Values and Value Shifts in Four Countries of South-East Europe: Retraditionalization, Erosion of Trust and the Decline in Public Morality

Abstract

The paper considers the values and value orientations in four ex-Yugoslav republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia). The starting point of the analysis are cross-national analyses of data from the World values survey (Inglehart et al.2014) and data presented by Shalom Schwartz (2013). Both approaches paint a similar picture of Slovenia being by far the closest to values typical for Western liberal democracies, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, and partially Serbia, are found on the opposite extreme. The longitudinal analyses suggest that in all the countries the studied values shifted in the direction of more traditional and survival values. More specifically, all four countries have witnessed an erosion of generalised social trust, a decline in public morality, and retraditionalization of gender roles. It is argued that these shifts should mainly be understood as a consequence of the enduring economic insecurities of the citizens, enhanced by the effects of the global economic crisis.

The American Chill Pill : Tracking Demographic Changes in US Moral Rationalizations (1995-2020)

“…Other researchers have found decreases in morality over time as well. In an archival study conducted in Europe, researchers sought to test the levels of trust in society and morality among individuals in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Serbia (Lavric et al, 2019). Upon examination of surveys, it was found that respondents in all four countries indicated decreased trust in neighbours, colleagues and social institutions over time, and that respondents in all four countries increasingly rationalized committing transgressions such as accepting bribes and evading taxes (Lavric et al, 2019).…”

“…In addition to the decreasing focus on morals found by some researchers (Kesebir & Kesebir, 2012;Lavric et al, 2019;Wheeler et al, 2019), other researchers have found that the focus on harm and immoral concepts has been increasing, resulting in individuals becoming increasingly desensitized to such topics and violence and harm. Upon examination of a sample of American parents with children between the ages of 6 and 17, researchers found that the more parents were exposed to violent or sexual media content, the more desensitized they became and the more they indicated they would allow their young children to consume media containing such content (Romer et al, 2014).…”

“…Finally, based on research by Taylor (1923) who argued that moral reasoning and argumentation were important for rationalizing behaviours to others, Hart and Chmiel (1992) who found that moral decision making was related to defending, and Kesebir and Kesebir (2012), Lavric et al (2019), and Wheeler et al (2019) who found that the societal focus on morals was on the decline, it was hypothesized (H3) that the use of the defense of rationalization would increase over time as Americans felt the need to rationalize more wrongdoings.…”