The Postsocialist Transformation of Youth Voluntarism in Serbia

Abstract The author analyses the transformation of youth voluntarism in Serbia on two levels: 1) institutional, i. e. by tracing the changes in organizing structures of the Young Researchers of Serbia organization from 1980 to 2000, from a coordinated network of organizations to a postsocialist civil society organization; and 2) personal, i. e. by analysing personal experiences of the volunteers in the last decade of the twentieth century. Following the methodological approach of discourse analysis, the study relies on sixteen semi-structured interviews with volunteers engaged in the first postwar and post-sanctions voluntary workcamps in Serbia and internationally, as well as with some of the leading officers from the organization and former workcamp leaders. Particular attention was paid to the period of the Yugoslav wars (1991–1999), the collaboration with the antiwar movements in the region, and the process leading to the foundation of the Southeast European Youth Network.