ActiveLab

ActiveLab is an interdisciplinary research group that explores and promotes democratic innovations and citizen participation. It brings together experts and researchers from various fields, such as political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and communication. The lab is designed to facilitate innovative research that aims to understand, analyze, and enhance democratic processes and citizen engagement.

ActiveLab’s research agenda is focused on two wide areas of research. Members of the lab explore participatory, agonistic, and deliberative forms of democracy. Its researchers are particularly interested in understanding how new citizen participation models can help bridge the gap between public officials and ordinary citizens and give people a greater say in the decisions that affect their lives. Along with the focus on democratic innovations, a significant part of our research is focused on various forms of citizen participation, ranging from protest politics to the impact of social movements and community-based initiatives on political processes. In their research, laboratory members employ quantitative and qualitative methodologies that help them fully grasp the two focal points of the lab’s research.

The lab organizes seminars, workshops, and conferences that bring together scholars, policymakers, activists, and the general public to discuss new ideas and share best practices. ActiveLab has extensive project experience and collaboration with European centers in the same field. Finally, ActiveLab strongly focuses on outreach, seeking to contribute to developing a more vibrant, inclusive, and participatory space for citizens in Serbia, the Western Balkans, and beyond.

The Lab has led the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Network – Active citizenship: promoting and advancing innovative democratic practices in the Western Balkans, bringing first Citizens Assemblies to Serbia. The project Take the City into Your Own Hands: the Outlines of Citizen Participation was designed to promote the principles of democracy, especially focusing on models of civic participation at the level of local communities. ActiveLab is a partner on the Horizons 2020 project EnTrust: Enlightened trust: An examination of trust and distrust in governance – conditions, effects, and remedies focused on the examination of citizen trust and distrust in governance, and Horizons Europe projects

Nets4Dem: Network of Networks 4 Democracy with the task to compile and profile the EU-funded corpus of knowledge on democratic innovations.

Coordinator:

Secretare:

Members:

External associates:

Timotijević Jovana (Faculty of Media and Communications, Belgrade, Colective of  the Ministry of Space)

• Participatory Democratic Innovations in Southeast Europe
• Voting Local? Electoral Rules and Geographical Representation in Europe
• Osnovi reforme izbornog sistema : slučaj Srbije
• I’d Rather Bite My Tongue Off Than Stand with Them: Paralysis of Political Engagement in Serbia
• Loneliness and vertical and horizontal collectivism and individualism: A multinational study
• Effects of experimentally induced self-affirmation on the openness to meat reduction and alternative protein sources
• Citizens’ assemblies at supranational level: Addressing the EU and global democratic deficit
• Anti-politics as ‘culture of rejection’: the case of Serbia
• The Pandemic in Illiberal Democracies: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Movements in Serbia
• Leaving No One Behind, Leaving No One Unaccountable: Ombuds Institutions, Good (Security Sector) Governance and Sustainable Development Goal 16

• Fiket, I., Pudar Draško G. & Vasiljević J. (2024), Norming Participatory Practices of Movement Parties in Southeast Europe. In Participatory Democratic Innovations in Southeast Europe: How to Engage in Flawed Democracies, ed. By Fiket, Markov, Ilić and Pudar Draško, Routledge, 195-213. DOI: 10.4324/9781003426103-13
• Đorđević, A. (2024), Social Identification as Representation, Construction, or Subjective Experience: Ontological Frictions in Psychology and Lessons from Social Ontology
• Glušac, L. Dursun-Özkanca, Oya. (2024), Forming Connections between Security Sector Reform and Sustainable Development: The Potential of the Human Security Paradigm
• Fiket, I. Pudar Draško, G. Vasiljević J. (2024), Norming Participatory Practices of Movement Parties in Southeast Europe
• Milovanović, A. (2024), SHAALA-22: Construction and Validation of the New Academic Self-Handicapping Scale
• Nikolić, S. (2024), Beyond Vandalism: Gentle Privatism and the Graffiti Code of Conduct in Blok 45
• Balunović, F. (2023). Beda ljudskih prava: Desnica, pandemija i nauka kao novo polje politicke borbe. Beograd: Fakultet za medije i komunikacije.
• Balunović, F. (2023). Opozicioni aktivizam poznatih ličnosti u Srbiji 2017-2021. Kritika: časopis za filozofiju i teoriju društva, 4(1), 25–48.
• Branković, M., Budžak, A., Tulić, N. & Janković, J. (2023). Effects of experimentally induced self-affirmation on the openness to meat reduction and alternative protein sources. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1021891.
• Branković, M., Schermer, J. A.,Čekrlija, Đ., MacDonald, K. B., Park, J., Papazova, E., Volkodav, T., Iliško, D., Wlodarczyk, A., Kwiatkowska, M. M., Rogoza, R., Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., Khanh Ha, T. T., Kowalski, C. M., Malik, S., Lins, S., Navarro-Carrillo, G., Aquino, S., Doroszuk, M., Riđić, O., Pylat, N., Özsoy, E., Tan, C., Mamuti, A., Ardi, R., Jukić, T., Uslu, O., Martinez Buelvas, L., Liik, K.,& Kruger, G. (2023). Loneliness and vertical and horizontal collectivism and individualism: A multinational study. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 4, 100105.
• Bursać, D. (2023). Faktori teritorijalne reprezentativnosti u zatvorenom proporcionalnom izbornom sistemu: slučaj Republike Srbije. Politička revija, 77(3), 11-28.
• Bursać, D. & Radujko, D. (2023). Spatial Distance and Representation in Closed PR List: Revisiting the U ‑Curve Argument. Politics in Central Europe, 19(3), 471-486.
• Bursać, D. & Vučićević, D. (2023). Ko šalje novac kući – fiskalne posledice teritorijalne reprezentativnosti narodne skupštine. Politička misao, 81(3), 29-49.
• Ćeriman, J. (2023). Can National Councils of National Minorities Be Effective Channels for Greater Political Participation of Women from National Minority Communities in Serbia? Skopje: University American College Skopje (UACS).
• Ćeriman, J., Ilić, V. & Đorđević, A. (2023). „Trust, but Verify”: Constructing Trust and Distrust during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Serbia. EnTrust.
• Fiket, I. (2023). Citizens’ assemblies at supranational level: Addressing the EU and global democratic deficit. De Gruyter Handbook of Citizens’ Assemblies, 197-209.
• Fiket, I., Ilić, V., Markov, Č. & Pudar Draško, G. (2023). How to run a deliberative mini-public in a hybrid regime? Beograd: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju.
• Fiket, I.,& Spasojevic, D. (2023). Opposition in Serbia: oppression, delegitimization and extra-institutional engagement. The legal and political conditions of opposition parties in Central and Eastern Europe. An overview. EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste.
• Glušac, L. (2023). Leaving No One Behind, Leaving No One Unaccountable: Ombuds Institutions, Good (Security Sector) Governance and Sustainable Development Goal 16. London and Geneva: Ubiquity Press and DCAF.
• Ilić, V. (2023). Serbia’s Energy Dilemma: Navigating Geopolitical Tensions, Russian Ownership, and the Path to Renewable Transition. BiEPAG.
• Ilić, V. , Pavićević, G. & Mihailović, V. (2023). Protesti protiv nasilja: Istraživanje javnog mnjenja i stavova učesnika protesta. Beograd: CRTA.
• Išpanović, I. Kleut, J., Ninković Slavnić, D., Ilić, V.,& (2023). Izveštaj o digitalnim vestima – Srbija. Novi Sad: Nezavisno društvo novinara Vojvodine.
• Markov, Č. (2023). „Da, vredi boriti se“: Kako aktivisti u Srbiji obezbeđuju pažnju javnosti u digitalnom okruženju. Kritika: časopis za filozofiju i teoriju društva, 4(1), 3–24.
• Markov, Č. & Đorđević, A. (2023). Becoming a Target: Journalists’ Perspectives on Anti-Press Discourse and Experiences with Hate Speech. Journalism Practice
• Nikolić, S. (2023), „Burning Tires, Sauerkraut and Dung: The (Classist) Boundaries of an Olfactory Landscape“. Sensory Environmental Relationships: Between Memories of the Past and Imaginings of the Future, edited by Blaž Bajič, Ana Svetel, 155-173. Delaware: Vernon press.
• Vasiljević, J. (2023). A Crisis of Political Solidarity in the European Union and the Western Balkans: Reactive vs. Institutional Solidarity. Southeastern Europe, 46(3), 225-247. DOI: 10.30965/18763332-46030001
• Balunović, F. (2022) On Fallacies of the Economic Approach for the Kosovar-Serbian Issue Solving, In Balunović, F., Belgzim Kamberi, B., Pavlović, A. & Ymeri, V. (eds.), Kosovo – Serbia: A Different Approach (pp. 77-89). Pristina and Belgrade: Institute for Social Policy Musine Kokalari & Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory.
• Branković, M. (2022). Psihologija odnosa ljudi i (ostalih) životinja. Beograd: Fakultet za medije i komunikacije.
• Đorđević, A. (2022). Miris ajvara i miris lavande: ograničenja i slobode (od) etničke identifikacije za mlade u Srbiji. Beograd: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, Novi Sad: Akademska knjiga.
• Đorđević A, and Vasiljević, J. (2022). The Effects of Deliberation on Citizen Knowledge, Attitudes and Preferences: A Case Study of a Belgrade Deliberative Mini Public. Filozofija i Društvo 33, 1, 72-97. DOI: 10.2298/FID2201072D
• Fiket, I., Draško, G. P., & Urošević, M. (2022). Anti-politics as ‘culture of rejection’: the case of Serbia. Patterns of Prejudice, 56(4–5), 279–296.
• Glušac, L. (2022). Razvoj ideje o nacionalnim institucijama za ljudska prava: od Ženevskih smernica do Pariskih principa. Strani pravni život, 66(1), 59-74.
• Glušac, L. (2022). Universal Periodic Review and Policy Change: The Case of National Human Rights Institutions. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 14(1), 285–304.
• Iguman S., Mijatović, N., and Nikolić, S. . 2022. ““Keep up the Good Work, Za Naš Kej!” Citizens’ Passive Support to the Local Activist Group.” Filozofija I Društvo 33 (1): 120–42.
• Markov, Č. & Min, Y. (2022). Unpacking public animosity toward professional journalism: A qualitative analysis of the differences between media distrust and cynicism. Journalism, 24(10), 2136-2154.
• Mijatović, N. (2022). Ko sarađuje, taj dobija. Analiza dugoročnih partnerstava poslovnog i civilnog sektora nagrađenih Virtus nagradom za filantropiju. Beograd: Trag fondacija.

Media Appearances

• Čedomir Markov i Ana Đorđević učestvovali su na konferenciji povodom obeležavanja Međunarodnog dana borbe protiv nekažnjivosti zločina nad novinarima
• Monografija Ane Đorđević, “Miris ajvara i miris lavande” predstavljena je u Emisiji Stepenik, na Radio Beograd 2
• Verujem u stalnu kritiku, intervju sa Anom Đorđević za Novi Magazin
• Dejan Bursać gostovao u “Utisku nedelje” na Nova S televiziji
• Vlast u kampanji, opozicija u “balonu”, intervju sa Dejanom Bursaćem za Vreme
• Postoji rizik da kao društvo zanemearimo nastalu traumu, intervju sa Marijom Branković u emisiji Marker, Insajder TV
• Bes mladih logična posledica svega što se dešava, Filip Balunović za N1
• Putinov recept u Vučićevoj kuhinji, Vujo Ilić za Istinomer
• Izbori kad im vreme nije, Vujo Ilić za Peščanik
• Birački spisak u senci, Vujo Ilić za Peščanik
• Narodni pokret za državu ili stvaranje paralelne države, intervju sa Vujom Ilićem za Vreme
• Društvo polarizuju nacionalizmi, a ne identitetske razlike, intervju sa Vujom Ilićem za Mina

Academic Engagement

• Postajanje metom: govor mržnje prema novinarima u Srbiji, Zvuk misli, podkast IFDT, gosti Ana Đorđević i Čedomir Markov
• Nasilje u medijima i izveštavanje o nasilju: Profesionalni standardi, zakonske obaveze i posledice po društvo
• Intervju sa Marijom Branković o knjizi Psihologija odnosa ljudi i (ostalih) životinja za UNA TV
• Monografija Psihologija odnosa ljudi i (ostalih) životinja Marije Branković predstavljena u emisiji Stepenik na Radio Beograd 2
• U Krokodilovom centru održan razgovor Marije Branković i pesnikinje Ognjenke Lakićević o knjizi Psihologija odnosa ljudi i (ostalih) životinja
• Ljudska prava više ne mogu da nose otpor, intervju sa Filipom Balunovićem za Portal Novosti
• Građanske skupštine, Zvuk misli, podkast IFDT, gosti Irena Fiket i Vujo Ilić

Other

• Jelena Ćeriman održala obuku nastavnika sociologije “Doprinos nastave i učenja sociologije u razvoju učeničkih kompetencija za odgovorno učešće u demokratskom društvu” u okviru
• Protesti protiv nasilja: Istraživanje javnog mnjenja i stavova učesnika protesta, autor Vujo Ilić
• Vujo Ilić učestovao u dokumentarnom filmu BIRN-a Desno, desnije
• Jelena Vasiljević je učestvovala na obeležavanju 10 godina od osnivanja časopisa Green European Journal, govorom na panelu “Beyond the barricades. What does European politics today owe to protests?”
• Povodom izbora u Srbiji, Jelena Vasiljević je napisala lični osvrt za organizaciju Europen Alternatives: Serbian elections: a postcard from the doorsteps of the EU
• Unleashing the Potential for Change through Social Movements and Civic Initiatives, Policy Brief, Vedran Džihić , Marika Djolai , Jelena Vasiljević and Alida Vračić