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The author discusses the crucial question of whether Serbia truly pursues the path of modernization and European integration, or just a simulation of these processes. The author proposes the thesis that there are numerous obstacles on Serbia's transitional path toward the (post)modern European society. Therefore, he tries to discover the essential reasons for the citizens' reluctance and resistance, the reasons which are related to the modernization of the Serbian society. Serbia is today at the crossroads of the traditional and modern understanding of life. It contains some elements of (post)modernization, but still with a strong influence of its traditional (conservative) heritage. The processes of re-traditionalization (re-mythologization and pseudo-mythologization) represent a major obstacle to the liberation of the society from the grip of the past and to its orientation towards European values. According to the author, the main creators of retrograde flows can be found in the political establishment of contemporary Serbia. He labels them, ironically and derogatorily, the 'guardians' of tradition, who use demagogic statements, populist paroles, and media information control (for their personal and party interests) to slow down Serbia on its European path.

Тематски Зборник Свакодневна култура у постсоцијалистичком периоду настао је као резултат научне сарадње Етнографског института САНУи Етнографског института и музеја БАН. Велике политичке и друштвене промене током деведесетих година 20.века озбиљно су се одразиле на свакодневну културу балканских земаља. Управо у периоду кризе, две суседне етнолошке установе, бугарска и српска, које више деценија током социјалисатичког периода нису сарађивале, отпочеле су заједнички рад на истраживању свакодневне културе. Зборник показује у ком правацу су се одвијали културни процеси у Србији и Бугарској, које су сличности и разлике међу њима, али и шта се дешава у постсоцијалистичком периоду у појединим сегментима свакодневне култура Словака, Руса и Македонаца. ; The Collection of Papers entitled ―Everyday Culture in post-socialist period is a result of collaboration between the Institute of Ethnography, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the Institute of Ethnography and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The enormous political and social changes during the 1990's influenced also everyday culture of the Balkans states. After decades of hinder, and precisely in the period of crisis, two neighboring ethnological institutions, the Bulgarian and Serbian, started to cooperate together in the study of everyday culture.The Collection of Papers demonstrates the directions of the cultural processes in Serbia and Bulgaria, accentuating the differences and similarities among the two states, and also explains the deeds within certain segments of everyday cultures of Slovaks, Russians and Macedonians. ; Зборник радова Етнографског института САНУ 22 / Collection of Papers of the Institute of Ethnography SASA 22

The author approaches Malcolm's book analytically and synthetically. The strength of Malcolm's book lies in the fact that it is not burdened with controversies of the Balkan historiography and chauvinistic mentality. Malcolm succeeded in demystifying the Kosovo battle (1389) and the "Great Migration of Serbs" (1689), the themes that Serbian historiography is burdened with. Malcom's book successfully exposes the causes of Balkan war, especially of the last one (1991-1999), as a consequence of Serbian hegemonistic ideology and policy. Malcolm's book will help both Serbian and Albanian historians to abandon a romantic approach in writing their histories. However, author could not aree with some of Malcolm's conclusions, such as assumed lack of oppressive measures of the Ottomans over local population in Kosovo or the argument that there is no Muslim fundamentalism among Albanians because they have an Albanian Christian Democratic Party. Likewise, Malcolm seems to accept the idea that there was a process of "albanisation" of Serbs in Kosovo based on the names of certain number of Albanian population, while at the same time denies that there was an identical process in the opposite direction. The reason for this confusion probably lies in the fact that Malcolm overlooks that it is a question of "albanisation" of Vlachs and not of Serbs. Inspite of these shortcomings. the autor highly recommends the book. (SOI : CSP: S. 571)