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The Department
of Sociology was established at the time when the Institute
itself was founded, in order to study the basic social groups, the
criteria for their differences, social stratification, the structure
and function of religion, social mobility, the basic changes in
the economic and spatial structures (de-agrarianization, industrialization,
urbanization, demographic changes), as well as the fragmentation
and segmentation of society.
The Department
of Political Science was also established at that time. The
orientation of its programme of research interest included systematic
observation of political thought and study of the political system,
political institutions, political processes and relations, and especially
the issues of practising democracy, as well as the development of
research methods for political science.
The Centre
for Ethnic Relations, as a unit of the Institute, was established
in 1991. We could say that it is the only centre of its kind in
the country. The research activities of the Centre concern the issues
of ethnic relations and political culture, ethnic divisions, religious
and denominational differences as factors for the increase of ethnic
divisions and prejudices, nationalism - types and intensity, etc.
The Centre also is actively working on the creation of a data bank
about ethnic relations. Furthermore, it organizes seminars, conferences,
round tables, and provides expert assistance to the Government and
the other political NGOs is the country and abroad.
The Centre
for Management and Human Resource Development was established
in 1991, with (pioneer) activities initially oriented towards the
carrying out of specialized management courses, and then conducting
research in the field of management training as a strategy for transition
to market economy.
The Centre
for Public Policy and Public Administration was founded in 1994
conducting a systematic, and interdisciplinary investigation of
the process of the creation and implementation of policies on both
central and local levels; professional assistance to policy making
and political management.
The Centre
for Criminology, as specific organizational unit within the
Institute, has been operating since 1994. It is concerned with research
in the field of Criminology and Social Pathology. The research focuses
on the phenomenology and aetiology of crime in Macedonia, as well
as on socio-pathologic phenomena from the aspect of evaluating the
social, economic, political, and cultural circumstances that lead
to them.
Closely related
and complementary to this centre, is the Centre for Crime Prevention
and Law Enforcement Policy. It deals with research in the field
of crime prevention and law enforcement. Thus, its research is focussed
on the complexity of issues concerning the creation and effectuation
of policies against all forms of crime, as well as on research of
the efficiency of the existing system and measures in that field.
The Centre
for Communication, Media, and Culture was established in 1995
in order to research the most current issues concerning the relationship
between communication-information technology (IT) and its influence
on cultural changes, as well as the role of the media in this process.
In addition to all this, the centre is engaged in organizing and
implementing international and national congresses, symposia, conferences,
and seminars.
The Centre
for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies, the founding of which
was strongly aided by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees,
has been operating since 1999 with an objective of mobilizing and
effectuating the academic efforts in the research of one of the
most critical problems that both the world and Macedonia are facing
at the time being - the problem of refugees and mass migration.
The research activities of the centre are focussed on the following
aspects: the rights of the refugees (repatriation and asylum), causes
and effects of forced migration, as well as cross-cultural psychological
perspectives of the problem of refugees.
The centre also provides specialized courses for civil servants
involved in the protection of refugees and in the sphere of forced
migration. Furthermore, it organizes lectures, seminars, workshops,
round tables, and conferences concerning the issues on local and
international level.
The Centre
for Human Rights was founded in 1999, and, as it can be inferred
from its name focuses its research activities in the field of human
rights; more particularly on the quality of their achievement in
our country, the instruments for their protection, implementation
of the relevant international regulation in our national legislation.
The centre works on: training personnel who are able to disseminate
knowledge on human rights, providing expert services, creating a
data bank and a library fund about human rights and freedoms. It
also organizes seminars and conferences.
Centre for
National Security and Strategic Studies (At present, in the
process of being established).
The Department for Information and Documentation (INDOC)
has the task of collecting, systematizing, and keeping documentation
material and literature; the processing of and supplying of it to
researchers and other interested parties, dealing with sociological,
political, juridical, and other social sciences. Within INDOC is
the Institute's library with more than 8,000 titles from many scientific
fields of various periods. The Institute is currently in the process
of renewing its library stock (with plans for nearly 1,000 new titles),
in accordance with the subject focus of the centres and its general
development of the house's strategic objectives.
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