This article examines the concept of transparency and its interconnected counterparts as they emerge across aesthetic, political, and ethical domains. In contemporary democratic discourse, transparency is celebrated as a guarantor of openness, accountability, and truth. Yet its implementation often produces the opposite effects: intensified surveillance, the saturation of digital culture, and the rise of suspicion and conspiracy across diverse global contexts. The analysis situates the concept within the dialogue between aesthetics and politics, from classical philosophy to the modern theories of Adorno and Habermas, highlighting the ethical tension between truth and concealment. It then interrogates transparency as both a political ideology and a moral imperative, showing how demands for total visibility have masked new forms of domination. Engaging Foucault’s account of disciplinary visibility and Lacan’s theory of the mirror stage, the article argues that the pursuit of complete openness is structurally unattainable and potentially pathological, manifesting itself in the shift toward the external image as the bearer of identity. In this sense, transparency operates as a contemporary distribution of the sensible - a regime that organizes both perception and power. By tracing the aesthetic experience of transparency in contemporary culture - where ideals of light and openness coexist with exposure and alienation - the article reframes transparency through Agamben’s concepts of bare life and inoperativity, revealing their implications for law, human potentiality, and critiques of political authority in surveillance capitalism. Ultimately, transparency is reconsidered as a contingent and contested value rather than a flawless democratic ideal, emphasizing its paradoxical role in shaping subjectivity and public life today.
This article examines how a foreign accent serves as a marker of national identity among Russian-speaking immigrants in Germany. Drawing on a 2022 survey of 392 participants, it analyzes the Russian accent’s role within broader identity indicators such as language, culture, and history. Using factor and correlation analysis, the study finds that the Russian accent is statistically significant, though a peripheral identity marker - most relevant among older immigrants, those with limited German proficiency, and frequent Russian language users. While most do not use their accent consciously to express identity, it functions as a yet recognizable signal of national belonging. The findings highlight the need to consider accent in discussions on integration, discrimination, and identity negotiation. Future research should explore post-2022 changes and the role of foreign accents in social categorization and integration.
Hegel’s commentary on the so-called universal history (Allgemeine Geschichte) is one of the established interpretative presuppositions in the scholarly approach to his Lectures in the Philosophy of World History. The term “universal history” first appeared in the editions of Eduard Gans and Karl Hegel. Both editions were based on the editing and compiling of different manuscripts and transcriptions. The term was further transmitted in later editions. However, in the preserved materials, this term does not emerge in the chapter on the modes of reflective historiography. With the emergence of new critical editions of Hegel’s Lectures, through comparative analysis of different sources, it is not only possible to show how the term universal history is not emergent in Hegel’s account of the varieties of historiography, but it is also possible to trace how it appeared in the first editions of the Lectures. The absence of universal history in preserved texts on varieties of historical writing raises the question about the status of the first mode of reflective historiography, which Hegel describes through the terms of surveys and compilations, describing it as the historiography of a people, a land, or the whole world. This multitude of possible definitions opens up space for new interpretations of Hegel’s theory of historiography.
Contemporary Western research is increasingly characterised by the move from thinking of ageing and, consequently, death as metaphysical issues to thinking of them as engineering problems that can, and even must, be solved. And an increasing number of millionaires funds science and technology whose objective is the extreme extension of life, i.e. prolongevity, and possibly the defeat of death, as if winning over ageing and death is the highest success one can possibly achieve as a highly successful human being. From a philosophical perspective, the following two questions arise. First, what may be the meaning of the ever closer correlation between the idea of human (individual) success and (social) progress and the idea of defeating ageing and death? Second, what may be the meaning of the ever closer correlation between the idea of defeating ageing and death and the idea of (even ultimate) scientific and technological development? Their possible answers start with the following insights. First, that constitutively, and not by accident, we have a drive to transcend our humanity as it is. Second, that we have possible alternatives to transcending our humanity by transcending our ageing and death, i.e. trying to remove time from our ontology: indeed, ageing as moving from life to death may not be thought of as the worst kind of individual failure, but as a kind of individual success, i.e. the individual capability to think of it as one great existential experience of whose values and opportunities we would otherwise be deprived.
By rethinking authenticity and reaffirming the significance of social norms, this paper sheds light on the challenges of fragmentation in late-modern societies and offers insights into promoting coexistence. While authenticity-celebrated as self-expression and individual freedom-has facilitated significant social and emancipatory advancements, its hyper-individualistic interpretation increasingly erodes civility and collective values. Bridging philosophical discussions on authenticity with sociological theories of social norms, the paper explores the concept of 'moral stagecraft', a model demonstrating how deliberate role-playing and adherence to shared norms can cultivate moral growth and rebuild trust. By redefining authenticity as an aspirational alignment with one's better moral self-grounded in shared norms and values, and linked to the ideal of 'positive liberty' - the paper contributes to contemporary debates on morality, individuality, and collective responsibility. Practical applications illustrate how this redefinition reconciles personal freedom with social cohesion, offering a viable path forward in an era shaped by hyper-individualism.
The article counters popular predictions of a coming “post-work society” with the argument that the capitalist development of technology leads to an uneven introduction of automation into production processes, paralleled by the expansion of wage labour in the service sectors of social reproduction and the circulation of capital in the centre of the capitalist world-system, as well as in labour-intensive production in the periphery. We draw our argument from a critical reading of Italian operaismo whose development we trace in the terms of the sequence “from official Marxisms to a re-interpretation of Capital, from Capital to Grundrisse and back to Capital”. The operaists made an epistemological break in the study of the relationship between the forces and relations of production by identifying the capitalist development of technology as a key site of class struggle. They also introduced a theoretically fruitful distinction between the concepts of the technical composition of labour power and the political composition of the working class. By introducing the concept of the social composition of labour power, we aim to draw attention to certain negative tendencies within operaismo that led to its vulgarisation by post-operaismo authors, while at the same time correcting it in line with contemporary processes of capital accumulation on a world scale.
This article tells the story of Dragica Vitolovic Srzentic (1912-2015), a partisan and revolutionary, who, after the liberation of Yugoslavia from fascism, received the most confidential tasks in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When relations between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia deteriorated in 1948, she was entrusted with delivering Josip Broz Tito’s letter to Stalin. As a result of this letter, Yugoslavia exited the Eastern Bloc, and the course of the Cold War in Europe took an unexpected turn. However, upon returning from Moscow, Dragica was accused of siding with the Soviets and sentenced to prison for several years. In 2007, she was rehabilitated by the court, and the renowned director Zelimir Zilnik made a film about her. In this article, the authors reconstruct key moments of her life, the historical context, and the content of her most confidential diplomatic mission, as well as subsequent accusations, legal processes and contemporary rehabilitation. This case study surpasses the personal fate of one woman and is of broader significance for the history of Yugoslavia and the Cold War. To that end, this article is of broader significance for three strands of literature: on women in intelligence and diplomatic services, the history of Yugoslavia, and the Cold War. It aims to surpass the sexist portrayal of women in intelligence by celebrating their important contributions to intelligence and diplomatic operations in various official and unofficial roles.
This article examines the influence of Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground on the lives of prisoners in prison. The idea of director Marina Kovacevic to stage a play based on Notes from Underground with prisoners was to show how the awakening of creativity in a group of criminals returns to them the will to constructively comprehend their own lives. The prisoners had the opportunity to show their talent, to express themselves not from a violent, but from a creative side, thereby they realized the possibilities of their new future, the possibility of overcoming the imposed boundaries and framework of existence, the possibility of freedom as a chance to become better. A real triumph was the performance of the play on the stage of the Youth Cultural Center in Belgrade, which changed the attitude of prisoners towards themselves.
This article critically reexamines Triumph of the Will and its widely accepted role as a paradigmatic example of immoral art. Although frequently cited in discussions of the interaction value debate and ethical criticism of art as an immoral artwork, the article argues that the film’s complexity undermines its suitability as a clear example of immorality in art. By discussing its immorality from various perspectives and forms of immorality (content, production, authorship), the article highlights the film’s ambiguity, especially when interpreted through different time and genre frameworks. Reexamining the Established: The Case of Triumph of the Will investigates notions of content, artistic intentions, and reliability, questioning the debate over the film’s immorality by juxtaposing propaganda, documentary, and historical context. The article offers an extensive analysis of artistic procedures, aesthetic achievements, genre determinants, and historical data, emphasizing the need to understand the complexity of the case. This extensive analysis offers a new reading of the film, noting that the film’s immorality heavily depends on background knowledge, historical distance, and audience perspective. Consequently, the article concludes that while Triumph of the Will is morally and politically troubling, the extensive investigation and interpretation tasks make its use as a foundational example in discussions of immoral art problematic and call for greater critical nuance.
Contemporary electoral autocracies increasingly rely on information abundance rather than censorship to maintain control. This article explores how infotainment has emerged as a key battleground in Serbia's protest politics (2024-2025), serving both as a tool of resistance and as a mechanism of soft authoritarian control. Utilizing a combined quantitative and qualitative content analysis of six media outlets, three pro-government (B92, Informer, Pink) and three independent (Danas, Ju & zcaron;ne Vesti, N1), the study traces how the regime constructed a divisive discourse by splitting students into two opposing camps: "& cacute;aci" (a viral misspelling co-opted to represent innocent non-political youth) and "blockaders" (a pejorative for those protesting). The analysis reveals a structural asymmetry: while pro-government outlets aggressively deployed emotive frames and mockery (labeling student protesters as "fascists" or "foreign agents"), independent media were relegated to a reactive role, attempting to debunk these narratives. This discursive aggression is identified as a calculated prelude to the physical violence observed since the summer of 2025. Ultimately, the study concludes that modern authoritarianism thrives not by hiding the truth, but by burying it under layers of irony and manufactured conflict.
This paper examines recent challenges to traditional philosophical theories of well-being and proposes a revised framework grounded in the capability approach. Classical theories (hedonism, desire-fulfillment, and objective list accounts) have long dominated philosophical discourse on what constitutes a good life. However, these theories have come under increasing criticism for their abstractness and limited applicability to empirical research and policy-making. Anna Alexandrova (2017) argues that philosophical theories of well-being are too general and removed from real-life concerns, advocating instead for a contextual and pluralist understanding of the concept. Ingrid Robeyns (2020) incorporates this critique into the capability approach, claiming that it is particularly suited to reflect pluralism, contextual variation, and interdisciplinary use. In response, this paper accepts the contextual sensitivity of well-being but rejects the idea that it is a fundamentally plural concept. Drawing on Fletcher (2019) and Hawkins (2019), I argue that different applications of the concept still rely on a unified underlying notion of well-being. Thus, the goal should not be to abandon philosophical theorizing but to develop a context-sensitive yet normatively robust account. The capability approach provides a promising structure for this purpose, but it cannot remain procedurally open-ended. I argue for a monistic version of capabilitarian well-being, grounded in a normatively justified set of capabilities. The paper proceeds by reviewing standard theories of wellbeing, analyzing Alexandrova's contextual critique, assessing Robeyns's proceduralism, and finally defending a unified, normatively grounded version of capabilitarian well-being that retains contextual sensitivity without sacrificing philosophical coherence.
Within the past year, the ongoing student-led protest movement in Serbia has been deeply reshaping the landscape we live and move in. We ask ourselves, as artists and cultural workers, how may we offer our expertise? More specifically, beyond the affective and reflective framework that we operate in, what are the practices and know-hows that could be used to strategize and change the course of social and political movements? By addressing different notions of performativity, and the relationship between kinetic and ideological movement, we reflect on what it takes for a body to move politically and freely. We look into what dynamics come into play when bodies gather, move, and chant, and explore the choreographic and dramaturgical implications of a protest, suggesting how they can be situated outside the predetermined and consensual spaces of artistic expression. Ultimately, we argue for artistic tools, knowledge and the stage offered by public space to be seen not as metaphors, but effective operational strategies that can be integrated in the protest movement and offer a new kind of understanding of the mechanisms needed for enacting change.
The paper focuses on the interconnection between the artistic means used within protests and the architectural performativity of the central station in Novi Sad, following the collapse of its canopy on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people. It first presents theoretical approaches to the concept of performativity in relation to the commemorative function of architecture, pointing out the limitations of previous research on the topic. It is further argued that the Novi Sad central station expanded these concepts by demonstrating that a single architectural object can be performative beyond its spatial boundaries, in multiple locations simultaneously. For this purpose, the paper analyzes the artistic means used within the massive protests that enabled this-signs, a scale model, large marionettes, and an appropriated Monopoly game in which the Novi Sad central station appears as a property. The paper concludes that during the 2024-2025 protests in Serbia and abroad, which had a strong commemorative dimension, the Novi Sad central station became performative in the sense that it acted as a catalyst for social transformation and public engagement. It mobilized the wider public to empathize with the victims, preserve the memory of them, and demand transparency and accountability in political discourse. As such, it became an actant that transformed people, changed their behaviors, and co-created collective identity, knowledge, and meaning, in relation to other nonhuman and human entities.
The aim of this article is to explore memes created and circulated by students and citizens taking part in the protests in Serbia. Memes from two social media platforms, X and Instagram, were collected and analysed in terms of their visual form and content, with emphasis on recurring themes. Based on these, six types of pictorial and one type of video memes in relation to the Serbian student protest are discussed. The article explores the meanings the memes created and distributed during the protests carried, understanding them as instances of political aims being achieved by non-political means. We further discuss the ethical implications of memes, both pictorial and AI-generated. The general issues the article tackles are those of protest mobilisation, humour, memes, ethics and AI.
On November 1, 2024, the collapse of the Novi Sad Railway Station canopy resulted in the death of 16 people. This event catalysed a wave of public outrage which transformed into what is arguably the largest student-led protest movement in Serbia's history. Starting with 15-minute commemorative silent vigils enacted during traffic blockades, the sonic practices of the protests gradually grew in variety and scope across urban and digital spaces-ranging from public musical performances, posts on social media and performance interruptions. Apart from violent obstructions by government supporters, the alleged deployment of a military-grade sound weapon cemented sound as a political instrument in both its metaphorical and physically harmful manifestations. This paper argues that sonic practices, ranging from orchestrated silences to street-level musical performances and viral soundtracks, were crucial to the articulation of the 2024/25 protest movement. While the musical "soundtrack" of protests often draws from already existing pop-cultural material, their immediate sonic identity emerges through performative action and its rapid reproduction by supporters. The goal of the paper is to explore how aesthetic and affective expression via sound functioned as both an organizing and a destabilizing political force. The sonically shaped propensity for public gatherings during the 2024/25 protests is, the paper argues, instead of being an explicit political articulation, embedded in performative assembly and affective mimesis. To examine this, the paper will examine the sound practices of protests and attempt to identify mechanisms of political expression via silence, music and their obstructions.
The crisis situation caused by pandemic COVID-19 and the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine are also affecting the functioning of the European Union. From time to time, voices are raised questioning the existence of democratic legitimacy in the European Union. It is therefore important to examine how the concept of EU citizenship relates to the concept of right to vote, in particular, direct democracy. The institutions of direct democracy, and in particular, referendums, are the most general and most powerful form of direct exercise of power, since they enable the people themselves to decide on a matter directly. When looking at the system in the EU Member States, it is worth examining the issue of referendums at national and local level, in particular the importance of the concept of EU citizenship in determining the voters who participate in the referendum. In this context, it could be asked as a preliminary question whether it would be possible to introduce an EU referendum in which EU citizens could decide on an issue falling within the EU's competence, or whether, similarly, a cross-border regional referendum could be envisaged in which EU citizens living in several countries could decide on a regional issue affecting several countries. It is also necessary, however, to examine an institution that is already in operation: the past, present and future of the European Citizens' Initiative, with a view to whether it could become a kind of European referendum in the future.
Over the past few years, Serbia has seen several major protest movements, including the Serbia Against Violence protests in 2023 and the 20242026 student protests after the collapse of the canopy at Novi Sad Train Station. Over the course of these protests, media have served not only as a way to channel and disseminate information about political protests, but have also themselves become a target of critique. Indeed, through protests targeting otherwise obscure bodies such as REM (the national regulator of electronic media) and the framing of seemingly unrelated issues (such as interpersonal violence) through narratives of media, these protests have highlighted the role of media capture, censorship, and suppression as key tactics of the state in Serbia. Through discussions of media as a "mirror" for society, media is framed as indistinguishable from or even synonymous with politics, corruption, and the problems perceived to exist in Serbian society. Drawing on a year of ethnographic research in Serbia, including interviews, participant observation, and media analysis, this chapter situates the relationship of media to democracy, authoritarianism, and protest in the context of the successive social movements that have taken place in Serbia over the last several years.
In the seventeenth century, John Locke, while laying the foundations of the liberal system, was the first to theorise the right of rebellion. Within his framework, revolt against an oppressive regime was considered a collective right. However, as recent attempts at revolution under authoritarian regimes have demonstrated, the exercise of this right can prove challenging in the context of digital technologies. Compared to Locke's era, there are notable developments concerning the motivations, principal actors, and methods of citizen uprisings. Digital technologies have played a significant role not only in facilitating revolts but also in enabling authoritarian restorations. This has underscored the urgency of safeguarding the right to rebellion by updating counterpowers against authoritarian tendencies to address the challenges of the digital age.
Between February 1971 and December 1972, Michel Foucault co-founded and was an active member of the Prisons Information Group (Groupe d'Information sur les Prisons, hereafter GIP). Through demonstrations, direct action, and publications, the GIP sought to intervene in France's carceral regime and the set of systems, ideas, and practices that sustained it, in order to bring about its transformation. The goal of Foucault and the GIP was not simply to improve prison conditions but to disrupt the constitutive conditions of the institution. The archival material that Foucault's involvement with the GIP left to society, alongside his lectures and publications, invites scholars to consider a rearticulation of our understanding of subjectivity. Reading Foucault's tracing of the genealogy of the category "guilty" and the GIP's analyses of prison uprisings facilitates a thicker understanding of "counter-subjectivation." In opposition to the structures of carceral subjectivity wherein incarcerated people could never hope to influence the standards according to which prisons seek to "rehabilitate" them, the GIP calls our attention to a more democratic work of subject formation.
This article analyzes the transformative role of student-led artistic practices within the ongoing student movement and recent protests in Serbia, focusing on two exhibitions titled “stUUdenti”. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s concept of aesthetic experience, the study explores the exhibitions’ content, organization, and social context to understand how collective art practices operate as forms of resistance, social critique, and community building. Research findings indicate that these practices disrupt traditional hierarchies within the art system, foster participatory engagement, and produce new social relations through embodied gestures, collective silences, and performative interventions. The exhibitions show how art can function as a tool for social transformation by merging aesthetic experience with activism, emphasizing care, vulnerability, and mutual empowerment. By foregrounding the intersections of art, activism, and social engagement, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of art’s role in facilitating societal change and fostering collaborative, community-oriented cultural practices.
