors such as Russia or the USA, but also Turkey or Iran.Given the transnationality of the conflict and the role of the hegemonic powers, these authors share thoughtful analyses from very different perspectives. It is important to share these diverse views with the world so that the tragic conflict might become more comprehensible. This does not mean, however, that I necessarily advocate each particular position taken by the varied contributors to this book. The intent is to offer you multiple perspectives and certainly not a common narrative.

České menšinové školství v Československé republice: Ke každodennosti obecných škol v politickém okresu Ústí nad Labem

Author(s): Michal Šimáně / Language(s): Czech

The main aim of this publication based on historical-pedagogical research is to introduce the everyday life of the Czech minority primary schools during the first Czechoslovak republic in broader socio-historical context. The author examines the everyday life of these schools in political district of Ústí nad Labem, which was located in Czech-German linguistically mixed area during the era of the Czechoslovak republic. Results of the research presented in this monograph provide brand new, previously unpublished, findings from everyday life of Czech minority schools. They reveal, for example, the problems that these schools had to face in different areas of school life, as well as strategies with which the representatives of Czech schools chose to solve them.

Alternativni izvještaj o primjeni ICERD u Republici Hrvatskoj

Author(s): Ljubomir Mikić / Language(s): English,Croatian

This alternative report has been drafted with the aim of examining the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in the Republic of Croatia. It represents an alternative source of information with reference to the country report on the implementation of the Convention for the period 2007 — 2018. The substance of the report is focussed on the practical application and effects of selected provisions in the Convention with regard to Serbs, who make up the most numerous ethnic minority in the country. Serbs' position in the Croatian society is largely determined by the legacy of inter-ethnic intolerance and the armed conflict of the early 90s, due to which they have been continuously exposed to greater risk of racial discrimination in relation to other social groups. The Alternative Report comprehensively lists the weaknesses and problems in the implementation of national anti-discrimination regulations and policies. It places a special emphasis on considerations regarding adequate investigation, prosecuting and sanctioning, as well as public condemnation and prevention, of hate speech and violence against Serbs. While recognising that a certain degree of progress has been achieved during the reporting period, the Alternative Report also draws attention to the still-present problems of sustainability of the return and reintegration of Serbs who had fled, or had been displaced, their access to their rights, as well as the inconsistent and problematic process of realising certain legally guaranteed rights and freedoms. The report suggests that the Croatian authorities' public expressions of dedication to the struggle against racial discrimination need to be substantially and comprehensively reaffirmed by consistent and decisive action to implement anti-discrimination regulations and policies, which is as yet lacking, as well as prompt and unambiguous public condemnation of inter-ethnic violence and hate crime, hate speech and other manifestations of intolerance towards Serbs.

Život ve zdraví 2017: Soubor příspěvků z mezinárodní konference konané ve dnech 7.–8. září 2017

Author(s): / Language(s): Slovak,English,Czech

The book of conference proceedings sums up some chosen papers presented at the interdisciplinary conference Life in health 2017. The conference took place at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University on 7th–8th September 2017. The papers deal with the general and specific approaches towards public health promotion and protection. The findings are adequately applicable in education of children and general population.

Dva životy, dvě kultury, dvě země: Řekové na českém území od 2. poloviny 20. století do současnosti

Author(s): Jana Poláková / Language(s): Czech

The book is part of a long term project of the Hellenika Foundation Brno Greeks on Czech territory since the mid-20th century in the implementation of which the Ethnographic Institute of the Moravian Museum has been participating on professional basis. The main goal of the project was to present, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, the first big immigration wave of Greek refugees on the territory of the then Czechoslovakia. The foundation started preparing worthy celebrations as soon as in 2017 with interviewing 19 selected respondents in the average duration of 45 minutes resulting in separate video and audio records. This research became then a stepping stone of activities in following several years. The first output was the exhibition Two lives, two cultures, two countries. Greeks on Czech territory since the mid-20th century. The public could learn about the arrival of Greeks on Czechoslovak soil in consequence of the civil war, about their gradual integration as well as preservation of their specific culture. During the exhibition opening in November 2018 a documentary with the same title was shown that had come into being through the combination of extracts from interviews, period shots and examples of archive materials of various kinds. In the following year the film was presented at the festival of museum movies Musaionfilm in Comenius Museum in Uherský Brod. It was awarded the main prize „Černý Janek“ for an innovative treatment of the fortunes of the Greek minority in this country. In 2019 a travelling version of the exhibition was created available today to educational and memory institutions throughout the country. In the same year the transcription of the recorded interviews into a written form was carried out. Their publication, analysis and interpretation complemented with a brief survey of the past and present are the core of this book.

Balkan Csárdás: Hungarian Foreign Policy Dance

Author(s): Srđan Cvijić,Maja Bjeloš,Ivana Ranković,Marko Drajić / Language(s): English

Changes in social awareness on both sides of the border. Poland – the Czech Republic. Sociological reflections

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Poles and Czechs have been neighbours for centuries. We both speak Western Slavic languages and shave similar Slavic origins. Moreover, history often condemned us to a common fate, such as the submission of Bohemia, Moravia, and also a part of Silesia, to the Habsburg Monarchy. e both nation states have much in common as well as differ in many respects. ey underwent modernization, nationalization, experienced the period of socialism, and finally found themselves in a whirlwind of globalization and a new social reality. Common membership in the Communist Bloc, and then the systemic transformation, maintained the analogous fates of the both nations, which are imprinted on the consciousness of their societies. At the same time, historical differences also occurred, such as between the accomplishments of Jan Hus and the Counter-Reformation in Poland. e result is different approaches of Poles and Czechs to religion. e period of systemic transformation, opening to the outside world and the processes of globalization have caused an influx of new trends, styles and the Western values. It concerns the inhabitants of the both countries, especially the younger generation. e period in qestion allowed them to explore their identity, particularly in terms of ethnicity and religion. Such processes occurred in both the Polish and the Czech communities.

The Russian Street. The Place and Significance of Immigrants From the Former USSR in Israel

Author(s): Marek Matusiak / Language(s): English

The arrival of more than one million immigrants from the former USSR, back in the 1990s and post-2000, has resulted in a surge in Israel’s demographic and economic potential, sealed the domination of right‑wing parties on the Israeli political scene and in public discourse, left its mark on Israel’s historical policy, and finally, contributed a new language and previously unfamiliar customs to the country’s cultural mosaic.The arrival of more than one million immigrants from the former USSR back in the 1990s and post-2000 has resulted in a surge in Israel’s demographic and economic potential, sealed the domination of right-wing parties on the Israeli political scene and in public discourse, left its mark on Israel’s historical policy, and finally, contributed new elements to Israel’s cultural mosaic. Russian-speaking newcomers from the former Soviet republics have retained their language, customs and contacts with their countries of origin, and have adapted to the new reality in their own unique manner, while maintaining many elements of their former identity. Despite the fact that three decades after the break-up of the USSR, the Russian-speaking Israelis continue to be less affluent and underrepresented in many spheres of life, struggle with negative clichés and in some cases are still not fluent in Hebrew, they should be viewed as a group which has largely been well-integrated into society and (as a general rule) manifests ardent patriotism towards their new homeland. This text is an attempt to sum up the process of the Russian-speaking immigrants’ adaptation to Israeli society (and vice versa); to assess this group’s place and importance in the Israeli state’s life; to determine how it has changed the country; and finally, how it has affected Israel’s relations with the newcomers’ countries of origin.

Tam za tím mořem piva aneb Naše Amerika, jak ji málokdo zná. Příspěvek k historii české a slovenské emigrace do Ameriky

Author(s): Miloslav, ml. Rechcígl / Language(s): Czech

The present publication deals with America as few people know it and as Voskovec and Werich sang about it in their popular sessions, and it is based on the author's lifelong ant research. It focuses on the history of emigrants from the historic Czech lands and Czechoslovakia and covers the period from the discovery of the New World to the present day. It includes not only the United States, but also Canada and Latin America. Individual sections deal with the pioneers, the arrival and settlement of immigrants in various states and regions of the Americas and the establishment of Czech centers and communities, the public and social activities of the settlers, and the various types of immigrants and their contributions to the Americas. Although they were not numerous in number compared to other ethnic groups, their contribution to America was phenomenal.

VODIČ ZA BOLJE I KVALITETNIJE OSTVARIVANJE MANJINSKIH PRAVA NA LOKALNOM NIVOU

Author(s): Gordana Francuski,Tatjana Pavlović-Križanić,Tomislav Žigmanov,Pavel Domonji / Language(s): Serbian

Srbija je u proteklih nekoliko godina prošla kroz duboke političke, socijalne, kulturne i institucionalne promene. Zakonodavne promene u oblasti lokalne samouprave predstavljaju osnov za demokratizaciju političkih struktura koje su u ulozi donosilaca odluka. Pored toga, započet proces decentralizacije državnih institucija i službi javne uprave pomogao je da se poveća njihova efikasnost, transparentnost i odgovornost. Posebno je značajno, u skladu s međunarodnim standardima i standardima Evropske unije, u procesu devolucije vlasti, da lokalne vlasti preuzimaju odgovornost za implementaciju lokalnih javnih politika, te da se zalažu za promociju demokratske kulture zasnovane na poštovanju ljudskih i manjinskih prava i vladavine zakona, pri čemu naročito zauzimaju proaktivan stav prema multietničkom upravljanju. Razvoj sistema koji će biti osetljiv na posebne potrebe različitih manjina postaje ključ za stabilne i funkcionalne demokratije. Ovaj vodič ima za cilj da predstavnicima donosilaca odluka na lokalnom nivou, predstavnicima manjinskih zajednica i zainteresovanim organizacijama i pojedincima pruži pregled normativnog okvira koji reguliše rad lokalne samouprave i zakonskih odredbi koje tretiraju položaj manjina, informiše ih i podigne svest o različitim načinima i mehanizmima koji mogu biti značajni za ostvarivanje manjinskih prava usklađivanje interesa različitih etničkih zajednica.

Monitoring Transparentnosti u Radu nacionalnih Saveta Nacionalnih Manjina

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian

Magyar parlamenti képviselet Csehszlovákiában. Magyar nemzetiségű képviselők a prágai és pozsonyi parlamentben 1918–1992

Author(s): Attila Simon,Árpád Popély / Language(s): Hungarian

The Hungarian community in Slovakia, like its representation in parliament, has a history of more than a century. However, with the exception of a few recently published partial monographs, there has been no scholarly work on Hungarian parliamentary representation in the former Czechoslovakia. The present volume is the first attempt to summarize the history of parliamentary representation of the Hungarian minority in former Czechoslovakia from the country's formation in 1918 until its dissolution in 1992, as well as the biographies and political careers of its ethnic Hungarian parliamentarians and senators. This volume is also a pioneering undertaking in that no similar publication has yet been compiled on Czech and Slovak members of the Prague and Bratislava parliaments either. Since post-World War II Slovakia had its own legislative body, the Slovak National Council, the book naturally deals not only with the parliaments of Prague, the National Assembly and the Federal Assembly, but also with the Bratislava parliament and its Hungarian representatives. The fact that Prague had a bicameral parliament already during the First Republic and after the federal transformation of the country further increased the number of deputies covered in the book. In addition, between the two world wars, Subcarpathian Rus (today Carpatho-Ukraine) was also part of the Czechoslovak state, and ethnic Hungarian deputies and senators from there were elected to the National Assembly in Prague. Obviously, they were among the Hungarian legislators in Czechoslovakia, so it is only natural that they have been included in this volume, which thus presents a total of 246 Hungarian members and senators of the Prague and Bratislava parliaments. Of these, 45 were deputies and senators of the First Republic, 134 were deputies and senators in the years of the one-party state, 65 were deputies and senators of post-communist Czechoslovakia, and two were deputies and senators of both the single-party state and the parliaments after its collapse.In line with the generally accepted chronology of Czechoslovak history, the volume is divided into three major chapters. The first chapter covers the period of the First Republic, the second the years of the single-party system, and the third the period from the removal of the totalitarian communist regime to the end of the (federal) state. Only the post-World War II coalition period, which was a period of disenfranchisement for the Hungarian minority, is not included as a separate chapter, as the Hungarian population was deprived of the right to vote and thus to be represented in parliament. Nor does the volume deal with the period of the Slovak state during the Second World War and the parliamentary activities of its only Hungarian MP, János Esterházy, since the Slovak state parliament—unlike the post-war Slovak National Council—did not operate within the Czechoslovak state. Each chapter begins with a study of the political background and Hungarian parliamentary representation of the period, followed by a presentation of the ethnic Hungarian legislators of the period.The entries summarising the political and biographical background of each MEP include biographical details of the MEP, the number of the election term in which he or she was elected, the legislature of which he or she was a member or senator, the period of his or her mandate, the constituency in which he or she was elected and the party for which he or she was elected. The beginning and end of a mandate are often linked to different events in different registers or databases and are therefore given in different ways. The present volume considers the beginning of a mandate as the date of taking the oath of office and the end as the date of the next elections, except, of course, in cases where a person has been recalled, resigned, or died before the end of his mandate.The most important sources of biographical data on the MPs were their personal papers and the cadre reviews prepared on them. The personal papers of the MPs and senators in Prague are kept in the Archives of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, while those of the MPs in Bratislava are kept partly in the Archives of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and partly in the Slovak National Archives. The cadres' reviews from the single-party state years are kept in the Communist Party´s fonds in the National Archives of the Czech Republic and the Slovak National Archives. Although in some cases their contents had to be corrected, the primary source of information on the ethnicity of MPs was the handbooks issued for each elected parliament, including, among others, the data of the MPs. The work of Members of Parliament has been possible to reconstruct from the press of the time and the stenographic records of parliamentary sittings. At the end of the volume, there is a reference list and bibliography, and an index of the names of persons and places appearing in the book.