Social reforms had an important position in the process of transition changes in Serbia in the previous decade. Their strategic framework and aims have been defined in the first years after the 'democratic changes' of 2000 and their realization followed by a series of problems. The transition from the 'socialist welfare state' to the concept of 'active social policy' has been in compliance with the accepted model of (liberal) reforms and changes in the institutional sphere. Analysis of effects and achievements have pointed to an inadeaqucy of the accepted model and deficiencies in the practice. From the point of view of the current situation and expected changes in the future, there is an obvious need for a comprehensive evaluation of cause of (un)success of social reforms. The reason for that lies in the elimination of insufficiencies and creation of a basis for the construction of a system in compliance with the national objectives, the European standards and global challenges.
Током последњих неколико деценија били смо сведоци интензивних промена света у коме живимо. Иза доминантне слике технолошког прогреса, с једне, и непрестаног нивелисања политичких моћи, с друге стране, промене су се одвијале и на свим друштвеним нивоима, задирући у суштину темељних поставки културе модерног света. Разградња традиционалних оквира идентитета, релативизација система вредности и снажни импулси личне слободе били су врста улазнице у постмодерно стање духа, које је, тежећи ка помирењу, заправо до крајности продубило јаз између цивилизације као хумане креације и цивилизације као система per se, који умногоме почива на негирању универзалних вредности човека. Темат Хуманистичке науке пред изазовима постдисциплинарности и тржишта замишљен је као платформа за размену искустава међу еминентим научним радницима из различитих земаља. ; Over the last couple of decades the world we live in has been going through intensive change. Behind the dominant image of technological progress on the one hand, and the continuing redistribution of political power on the other, changes have been occurring on all social levels, hitting at the heart of the basic assumptions of modern culture. The deconstruction of traditional frameworks of identity, the relativization of value systems and powerful impulses of personal freedom have served as a kind of ticket to the postmodern condition which has, while aspiring to reconcile, led to a fundamental deepening of the rift between civilization as a humane creation and civilization as a system per se which largely rests on negating the universal value of humanity. ; Тема броја: Друштвене и хуманистичке науке пред изазовима пост-дисциплинарности и тржишта / ур. Александра Павићевић / Topic of the Issue: Social Sciences and the Humanities: Facing the Challenges of Postdisciplinarity and the Market (ed. Aleksandra Pavićević)
This paper introduces the concept of social capital as a valuable social resourcewhich is accumulated and developed via activities of civil society organizations: through reciprocal relationships as well as through relations with the domain of political power. Civil society, as the institutional actor of political participation, is in a relationship with social capital, which, to a great extent, improves the political, economic and cultural aspects of societies – those with consolidated democracy and institutions, as well as post communist societies with nonconsolidated democracy. Strengthening and development of civil society has a positive impact on the strengthening and development of social capital and vice versa. On the other hand, social capital lays a solid foundation and a base for the growth and strengthening of civil society, thus raising citizens' awareness about political participation which is an indispensable ingredient of the development of democracy. By depicting norms, networking and trust, as well as by distinguishing bonding from bridging social capital, this paper is going to portray the subject matter of social capital which is "utilized" by the citizens' and stakeholders' effi cient collaboration, thus contributing to democratic development. The stability of developed social capital facilitates the development of political participation and enhances democratic development.
The article presents a critical overview of underlying ideas, social context, and original teachings of two "mediating ideologies" (social democracy and conservatism) and two mass "political phenomena" (nationalism and populism). Each of them constitutes a form of more or less effective political compromise, which ought to neutralize constant tensions and clashes between the leading modern ideologies of freedom and equality, i.e. liberalism and communism. However, the clash of ideologies which were prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries has lost much of its intensity today, although the social causes that gave rise to them have remained unchanged: social inequalities, abuse of freedom, and uneven distribution of social power. At the same time, the main social forces and political organizations that had been the symbols and striking forces of freedom and equality in the preceding decades - the political parties of the "left " and "right", including the never clearly defined "political center" - also lost their identity and power. Th e then political mortal enemies look and behave today almost exactly as they did then: in the ideological sense, "everyone wants everything" (allegedly representing/ defending the interests of "all citizens"); in the organizational sense, there is almost no difference between them; whereas the difference in the manner they behave when in power is almost negligible.
In addition to national and international armies - armed forces of states and alliances, paramilitary armed formations (the so-called paramilitary) play aprominent role in contemporary international and non-international armed conflicts. They are made up of so-called voluntary fighters (patriots, contracts), i.e. mercenaries or "looters" (so-called war dogs) within armed formations that are not officially part of, and most often not under the command, of regular armed forces. As a rule, they are formed, armed, equipped, trained, paid and controlled by certain political centers of power - foreign governments and intelligence, hostile political emigration, political parties, criminal and other extremist (pseudo-patriotic, nationalist and para-religious) organizations (the so-called warlords) for whose account the paramilitary formations occupied part of the territory of the sovereign state in which the armed conflict took place and established power on it. They are often associated with numerous war crimes, terrorist attacks and robberies. Since the terms 'warlords', 'paramilitary', 'mercenaries', and 'war dog' are oftenincorrectly usedin everyday communication of media, public and even scholars, this paper attempts to conceptualize and make a clear distinction between these phenomena. ; Осим националних и међународних војски – оружаних снага држава и савеза држава, у савременим међународним и немеђународним оружаним сукобима све значајнију улогу узимају паравојне оружане формације (тзв. паравојске). Њих чине тзв. добровољни борци (патриоте, уговорци), односно плаћеници или "пљачкаши" (тзв. пси рата) који су део наоружаних формација које званично нису у саставу, а најчешће ни под командом регуларних оружаних снага. Паравојске по правилу формирају, наоружавају, опремају, обучавају, плаћају и контролишу извесни политички центри моћи – иностране владе и обавештајне службе, непријатељска политичка емиграција, политичке партије, криминалне и друге екстремистичке (псеудопатриотске, националистичке и параверске) организације (тзв. господари рата) за чији рачун су паравојне формације и заузеле део територије суверене државе у којој се одвија оружани конфликт и на њој "успоставиле власт". За њих се неретко везују бројни ратни злочини, терористички напади и пљачке. Како се у животу, а неретко и у теорији безбедности не разликују и погрешно употребљавају термини "господари рата", "паравојске", плаћеници и "пси рата", у раду је учињен покушај појмовног одређења и дистанцирања ових појава.
Joint effect of 2008 economic crises and continous world-wide present deficite of political legitimacy have in 2011 given birth to global resistance, but also facilitated development of its new strategies and tactics. Aldough we are still by large able to understand these contemporary models of collective action with help of New Social Movement Theory, today they objectivelly grasp a wider field of meaning, mainly for reason of their demands for radical transformation of both economic and political system. Contemporary social movements are still struggling for re-interpretation of meaning, and identity issues, but not any more for any particular goal. Instead, they seek systemic change. This extremelly important shift of strategic orientation, which makes new movements a bit old – that is classical, remains in our oppinion, undervalued both in academic, and general public for the reasons that we will try to comprehend, in this writing. ; Sadejstvo udara ekonomske krize iz 2008. i kontinuiranog deficita političkog legitimiteta dovode 2011. do pojave globalnog otpora, ali i do razvoja njegovih kvalitativno novih strategija i taktika. Iako je savremene modele kolektivne akcije dobrim delom i dalje moguće razumeti uz pomoć teorije novih društvenih pokreta, oni danas objektivno zahvataju jedno šire polje, najpre zbog zahteva za radikalnom promenom u ukupnom ekonomskom i političkom sistemu. Savremeni društveni pokreti i dalje se bore za reinterpretaciju značenja i priznanje sopstvenog identiteta, ali ne više za bilo koje pojedinačno pitanje, već za sveobuhvatnu promenu sistema. Ta izuzetno važna promena strateške orijentacije, koja nove pokrete čini pomalo starim – upravo klasičnim, ostaje, čini nam se, nedovoljno primećena iz razloga koje ćemo pokušati da rasvetlimo.
U savremenim društvima se smatra da visoko obrazovanje ima značajnu ulogu za ekonomski razvoj tako što obezbeđuje kvalifikovanu radnu snagu, ekonomsku konkurentnost, produktivnost, političku stabilnost i stvaranje demokratskog društva. Predmet rada je da se predstave i kritički ispitaju sociološka stanovišta koja pripadaju funkcionalističkoj i institucionalističkoj paradigmi koje na različite načine tumače značaj obrazovanja za razvoj društva. Prvi cilj je da se predstavi na koji način autori koji pripadaju ovim teorijskim pravcima opisuju ulogu obrazovanja u ekonomskom i političkom razvoju. Drugi cilj je da se ispita na koji način isti autori tumače značaj visokog obrazovanja za pojedince: za zaposlenje, napredovanje i životne šanse. Funkcionalistička paradigma smatra da je visoko obrazovanje neophodno za tehnološki, ekonomski i društveni napredak, jer priprema pojedince za rad u odgovarajućem segmentu kapitalističke ekonomije i povezana je sa shvatanjem progresa i pojmova: modernist, profesionalizacija i racionalizacija. Institucionalistička perspektiva takođe pokazuje da je obrazovni sistem strukturalno povezan sa nastankom moderne privrede i nacionalne države, da ima alokativnu funkciju i da na taj način utiče na životne šanse pojedinaca. Za razliku od funkcionalističke, institicionalistička perspektiva naglašava ideološku i legitimacijsku stranu ovih procesa i značaj pridaje političkim faktorima u odnosu na ekonomske faktore. Preispitivanjem i suočavanjem različitih teorijskih polazišta ukazuje se na kompleksan odnos obrazovanja i šireg društva. Stoga je potrebno kontinuirano ispitivati suprotstavljena stanovišta koja ovoj temi prilaze na različite načine. Jedino celovito i kritičko teorijsko promatranje ovih procesa može imati značajne implikacije za kreiranje obrazovnih politika, kao i sveobuhvatnijih reformi društva. ; In modern societies, higher education is considered to be playing a significant role in economic development by providing skilled labor, economic competitiveness, productivity, political stability and building a democratic society. The subject of this paper is to present and critically review sociological standpoints belonging to functionalist and institutionalist paradigm which interpret the importance of education for development of a society in a different way. The first objective is to present how authors belonging to these theoretical concepts describe the role of education in economic and political development. The second objective is to examine how these authors interpret the importance of higher education for individuals: for their employment, promotion and life chances. The functionalist paradigm holds that higher education is necessary for technological, economic and social progress, as it prepares individuals for work in the relevant segment of capitalist economy and is linked to understanding of progress and concepts of modernity, professionalization and rationalization. The institutionalist perspective also shows that education system is structurally linked to emergence of modern economy and the nation-state, that it has an allocative function and thus affects the life chances of individuals. Unlike the functionalist, the institutionalist perspective emphasizes the ideology and legitimacy of these processes and attaches importance to political rather than economic factors. By reviewing and confronting different theoretical starting points, a complex relationship between education and wider society is revealed. It is therefore necessary to continually examine the opposing viewpoints that approach this topic in a different way. Only a comprehensive and critical theoretical observation of these processes can have significant implications for creating educational policies and far-reaching societal reforms. ; Zbornik rezimea / 24. Međunarodna naučna konferencija "Pedagoška istraživanja i školska praksa ; Book of abstracts / 24th International Scientific Conference "Educational Research and School Practice"
Već više od dve godine traje velika pan-evropska debata o Budućnosti evropske socijal-demokratije (2009-2011) kao pokušaj odgovora na izazove globalne krize, ali i na duboku i dugotrajnu krizu same socijal-demokratije. Dok su tokom 2000. godine socijal-demokrati bila na vlasti u većini evropskih zemalja (11 od 15 članica EU ), danas vladaju u samo nekoliko perifernih zemalja Evrope (4 od 27 članica EU u 2011). Iako u nekoliko velikih zemalja još uvek privlače 20-30% birača, odnosno poseduju koalicioni kapacitet i za osvajanje vlasti, ipak je marginalizacija ključni trend. U traganju za vlastitim identitetom, novom paradigmom, pan-evropska debata problematizuje ključne teme i izazove naše civilizacije, kao što su globalizacija, logika kapitalizma i njegove moguće reforme, smisao i značaj Evropske Unije. Ova debata ponovo vraća u javni diskurs i niz ključnih koncepata na kojima se gradi zamisao o 'dobrom društvu', kao što su društvene vrednosti, kultura, značaj srednje klase i ekološka i socijalna održivost. ; We are in the third year of the pan-european debate on the future of European Social Democracy (ESD). It is a response to the challenges of the global economic crisis, but also a response to the deep internal crisis within the ESD. While the social democrats were in power in the majority of European countries in the year 2000 (11 of 15 EU members), they are rulling parties in only few peripheral countries in 2011 (4 of 27 EU countries). Althouth they are still able to attact 20-30% of voters, and with toghether with their partners are even able to form goverments in some countries, their margananalization is a major trend. This is not only because of electoral defeats, but it is due to membership decline, shaken ties with trade unions, lack of an alternative program in a situation when neoliberalism is shaken and political actors have searching for new formulae. In a search of their own identity, new paradigm and attractive program, pan-european debate critically analyze key issues and challenges of our civilization, such as globalization, nature of capitalism and its possible reforms, meaning and importance of the EU , the role of government regarding markets. This debate has brouth back into public discourse many important concepts that constitute the idea of 'good society,' such as social values (equailty, solidarity, social justice), buth also importance of culture, middle class, and social and environmental sustainability.
Recent theoretical and empirical research in economic science and other social sciences has indicated a growing interest in the interdependence of social capital and public governance. The aim of the paper is to identify the basic channels and mechanisms for the contribution of social capital to the quality of public governance, based on the analysis of the interdependence of social capital and public governance. The subject of this doctoral dissertation is social capital as a determinant of the quality of public governance. Statistical methods - regression and correlation analysis - were applied to determine cause and effect relationships between the investigated phenomena. The analysis covers selected transition economies (10 Central and Eastern European countries: Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the Republic of Serbia) for the two comparative time series relating to 2010 and 2016. year. The results of correlation and regression analysis confirmed the starting hypothesis that there is a relationship of interdependence between social capital and public governance. In addition, selected theoretical and empirical research has shown the validity of hypotheses that a higher level of trust creates the conditions for the development of effective formal institutions, and that social participation influences the development of a more responsible and responsive public administration. Particular attention in this doctoral dissertation is also devoted to the analysis of the state of social capital and the performance of public governance in the Republic of Serbia. Also, the observed tendencies in the structure of public governance in the Republic of Serbia indicate the importance of combating corruption and strengthening the rule of law. The research findings in this doctoral dissertation represent a significant input to macroeconomic policy makers in transition economies and provide a basis for considering the importance of social capital and its individual components, as determinants of improving the quality of public governance.
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
Темат је посвећен истраживањима савременог града у Србији и Бугарској. Он се састоји из шест радова и нуди компаративну перспективу актуелних друштвених процеса у две суседне балканске земље, које повезују многобројна искуства, опредељена историјским и политичким токовима. Упоредна истраживања друштвених кретања омогућују продубљеније разумевање и праћење глобалних проце- са. У данашњем, све више глобализованом и глокализованом свету, градови доживљавају нагле промене, или прецизније – промене се ту најизразитије очитавају. Истраживачки фокус темата је на динимици савременог града, на процесуалности и променама његових друштвених пракси. ; Тhe topic of this volume is a result from The Contemporary City in Serbia and Bulgaria: Processes and Changes, a bilateral project of the Institute of Ethnography of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2014-2016). The six papers offer a comparative view of current social processes in two neighbouring Balkan countries, linked by numerous historical and political experiences. Comparative research into societal trends enables a more thorough understanding and monitoring of global processes. In today's increasingly globalised and glocalised world, towns experience sudden changes and it is in the towns that these changes are most vividly to be seen. The focus of our research is on the dynamism of the contemporary town, on processuality and changes in societal practices. ; Тема броја: Град у Србији и Бугарској: компаративно ишчитавање актуелних процеса / Topic of the issue: The Town in Serbia and Bulgaria: a Comparative Reading of Current Processes
Истраживања миграција представљају приоритет, јер отварају актуелне проблеме и питања која чине неизоставни део свакодневицa, политика, стратегија, конфликата, кретања и мобилности људи у свету. Када је наука спремна на таква сучељавања, тада истраживања добијају довољно маневар ског простора за аналитичко расветљавање и сагледавање са свих страна. Непрегледни свет миграција подстиче науку на моблност и истраживачку приправност овде – сада ‒ свуда. Проучавања миграција поседују перманент ну актуелност и динамику, јер нису изолована од микро- и макрополитика и економија, те друштвених и културних процеса. ; Migration studies appear as a priority as they discuss the current problems and issues that inevitably are part of everyday life, policies, strategies, conflicts, movement and mobility of people around the globe. When such debates become scientific topics, then migration as an occurrence can be studied through multiple perspectives and overviews. The vast world of migration urges science and research towards mobility and research preparedness here - now - everywhere. Migration studies are always actual and dynamic, being a part of micro and macro politics and economics, social and cultural processes. ; Тема броја: Истраживање миграција (ур. Мирослава Лукић Крстановић и Петко Христов) / Topic of the Issue: Research of Migrations (eds. Miroslava Lukić Krstanović and Petko Hristov)
The paper analyses the problems that have been undermining the US recruitment policy for the last two decades - which is aimed at providing soldiers for imperial disciplining wars waged on the planetary periphery - as a case study to test the validity of theoretical assumptions about the transition to the age of post-heroic warfare. The departing hypothesis is based on stance that the United States, being the only remained superpower, experience a gradual and less visible process of losing popular support for military conscription, which the author employs here as an ideal of national vitality and a pillar of modern citizenship, as well as a feature of masculinity and the realm for self-realisation. The analysis takes place primarily in the field of anthropology and sociology and employs theoretical positions of social constructivism to complement narrow theoretical and methodological approaches of political science which are typically applied in the study of international relations. The analysis focuses on the "cracks" and deformations in the construction of ideals of warfare and heroism, which emerge as a result of the interaction of man - both as an individual and a member of the political community - the public, and the US foreign policy decisions designed to meet the needs and requirements of successful disciplinary imperial warfare. The author concludes that theoretical assumptions about entering the age of post-heroic warfare are valid due to the recruitment crisis in the US military, the unpopularity of the military profession, the commodification of warfare and death, the transformation of war into an industrial process, and misleading media portrayals of dead and wounded soldiers.
Зборник "Етнологија Срба у Мађарској: стање и перспективе" садржи радове са научног скупа који је под истим називом одржан 19. и 20. новембра 2010. године у Будимпешти, у организацији Српског института из Будимпеште и суорганизацији Етнографског института САНУ и Народносне секције Мађарског етнографског друштва. Овај скуп је замишљен као први у низу скупова посвећених различитим научним областима за које се сматра да су од највећег интереса за заједницу Срба у Мађарској (етнологија, лингвистика, историја и друштвене науке – социологија, политикологија, право), које ће организовати Српски институт (основан 2009. године) да би се добио преглед стања, уочили недостаци и одредили приоритети за даље истраживачке пројекте. Циљ скупа био је, дакле, критичко сумирање укупних досадашњих резултата етнолошког и етнографског рада међу Србима у Мађарској. На њему је било 17 учесника из Мађарске и Србије. У оквиру скупа, одржан је и округли сто, чији је циљ био разговор о потребама и могућностима организације даљих истраживања. ; The volume Ethnology of Serbs in Hungary: Situation and Perspectives contains papers from the scientific conference held under the same title on November 19th and 20th, 2010 in Budapest, in organization of the Serbian Institute from Budapest and co-organization of the Institute of Ethnography SASA and the Nationalities Section of the Hungarian Ethnographic Society. The conference was envisaged as the first in a serial of conferences devoted to various academic disciplines considered as highly interesting for the Serbian community in Hungary (ethnology, linguistics, history and social sciences – sociology, political science, law), to be organized by the Serbian Institute (established in 2009) in order to obtain an overview of the situation, to detect the flaws and define the priorities for further research projects. The aim of the conference was, therefore, a critical summary of the overall results of ethnologic and ethnographic work among Serbs in Hungary. There were 17 participants from Hungary and Serbia. On the same occasion a round table was held as well, aimed at discussing the needs and possibilities for organization of further research. ; A magyarországi szerbek etnológiája: helyzetkép és távlatok c. kiadvány az azonos címmel, 2010. november 19-20-án Budapesten, a budapesti Szerb Intézet szervezésében és a Szerb Tudományos és Művészeti Akadémia Néprajzi Intézetének, valamint a Magyar Néprajzi Társaság Nemzetiségi Szakosztályának társszervezésében megtartott tudományos konferencia előadásait tartalmazza. A tanácskozás annak a konferenciasorozatnak az első tagja, amelyet a 2009-ben alapított Szerb Intézet szándékai szerint azoknak a tudományágaknak fognak szentelni, melyek a legnagyobb érdeklődésre tarthatnak számot a magyarországi szerb közösség részéről (etnológia, nyelvészet, történelem és társadalomtudományok – szociológia, politológia, jogtudomány). E konferenciasorozat megszerevzésére annak érdekében kerül sor, hogy áttekintést nyerjenek e tudományágak magyarországi szerbeket érintő kutatásainak mai helyzetéről, feltárják a hiányosságokat és meghatározzák a prioritásokat a további kutatások terén. A konferencia célja így az volt, hogy a magyarországi szerbek körében végzett etnológiai és néprajzi kutatások eddigi eredményeit kritikailag összegezze. A tanácskozáson 17 előadó szerepelt Magyarországról és Szerbiából. A konferencia keretében kerekasztal megbeszélésre is sor került, melynek célja a további kutatásokra vonatkozó igények és lehetőségek megvitatása volt. ; Зборник радова Етнографског института САНУ 29 / Collection of Papers of the Institute of Ethnography SASA 29
Afstaða Íslendinga til öryggismála hefur lítið verið rannsökuð frá því í lok kalda stríðsins. Í þessari grein eru kynntar niðurstöður könnunar um afstöðu til og hugmyndir um utanríkis- og öryggismál, en Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ vann könnunina í nóvember og desember 2016. Niðurstöður könnunarinnar eru settar í samhengi við þróun í öryggisfræðum, þá sérstaklega öryggisgeira (e. security sectors) verufræðilegt öryggi (e. ontological security) og öryggisvæðingu (e. securitization). Helstu niðurstöður eru að almenningur á Íslandi telur öryggi sínu helst stafa ógn af efnahagslegum og fjárhagslegum óstöðugleika og náttúruhamförum, en telur litlar líkur á því að hernaðarátök eða hryðjuverkaárásir snerti landið beint. Þessar niðurstöður eru í takmörkuðu samræmi við helstu áherslur stjórnvalda í öryggismálum og því mikilvægt að stjórnvöld átti sig á því hvernig hægt er að tryggja það að almenningur sé meðvitaður um þær forsendur sem áhættumat og öryggisstefna grundvallast á. ; Icelanders' views on security and foreign affairs since the end of the Cold War are an understudied issue. This article presents the findings of a large scale survey on the position and ideas about foreign affairs and security. The survey was conducted by the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Iceland in November and December 2016. The results of the survey are placed in the context of developments in security studies, with an emphasis on security sectors, ontological security, and securitization. The main findings are that the Icelandic public believes that its security is most threatened by economic and financial instability, as well as natural hazards, but thinks there is a very limited chance of military conflict or terrorist attacks directly affecting the country. These findings are incongruent with the main emphases of Icelandic authorities, as they appear in security policy and political discourse. It is therefore important that the authorities understand how to engage with the public about the criteria upon which risk assessments and security policies are based. ; Peer Reviewed