Institute for Political Studies

11 Dobrinjska Street
(4th floor)
11000 Belgrade

Contact details
SR
SR
Српска политичка мисао 1/2025

REPRESENTATION OF YOUTH IN LOCAL ASSEMBLIES IN SERBIA

Authors
UDCUDC 323::342.533(497.11) Pages1-15 Year2025
Download PDF 10.5937/spm89-52793
Research overview

Abstract

This paper examines the representation of young people in local assemblies and the factors that may influence it. The first part of the study explores the legal status of youth within Serbia’s legal system, youth participation, local self-government, local elections, and the instruments of local youth policy. The paper then outlines the methodological approach, data collection, and coding procedures using the statistical software SPSS, as well as the construction of dependent and independent variables. The first set of variables pertains to the demographic characteristics of municipalities and cities, the second set relates to scholarships for pupils and students, and the third set concerns local youth policies aimed at enhancing youth participation in decision-making processes. The total number of young councilors in Serbia amounts to 386 out of a total of 6,483 councilors, representing 5.95%. Through correlation analysis, all hypotheses were rejected except for the hypothesis that the number of young councilors in local self-government units is influenced by the type of local self-government, the number of voters and councilors in a municipality or city, and the size of the municipality or city, with weak to moderate correlation. Hypotheses concerning the influence of student scholarships and instruments of local youth policy on the number and percentage of young councilors in local self-government units were rejected. The findings indicate that support for students, as well as local youth policy instruments, do not contribute to an increase in the number of young councilors in local self-government assemblies in Serbia.

Sources and literature

References

  1. Augsberger, Astraea, Mary Elizabeth Collins, and Whitney Gecker. 2017. “Best Practices for Youth Engagement in Municipal Government.” National Civic Review 1 (2017): 9–16.
  2. Berthin, Gerardo. 2014. “Youth Political Participation in Local Governments: Initial Evidence from Latin America.” Social and Economic Studies 3/4 (2014): 107–142.
  3. Bidadanure, Juliana Uhuru. 2021. “Youth-ing Politics: A Defense of Youth Quotas in Parliaments.” In Justice Across Ages: Treating Young and Old as Equals, ed. J.U. Bidadanure, 209–232. Oxford: Oxford online edn.
    Bursać, Dejan, and Dušan Vučićević. 2021. “Election Boycott in a Hybrid Regime: The Case of 2020 Parliamentary Elections in Serbia.” New Perspectives 29 (2): 187–196. DOI: 10.1177/2336825X211009106.
  4. Jovanović, Milan. 2008. „Reforme izbornog prava lokalne samouprave u Srbiji.” Politička revija 2 (2008): 351–378.
  5. KOMS. 2024. Mladi u kampanji 2023. Finalni monitoring izveštaj – Ko i koliko se obraćao mladima. Beograd: Krovna organizacija mladih Srbije.
  6. Kurz, Kira Renee, and Felix Ettensperger. 2023. “Introducing a New Dataset: Age Representation in Parliaments on the Party-Level.” Statistics, Politics and Policy 14 (3): 357–374. DOI: 10.1515/spp-2023-0014.
  7. Lončar, Jelena. 2012. „Politike identiteta i kvalitet života u izbornoj kampanji političkih stranaka 2012.” U Javne politike u izbornoj ponudi: izbori i formiranje vlasti u Srbiji 2012. godine, ur. Zoran Stojiljković i Gordana Pilipović, 73–92. Beograd: Konrad Adenauer fondacija.
  8. Lončar, Jelena, and Boban Stojanović. 2016. “The Influence of the Electoral System on Candidates’ Election Campaign Strategies and the Work of Members of Parliament.” In Voters, Parties, Elections - How to Democratize Political Parties in Montenegro and Serbia?, eds. Zoran Stojiljković and Dušan Spasojević, 69–86. Belgrade, Podgorica: Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade and Center for Monitoring and Research – CeMi.
  9. Matić, Petar. 2013. „Rezultati i posledice lokalnih izbora u Srbiji 2012. godine.” U Izbori u Srbiji 2012. godine: (ne)očekivana promena, ur. Milan Jovanović i Dušan Vučićević, Beograd: Institut za političke studije.
  10. Milenković, Dejan, i Agatina Petrović. 2023. „Institucionalni okvir organizovanja mladih u jedinicama lokalne samouprave u Republici Srbiji – problemi i potencijalna rešenja.” Srpska politička misao 81 (3): 51–75. DOI: 10.5937/spm81-45344.
    Strategija za mlade u Republici Srbiji za period od 2023. do 2030. godinе [Strategija za mlade], „Sl. glasnik RS”, 9/2023-43.
  11. Pavlović, Dušan. 2022. “How to Approach State Capture in Post-communist Europe. A New Research Agenda.” Journal of Contemporary European Studies 31 (3): 960–978. DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2022.2106951.
  12. Petrović, Agatina i Boban Stojanović. 2021. Stipendije za učenike i student sa hendikepom u jedinicama lokalne samouprave u Republici Srbiji. Beograd: Udruženje studenata sa hendikepom.
  13. Republička izborna komisija [RIK]. 2023. „Odluke izbornih komisija - Lokalni izbori 2023.” RIK. Poslednji pristup 2. avgust 2024. https://www.rik.parlament.gov.rs/dokumenta/sr/41985.
  14. Republička izborna komisija [RIK]. 2024. „Odluke izbornih komisija - Lokalni izbori 2024.” RIK. Poslednji pristup 2. avgust 2024. https://www.rik.parlament.gov.rs/dokumenta/sr/41985.
  15. Republički zavod za statistiku [RZS]. 2020. Statistički godišnjak. Beograd: Republički zavod za statistiku. Poslednji pristup 2. avgust 2024. https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2020/Pdf/G20202053.pdf.
    Republički zavod za statistiku [RZS]. 2022. Srbija Popis 2022. Beograd: Republički zavod za statistiku. Poslednji pristup 2. avgust 2024. https://popis2022.stat.gov.rs/sr-Latn/.
  16. Spasojević, Dušan, i Boban Stojanović. 2014. „Ekonomske i socijalne politike u izbornoj kampanji 2014.” U Izborne ponude i rezultati: Evropski izbori i izbori u Srbiji 2014. godine, Ur. Zoran Stojiljković, Dušan Spasojević i Gordana Pilipović, 45–62, Beograd: Konrad Adenauer fondacija i Centar za demokratiju Fakulteta političkih nauka.
  17. Stockemer, Daniel, and Aksel Sundstrom. 2022. Youth without Representation: The Absence of Young Adults in Parliaments, Cabinets, and Candidacies. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
  18. Stojanović, Boban. 2014. „Lokalna demokratija u Srbiji – stanje i perspektive.” Srpska politička misao 45 (3): 75–92. DOI: 10.22182/spm.4532014.4.
  19. Stojanović, Boban. 2020. Mladi u kampanji 2022 – Monitoring izveštaj. Beograd: Krovna organizacija mladih Srbije.
  20. Stojanović, Boban. 2021. Lokalna omladinska politika: Saveti za mlade u jedinicama lokalnih samouprava. Krovna organizacija mladih Srbije.
  21. Stojanović, Boban. 2022a. Mladi u kampanji – Monitoring izveštaj. Beograd: Krovna organizacija mladih Srbije.
  22. Stojanović, Boban. 2022b. Uticaj političkih partija na formiranje lokalnih izvršnih vlasti u Srbiji od 2008. do 2016. godine. Doktorska disertacija: Univerzitet u Beogradu: Fakultet političkih nauka.
  23. Stojanović, Boban, i Nikola Jović. 2014. „Decentralizacija odlučivanja u gradu Beogradu – stavovi građana o učinkovitosti.” Politička revija 42 (4): 97–116. DOI: 10.22182/pr.4242014.6.
  24. Stojanović, Boban, and Nikola Jović. 2015. “Personal or Party Election Campaigns in Serbia – Empirical Findings. “ Comparative Balkan Politics 1 (2015): 5–25.
  25. Stojanović, Boban, and Nikola Jović. 2017. “Personal or Party Electoral Campaigns in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo* - Empirical Findings.” Serbian Political Thought 15 (1): 37–51. DOI: 10.22182/spt.1512017.3.
  26. Stojanović, Boban, i Aleksandar Ivković. 2024. Mladi u lokalnim skupštinama – Republika Srbija 2024. Beograd: Krovna organizacija mladih Srbije.
  27. Stojanović, Boban, Aleksandar Ivković, i Boris Kaličanin. 2024. Alternativni izveštaj o položaju i potrebama mladih u Republici Srbiji – 2024. godina. Beograd: Krovna organizacija mladih Srbije.
  28. Ustav Republike Srbije. 2006. „Sl. glasnik RS”, br. 98/2006 i 115/2021.
  29. Vlada Republike Srbije. 2015. Uredba o utvrđivanju Metodologije za izračunavanje stepena razvijenosti regiona i jedinica lokalne samouprave, „Sl. glasnik RS”, 62/2015.
  30. Vladisavljević, Nebojša. 2019. Uspon i pad demokratije posle Petog oktobra. Beograd: Arhipelag.
    Zakon o mladima, „Sl. glasnik RS”, br. 50/2011 i 116/2022 - dr. zakon.
  31. Zakon o lokalnoj samoupravi, „Sl. glasnik RS”, br. 129/2007, 18/2016, 47/2018 i 111/2021 - dr. zakon.
  32. Zakon o teritorijalnoj organizaciji Republike Srbije, „Sl. glasnik RS”, br. 129/2007, 83/2014 – dr. zakon, 101/2016 – dr. zakon, 47/2018 i 111/2021 – dr. zakon.
From the same issue

Related publications