This master's thesis studies the phenomenon of opposition to vaccination in Slovenia. In the
beginning, it presents a historical overview of the introduction of compulsory vaccination in
Slovenia and the impact that vaccination had on reduced morbidity due to these diseases. Then it
continues with the description of current organization of vaccination in Slovenia and elsewhere,
and it presents a historical outline of the anti-vaccination movement. The thesis also deals with the
question of when anti-vaccination intensified in Slovenia. The results, obtained using several
research methods, show that the anti-vaccination movement intensified around the year 2000. The
paper then discusses which social circumstances influenced the strengthening of anti-vaccination
movement in Slovenia. It finds out that anti-vaccination ideas are spreading online, especially
through the social network Facebook. The thesis also explores the links between the rise of new
age ideas, practices and anti-vaccination, finding that opposition to vaccination is more prevalent
among adherents of alternative medicine. In the last part, the thesis deals with the question of
whether anti-vaccination in Slovenia is more present among well-educated and wealthier people
and those living in urban areas. The findings, based on the interviews with pediatricians and
opponents of vaccination, show that anti-vaccination movement is spreading mainly in this
segment of society. An analysis of the primary data from the studies conducted by the National
Institute of Public Health and the Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Ljubljana) shows that
30 % of upper-class mothers would not vaccinate their children if they could avoid it. Mothers
who refused vaccination altogether identified themselves as belonging to the middle- or uppermiddle class. The thesis then answers the question why anti-vaccination is spreading in this
segment of society, analysing the primary data of the study Slovenian Public Opinion 2016/1. It
notes that some wealthy people oppose vaccination because they express views of neoliberal
interest individualism, which means that they neglect the interests of community and focus solely
on their own child. Some of the affluent parents also oppose vaccination due to the adoption of
alternative medicine.
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