Sociološki Pregled (Jan 2007)
Serbia between isolation and integration: "Economic culture" and action determined by interest
Abstract
The basic goal of this paper is an attempt to offer relatively complete and rational sociological answer to the question of why the transition in Serbia has been so long, painful, unsuccessful and with an uncertain outcome, in other words, why Serbia has been hesitating between isolation from the rest of the world and integration with it. In order to achieve that, the first step is questioning the role of cultural factor, especially cultural dimension of economic life (Francis Fukuyama), or the so called "economic culture" (Peter Berger) in modern important social changes, such is transition. Transition is an important change of basic structural and functional aspects of the former "socialist society", in a relatively limited period of time, and it is directed towards permanent establishing of consolidated democracy and developed social agreement market. Not diminishing the value or the role of cultural factor, authors came to the conclusion that it is neither the only nor crucial for explaining poverty, instability, conflicts and transitional changes, slowdowns and wanderings through certain post socialist societies, just like the Serbian. Relying on the concept of "polyarchy" of Robert Dahl, as well as on the theory of collective action of Mancur Olson, they think that for that kind of outcome, what is far more important is the influence of inherited and newly created institutional frame and a set of real interests of social figures, both internal and external, as well as their fight for power determined by their interests, which always occurs under the veil of ideological confrontations and justifies itself by them. That is why on the surface we get the impression that in fact cultural-valuable confrontations are major cause of conflicts and blockades and that they created social disintegrations, social stagnation and social regression.
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