The constructivist approach to political representation has shown that descriptive representation cannot be reduced to passive presence. Descriptive representatives rather actively contribute to the ...construction of constituencies’ identities. Nevertheless, the existing empirical literature still dominantly operationalizes descriptive representation as mere presence of group members in the representative institutions. This article adds to the previous efforts of rethinking descriptive representation in the more constructivist terms by defining it as consisting of two necessary elements: 1) construction of a representative through activation of claim-maker’s ethnicity, and 2) portrayals of ethnic constituency. The article argues that descriptive representation is performed through the use of diverse boundary mechanisms. In the process of positioning themselves and portraying their constituency, representatives work with and around ethnic boundaries. Using the case of ethnic minority representation in Serbia, the article demonstrates how resemblance or group membership is not necessarily transparent and self-evident. Instead, representatives first need to activate and deploy ethnic boundaries to be perceived as group’s descriptive representatives. In doing so, they also tell stories about ethnic groups, which are consequential upon the ways group members perceive themselves and relations within and across the boundaries.
This article focuses on the participation of local citizens in Kosovo in the process of state-building and their engagement with the institutions imposed by the international community. While ...previous literature focuses either on the constitutional and institutional framework or on the more direct forms of local resistance to international intervention, this article looks into more subtle forms of resistance whereby local citizens change the meanings of imposed institutions. To this purpose, this article examines the process of adoption of two minority-relevant laws: the Law on Historic Centre of Prizren and the Law on the Village of Velika Hoča/Hoçë e Madhe. By employing a critical frame analysis, this paper points to the very subtle forms of resistance to the international rule such as: exclusion of citizens from participation in decision-making, defining citizenship in ethnic terms or changing the meaning of minority relevant legislation by framing it from the perspective of state- and nation-building. All of these actions resist the international efforts to build Kosovo as a multiethnic state and impugn the legitimacy of the system. These findings indicate the important role of local citizens in creating the sustainable peace.
This article examines under what conditions descriptive representatives of national minorities can also act as substantive representatives. It provides an empirical analysis of the behaviour of the ...representatives with ethnic minority backgrounds in the eighth National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. Specifically, the article builds upon a content analysis of all interventions in the plenary parliamentary debates of the thirtyone minority MPs in the period between June 2008 and March 2012. The analysis suggests that having a minority ethnic background or political party registered as a political party of national minority are not sufficient conditions for substantive minority representation. The findings show that minority representatives elected on minority electoral lists engage more in substantive representation of minorities than descriptive representatives elected to parliament either as members of mainstream parties or through pre-electoral arrangements of minority parties with mainstream political parties.
Recent literature suggests that the competitive authoritarian regimes emerging in the twenty-first century are more subtle and nuanced in comparison to the old regimes of the 1990s. Aiming to ...understand these differences in greater depth, this article explores how new competitive authoritarian regimes react to mass protests. The article focuses on the case of Serbia, a country where protests have been widespread both during the old regime of the 1990s and the current regime. Analysing five protests waves in the past decade, we were able to identify three dominant strategic interactions of the regime with the protests, all of which contrast significantly with those employed by the old regime. First, in contrast to protest bans and oppression mechanisms used by the old regime, the new regime tends to allow, and strategically ignore protests. Second, while in the past police violence was widespread, there is an apparent police absence from the protests nowadays. Finally, there is a clear difference in the ways the two regimes portray the "Others". While in the 1990s the international enemies were clearly identified and explicitly evoked, the new regime tends to make vague and contradictory claims about diverse but unspecific international and regional enemies behind protests.
The subject of research and the purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of globalization on identity change within one of the most popular sports today, football. In order to avoid ...generalizations in the analysis, the English Premiership, one of the most famous football leagues, was chosen as a case study. The theoretical framework of the research is related to the identification of local changes under the influence of the global process, predominantly social and political. The time of the research covers the period from the creation of the Premiership, i.e. from 1992 until today. The research on selected globalization influences on the League’s development will try to clarify social changes resulting from the interaction of two main geographical segments - space and people. With the help of selected economic and financial indicators, the change of the local identity of the League, which was present in the past, into an increasingly pronounced global identity will be presented. In conclusion, it was found that the mentioned football league is an excellent example of the growing impact of the globalization process on sports, especially when it comes to world-famous football.
Globalization has had and still has a comprehensive effect on all aspects of human life, including the part related to sports and recreation. Through the spread of information and communication ...technologies, especially new channels of information dissemination (such as social networks), but also the process of internationalization, liberalization, and modernization - it has enabled the availability of sports competitions, and the general presence of sports in all parts of the world. This is especially true of football as one of the most popular sports. This paper will try to provide a geographical and global framework for football change based on specific economic and financial data related to sponsors, branding, etc., through a case study of the English Premiership (also known as Premier League) compared to other football leagues in Europe (German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1, the so-called Big Five). The paper presents three hypotheses to which the research of available literature and statistical data will try to answer. Through all the above mentioned, the research aims to determine whether and to what extent football has become a global sport by going beyond national frameworks and to what extent it has transformed itself in these modern and global frameworks.
This paper examines the opinions, viewpoints and attitudes of a number of undergraduate and graduate university students of geography (Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb) related to Croatian ...politics, how they experience it and in what manner they comment on certain political events. The research was carried out in the period between 17 and 22 May 2017 on a sample of 173 students which makes 64% of the number of geography students at the University. The survey results show that the student population, although representing Croatia’s future intellectual force, shows no significant interest in politics and that their engagement, participation in political parties as well as involvement in political processes are at a very low level mostly due to high level of distrust towards politicians, political institutions but also political system in general.
The goal of this paper is to create a typology of municipalities according to development level, using what little data are available. Both economic (municipal income, employment, and ...entrepreneurship) and demographic (educated and immigrant population) indicators are used. Three economic types of municipality were defined using three economic indicators: income per capita (used as the main indicator); number of residents per entrepreneur; and share of employed in the total population. Following this, we defined demographic types of municipalities, using the three aforementioned economic indicators as well as two demographic indicators: average education level of the population and share of immigrants in the total population. Education level of the population is more important than employment or entrepreneurship for economic development. The typology indicates an above-average level of development on the Adriatic coast and islands, as well as in large cities and the immediate surroundings of Zagreb. In contrast, the typology also shows below-average development levels in southeastern Slavonia and northwestern Croatia. Areas of special state concern, such as those that were occupied during the Croatian War of Independence, have above-average municipal income and below-average education levels, employment, and entrepreneurship. Tourism, activities in large cities, and (paradoxically) state subsidies in areas of special state concern contribute the most to development level, while industry and (especially) agriculture do not make significant contributions to development level. The tradition of managing population size is no longer significant for development level, because a large number of sparsely-populated “new” municipalities have significantly higher incomes than “old” municipalities. This paper should serve as a supplement to the frequent discussions regarding the optimization of Croatia’s system of local government units.
While gender equality is usually linked with democracy, autocratic regimes frequently take the lead in such reforms. Focusing on the case of Serbia, this article demonstrates how gender equality ...reforms can be used as instruments of autocratic regimes. As electoral autocracies nowadays depend on international legitimation and support, they need to present a democratic image to the international audience. Very often they achieve this by introducing gender-sensitive policies and increasing the public visibility of women. This study shows that the democratic backsliding evidenced in Serbia since 2016 has been followed by increased attention to gender equality. In recent years, the Serbian parliament has increased the gender quota for national and local parliaments to 40% and passed several important pieces of legislation, including the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence (2016) and the Gender Equality Law (2021). Additionally, the regime has appointed a record number of women to executive government positions. Since 2017, Serbia has had a lesbian woman serving as a prime minister and the government formed in 2020 was labelled a “women’s government,” with 40% of ministerial positions held by women. This article argues that the regime tends to adopt these democratic reforms while, at the same time, manipulating their meaning to advance a conservative agenda and bolster anti-gender mobilizations. These different—often contradictory—strategies help the regime address a variety of audiences—both international and domestic—and gain their recognition.
This cohort study aimed to determine patterns of glycemic fluctuation and changes in metabolic parameters during and after corticosteroid administration in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell ...lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with R-CHOP chemotherapy.
The study was performed in 20 patients of whom 11 had diabetes and 9 were nondiabetics. Anthropometric parameters were collected, and blood samples were taken four times during the study to analyze metabolic parameters. Capillary glucose was measured seven times a day (fasting, before mean meals, postprandial, and before bedtime) to evaluate the glycemic profile.
In all 20 patients, acute glucocorticoid administration resulted in the elevation of average glucose levels, dominantly postprandial in the afternoon which correlates with corticosteroid peak action. In 7 out of 11 diabetics, prandial insulin was started during corticosteroid administration and discontinued afterward. Although none of our nondiabetic patients met diabetes criteria, evident is the elevation in average glycemia levels six weeks after corticosteroid administration. Potentially, even transient corticosteroid administration reduces insulin sensitivity and contributes to later glycemic disturbances. HbA1c levels were higher at the end of the study while fructosamine levels were higher during the study.
Patients and health-care professionals need to be aware of corticosteroid-induced hyperglycemia. We recommend identifying risk factors, measuring glycemia before, during, and after corticosteroid administration, and starting the adequate therapy as soon as possible.
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