Krise(n) im Sandžak als Testfall für die Demokratie in Serbien: Alte Konflikte, neue Konstellationen
Crises in Sandžak as Test Cases for Democracy in Serbia: Old Conflicts, New Arrangements

Summary/Abstract: Sandžak, the region in southwest Serbia with a large Bosniak population, has been largely neglected in academic debates about the Western Balkans. This article contends that the general status and quality of democracy in Serbia, a state with a recent history of involvement in ethnic conflicts, can be examined through the lens of the relationship between the ethnic majority, the Serbs, and ethnic minorities, such as the Bosniaks. The authors argue that the case of Sandžak shows that a substantial difference exists between the formal provisions for minority protection and inclusion at the state level, adopted in the course of Europeanization, and the de facto situation of the minorities living in Sandžak. The latter is characterized by considerable political and economic isolation, frustration with the status of Sandžak within Serbia, and even by a hostile relationship towards Belgrade. This article explores the situation of the Bosniak minority since the Milošević era, the relationship between Belgrade and Sandžak, and the profound internal divisions within the Bosniak community. It focuses on the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Sandžak and Belgrade in 2010 in the course of the electoral process for the “National Council of Bosniaks”, and on the emergence of a new powerful movement among the Bosniak population led by Mufti Muamer Zukorlić.

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