Suchergebnisse

Examines changes in the population's value system, the way different ethnicities see themselves in relation to other ethnic collectivities, and development of trends in interethnic relations; 1980s and 1990s, chiefly.

This essay was motivated by the gap between proclaimed democratic principles and the perceptions of politics which are exhibited by the citizens in transitional countries - more specifically in the Republic of Macedonia. It is based on research data collected in the past few decades, which illustrate that, in their political actions, the citizens are highly motivated by personal benefits and profits, rather than by their internalized values and ideologies. Non-democratic, authoritarian values prevail, while politics is perceived as a value itself, in the most materialistic meaning of the word. It creates a suitable milieu for growth of corruption, nepotism and clientelism. The authors conclude that such a circulus vitsiosus is a corner stone of the Macedonian political regime, and an enormous obstacle for the advancement of the participative, democratic political culture in reality, in spite of its formal acceptance. (author's abstract)

In this paper we will begin with the argument that identities are subject of permanent change. In these processes we will stress the importance of the used resources and the impact of governing structures in constructing someone's' collective identity. We will then argue that the processes of authoritarianism may also support the change of identity. Even more, manipulations with identities needs and feeds on authoritarianism. Also, different aspects of national identity of Macedonians will be elaborated: ethnic, religious and the reinvigorated myth of Alexander of Macedon. All of these will be shown as part of contemporary Macedonian identity. Rationale for the arguments we can locate between the ideas of what one think it is and the contingency of what one can become.

This paper deals with the values, priorities and political behavior of the young people in the Republic of Macedonia. Data from recent researches are used to show the main specificities of the young generation from the aspect of their political culture. Results show domination of apathy, dissatisfaction, opportunism and civic passiveness, which should not be characteristic for generations born and socialized after the political transformation in the country.

In the contemporary societies people try to build an individualized approach through life, while the collective identity coercions starts to pale. This ratio consists of many aspects like the intensity of the existing collective identities, the consistency of transmission of the parent's way of living to their children and the individual choices that are available for the young people in the specific social context. In Macedonian society there are some modern processes concerning the development of stronger personal identities of the youth, and their attempts to change the way of living comparing the way their parents did. Having in mind that in Macedonia live citizens that are members of different cultural and ethnic groups the analysis will show even local differences elaborating these phenomena. There are indications that there is some fluctuation towards bigger individualization among youth and the evidence that the young people still lives their parent's collective identities. The target group of the research is the student population, in the study that was done on the sample of 707 respondents, chosen by quotas, from the six universities in the country. The main thesis is that the students are still "overshadowed of the successes" of their parents past social experience, that is strongly connected with the collective nature of their identities. The main research questions are the state of the collective identities, the relation between the parents and the student's collective identification, and the evidence of stronger development of the self-confidence among students. (author's abstract)