For the past decade in many countries in Europe and its close neighborhood we have observed different types of processes which can be named as “de-democratization”. The aim of the article is to analyze the state of elections as the crucial democratic institution which fairness and competitiveness have a substantial impact on the political regime. While Turkey as a “role model” for our analysis remains a main focus of the article, three European countries were selected for a comparison based on their relative similarity to Turkey – Hungary, Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia. The following questions are posed: Are elections in these countries free, fair and competitive? Can some types of electoral malpractice and irregularities be identified? How does the state of elections in terms of their fairness and competitiveness influence the political regime? The main hypothesis is that in the analyzed countries elections competitiveness limited by incumbents can become a factor deciding about the change within the political regime in the long run (loss of democratic quality) and also change the regime (to a less democratic one).

Kosovo, the smallest country in Europe, over 10 years after declaring its independence, still remains outside of the European Union. As one of the countries of former Yugoslavia, it benefitted from the process of European integration, yet compared to neighbouring Western Balkan countries it is at an early stage of stabilisation and association process. The paper points to the main problems that Kosovo is facing, both at the internal and external level, in the face of the accession process and future membership in the European Union.

Starting from the modern understanding of giftedness as a domain-specific personality quality, research was conducted to determine the moral competencies of gifted students in different domains and to examine the psychometric characteristics of the adapted version of Moral Competency Inventory - MCI on a sample of 473 respondents. The results indicate that the original four-factor structure has been confirmed and that the MCI is a reliable and valid instrument suitable for application in other educational contexts as well. It was found that students gifted in different domains differ from each other when it comes to integrity and that this property is most developed in students gifted in the field of sports, then music, mathematics, and finally, visual arts. Such results indicate the importance and need for continuous professional guidance and intentional moral education of gifted students.

Implementation of the Chinese Concept of Digital Silk Road - Case Study of Serbia

Until now, mainly traditional infrastructure projects have been implemented under the auspices of the Chinese Belt and Road. However, more and more often one can hear about its next component, i.e. the Digital Silk Road (DSR). In this way, China is expanding its “technospheres” - geographic areas where it is building its edge in terms of data and information gathering. These technospheres directly supply China with this most valuable commodity - the so-called “New oil” or data. PRC activities of this type translate into various regions of the world - including Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including the Balkan countries. The research objective of the article is to analyze the assumptions of the digital component of the Belt and Road initiative in the selected Balkan country, i.e. in Serbia. It is also important to examine China’s strategy and measures towards that country. The author will try to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the Digital Silk Road?, (2) What opportunities and threats result from its implementation?, (3) How the CEE region, and the Balkan countries in particular, approach the cooperation offered by the PRC?, (4) What is the US Clean Web Initiative, and (5) What is Serbia’s reaction to digital propositions made by the PRC? The conducted analysis will allow for the definition of the mechanisms of operation of the RDI initiative, in particular its digital component in the Balkans, as well as it will be useful in research on the broader context of China’s foreign policy. The article uses the analysis of existing data (desk research).

The research aimed to determine significant relationships between selected dimensions of professional life and the work of part-time teachers in a sample of respondents in the Republic of Serbia. In testing the model on a sample from the TALIS 2013 (Teaching and Learning International Survey), which consisted of dimensions of professional development (general and specific), barriers to professional development, evaluation and job satisfaction, showed statistically significant relationships between feedback, specific needs of professional development, and less significant links between the general needs of professional development and the barriers to this development with job satisfaction. Quantitative methods were followed to report the results of the cross-sectional study. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilised to assess the quantitative data. Research with this sample of surveyed teachers has not been done so far.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a determinant of the operation of state institutions whose activity was focused on ensuring state’s capacity to exercise its functions and at the same time on efforts to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. These challenges were the same for all European (and non-European) countries, albeit the methods of limiting the transmission of the virus and of minimising its negative consequences varied depending on the strategy adopted. The paper focuses on an analysis of its impact on how parliamentary elections in Serbia are organized and held. The author intentionally omits circumstances that accompany regional (to the parliament of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina) and local elections held in parallel.

This study explores the perception of professional stress and stress coping strategies in a sample of 80 employees at the college. The data was collected by using an inventory of perceived sources of stress and work stress indicator (coping scale). In addition to developing the concept of professional stress, the study had two objectives: to measure the level of professional stress in different categories of staff at the college and to study and analyze stress in Serbia in relation to individual differences (gender, age, marital status, parenthood, number of children, education, class, and working hours). The highest level of stress experienced was by respondents with three or more children, over 50 years old, have a college degree, and professors. Employees younger than 30 years of age, members of the student parliament, employees with a university degree, and the parents of one child experienced the lowest level of stress. As for the relationship between individual differences and stress levels, the results show that there is a relationship between age, marital status, parenting, and the education of the children and how they are experiencing stress. By contrast, gender, class, and working hours are not associated with it. The research integrates a broader set of variables that are prerequisites to a better understanding of demographic and employment factors that lead to professional stress. This should help better understand the proportion of variance of employee satisfaction, performance, and help better cope with it.