Suchergebnisse

The impact of 'glass ceiling' syndrome and party selection on participation of women in parliament and other political institutions are examined in this article. 'Glass ceiling' syndrome, which means invisible, but almost impenetrable border that women face in professional life, keeping them away from positions of influence and progress in career, is the main reason for the small number of women involved in politics. According to the focus of the research, there are three groups of barriers to women's political participation. Most researchers examine the influence of the political system, institutional and legal mechanisms, the question of their transparency and functional improvement. Significantly less frequent approach came from authors who are concentrated on the social and economic barriers, financial conditions and the broader social context. The third group consists of those who are considering the ideological and psychological barriers, patriarchal cultural patterns, traditional gender roles, self-confidence, ambition and women's desire to be involved in politics. Political parties are key actors in the process of discrimination against women, because they do not allow them to be selected in a number of political functions. There are many factors that determine that the issue of gender equality is variously interpreted in political parties. The most present are contextual and ideological factors, referring to a different definition of the status of women on the political agenda, the social climate in terms of gender equality and respect for human rights, the level of social development and political freedom. Then come organizational factors pertaining to the structure of parties, the manner in which the leadership is elected, whether there are internal women's pressure groups and lobbying, and are women leaders are visible on high positions in decision-making process. Finally, there are institutional-legal factors, which include the type of electoral system, the legal and constitutional framework and the prescribed quotas on national and / or party level.

The impact of 'glass ceiling' syndrome and party selection on participation of women in parliament and other political institutions are examined in this article. 'Glass ceiling' syndrome, which means invisible, but almost impenetrable border that women face in professional life, keeping them away from positions of influence and progress in career, is the main reason for the small number of women involved in politics. According to the focus of the research, there are three groups of barriers to women's political participation. Most researchers examine the influence of the political system, institutional and legal mechanisms, the question of their transparency and functional improvement. Significantly less frequent approach came from authors who are concentrated on the social and economic barriers, financial conditions and the broader social context. The third group consists of those who are considering the ideological and psychological barriers, patriarchal cultural patterns, traditional gender roles, self-confidence, ambition and women's desire to be involved in politics. Political parties are key actors in the process of discrimination against women, because they do not allow them to be selected in a number of political functions. There are many factors that determine that the issue of gender equality is variously interpreted in political parties. The most present are contextual and ideological factors, referring to a different definition of the status of women on the political agenda, the social climate in terms of gender equality and respect for human rights, the level of social development and political freedom. Then come organizational factors pertaining to the structure of parties, the manner in which the leadership is elected, whether there are internal women's pressure groups and lobbying, and are women leaders are visible on high positions in decision-making process. Finally, there are institutional-legal factors, which include the type of electoral system, the legal and constitutional framework and the prescribed quotas on national and / or party level.

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.

This work analyses the relation between democracy and political participation, the typology and model of political participation, the findings of the research of political participation in the world (S. Verba, N. H. Nie, 1972; S. H. Barnes, M. Kaase, 1 979; and others), and the research of the same phenomenon on a sample of Croatian students. This analysis has shown that today all the elements necessary for a more comprehensive theory of political participation are in place. This theory would enable a more systematic and standardized investigation of this phenomenon in the national and the international context. The article also shows how the non- conventional participation is gaining ground while the conventional is gradually levelling out. Significant are the results of the analysis of the etiology of political participation, particularly the relation between the standard SES model and the model of value orientations (left-right materialism, materialism-postrnaterialism, etc.). The analysis of the model of participation of Croatian students has shown that the model of protest behaviour/potential' has a more complex etiology than other models, such as conventional participation and voting in parliamentary elections. Thus, for the "protest potential" it is necessary to possess a developed civic competence, a critical attitude towards the government's performance, a liberal arts education, etc., while for the conventional participation it is central to have a higher level of political interest. Significant differences between the Croatian students and those from other European countries can be observed regarding the role of value orientations in explaining political participation. (SOI : PM: S. 140)

The author explores how the internet and the new media are changing the way that we communicate, act and think, individually and collectively, through the example of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The author claims that The Occupy Movement, as a post-narrative project conceived in a digital environment, is less of a political activity, and more a new way of behavior for its members and for the society at large. Its focus on consensus building and its modus operandi are reflecting the principles of the Internet, web-organization and cooperation. Therefore, its success is not about achieving any particular political aim, or winning an election, but about the general acceptance of these values and their becoming part of a wider political agenda. ; Autor istražuje kako internet i novi mediji menjaju način na koji komuniciramo, delujemo i mislimo, pojedinačno ali i kolektivno, na primeru pokreta "Okupirajmo Volstrit". Autor tvrdi da "Okupacija Volstrita", kao postnarativni pokret nastao u digitalnom okruženju, manje predstavlja političku aktivnost a više novi normativni način ponašanja za svoje članove, ali i čitavo društvo. Njegova usmerenost ka izgradnji konsenzusa, kao i sam modus funkcionisanja, odražavaju principe interneta, mrežne organizacije i kolaboracije. Zato je njegov uspeh manje povezan sa ostvarivanjem nekog pojedinačnog cilja ili osvajanja vlasti na izborima, a više sa razmerom u kojoj će ove rednosti biti opšteusvojene i postati deo ukupne političke agende.

The article is based on a critical review of existing literature in the field of political participation and representation of women in democratic institutions and procedures in contemporary society. Then, on the basis of relevant statistical indicators, it provides a state-of-the-art review of the participation of women in executive, legislative and judicial government in the European Union countries. The paper especially highlights the obstacles women face in the candidature for political office and when entering the political arena. It takes into account only the political factors, such as the type and structure of the electoral system, the number of parties in the parliament and their ideological differences, the number of candidates at polling stations, and the candidates' nominations for political offices, which have a crucial influence on the possibility for women to enter the political arena. Gender equality policy in the European Union in recent years has achieved significant success in the direction of larger and more equitable representation of women in all spheres of public life. However, women still do not participate in a sufficient number of institutions of governance and decision-making in economics and politics. The mere numerical, descriptive presence of women in political institutions is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the increase of their political power.

A few years after the collapse of communist regimes, it is evident that the confidence about the ultimate triumph of liberal democracy was premature. This waking up to the reality is not only the consequence of the hardships in the transformation of post-communist societies, but of the intellectual scepticism regarding the normative potential of liberal democracy in the developed western societies. The problem might in most general terms be formulated as the incapacity of liberal democracy to generate and reproduce the normative requirements for its own survival. The author thinks that the solution to this paradox can nevertheless be found within the institutional framework of liberal democracy: if the traditional moral concepts on which liberal democracy was founded in the past are worn out indeed, and no civil- religious substitute for that tradition has emerged as yet, then its only possibility is to create its own, modern or post-modern, morality by means of the public discourse mechanism and the political participation of citizens. The normative dimension of liberalism must not be reduced to the theory of private ownership, market and competition, but be envisaged as a constitutional theory of human rights and restricted government and the egalitarian distribution of goods and opportunities. (SOI : PM: S. 30)

The author shows the numerical and territorial distribution of the Serb population in Croatia during the 19th century and the structure of their vocations and occupations. Throughout 19th century, the participation of the Orthodox in the Croatian population demonstrated a decline. While in 1840 they represented 31,41% of the population, in 1900 that participation was only 25,52%. The Serbs were mixed with other nationals even in places where they were majority. Only in few districts, their participation in general population exceeded 80%. The majority of Serb population is made of agrarian inhabitants. However, although their participation in cities was not great, their economic strength and political positions were responsible for their relatively great influence. (SOI : CSP: S. 152)

The paper presents an analysis of the importance of some of thedeterminants of youth electoral absenteeism, which are in the focusof the predominant explanatory models of electoral participation –socio-demographic, party identification and cognitive model. Therelevance of numerous socio-demographic characteristics, partyidentification, political cynicism, political interest, and political knowledgeas predictors of youth electoral absenteeism were analyzed. Thisresearch was conducted on a sample of 788 fourth grade secondaryschool students attending 25 secondary schools in Belgrade. Theresults indicated that party identification, political interest, organizationalmembership and mother's level of education were significant predictorsof electoral absenteeism. For young persons without party identificationthe odds of non-voting were 3.6 times higher than the non-voting oddsof their counterparts but with party identification. The odds of electoralabsenteeism increased with the decreasing level of political interestor organizational membership as well as with the increasing level ofmother's level of education. The obtained results were discussed in thecontext of the proposed explanatory model of electoral participation aswell as some previous research findings. ; U radu se analizira znac