The paper studies the contemporary development of family patterns in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Historically, these patterns varied considerably, from the extended family (zadruga, fis) present in Orthodox and Muslim regions, to the European conjugal family as typical of Western Europe in Slovenia. Current trends indicate a prevalence of modernization developments, despite the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the lack of a common state framework. The uniform pattern is even more clearly evinced in those countries where the extended family existed until the very dissolution of Yugoslavia (particularly Kosovo, where it seems the extended family has finally disappeared). Thus, a diminution in the average household size, in the average number of children born, is noted in all countries, particularly in those with previously high fertility rates. Finally, attitudes towards social roles within matrimony also indicate a convergence, towards favoring the parity of partners, in contrast to high variance on this issue during the existence of Yugoslavia, where traditionalistic attitudes prevailed, particularly in Kosovo and Macedonia. This finding does not lend support to the clash of civilizations thesis.
The concept of civil religion has caught major attention among scholars studying the junction of religion and politics (J.-J. Rousseau, E. Durkheim, R. Bellah). The notion focuses on the phenomenon of cultural contents sacralizing and ritualizing the ruling political institutions of a society, extending support to the integration of the political and social system at a cultural level. The notion of civil religion has recently been operationalized crossculturally, but light has not been shed upon its predictors. In this paper authoritarianism is tested as a predictor of civil religion cross-culturally. Four student samples of Bosnian, Serbian, Slovenian and US students were analyzed. Very strong, significant associations between authoritarianism, as operationalized by a modified Lane scale, and civil religion were found in all cases. Moreover, upon introducing femininity, anxiety and gender into the analysis, a strong, dominant and significant impact on the part of authoritarianism was still found when civil religion was observed crossculturally. When the same predictors were applied to explaining general religiosity, authoritarianism fell short of being a significant predictor in most of the environments observed. Such results suggest an especially close link between civil religion and authoritarianism. ; Pojam civilne religije privukao je veliku pozornost među naučnicima koji proučavaju vezu između religije i politike (Ž.-Ž Ruso [J.-J. Rousseau], E. Dirkem [E. Durkheim], R. Bela [R. Bellah]). Pojam civilne religije ukazuje na pojavu kulturnih sadržaja koji posvećuju ili ritualizuju vladajuće političke ustanove, ostvarujući funkciju podupiranja integracije političkog i društvenog sistema. Pojam civilne religije nedavno je operacionalizovan na međukulturnoj ravni, ali prediktori te pojave nisu osvetljeni. U ovom radu se testira autoritarnost kao prediktor civilne religije na međukulturnoj ravni. Četiri uzorka bosanskih, slovenačkih, srpskih i studenata iz SAD su predmet analize. U svim slučajevima je utvrđena je vrlo snažna, signifikantna povezanost civilne religije sa autoritarnošću, koja se posmatra modifikovanom Lejnovom skalom. Štaviše nakon unošenja feminilnosti, anksioznosti i pola u analizu, preovlađujući i signifikantan uticaj autoritarnosti još se uvek utvrđuje posmatrajući civilnu religiju na međukulturnom nivou. Regresioni model pojašanjavanja civilne religije, uz pomoć pomenutih nezavisnih varijabli, iskazuje vrednost R2 od .20 (slovenački uzorak) do .33 (američki uzorak), dok je srpski uzorak u tom pogledu i u pogledu visoke vrednosti Beta koeficijenta kod autoritarnosti bliži nalazima za američki uzorak. Autoritarnost posredstvom koeficijenta Beta u tom modelu iskazuje vrednosti od .35 do .54. Signifikantnost na ravni p<0.01 se iskazuje za feminilnost u slovenačkom uzorku i za anksizonost u srpskom uzorku. Marginalna signifikantnost koeficijenta Beta iskazuje se još u tri slučaja. Kad se isti prediktori primene na analizu opšte religioznosti, autoritarnost se u većini posmatranih sredina ne pojavljuje kao signifikantan prediktor. Takvi nalazi ukazuju na naročito blisku povezanost civilne religije i autoritarnosti.
The study analyzed whether the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the establishment of succeeding mono-national states was the expression of "longing" of mass proportions on the part of the nationalities within respective federal units. Using the data from two pan-Yugoslav surveys from the period preceding the dissolution, results were obtained that indicated a very limited support for this hypothesis. More specifically, results indicated that support for emancipation was rather weak, among youth in 1986 and even among the adult population in 1990, although some significant mean differences between the federal units and between major nationalities within them were evident. Specifically, opinions favoring independence were detected among Kosovo Albanians and later among Slovenians in Slovenia. In addition, findings also indicated that those with higher socioeconomic status were not more inclined toward independence. Results thus pointed more towards the idea that the dissolution was indeed instigated by a small group of "political entrepreneurs" not captured by the survey data.
The study analyzed whether the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the establishment of succeeding mono-national states was the expression of "longing" of mass proportions on the part of the nationalities within respective federal units. Using the data from two pan-Yugoslav surveys from the period preceding the dissolution, results were obtained that indicated a very limited support for this hypothesis. More specifically, results indicated that support for emancipation was rather weak, among youth in 1986 and even among the adult population in 1990, although some significant mean differences between the federal units and between major nationalities within them were evident. Specifically, opinions favoring independence were detected among Kosovo Albanians and later among Slovenians in Slovenia. In addition, findings also indicated that those with higher socioeconomic status were not more inclined toward independence. Results thus pointed more towards the idea that the dissolution was indeed instigated by a small group of "political entrepreneurs" not captured by the survey data. Adapted from the source document.
The individualization of family life is one of the crucial ideas among leading theorists dealing with late modernity (Giddens, 1991; Beck, 1992; Bauman, 2000; Beck-Gemsheim, 2002). The individualization thesis was applied in a study of youth attitudes and actions relating to individualization in family life. Data were gathered through surveys on representative samples of young people from nine countries in Southeast Europe. The Human Development Index (HDI) was used as an indicator of the general level of modernization. Analyses revealed that young people from countries with higher HDI tend to (1) be substantially more autonomous in their decision-making and in their plans for the future; (2) perceive relationships with their parents as more conflictual; (3) perceive decision-making in their family as less patriarchal; and (4) be substantially less inclined to marry. With the notable exception of Slovenia, there is also a strong tendency for youth from more developed countries to leave their parents' households earlier. With some important reservations, these findings lend important empirical support to the individualization thesis relating to family life.
Understanding patterns of political participation of ethnic minorities is crucial for their integration within postcommunist European countries most of which are ethnically complex and with histories of conflicts. Past research on the relationship between political participation and ethnicity in the democracies has given mixed results and there seems to be a research gap in the literature regarding the patterns of political participation of minorities in postcommunist states. The present study examined differences on two measures of political participation in a representative sample of post-Yugoslav citizens. Employed data source was the South-East European Social Survey Project (SEESSP), fielded in 2003 and 2004. The SEESSP covered six former Yugoslav entities (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia). Results indicated that ethnic minorities had lower levels of electoral participation in four out of six analysed political entities, and had lower levels of party membership in three countries. In addition, a significant voter turnout gap existed among different minorities within individual countries. Finally, no major differences in motives behind political participation were found when comparing the association between authoritarian attitudes and political participation within majority and minority groups. Implications of the results are discussed.
