STATE CHANGEABLE CATEGORY, NATION CONSTANT

Novi Sad, October 16-20, 2006

12/08/2006

The 31st in the series of “Schools of Democracy”

The project “Building up Democracy and Good Governance in Multiethnic Communities,” realized thanks to the support of the European Commission – Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

Twenty-six trainees attended the third school of democracy the Novi Sad branch office organized in 2006. At the end of the five-day course almost all of them underlined educational outreaches as such should be continued so as to provide as many young people as possibly with the opportunity to broach – in the atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding – the questions that are not included in the official curricula. Engaged in dynamic debates throughout the course, the trainees often argued against their lecturers’ theses. For example, though the great majority of them agreed with the stand that the principle of democracy and civil society is constantly suppressed by the principle of nation and national, and that the Serbia state is a changeable category while nation the constant one, some trainees emphasized that discussing multiethnic society in Vojvodina is unnecessary since too many different nations live in the province anyway.

Bearing in mind that most trainees have been raised and socialized in the milieu wherein some “truths” are undisputable, and responsibility and the crimes committed in the 1990s wars relativized, it is quite understandable that some of them voiced opinions such as “We, Serbs, have only defended Yugoslavia,” “Why no one speaks of the genocide against the Serbian people?” “What we discuss here is an ideal society. But there is no society without discrimination,” etc. The trainees expressed their “fear” of a civic state in different ways. This is why a trainee’s words, “I do not want to be a citizens, all I want is to be a Serb” triggered off polemics that by themselves called for clear-cut defining of the differences between various concepts of nation. “If France is the state of the French nation, why should Serbia not be defined as the state of the Serbian nation?” asked a trainee. Since a constitution guarantees fundamental human rights and freedoms, its frequent amendments (the Serbian lawmakers underline as the new constitution’s advantage) question the community’s basic values, explained a keynote speaker.

The manner in which the trainees try to “shelter” themselves from the problems plaguing their generation as well is probably best illustrated in the question, “Will Richard Gere sooner capture Karadzic and Mladic than the Serbian government?” Or, in the statement that everyday life in Serbia resembles an open-end talk show titled “Serb-meter” “wherein patriotism is measured by rhetoric of the ‘Kosovo is Serbia’s heart’ type.”

Participants in the course represented the following organizations:
Youth Club “Novi Sad,” RANI Basno, Emprona, Democratic Party, PAOR – Youth Production, Social-Democratic Party and Civil Pact for South East Europe.

Trainees’ educational background:

Higher Business School, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Higher Pedagogic School, Faculty of Technical Sciences and gymnasium.

Keynote speakers and topics:
Olivera Milosavljevic: Nationalism and democracy
Dubravka Stojanovic: (Mis)use of history
Bogoljub Savin: Golden Age of Serbian democracy: political processes in Vojvodina
Vesna Pesic: Serbian nationalism and failed legitimacy changes after October 5
Marijana Pajvancic: Constitution and human rights
Pavel Domonji: Constitution and minorities
David Cullen: Serbia and Europe
Tanja Miscevic: Serbia: how to attain European standards?
Snezana Kresoja: Serbia’s European prospects

Workshop: “My Europe”

Referential literature:
Draft Constitution of the Republic of Serbia
Citizens’ Security in the Unfinished State, Helsinki Committee’s annual report for the year 2005
Vesna Pesic, Nationalism as a Frame for Understanding Serbia’s Failed Legitimacy Transition
Olga Popovic Obradovic, An Overview of the “Golden Age” of Serbia’s Democracy (1903-1914)
Dubravka Stojanovic, Construction of the Past – The Case of History Textbooks in Serbia
Olivera Milosavljevic, New/Old Nationalism
Abecedary of European Integrations – The Stabilization and Association Agreement: How, Whether, When…

The media outlets covering the course:
TV Panonija, RTV Novi Sad, Radio Novi Sad

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