Democracy and Human Rights

Our political mission is reflected in the diverse types of support we provide to citizens to help them achieve their democratic aspirations, as well as in cooperation with numerous organizations and figures active in public life. Through various programmes, we strive to promote and cultivate the wide array of values that stem from democratic culture. For us, these values are human rights, democratic participation and action, peace policy, civic responsibility in facing the past and contemplating the future, European integration and values, and providing support to socially marginalized groups. Another key aspect of our work, intertwined in all our operations, is the promotion of gender democracy. We firmly believe that our democratic endeavors will assist in breathing life into these values and, together with our partners, spur the creation of sustainable development in its fullest sense.

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The Moment of Truth for Kosovo Serbs

The electoral system and the guaranteed seats favor brave new non-majority actors with even minimal levels of voter support, regardless of the level of Serb participation, and can turn them into political kingmakers at local and national levels. Boycotts are a self-defeating strategy, and civil resistance is a good short-term strategy to mobilize and draw attention, but not one that guarantees solutions. The electoral year of 2025 is the moment of truth for Kosovo Serbs.  
By Agon Maliqi
empty!
jecam

The Kosovo Myth in Modern Serbia: Its functions, problems, and critiques

Ivan Čolović reflects on his contribution to Perspectives SEE from five years ago, with context on additional developments in two footnotes. The myth of the Battle of Kosovo Field on June 28th 1389, in which the armies of the Ottoman Sultan Murat I and Serbian Prince Lazar clashed, has, since the early 19th century to this day, served the purpose of legitimizing various political and military projects: From the breakup of communist Yugoslavia and the policies of Slobodan Milosevic, through the “Kosovo is Serbia” motto, as part of the Serbian “European agenda”, to the dialogue –both internal and with Brussels– led by Aleksandar Vučić. The “Kosovo Covenant” in modern Serbian history is used to accommodate various political ideas and actions.
By Ivan Čolović
general staff building

The Ruins of the General Staff Building: A Stake for Gambling Away the Past and the Future

Comment
Due to its imposing design, function, as well as central location directly across the street from the Government of Serbia, the General Staff building has become a symbol of the 1999 bombing, and everything consciously or subconsciously connected to that event - the undeniable trauma from those times, the self-righteous indignation at the “unprovoked” illegal NATO aggression and violation of Serbia’s territorial integrity, as well as the all-consuming stagnation and inability to recover from the defeat and create a functional society.  
By Nemanja Georgijević
umbrellas

A Quarter Century since the NATO Bombing Began: Twenty-five Years Devoured by Villains

The current state of affairs best suits the stabilocratic despot Aleksandar Vučić, who, against the backdrop of a gaping vacuum, creates narratives that suit his ongoing need for capital enlargement. In spite of the fact that the current President of the Serbiatrics department is an honored guest and friend of the very people who were leading NATO countries during the bombing (Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schröder), he doesn’t shy away from presenting himself to his voters and the public at large as a man who will stand up for the fatherland and bare his teeth to the enemy, just like he did before (he didn’t!).
By Nikola Krstić
protests

Serbia after the Elections: Disappointment, Protests, and the Pursuit of Justice

Disappointment on election night, after the preliminary results based on vote samples, was enormous. The pro-European opposition, gathered around the coalition Srbija protiv nasilja (Serbia Against Violence), promised more than it could deliver in terms of defending the integrity of the vote, every vote, as opposition representatives would say, so that its result, which is fairly good under completely irregular electoral conditions, was negligible to the majority of its voters.
By Snežana Čongradin

The Past in the Present

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Transparent Politics

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Gender Democracy & Human Rights

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Urban Development

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Publications

report on hate motivated incidents 2022

Transphobia and Homophobia in Serbia - 2022

Report
This publication is a Report on illegal actions against queer people in 2022, which Da se zna! has documented during this period. The structure of the documented illegal actions still shows that safeguarding the right to physical and psychological integrity remains the queer community's greatest challenge, while the scope of discrimination has reduced, or the need to report it has lessened. 
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dsz 2022 cover eng

Grasp the Truth Based on Facts 5

Report
 This publication is a report on illegal incidents aimed against queer persons which took place in 2021, which Da se zna! has registered during this period. The Report segregates data from reports on these incidents so as to include an analysis of: the source of the incident report; the location where the incident happened; the type of injury sustained by the survivor, their personal characteristics and their intersection, as well as the status of the reported incident in process before the authorities.

Position Paper On WB6

policy brief
Recommendations and expectations for German and European policy. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has direct and significant implications for the Western Balkans. The lack of a consistent and convincing EU perspective and U.S. engagement in the region opened up space for other actors and scenarios aimed at recomposing the Western Balkans as well as promoted regressive tendencies throughout the region.
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WHEN CONDITIONALITY BECOMES BLACKMAIL: EU Member States Should Not Write The History Of Candidate Countries

Policy Brief
Recent developments in Southeastern Europe are diminishing the image of the European Union and its perspective of the region. The long history of the dispute over the history of the region of Macedonia, the identity of ethnic Macedonians and the question of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria is threatening the EU integration of North Macedonia, but also the entire Western Balkan 6.
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