PATTERNS OF CORRUPTION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN SERBIA
PATTERNS OF CORRUPTION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN SERBIA

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the patterns of corruption and their role in the consolidation of democracy in Serbia after 2000. We begin by assessing the mechanisms by which corruption undermines the fragile balance between institutions, norms and rules that provide trust and legitimacy of the system, thus affecting democratic backsliding. Employing Wolfgang Merkel’s model of embedded democracy as an analytical framework, and drawing on quantitative data from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the V-Dem dataset covering the period 2000–2024, the paper explores the mechanisms through which corruption exacerbates democratic backsliding. We then shift our focus towards an examination of the patterns of corruption and democratic backsliding in Serbia. By using data from Transparency International and V-dem database, the paper identifies key forms of corruption and their consequences for democratic processes in Serbia. The findings indicate that corruption is deeply entrenched in state institutions and the political system. Since lack of political will and weak implementation of reforms slow down democratic consolidation, greater transparency, strengthening of independent institutions and active involvement of citizens are necessary for the consolidation of democracy in Serbia.

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