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The article discusses the condition of civil society in contemporary Serbia, with special emphasis on the relations between its representatives and the authorities (both at the local and state level). The main objective of the analyses is to answer the question of the position of the civil sector within Serbia’s broadly understood political system. What role do both formal non-governmental organizations and grassroots non-institutionalized social movements play in this relatively young democracy? What is the attitude of the authorities to grassroots civil activities, which often manifest criticism towards the decisions and actions of those in power? These questions will constitute the central axis of my considerations in this article. The research problem indicated above is analysed on two essential levels. Firstly, the article discusses existing studies and research on the nature of civil society in Serbia and the ways in which it functions. Secondly, the author analyses the results of qualitative research carried out at the late 2018 and early 2019 among representatives of Serbian civil movements and organizations. The conclusions stemming from these analyses are presented in the final part of the article. The analyses carried out indicate the problems that face the civil sector in Serbia. First and foremost, one should draw attention to the authorities’ rather negative view of the civil sector. What is also noteworthy is an extended network of connections of the authorities with the private sector as well as with right-wing, nationalist, pro-government organizations. These circumstances to a large extent hinder or even preclude dialogue (and further cooperation) between public and civil institutions.

In the 1970s, the Polish sociologist Jan Lutyński created the concept of ‘apparent actions’, that is, activeness undertaken by public authorities at any level which, instead of achieving the set goals, only create a fiction of their achievement. The aim of the article is to answer the question about the impact of apparent actions on civic culture. In other words, it is a question of whether, and if so, to what extent, activeness bearing the features of apparent actions described by Lutyński are implicated in the manifestations of (local) civic culture. The hypothesis put forward assumes that apparent actions have a negative impact on civic culture, devastating its individual manifestations and reducing the level of civic activity.

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This article aim is to address the question of whether the assumptions of participatory public management can be implemented through the use of available methods and tools of citizen participation, and in relation to specific stages of the decision-making process. It is hypothesized that despite the attractive aspects of strengthening public involvement in decision-making processes, the practical implementation of participatory governance in decision-making processes is limited due to a lack of sufficient resources and tools. Participatory budgets, which are quite popular, and citizen panels, which are just starting, can be considered examples of successful projects to some extent. Decision making can be carried out through both tools, such as entry (situation assessment) and conversion (decision making). On the other hand, there is concern about the possibility that the techniques and tools discussed for civic participation can be used to carry out the third and final phase of the decision-making process, i.e., implementing the decision made.