Suchergebnisse

Each scientific explanation, as per the author's view, is strived and required to have the most possible systematic character, and to enable the explained problem to be comprehended in the widest theoric-systhematic frame. Having analysed the methodological problem of comparative studies in education from the point of view of the mentioned studies, the author determined that the approaches to comparative study of education and schooling were not to be uniformed ones from the simple reason they had been grown out from different philosophic and theoric fundament. From the wider point of view, comparisons enable the comprehension of the phenomenon of education and schooling, their dialectics of manifestation, and their importance for human and society development. Methodologically taken, comparativistics of education and schooling is enriched with new techniques and methods. The comparison overcomes the meaning of one method (comparative method). Different orientations and different methodological procedures in comparative study of education and schooling were being appeared. Bearing in mind the complexity of comparative pedagogy problems, the author indicated the relevant methodological problems from which the historic dimension of comparative pedagogy progress was being visible. The author made the analysis of methodological problem of comparative research in education through several phases having considered basic characteristic of research, understanding of method system of comparative pedagogy, problems of contradiction of comparative research, its presence etc. From the point of view of the indicated problem, it is essential to state the consciousness on the methodological foundation of comparative researches of education and schooling is being broadened, which leads to the research of phenomenon of education at more qualitative level.

Монографија "Зграде школских и предшколских установа – методолошки оквир формирања типологије и побољшања енергетске ефикасности" представља теоретску подлогу рада и основне принципе истраживања којим су посебно обухваћени: историјски преглед развоја зграда школских и предшколских установа, развој регулативе ове области, методологија вршења пописа и формирања типологије зграда, принципи унапређења и прорачун потенцијалне уштеде енергије као и смањења емисије угљен-диоксида кроз процесе енергетске обнове зграда на нивоу Републике Србије. ; Monograph "School and Kindergarten Buildings- a methodological framework for the formation of typology and the improvement of energy efficiency" represents a theoretical basis of our work and basic research principles, especially covering the following: historical overview of the school and kindergarten buildings development, development of legislation in this area, methodology for taking inventory and forming the typology of buildings, improvement principles and calculation of potential energy savings and CO2 emission reduction via the processes of energy rehabilitation of buildings in the Republic of Serbia.

The author continues his research work on Croatian constitutional tradition. This tradition includes the system of national values on which Croatian politicians in the l9th century founded their national programs. Therefore, the author tries to analyze the basic values and structures included in that tradition, to explore its genesis, and to investigate its historical influence on the development of political and social life in Croatia. In his opinion, other authors did not consider this tradition either a "dogma" or an "ideology", as the recent historiography puts it, because here the legal and sociopolitical values, on which the new political, state and social system is founded, are in question. Out of abundant researches on that subject, the author singles out only the analysis of the "Address" which Croatian Parliament, after a long discussion, brought in 1861 as its most important document, i.e. as the national program which was presented to the king in the form of demands. (SOI : CSP: S. 267f.)

The author analzes the types of support for political systems. His analysis shows that there are three basic types of political support (to the national identity and pride, to the legitimation and to confidence) which correspond to the three basic units of political system (political community, political government/regime, and authorities). Each form of support serves to maintain the political regime on the whole, but each is independent of the others - or the influence solely goes one way: from the lower to the higher forms of support (from confidence via legitimation and to political identity). While the higher forms of support are primarily abstract, normative and affective in their nature, the lower forms are mostly empirical, instrumental, and cognitive in their definition. In the future, citizens are going to increasingly appraise political systems on the whole according to the totality of their performances, i.e. according to their evaluation of how and how much a system meets their needs, demands, and expectations. This will broaden the meaning of legitimation; it will no longer refer to the validity of a system (its procedurality) but to its effica as well. This will make life more difficult and complex for those in the position of power. These types of confidence warrant empirical research in order to determine their level, etiology, and functionality. (SOI : PM: S. 120)

After the failure of the European constitutional process, the question of creating the European identity has become in the center of attention of the academic public again. According to the scientific literature about Europe it is mostly discussed as the set of institutional solutions, but not as the collective cultural space, the dominant paradigm discussing the European identity is the one that sees it as entirely political, indeed. The goal of this work is to show that insisting on creating of purely political European identity has its basic neither in theory nor in practice. In order to document the claim, in this work the author critically investigates different theoretical approaches studying the European identity and analyzing the results of available empirical researches tries to determine a role of cultural, civil and instrumental components in its creation.

The paper analyses the class basis of the civil society in Serbia in the period of post-socialist transformation. The analysis is based on data from several empirical studies implemented by the Institute for Sociological Research of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade over the past twenty years, specifically in 1997, 2007 and 2012. The main objective of the analysis is to determine whether there is rootedness of civil society activities among the middle class. The basic hypothesis of the paper is that members of the middle class are the key actors of civil society in the entire period observed. Results of the analysis show that the members of the middle class have been holders of civil protests during the period of blocked transformation - almost the only phenomenal manifestation of the civil society in Serbia in the 1990s. On the other hand, research findings from 2007 and 2012 indicated a significant decline of civic activism among all social groups, and the decline was most marked precisely among the middle class. Although members of the middle class, compared with other social groups, were still more willing to engage in civic activities, data show that the differences between social classes were not especially marked, and therefore we can talk only conditionally about rootedness of civil society activities among the middle class.

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.

Summary: Establishing of the New institutional economics as dominant institutional theoretical perspective, has contributed to the theoretical affirmation of the institution and to the recognition that institutions and institutional changes are an important part of the overall dynamics of economic reality. Therefore, the importance of defining the "new" institutional paradigm is reflected not only in the "endogenization" of the institutions as the relevant economic variables, but also in the possibilities of a broader consideration of the potential contribution of institutions to the overall macroeconomic performances. However, despite to the significant theoretical achievements in the economic recognition of the multiple institutional importances, in the observation of institutional change as a determinant of economic development, many questions remain open. For instance, it is still not known which institutions, in which specific forms required, or rather useful for economic development, or in which context. Although it is known the role that specific institutions can play in the process of the economic development, the problem is how to build such institutions. If developmental effects generally depend on the quantity and quality of institutional changes, than how to explain the fact that the establishment of the same institutional forms in the countries with approximate developmental preconditions, usually in practice does not led to the equal developmental results? This study, in form of a doctoral dissertation, is exactly driven by such issues. Therefore, as its primary goal assumes the theoretical development of the concept of institutional contributions to the development and identification of institutional criteria and mechanisms for improving economic performance. The basic assumption on which this dissertation is based implies that institutions and institutional changes are necessary, but not sufficient condition for good macroeconomic performance of the country. This additional requirement is contained precisely in the implementation of "good governance", namely the establishment of the basic principles of this concept. The research is based on an analytical basis of the theoretical framework of the New institutional economics. Starting of the known information about the nature of institutions and institutional change, as well as on the basic assumptions of institutional sustainability and efficiency, there are theoretical elaborated concept of the institutional contributions to the development. Special attention was given to comparative institutional analysis. By combining information from different comparative economics, there are studied the relationship between institutional quality and economic efficiency. An attempt was made in order to identify main channels through which institutional quality determined economic performance, and therefore which is a possible causes of institutional inefficiency. Through the analysis of several representative cases in practice, the empirical validity of the findings is further checked. Since development issues become topical, especially during the crisis, it is clear incentives to explore the institutions and mechanisms of institutional change and use this knowledge in achieving, in a greater degree, controlled development.

One of the basic and strategic goals of post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina is a full membership in the European Union. During 1992-1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina has passed through one of the most difficult periods in its' history. The war has completely devastated the economical structure and the aftermaths were visible in the following years. As a new paradigm, the European Union appears. The European Union has helped the Western Balkans countries to overcome national tensions and offered them a new perspective; new regional and european integrations should be a new, historical chance for them. In the light of this, the focus of this paper is the impact of trade liberalization between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the export from Bosnia and Herzegovina to European Union. The above mentioned impact has been observed in the period of eleven years. The total export amount of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was 4,6 billion euros, while the amount of the import was 8,1 billion euros, which makes nearly 60% in favor of import. Traditionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina's most important foreign trade partner is the European Union where Bosnia and Herzegovina has a deficit in foreign trade. The portion of export to EU during 2015 was 71,79% while the portion of import was 60,85%. The coverage of import over export was 66,89%. In the period of 2005-2015, most of the products have been placed to markets in Croatia, Germany, Italy, and Serbia, which is not the EU member. The process of trade liberalization in 2015 has resulted in surplus of trade with certain EU countries; Austria, Luxembourg and Estonia while the decrease in trade has been recorded with Germany, Slovenia and Czech Republic. Regarding the export, Bosnia and Herzegovina mailny places products which have labour-intensive character. In the econometrics analysis, extented gravitational models of trade have been placed. Besides the abovementioned, the following econometrical techinques have been used: panel data models (PD), fixed effecs models (RE) and panel corrected standard errors (PCSE). In addition, Hausman test has been applied. According to the analysis that has been carried out, the following has been concluded; InGDPi, InGDPj and InDISTij variables are statistically important on the level of 5% in the period of gradual liberalization. The SSP1 an EK variables are not siginificant.In the other moder, in the period of complete liberalization InGDPi, InGDPj and SSP2 variables have a significant impact on a dependent variable on a level of 5%. InDISTij and EK variables have a significant impact on a level od 5% as well. The above mentioned result confirm the research hypothesis; trade liberalization has a significant impact on the export of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU. The basic limit of this research can be a relatively short observation period, caused by the fact that the data of merchandise trade between Bosnia and Herzegovina and EU countries until 2005 are not accessible.

In this paper it had been started from the question what was in diachronic included in the term Middle Europe, and why it was impossible to define it precisely in any sense. 'New Middle European Concept', actual in the 80s of the previous century, had also political background, but in his creation Middle European intellectuals had part in it, and it meant the fight for cultural unity of Middle European, for the recognition of their European identity. One of the first, and the most important supporter of this concept from Yugoslav area is Danilo Kish in whose literary oeuvre this virtual space is additionally mythologized. The research attention was directed to Kish's essay 'Variations on Middle European Themes', in which he had elaborated in a concise manner his comprehension of Middle Europe, Middle European culture, Middle European writer, and numerous interviews in which he had thoroughly been elaborating these attitudes. There the writer expresses his comprehension of fascism, and Stalinism, Ahasuerus, and Judaism as 'family happiness', nationalism of small peoples, inferiorities of their 'barbarian languages', and attitudes on ironic lyrisms, 'consciousness on form', and stateless people as basic poetic features of Middle European writers. Due to all mentioned, and some universal truths on the mentioned symbolic tops, this essay is rightfully considered as one of Kish's most important self-poetic texts.

The overall progress of society, as well as socially damaging phenomena which society confronts in an institutional manner, is increasing and complicating the police apparatus. However, in the context of dealing with activities aimed at gathering information and evidence related to criminal offenses, including offenses in the sphere of organized crime and corruption, and research trends of property acquired with those works, takes special attention to the role of the Criminal Investigation Department, or its organizational units specialized in the fight against organized crime, or other specialized bodies. The interactions of various factors within the police service and outside, which find the origin of activity in the same mission, are a potential source of disagreement, and it emphasizes the characteristics of the police profession, and the associated subculture. This paper analyzes the general characteristics of the police profession that can have repercussions on the efficiency of financial investigations and the necessary conditions that favor their success, and processes in which police officers involved in financial investigations are exposed to, in order to improve efficiency. Also, the paper identifies other circumstances, at the strategic and operational level, which can significantly affect the results achieved in the investigation process. Good cooperation among the subjects of criminal and financial investigations, starting financial investigations immediately after getting information about the crime and the assets obtained, and specialization of investigative subjects are only basic elements needed for success in financial investigations. Besides these, it is possible to identify a number of objective or subjective factors, which may affect the success of the implementation of financial investigations, which are mentioned in the paper. Special attention, especially in the context of societies with underdeveloped institutions and the questionable rule of law, deserves the will factor. Aforementioned factor emerges as a key element that can significantly affect the success of the research team, and indeed the expected results. It is therefore desirable that the general interest, presented in the normative framework, is consistent with the prevailing beliefs of research subjects, i.e. it is essential that these entities have a high degree of belief in the purpose and validity of what they do. Otherwise, the results will be absent, and the regulatory framework will appear as an empty form, without meaning and content.

This paper deals with a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of pre-election TV commercials inthe last two campaigns of 2012 and of 2014 in Serbia. The aim of the research is to deconstruct thestrategy of political parties in the field of gender sensitization from a gender perspective based onthe most important activity of parliamentary democracy – the election cycle, using examples ofpaid political advertising – the pre-election TV clip, for which the parties allocated the most resourcesin the campaign of 2012 and of 2014 in Serbia. The aim is also to analyze the personalexperience of female politicians in order to provide a new and different way of analyzing practicesand strategies of the parties in relation to the visibility of female candidate in the mediaduring the election campaign.The basic method is the critical discourse analysis (CDA) complemented by the method ofcomparing the regular election campaign of 2012 and the early elections of 2014, and the methodof life stories of the candidates (oral history). The CDA puts a special emphasis on various forms of discrimination that result from the abuse of power that continues to lead to the emergence ofsocial inequality and injustice (Dijk 2008).There are three levels at which the (in)visibility of women in the political process can be observed:a) the (lack of) presence of women on the candidate lists in the election campaign, andafter the elections, the (decreased) number of women in the parliament; b) (in)visibility of womenin paid media campaigns and c) (in)visibility of women in the language.Practice: a) On the basis of the "principle of affirmative action", women become more presenton the candidate lists and in the parliament as a result of the introduction of quota into the gendersensitive legislation (all SEE countries – Southeast Europe/Western Balkans). b) Women are stillrarely seen in the pre-election TV clip which is the most effective paid advertising, because it is atraditionally male "space", while women are more active in reach-out field work. c) visibility ofwomen in language is achieved, for example, by the use of the Gender-sensitive language Code.(S. Savić).In this paper the focus is on the sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), with (c) being analyzed in a limitedmanner only as part of the pre-election TV clip slogans analysis.A TV clip is comprised of: the slogan and the body of the clip. The slogan is made of aniconic and a linguistic part. In both campaign slogans there were no gender sensitive slogans,except for one in 2014 (URS's campaign for the female Mayor of Belgrade). The body is made ofthe video format and the content. In both campaigns, in 2012 and in 2014 forms of videos werehybrid types that included: documentary footage from the field, speech of the leader speakingdirectly in camera, animation, short fiction form.The analysis confirmed the basic hypothesis: despite the fact that, according to the legal provisionsa female candidate occupied every third position of the candidate lists in both analyzedelection cycles – they are underrepresented in paid political advertising in the media (TV clip).Individual hypotheses are also confirmed.The icons and the contents of the presentation of Serbia in the election cycle in 2012 and in2014 in the election TV clips were masculinized from the standpoint of power in society that isheld by male party leaders. The basic strategy of all parties who had a paid television campaign,in a form of TV clips, in both observed election cycles was the strategy of exclusion from thepolitical space mediated by the media. So we are here talking about a media, and by that, a widersocial invisibility of women in exercising one of the fundamental rights, the right to participationin decision-making and active participation in the elections. ; Cilj rada je da dekonstruiše strategije političkih partija iz rodne perspective u odnosu natelevizijsko predizborno političko plaćeno oglašavanje u kampanjama 2012. i 2014. u Srbiji.Cilj je takođe da se analizira lično iskustvo političarki da bi se na nov i drugačiji način analizirale prakse i strategije partija u odnosu na vidljivost kandidatkinja u vreme predizborne kampanjeu medijima. Metode korišćene u istraživanju su: kritička analiza medijskog diskursa(jedinica analize je tv spot u celini, verbalna, vizuelna i zvučna komponenta), komparativnametoda i životne priče kandidatkinja. Osnovna hipoteza je da bez obzira na to što su, shodnozakonskim odredbama, na kandidatskim listama, u oba analizirana izborna ciklusa, ženezauzimale svako treće mesto – one su podzastupljene u plaćenom političkom medijskom reklamiranju(TV spotu). Osnovni rezultat je da su medijske plaćene kampanje bile maskulinizirane.U fokusu je samo partijski lider. Kandidatkinje su podzastupljene u oba posmatranaperioda. Partije nisu rodno senzibilisane kada je reč o političkom plaćenom oglašavanju uvreme predizborne kampanje.

Predmet rada su činioci i struktura političke kulture mladih u Srbiji. Politička kultura shvaćena je kao sveukupnost političkih i politički relevantnih orijentacija među pripadnicima jedne političke zajednice koja obuhvata nekoliko tipova orijentacije: kognitivne, afektivne, motivacione, vrednosne i ponašajne. ; The paper explores the factors and structure of youth political culture in Serbia. Political culture is defined as a comprehensive sum of political and politically relevant orientations of the members of a political community and comprises several types of orientations: cognitive, affective, motivational, evaluative and behavioural. Accordingly, five components of youth political culture were distinguished and operationalised by a large number of indicators. The empirical basis for the thesis is a survey conducted in 25 randomly selected secondary schools from the city of Belgrade. The total of 788 students from four different types of secondary school participated in the research: grammar schools (N=202), technical (N=207), economic (N=211) and medical (N=168). The sample was restricted to students of the final year (average age M=18.10, SD=.40). Three-quarters of students (75%) in the sample attend urban secondary schools and one quarter suburban (25%). There were more female participants (58%) than male (42%). Research results indicate that the level of youth political knowledge is low. The majority are not informed about topical social and political issues nor acquainted with certain basic rules regarding the functioning of the Serbian political system, such as the election threshold, government composition or the number of MPs. The prevailing feelings towards numerous analysed political objects are negative. Young people are highly dissatisfied with the current socioeconomic situation. The President, the Government, the Parliament, police, judiciary, the European Union or NATO, are not much trusted. Political cynicism is dominant, while for the majority politics is not the field of interest nor is considered important in life. Most students believe that they cannot influence political affairs (however, surprisingly, they are ready to vote in the following elections) while their opinions on social activism are divided. The attitude towards pro-system values is often ambiguous and vague. The attitude towards democracy is predominantly positive. However, the majority of students do not perceive favourably the newly established mechanisms and institutions of market economy and are hence more inclined towards the socialist than (pro-)market orientation. It can be said that they do not support the freedom of speech, multi-party system and rule of law.

After the economic crisis of 2008, the degree of economic and environmental impact has increased. Challenges encountered by enterprises ranges from fulfilling the legal obligations of integral prevention and pollution control to the adaptation of the environmental management system in order to successfully apply the ISO 14001 standard. Companies face problems arising from soil pollution, climate change and legislation. Companies must take into account the successful management of sustainable development and social responsibility. To date, the basic responsibility of the company is to create profits for the owners of the company. However, including "social aspects", it emphasizes the participation of other stakeholders. The subject of research in this paper focuses on realizing the situation in terms of company's readiness to fulfill legal obligations for integrated pollution prevention and the application of appropriate environmental management standards. The main objective of this paper is to indicate the opportunities that companies have in favor of effective environmental management through cost reduction and cost savings achieved through efficient waste and energy recycling initiatives. Considering the fact that waste management is inappropriate, it can cause numerous consequences for the population and the environment, work for the welfare of the public, management and employees in enterprises, academic researchers and the general public is expected. The contribution of this paper is to expand the literature in this field and to the need to implement an appropriate management concept for integrated environmental management and prevention in order to successfully manage sustainable development. ; Posle ekonomske krize 2008. godine, stepen ekonomskih i ekoloških uticaja je povećan. Izazovi sa kojima se susreću poduzeća kreću se od ispunjavanja zakonskih obaveza integralnog sprečavanja i kontrole zagađenja do prilagođavanja sistema upravlјanja zaštitom životne sredine kako bi se uspješno primijenio standard ISO 14001. Preduzeća se suočavaju sa problemima koji proizlaze iz zagađenja zemlјišta, klimatskih promena i zakonodavstva. Preduzeća moraju voditi računa o uspešnom upravlјanju sa održivim razvojem i društvenom odgovornošću. Do danas je osnovna odgovornost preduzeća stvaranje profita za vlasnike preduzeća. Međutim, uklјučujući i "socijalne aspekte" naglašava učešće drugih zainteresovanih strana (Hopkins, M. 2004). Predmet istraživanja u ovom radu fokusira se na sagledavanje stvarne situacije u smislu spremnosti preduzeća da ispune zakonske obaveze za integriranu prevenciju zagađenja i primenu odgovarajućih standarda za upravlјanje životnom sredinom. Glavni cilј ovog rada je ukazati na mogućnosti koje preduzeća imaju u korist efektivnog upravlјanja životnom sredinom kroz mogućnosti smanjenja troškova i uštede troškova postignutih kroz efikasne inicijative za reciklažu otpada i energije. S obzirom na činjenicu da je upravlјanje otpadomne prikladno, može izazvati brojne posledice na stanovništvo i životnu sredinu, očekuje se rad za dobrobit javnosti, menadžmenta i zaposlenih u preduzećima, akademskih istraživača i šire javnosti. Doprinos ovog rada sastoji se u proširenju literature u ovoj oblasti i na neophodnost primene odgovarajućeg koncepta upravlјanja za integrisano upravlјanje i sprečavanje zagađenja životne sredine kako bi se uspešno upravlјalo održivim razvojem.

Rad istražuje ulogu i doprinos razvojne pomoći u procesu programiranja i implementacije pravosudne reforme u Srbiji od 2002. do 2012. godine. Pojam razvojne pomoći u ovom radu obuhvata donacije i projektnu pomoć međunarodnih partnera u širem smislu, što obuhvata kako međunarodne organizacije tako i razvojne agencije i/ili programe stranih država. Pod pravosudnom reformom rad primarno podrazumeva postizanje nezavisnosti pravosuđa u čijoj je osnovi stručnost nosilaca pravosudne funkcije. Stoga, posebno mesto u istaživanju zauzima jedinstveni slučaj transformacije Pravosudne akademije od projekta do državne institucije u funkciji osnaživanja kriterijuma stručnosti. Osnovna hipoteza rada je da je uspešnost reforme pravosuđa uslovljena primenom kriterijuma stručnosti u izboru, vrednovanju i napredovanju nosilaca pravosudne funkcije. Sprovedeno istraživanje potvrđuje hipotezu i donosi zaključak da nije postignut značajan uspeh u reformi pravosuđa u Srbiji. Utvrdili smo da su stagnaciji reforme doprineli, u jednakoj meri, s jedne strane, međunarodni partneri nekoherentnim pristupom programiranju reforme, a s druge, nacionalni partneri u Srbiji nedostatkom stvarne potražnje za reformom. Sadejstvom ovih razvojnih partnera u primeni tehnika izomorfne mimikrije i preuranjenog opterećenja došlo se do mešovitog rezultata - kapaciteti pravosuđa u Srbiji su u izvesnoj meri uvećani ali nezavisnost suda nije. Rad na osnovu ovih nalaza daje preporuke za unapređenje programiranja i realizaciju reforme pravosuđa kao što su koherentni strateški mehanizmi, koordinacija razvojnih partnera i depolitizacija reformskog procesa. ; The study explores the role and contribution of development assistance within the process of programming and implementation of judicial reform in Serbia from 2002 to 2012. The notion of development assistance, according to the study, includes donations and project assistance from international partners in a wider sense such as from international organizations, development agencies and/or bilateral assistance. The study defines judicial reform as the independence of the judiciary, which is based on the competency of judges and prosecutors. Thus, special attention is given to the unique case of the transformation of the Judicial Academy from a project to a state institution with the mandate to enhance the competency criteria and the merit based system for judges and prosecutors. The basic hypothesis of the study is that the success of judicial reform is conditioned by the application of competency criteria in the appointment, evaluation and career advancement of judges and prosecutors. The research confirms the hypothesis and leads to the conclusion that the judicial reform in Serbia did not achieve significant successes. It concludes that both the international and national partners contributed equally to the stagnation of the judicial reform process. While international partners applied incoherent approaches, through their reform programming, the national partners exercised a lack of genuine reform demand and commitment. The joint actions of these development partners in the implementation of techniques of isomorphic mimicry and the premature load bearing led to mixed results – the capacity of the judiciary in Serbia has been increased to a certain extent, but the independence of the judiciary has not been reached. The study, based on these conclusions provides recommendations for the improvement of programming and implementation of judicial reform such as through a coherent strategic programming mechanism, coordination of development partners and depolarization of the reform process.