Peace Institute - Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies
Background
After its inception, the institute began to research the post-socialist political and social condition in Slovenia, resulting in projects such as The Sociology of the Army (1991–1993) and two action research studies – Yugoslavia-War (1991–1992) and The Demilitarisation of the Island of Vis (1991–1992). Its activities also included a number of conferences and seminars, as well as a newspaper in English The Intruder (1991–1992), which was published by the Movement for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.
In 1994 and 1995 the institute's field of interest was extended to encompass a wider range of pertinent social and political studies. Among the topics added to its agenda were racism and political conflicts, gender studies, cultural studies, as well as political and social practice. Since then the institute has endeavoured to integrate academic work with concrete social and political engagement, leading to a number of action research studies and projects.
In addition, it has also begun to examine political extremism, democratisation, and equal opportunity politics in Central and Eastern Europe; independent women and feminist movements in Slovenia; and issues of sexual abuse, refugees, civil service in place of military service, cultural industry and the like.
Reorganisation and expansion
Towards the end of 2000 three additional programmes formerly conducted by the Open Society Institute - Slovenia were transferred to the Peace Institute: Media, Civil Society, and East-East Cooperation. Its area of work was thus further extended to the fields of human rights, media studies, and topics relating to the EU and the Stability Pact.
Currently the institute consists of five thematic fields: human rights, cultural policy, media, gender, and politics. It also actively participates in two research centres: the Centre for Media Policy and the Centre for Cultural Policy Research.
Today it continues to devote close attention to marginalised social and political issues that are perennially ignored by mainstream institutions. In 2010, the institute published The Scars of the Erasure, a research monograph on the erased people in Slovenia.
Side projects
In 1998, the Peace Institute's Centre for Media Policy launched Media Watch Journal , a biannual publication covering the analysis of media reports. In the same year, the still on-going educational project Workers' Punk University was established; in 2011, the year of the institute's 20th anniversary, the central topic of the university academic year was The Class Struggle after the Class Struggle.
International cooperation
The East-East Partnership Beyond Borders Programme promotes cooperation between countries of Eastern and Central Europe, EU member states, and also worldwide cooperation. Published in association with the Peace Institute as one of the centres of media research in Slovenia, the Media Watch Journal serves as a platform for networks such as the South East European Network for Professionalisation of the Media (SEENPM) and the Soros Foundation OSI Network.
See also
Centres
Libraries