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Olivera Vukovic, the executive director of SeSonS, and Marija Babovic, the director of programme, presented findings from the most recent studies conducted by SeConS at an international round table „Human security and trust in institutions“, which was held on September 23rd in Podgorica.

Results of a regional study conducted within the Cross-Border Network for Peace, Inter-Communal Reconciliation, and Human Security initiative, which was presented by Olivera Vukovic, reveal that the level of trust in institutions is low in the whole Western Balkans region, the lowest being the trust in political parties. Findings show that in all countries in the Western Balkans region, the majority of citizens do not trust central government institutions, whereas the military is trusted the most.

At the session dedicated to clientelism and party patronage, Marija Babovic presented findings of the study „Informal practices of capturing economic resources by political elite: Exploring party patronage in Kosovo* and Serbia“, which was conducted within the Regional Research and Promotion Program (RRPP). This study revealed that the main actors of political clientelism are people holding the highest positions within political parties, the business world, as well as individuals who at the same time hold political positions and those in public enterprises or private companies. Clientelism encompasses an exchange of resources such as money, positions, employment, laws and regulations, information, as well as other nonfinancial resources. Findings of a study conducted by SeConS during 2015 in Serbia and Kosovo* show that the main mechanisms of political clientelism are financing political parties, occupying management positions in public enterprises, bypassing legal procedures in public tenders, party employment, and lobbying for legislative and administrative favours.