This article discusses minorities? responses to conflicts in post-1989
Eastern Europe that focuses on them embracing violence to cede from their
original state and join their motherland or gain ...independence. The
discussion focuses on the actions of minorities in the contested areas in
the former Yugoslavia at the peak of the country?s 1990s crisis, described
as a drive towards ethnic self-determination. Faced with political crisis,
disintegration and/or oppression, most ethnic groups opted for
confrontation, secession and armed revolt/resistance with maximalist
independence claims instead of cooperation, integration or compromise.
Furthermore, I discuss some possible implications of the grim Yugoslav
experience. As I argue, to understand why minorities reverted to war in the
former Yugoslavia and beyond, we perhaps need to recognize that post-1989
revolutions in Eastern Europe were predominantly the expressions of
nationalist revolt and not democratic revolutions. In conclusion, I discuss
some general conditions required for a minority to rise to arms, following
Jenne?s theory that stresses the role of external patrons in spurring
internal conflicts. I emphasize this synergy of ethnic nationalism, external
support by the kin state and/or international actors and minority?s
oppression as decisive for the eruption of ever-present antagonisms into a
larger conflict and war.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe, multifactorial and debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder, which can develop in a subset of individuals as a result of the exposure to severe stress ...or trauma. Such traumatic experiences have a major impact on molecular, biochemical and cellular systems, causing psychological and somatic alterations that affect the whole organism. Although the etiology of PTSD is still unclear, it seems to involve complex interaction between various biological genetic and environmental factors. Metabolomics, as one of the rapidly developing “omics” techniques, might be a useful tool for determining altered metabolic pathways and stress-related metabolites as new potential biomarkers of PTSD. The aim of our study was to identify metabolites whose altered levels allow us to differentiate between patients with PTSD and healthy control individuals. The study included two cohorts. The first, exploratory, group included 50 Croatian veterans with PTSD and 50 healthy control subjects, whereas a validation group consisted of 52 veterans with PTSD and 52 control subjects. The metabolomic analysis of plasma samples was conducted using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS), as well as gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The LC-MS analysis determined significantly different levels of two glycerophospholipids, PE(18:1/0:0) and PC(18:1/0:0), between control subjects and PTSD patients in both cohorts. The altered metabolites might play a role in multiple cellular processes, including inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, membrane breakdown, oxidative stress and neurotoxicity, which could be associated with PTSD pathogenesis.
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•The levels of glycerophospholipids were significantly increased in PTSD patients.•Most of the identified compounds belonged to the group of phosphatidylcholines.•Significant differences were replicated only for PE(18:1/0:0) and PC(18:1/0:0).•The levels of proline and 4-hydroxyproline were significantly increased in PTSD.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is complex neuropsychiatric disorder triggered by a traumatic event and characterized by the symptoms that represent large burden to patients, as well as to ...society. Lipidomic approach can be applied as a useful tool for discovery of novel diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic lipid biomarkers of various disorders, whose etiology is complex and still unknown, including PTSD. Since changes in the levels of lipid metabolites might indicate impairments in various metabolic pathways and cellular processes, the aim of this lipidomic study was to determine altered levels of lipid compounds in PTSD. The study enrolled 235 male patients with combat PTSD and 241 healthy male control subjects. Targeted lipidomic analysis of plasma samples was conducted using reverse-phase liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Lipids that have been analyzed belong to the group of ceramides, cholesterol esters, diacylglycerols, lysophosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines, sphingomyelins and triglycerides. The levels of fifteen lipid compounds were found to be significantly different between PTSD patients and healthy control subjects, including four phosphatidylcholines, two phosphatidylethanolamines, five sphingomyelins, two cholesterol esters and two ceramides. The lipid metabolites whose levels significantly differed between patients with PTSD and control subjects are associated with various biological processes, including impairments of membrane integrity and function, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation and oxidative stress. As these processes might be associated with development and progression of PTSD, altered lipid compounds represent potential biomarkers that could facilitate the diagnosis of PTSD, prediction of the disease, as well as identification of novel treatment approaches in PTSD.
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•Targeted lipidomic analysis of PTSD patients compared to healthy controls.•The concentration of 11 lipid metabolites was significantly decreased in PTSD.•The concentration of 4 lipid metabolites was significantly increased in PTSD.•The altered lipid metabolites are associated with various biological processes.•The lipid compounds might represent potential biomarkers of PTSD.
Velik dio Leksikona podunavskih Hrvata – Bunjevaca i Šokaca, prvoga leksikografskoga projekta hrvatske manjine izvan matične domovine, koji izlazi u Subotici od 2004. godine, čine biografski članci. ...Specifičnost ovoga leksikona, kao svojevrsnoga regionalnoga leksikona, uvjetovala je pristup istraživanju i prezentaciji biografija koji se donekle razlikuju od biografskih uzusa leksikografske obrade na nacionalnoj razini. U radu se navode najvažnije osobitosti koncepcije biografskih članaka u Leksikonu te ih obrazlaže. Riječ je ponajprije o imenima roditelja ulaznika, odnosno osoba koje se obrađuju, zatim kako se kroz životni put, rad ili znanstveni interes reflektira njihova povezanost sa zavičajem, a katkada o tome svjedoči i mjesto gdje su pokopane.
Posebno se naglašavaju razlozi zašto je prilikom odabira ulaznika u Leksikon prihvaćeno načelo etničkoga podrijetla, a ne nacionalnoga osjećaja, te se objašnjava drugačija koncepcija biografija Hrvata iz Hrvatske u odnosu na podunavske Hrvate, zemljopisno omeđene područjem predmeta Leksikona (međuriječje Dunava i Tise). Upućuje se i na važnost uključivanja biografija pripadnika drugih naroda (Mađara, Srba) i metodološko koncipiranje tih članaka. Također se obrazlažu načelno nepostojanje donje dobne granice za uvrštavanje u Leksikon, različita koncepcija obrade povijesnih ličnosti i suvremenika te još neke osobitosti.
A significant portion of the Lexicon of Danubian Croats – Bunjevci and Šokci, the first lexicographic project of a Croatian minority outside their mother country, regularly published in Subotica since 2004, consists of biographical articles. The specific form of this regional lexicon has led to a novel approach to the research and presentation of biographies, distinct from the biographical norms of national lexicography. The author summarises the essential conceptual features of the biographical articles presented in this lexicon. The entries include the individuals’ parents’ names, followed by an overview of how the link with their homeland place is reflected in their life, work, or scientific interest, to which their burial location may also testify. The author particularly emphasises why the inclusion criterion of Danubian Croats involves the principle of ethnic origin, rather than national sentiment, and compares conceptual differences between the biographies of Croats from Croatia and those of Danubian Croats, as geographically defined by the Lexicon (the area between rivers Danube and Tisa). The author also points out the importance of including the biographies of people belonging to other nations (Hungarians, Serbs) and describes the methodological conception of these articles. He also explains the absence of a lower age limit for inclusion in the Lexicon, conceptual differences between the treatment of historical figures and contemporaries, and other notable characteristics.
The present study aimed to identify the contributions of sociodemographic factors, psychological hardiness, and pandemic‐related stressors to the development of peritraumatic distress and ...posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) during the peak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. We also examined the mediating contribution of peritraumatic distress with respect to the associations between PTSS and (a) individual characteristics and (b) pandemic‐related stressors. A total of 1,238 participants (82.1% women, 17.9% men) aged 18–75 years were included in the study. Participants completed the Dispositional Resilience Scale, Peritraumatic Distress Inventory, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist. The results showed that 11.5% of participants scored above the clinical cutoff for peritraumatic distress, and 12.8% of participants scored above the clinical cutoff for PTSS. Regression models showed that higher levels of peritraumatic distress were statistically predicted by female gender, β = ‐.12, p < .001; exposure to more than one stressor, β = .21, p < .001; lower levels of commitment to people and activities, β = –.12, p = .002; and resistance to challenges, β = –.17, p < .001. Additionally, male gender, β = .05, p = .007; younger age, β = –.05, p = .005; lower levels of commitment to people and activities, β = –.11, p < .001; lower ratings of hardiness with regard to challenge, β = –.04, p = .043; and more severe peritraumatic distress, β = .75, p < .001, predicted more severe PTSS during the pandemic. Peritraumatic distress mediated the associations between PTSS and both the number of experienced stressors and psychological hardiness.
Već iz samog uvida u geografski smještaj Hrvata i Bošnjaka moglo bi se pretpostaviti da je riječ o dvama narodima u bliskoj »srodničkoj« vezi. Da ona uistinu postoji najbolje svjedoči podatak da se u ...osnovi jedino oni izvorno služe najzastupljenijim, autohtonim govorima u Bosni i Hercegovini. Riječ je o dvjema nacionalnim zajednicama proizišlim iz narodne mase koja je nekoć imala istovrstan ili uvelike ujednačen povijesni razvoj. On se prekida osmanskim osvajanjima i vlašću nad ovdašnjim prostorima te utjecajima koje je ostavila na njima. Posebice posredstvom masovne islamizacije te indirektnim poticajem sveukupne unifikacije katoličke populacije u konačnici pod hrvatskim imenom. S obzirom na taj »lom« i naknadnu posebnost razvoja razumljivo je da hrvatski i bošnjački narod temeljno određuju i posebni ciljevi. Među njih zasigurno ne pripada »pitanje« opstojnosti i cjelovitosti Bosne i Hercegovine jer su u tom smislu stajališta hrvatske i bošnjačke politike ujednačena. Ono što izgleda spornim jest regulacija političko-pravnog suodnosa Hrvata i Bošnjaka prvenstveno unutar Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine. Na toj je razini i nadalje nejasno mogu li hrvatsko-bošnjački odnosi biti utemeljeni na afirmaciji obostrano prihvatljivih ustrojstvenih rješenja te na međusobnom uvažavanju, čemu doprinos može dati i zajednički identitetni fond ili je nužna njihova determiniranost pokušajima političko-identitetne negacije pa i posredstvom ideoloških konstrukcija prošlosti i sadašnjosti?
From the very insight into the geographical location of Croats and Bosniaks, it could be assumed that these are two peoples in a close »relative« relationship. That it truly exists is most impressively evidenced by the fact that basically only they originally used the most represented, autochthonous dialects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, the (new) Štokavian-Ikavian (west of the Neretva River and Bosnia) and the Šćakavian-Ijekavian (between the Bosna River and the lower course of the Drina River). We are talking about two national communities that arose from a mass of people that once had the same or largely uniform historical development, primarily due to influences of the West and therefore Catholicism. This developmental uniformity or closeness is interrupted by the appearance of the Ottoman Empire in the areas of today’s Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the influence it left on them. This influence was exerted especially through mass Islamization and through an indirect stimulus to the overall unification of the Catholic population, ultimately under the Croatian name. In light of this »break« and the subsequent specificities of their development, it is understandable that the positions of Croat and Bosniak peoples are partly determined by specific objectives. The »question« of the existence and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly does not belong among them, because in this sense the positions of Croatian and Bosniak politics are uniform. What seems contentious is the regulation of the political-legal relationship between Croats and Bosniaks, primarily within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that level, it is still unclear whether Croat-Bosniak relations can be based on the affirmation of mutually acceptable organizational solutions for Federation and on mutual respect, to which a common identity fund can contribute, or if their determination will necessarily happen through attempts at political-identity negation and also through ideological constructions of the past and present?
Abstract This article illustrates the socioeconomic background of rural political discontent in the post-imperial Yugoslav border region Prekmurje. The author argues that during the post-Habsburg ...political transition and ensuing social transformation, the fundamental lack of loyalty to the Yugoslav state among an important segment of the rural population of Prekmurje was rooted in insufficient access to food. Documents of court proceedings, official state reports, and findings of individuals with deep understandings of the situation on the ground reveal that this rural political mobilization was not so much a reflection of Hungarian propaganda or a “lack of appropriate national identification” among the local population—although, of course, these two factors cannot be ignored in a contested and linguistically and ethnically diverse region—but rather an outcome of the impoverishment of large sections of the peasant population.
Since the start of census taking, the largest share of Croats in the total population of Bosnia and Herzegovina was recorded in 1948; this share has been reduced in every subsequent census due to ...intense emigration. Despite this, the total number of Croats continued to grow until 1971 because the high natural increase compensated for the demographic losses caused by emigration. However, after 1971 emigration became the determinant component of total change. In the war following the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, 8,000–9,000 Croats were killed, but there were considerably greater demographic losses caused by forced migration. Less than 30% of the 312,000 Croatian refugees returned to the country, and the same proportion of displaced people returned to their homes. As a result, Croats have completely disappeared from some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina; roughly half of the remaining Croats are concentrated in western Herzegovina and Završje, and some are in Croatian enclaves in central Bosnia and Bosnian Posavina, while the remainder mostly lives as minorities in Bosniak majority areas. This exodus of population, of the optimal age for work and reproduction, accelerated demographic aging and reduced the reproductive potential of the population; following a short ‘baby boom’ in the first few years after the war, birth rates fell and mortality rates rose. The poor economic situation and political instability in the post-war era resulted in a fertility decline and an increasing trend of emigration, especially after Croatia’s accession to the European Union. The number of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina decreased by roughly 216,000 in the period from 1991 to 2013 (28.4%) and the negative trend continues into the present day. Croats with the worst demographic prospects are those living in areas where there are few of them, i.e. in the Republika Srpska and Bosniak cantons. Croats in central Bosnia have more favorable characteristics and potential for revitalization, while those in western Herzegovina and Završje (the largest continuous area with a majority Croatian population) are in the best position in terms of demographics. However, considering current negative trends, only the urgent implementation of the appropriate development and population policy can ensure that Croats are constituent people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their long-term existence there.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We aimed to explore the efforts by ordinary Croats to help Jews in Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. Those efforts consisted of writing petition letters to NDH government in ...defense of their fellow Jews. Our research questions regarded the arguments presented in the petitions. We used 80 petitions and divided them into six categories based on their content. Then we compared those arguments with the propaganda statements about Jews from Croatian newspapers. As the regime's propaganda was severely antisemitic, the analysis of the content of petitions attempted to explain the reasons behind them. This article also raised new questions which could provide the basis for further research.
Od prvog austro-ugarskog popisa stanovništva na području Bosne i Hercegovine najveći udio Hrvata u ukupnom stanovništvu utvrđen je 1948. godine, a otada se, zbog intenzivnog iseljavanja, svakim ...sljedećim popisom smanjivao. Unatoč tome broj Hrvata kontinuirano je rastao do 1971. godine jer je do tada visoki prirodni priraštaj pokrivao demografske gubitke uzrokovane migracijom, no nakon toga iseljavanje postaje determinirajuća sastavnica ukupnoga kretanja. U ratu, devedesetih godina, poginulo je između osam i devet tisuća Hrvata, no znatno su veći demografski gubici nastali prisilnom migracijom. Od 312 000 izbjeglih Hrvata u zemlju ih se vratilo manje od 30 %, a toliko je i raseljenih koji su se vratili u svoje domove. Kao posljedica toga iz nekih su dijelova Bosne i Hercegovine Hrvati potpuno nestali, oko polovine ih je koncentrirano u zapadnoj Hercegovini i Završju, dio u hrvatskim enklavama u središnjoj Bosni i Bosanskoj Posavini dok ostali čine manjinu uglavnom u većinski bošnjačkim područjima. Odljevom stanovništva u optimalnoj radnoj i reproduktivnoj dobi ubrzano je demografsko starenje i smanjen bioreprodukcijski potencijal stanovništva te nakon kratkotrajne natalitetne kompenzacije u prvim poratnim godinama dolazi do pada rodnosti i povećanja smrtnosti. Loša ekonomska situacija i politička nestabilnost u poslijeratnom razdoblju doveli su do pada fertiliteta i rastućeg trenda iseljavanja, naročito nakon pristupanja Hrvatske Europskoj uniji. Sveukupno se broj Hrvata u Bosni i Hercegovini od 1991. do 2013. godine smanjio za 216 000, odnosno 28,4 %, a trend smanjenja se nastavlja. Najnepovoljniju demografsku perspektivu imaju Hrvati u područjima gdje ih je najmanje – Republici Srpskoj i pretežno bošnjačkim kantonima. Povoljnija obilježja i potencijal za revitalizaciju imaju u središnjoj Bosni, a relativno najbolja je demografska slika Hrvata u zapadnoj Hercegovini i Završju – najvećem kontinuiranom području s većinskim hrvatskim stanovništvom. Međutim, uz aktualne negativne trendove jedino hitna provedba odgovarajuće razvojne i populacijske politike može osigurati dugoročnu opstojnost i konstitutivnost Hrvata u Bosni i Hercegovini.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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