Between Bureaucracy and Community : Thinking With Public Health Collaboration in Serbia and Croatia

Kupsjak, Jelena (author), Pantović, Ljiljana (author)

This article explores how collaboration operates as both a concept and a practice in the post-socialist public health systems of Serbia and Croatia. Drawing on ethnographic research and expert interviews, it identifies diverse, often conflicting forms of collaboration. By tracing continuities and ruptures with Yugoslav social medicine, the article argues for reflexive, power-aware forms of partnership in contemporary health governance.

• Language: English
• Keywords: public health, collaboration, social medicine, post-socialist health systems, medical anthropology, epistemic partnership, bureaucracy, community
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Geographic coverage: Srbija; Hrvaška
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.02.2026
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 28-44
• Numbering: Letn. 4, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180162
• UDC: 39:614.2(497.5+497.11)
• ISSN on article: 2820-6088
• DOI: 10.4312/svetovi.4.1.28-44
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270408451
• Publication date in RUL: 04.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Svetovi
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2820-6088
• COBISS.SI-ID: 148550403

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Med birokracijo in skupnostjo : razmišljanje s sodelovan-jem na področju javnega zdravja v Srbiji in na Hrvaškem

Abstract

Prispevek proučuje, kako sodelovanje hkrati deluje kot koncept in kot praksa v postsociali-stičnih sistemih javnega zdravstva v Srbiji ter na Hrvaškem. Na podlagi etnografske raziskave ter intervjujev s strokovnjaki in strokovnjakinjami opredeljuje raznolike, pogosto naspro-tujoče si oblike sodelovanja. Z ozirom na kontinuitete in prelome z jugoslovansko socialno medicino članek zagovarja refleksivne ter razmerja moči upoštevajoče oblike partnerstvav sodobnem upravljanju zdravja.

• Keywords: javno zdravje, sodelovanje, socialna medicina, postsocialistični zdravstveni sistemi, medicinska antropologija, epistemična partnerstva, birokracija, skupnosti