Between Authoritarianism and Democracy : Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia. Vol. 1, Institutional Framework
Between Authoritarianism and Democracy : Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia. Vol. 1, Institutional Framework
Contributor(s): Dragica Vujadinović (Editor), Lino Veljak (Editor), Vladimir Goati (Editor), Veselin Pavićević (Editor)
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, History, Civil Society, Governance, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: Yugoslavia; Political system; Transition; Authoritarianism; Democracy; Post-Yugoslav Transition; Civil Society; Political Culture
Summary/Abstract: A group of theorists from Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia - under the auspices of three non-governmental organizations: the Center for Democratic Transition (Belgrade), the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (Podgorica) and the Center for Research on Transition and Civil Society (Zagreb) - decided approximately three years ago to start working together on a comparative analysis of political, socio-economic and cultural development in the countries that emerged after the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. In terms of academic goals, value orientations, and to a significant extent also in terms of participants, this project builds on the activities of the Research Network 10 plus group, which was led by Professor Milan Podunavac during the last decade. The 10plus research network brought together prominent theoreticians from the former Yugoslavia, committed to liberal-democratic values and ready to fight against the then prevailing logic and practice of chauvinism, hatred and war.
- Print-ISBN-13: 86-903739-1-8
- Page Count: 399
- Publication Year: 2003
- Language: English
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY FOR YUGOSLAVIA: BETWEEN REFORM AND REVOLUTION
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY FOR YUGOSLAVIA: BETWEEN REFORM AND REVOLUTION
(CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY FOR YUGOSLAVIA: BETWEEN REFORM AND REVOLUTION)
- Author(s):Nenad Dimitrijević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):History, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
- Page Range:25-52
- No. of Pages:28
- Keywords:constitutional democracy; Yugoslavia; constitutionalism; statehood; legitimacy; constitutional continuity; post-socialist transition
- Summary/Abstract:This paper examines the possibilities for establishing constitutional democracy in Yugoslavia. Pointing in the direction of constitutional democracy, I am expressing preference for a condition which we have not (yet) been faced with. This implies at least three different issues. Firstly, how to determine the political and constitutional reality of the present Yugoslavia? Secondly, considering the fact that Yugoslavia has never been organized as a constitutional democracy, what justifies the claim that this political arrangement should be favoured over the alternatives? This is the question of the legitimizing capacities of constitutionalism in the given context. Thirdly, how to conceptualize constitutional democracy for Yugoslavia, i.e. how to understand the relationship between the universal core of constitutionalism and the contextually detennined (societal, cultural, historic) specificities of Yugoslavia?
THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
(THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA)
- Author(s):Arsen Bačić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):History, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
- Page Range:53-72
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:rule of law; constitutionalism; separation of powers; semi-presidential system; constitutional reform; executive–legislative relations; Croatian Constitution
- Summary/Abstract:Nowadays, the general Croatian public but also a large number of its practising lawyers, understand the rule of law as a fundamental concept of constitutional democracy, mostly in its “narrower technical meaning” i.e. in the simplified “continental” version of the formalistic Rechtsstaat Certainly reasons for this can be found in traditional views of the nature of the authority of power and its manifestations as well as in the one-sided and narrow legal- political education to date. However, attempts to interpret this and some other key values of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia in another, far more complex way are more and more frequent.
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO - FROM FEDERATION TO CONFEDERATION
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO - FROM FEDERATION TO CONFEDERATION
(SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO - FROM FEDERATION TO CONFEDERATION)
- Author(s):Slobodan Vučetić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):History, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Political history
- Page Range:73-88
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Serbia–Montenegro relations; federation–confederation transition; constitutional legitimacy; state union; Milošević regime; Belgrade Agreement
- Summary/Abstract:The three previous Yugoslavias were founded under dramatic international and domestic political and war circumstances, under the strong influence and interests of the great European powers and the U.S.A. Due to such circumstances, their constitutional and legal structures did not have democratic legitimacy and legality. The irregular and undemocratic procedures by which the constitutions of the all three Yugoslavias were adopted have been the best testimonies to this.
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF CROATIA (1990-2000) AND POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF CROATIA (1990-2000) AND POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
(THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF CROATIA (1990-2000) AND POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES)
- Author(s):Smiljana Leinert Novosel
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Governance, Government/Political systems, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
- Page Range:91-103
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:democratic transition; political system; parliamentarism; semi-presidentialism; party system; electoral politics; post-war democratization
- Summary/Abstract:Central and Eastern Europe’s transition to democracy has opened the gate for the globalization of this part of Europe. Fifty-year old ideological and political barriers between the West and the countries behind the iron curtain have been removed, and a path for adjusting to the economic and political standards of the developed world has opened. Demand for abolishing all forms of totalitarianism, ideological monism, and state control expressed the aspirations of these countries for life in a pluralist, democratic community of nations. New national states have been created with attempts to change the whole social system, re-privatize property, replace planned economies with free economies, and adopt new value systems in place of old ones. When Yugoslavia dissolved, Croatian independence was realized under war conditions followed by large human and material losses as well as unimaginable psychological consequences. Democratic transition in Croatia, therefore, had a specific character compared to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. “The war turned the transiti onal processes in the country into minor processes because the creation and defence of the newly established state acquired a clear priority over the trans formation of the political and social order” (Kasapović/Zakošek, 1997).
DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLITICAL ELITE IN CROATIA (Comparison of Politicians, Directors and the Rest of the Population)
DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLITICAL ELITE IN CROATIA (Comparison of Politicians, Directors and the Rest of the Population)
(DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLITICAL ELITE IN CROATIA (Comparison of Politicians, Directors and the Rest of the Population))
- Author(s):Alija Hodžić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:105-124
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:transformation strategies; useful resources; social distance; value orientations
- Summary/Abstract:It is too early to draw firm conclusions on the reasons generating obvio usly diverse processes of transformation in the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. These reasons might be viewed in two ways: as the sphere within which the elites, established by the fall of socialism, formed their strategies to gain power and to govern, and as the sphere encompassing how these strategies were perceived (including the values that were being offered to them) by the majority of the members of these societies. It might one day turn out that in some countries the chosen strategies of transformation would have played a major role in the events that followed, in some of them impeding, and in others freeing, their overall potentials. The ability of a society (its socio-eco nomic readiness) to introduce political and economic changes should also incorporate its willingness to implement them. No doubt, the absence of such a will transforms economic, social and natural resources into lifeless capital.
POLITICAL SYSTEM AND ELITES IN SERBIA BEFORE AND AFTER OCTOBER 5th
POLITICAL SYSTEM AND ELITES IN SERBIA BEFORE AND AFTER OCTOBER 5th
(POLITICAL SYSTEM AND ELITES IN SERBIA BEFORE AND AFTER OCTOBER 5th)
- Author(s):Slobodan Č. Antonić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:125-142
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:Political order; political elites; executive power; legislative power; judicial power; clientelism
- Summary/Abstract:The main argument of this article is that the political order and structure of the ruling elites in Serbia have not undergone any fundamental changes since the toppling of the Milošević regime. This is a deplorable conclusion. However, we must not be discouraged in our future attempts to transform Serbia into a decent society. In the first part of this paper, the principal features of the Milošević regime will be described. In the second part, an overview of the present situation will be presented. Finally, in the third part, some recommendations will be given concerning the political order in Serbia.
PECULIARITIES OF TRANSITION IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
PECULIARITIES OF TRANSITION IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
(PECULIARITIES OF TRANSITION IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO)
- Author(s):Srđan Darmanović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, History, Governance, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
- Page Range:143-166
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:authoritarian regime; transition; models of transition; transaction; collapse; electoral democracy; Serbia and Montenegro; consolidation
- Summary/Abstract:Many excellent works have been written in our country about the post communist period in Serbia and Montenegro. For the most part, and particularly if they originated in independent thought, these works have taken as their principal focus the rule of Slobodan Milošević. Of course, different authors have analyzed various aspects of his regime, i.e. of the state he ruled. There are quite a few works dealing with the nature of his regime, in many respects peculiar, in Serbia and FR Yugoslavia. Others have examined parties, the party system and its dynamics, elections under the Milošević regime, and institutions of this regime in general. There have also been noteworthy studies on other aspects of the time and order that Milošević dominated. Montenegrin authors, mostly critically oriented, have published works on the political processes in their republic and its position within Milošević’s regime (1989-1997) or against it (1997-2000).
THE PARTY SYSTEMS IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
THE PARTY SYSTEMS IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
(THE PARTY SYSTEMS IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO)
- Author(s):Vladimir Goati
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:169-195
- No. of Pages:27
- Keywords:arty system; political distance consensus; polarized pluralism
- Summary/Abstract:The formation of new parties in Serbia and Montenegro began before the end of 1989 while these two republics were still part of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). From November 1989 until the end of 1990, about fifty parties were formed in Serbia; the number reached 161 at the beginning of 1996, and by the end of 2001 they numbered 230. In 1990, 20 parties, three political associations and one political movement were registered in Montenegro. The number of political parties in that republic rose to 27 in 1992, 58 in 1996, and 65 by the end of 2000. However, the appearance of a large number of parties is not just characteristic of Serbia and Montenegro, since the same phenomenon, which some authors call “excessive pluralisation” (We solowski, 1991:14), has been seen in all post-communist countries of South-Ea stern Europe. Forty parties were registered in Croatia in 1990, their number rising to 84 in 1999; 31 in Macedonia in 1990, 124 in Slovenia in 1993, 120 in Hungary in 1989, 61 in Bulgaria in 1991, 79 in Czechoslovakia in 1991, 300 in Poland 1991, and 128 in Romania in 1992.
THE CROATIAN PARTY SYSTEM 1989-2002
THE CROATIAN PARTY SYSTEM 1989-2002
(THE CROATIAN PARTY SYSTEM 1989-2002)
- Author(s):Goran Čular
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:197-222
- No. of Pages:26
- Keywords:party system; political parties; Croatia; elections; party competition
- Summary/Abstract:Analysis of the first decade of the multi-party system’s existence in Croatia, its emergence, development and functioning, has to be considered within several different structural contexts. These contexts on the one hand show the necessity of assigning significance to the genuine and potential role of the political party institutions in Croatia’s political and social processes, and on the other hand they provide a framework for the evaluation (and the possible comparison) of the development achieved, the mode of operation and the stability of the party system.
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF MONTENEGRO
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF MONTENEGRO
(THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF MONTENEGRO)
- Author(s):Veselin Pavićević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:225-242
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:proportional method; election census; categorical voting; affirmative action; electoral district geometry
- Summary/Abstract:The first multi-party elections in Montenegro took place at the end of a stormy 1990. Thus, December 9, formally marked the end of the one-party system for Montenegro, as it did for Serbia. In the other republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) this event took place somewhat earlier. A variety of factors influenced the development, direction, intensity and dynamics of the process that transformed the system of political representation.
ELECTIONS IN CROATIA: A SYMPTOMATIC CASE OR AN ANOMALY?
ELECTIONS IN CROATIA: A SYMPTOMATIC CASE OR AN ANOMALY?
(ELECTIONS IN CROATIA: A SYMPTOMATIC CASE OR AN ANOMALY?)
- Author(s):Srđan Vrcan
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems
- Page Range:243-258
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Elections; manipulation; elective engineering; ethnocentrism; authoritarianism
- Summary/Abstract:It would be intriguing to make experiment, and to examine some relevant research findings about elections in Croatia from a very different perspective. Imagine a future American, German or French political scientist or sociologist of politics who would have to describe and interpret to his graduate students in ten or fifteen years the main features of the elections held in some Eastern and Central European countries in the nineties, during the process “then described” (he would say) as a transition from communism to post-communism.
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF SERBIA
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF SERBIA
(THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF SERBIA)
- Author(s):Vladimir Goati
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:259-276
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:constituency; election threshold; election manipulations; proportional system; majority system
- Summary/Abstract:The breakdown of the “self-managing socialist” regime in Serbia 1989 and 1990 was preceded neither by lengthy mass protests nor civil disobedience actions after which the government would have been forced to make concessions. Instead, the ruling political elite, under the influence of dramatic events in the countries of South-Eastern Europe, adopted the institutions of representative democracy (political opposition, multi-party system, elections, etc.). Thus, it can be said that the changes that took place in Serbia came “from the top”. The decision to establish democratic institutions was actually made by the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) at the end of 1989 while Serbia was one of the six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). In 1990, on the initiative of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), (formerly the SKS), the Parliament of Serbia, elected in 1989, scheduled the first pluralist elections for December 9, 1990. On September 28, 1990 the one-party parliament passed a new Serbian constitution without consulting the newly formed oppositional parties. (In each of the other Yugoslav republics, except Montenegro, new constitutions were passed by a multi-party parliament after the elections.)
REFORM OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN THE FRY
REFORM OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN THE FRY
(REFORM OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN THE FRY)
- Author(s):Radmila Vasić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Governance
- Page Range:279-302
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:constitutional democracy; judicial reform; separation of powers; independence and impartiality of the judiciary; protection of freedoms and rights; institutional guarantees
- Summary/Abstract:Over the past two centuries, in the countries of real socialism, which comprised at least one half of mankind, institutional mechanisms as well as non-institutional instruments for popular control and for limiting political po wer, were nonexistent, since authority was defined and promoted as the will of the people, capable of generating its own legitimacy. People's democracy rep resented a rhetorical form, a self-explanatory and self-legitimizing, distinguis hed catchword that was a substitute for any recognizable concept of a well-or ganized society, which, translated into the concept of civic and liberal values, equated with the concept of institutionalized constitutional democracy or the rule of law (Rechtsstaat). The simulated democracy and the outmoded concept of people’s power were doomed to become a closed historical chapter.
REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY IN CROATIA AND ITS LIMITATIONS
REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY IN CROATIA AND ITS LIMITATIONS
(REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY IN CROATIA AND ITS LIMITATIONS)
- Author(s):Alan Uzelac
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Governance
- Page Range:303-329
- No. of Pages:27
- Keywords:judicial reform; judicial administration and self-government; judicial efficiency; independence of the judiciary
- Summary/Abstract:Of all the areas that call for reforms, the judiciary might be the one that poses the most problems and the largest number of unanswered questions in Croatia. The degree of credibility enjoyed by the present-day judiciary amongst the public of contemporary Croatia is the lowest ever: in February 2002, the judiciary was the public institution least trusted by citizens; comparatively, out of all the countries of South and South-Eastern Europe, Croatian citizens only placed more trust in their judiciary than the citizens of Bulgaria - even in Republika Srpska, the credibility of the courts ranked twice as high. However, part of the negative rating of the Croatian judiciary can be accounted for by the unprecedented amount of media attention it has been receiving lately; never before has the situation in the judiciary ranked first on the list of problems that stand in the way of the international integration of the Republic of Croatia; never before has the interest of the general public - of the man-in-the-street - for legal practices been so intensive and long-lasting.
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION AND REGIONALISM THE CASE OF CROATIA
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION AND REGIONALISM THE CASE OF CROATIA
(TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION AND REGIONALISM THE CASE OF CROATIA)
- Author(s):Lino Veljak
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Constitutional Law, Governance, Government/Political systems
- Page Range:333-349
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:regionalism; centralism; local self-government; administration; democratic control; euroregions
- Summary/Abstract:The territory occupied by the present-day Republic of Croatia used to be divided among three states in the early New Age (i.e. before the onset of modernization), those being: Austria (later Austria-Hungary), the Ottoman Em pire (until the beginning of the Turkish retreat from the west Balkans, parts of Slavonia, central Croatia, Lika and littoral Dalmatia used to be part of that empire) and the Republic of Venice (a larger part of Istria and Dalmatia, until Venice ceded its independence to Napoleon in 1797). The virtually independent Republic of Dubrovnik should also be included here (until it was abolished in the same manner as the Republic of Venice ceased to exist). Following the defeat of Napoleonic France, which had annexed most of the aforementioned territories to its Illyrian Provinces, (that episode represented an important im pulse for modernization), the entire area of Croatia was ruled by the Habsburg Empire and was divided into four (later three) separate entities: The Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, under the authority of the Banus (i.e. Viceroy, and was historically based on the medieval kingdom, at first under domestic and later under Hungarian rulers, which in 1527 was subjected to the Habsburg crown), the Kingdom of Dalmatia (which has the same roots as the afore-mentioned Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, with which it territorially comprised the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, The Land (the country or province) of Istria and Military Krajina (areas bordering upon the Turkish Empire, under military administration of the Viennese Court).
VOJVODINA AS A REALM OF REGIONAL TENDENCIES
VOJVODINA AS A REALM OF REGIONAL TENDENCIES
(VOJVODINA AS A REALM OF REGIONAL TENDENCIES)
- Author(s):Alpar Lošonc
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Governance, Government/Political systems, Geopolitics
- Page Range:351-368
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:Collective identity; regionalism; multiculturalism; regional planning and management; deconcentration of power; Vojvodina
- Summary/Abstract:The inception of Vojvodina as a separate entity reaches into the historic dynamics of the Habsburg Monarchy. Naturally, its history includes earlier periods as well, but the chosen period seems to suffice for reflection on its regional dimensions. Therefore, it would be appropriate to determine the facts relevant for its creation and development within the Habsburg Monarchy. Throughout the centuries, Turkish invaders swarmed over the territory of present-day Vojvodina and its early prosperity was frequently exposed to danger. By the mid 16th Century it was clear that the Ottoman Empire was losing force and this period denotes the beginning of a gradual shifting of borders in the Balkans and the Carpathian Basin. In fact, the history of Vojvodina bears the hallmark of the political, demographic and cultural dynamics of the victorious Habsburg Monarchy, which incorporated “historic Hungary”, as well. After the demise of the Turkish Empire, the Habsburgs upheld moves for a vast populating of the territories. Although the processes of populating were sometimes officially arranged and, at other times, had an air of spontaneity, the Habsburg’s political goal to encourage ethnic diversity was obvious. It is also noteworthy that this brought about certain shifts in the religious composition of the territories. The Habsburgs endorsed anti-Reformation and thus a fairly large number of people were drawn to Catholicism. The previous acceptance of the Reformation had been carried out collectively within the national-language groups, thus creating religious confessions rooted inside particular national boundaries. Similarly, the shift towards Catholicism was also connected with ethnic and regional groups. It appears that the religious dynamics contributed significantly to the miscellany of Vojvodina.
THE STABILITY PACT FOR SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE: EXPECTATIONS AND RESULTS
THE STABILITY PACT FOR SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE: EXPECTATIONS AND RESULTS
(THE STABILITY PACT FOR SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE: EXPECTATIONS AND RESULTS)
- Author(s):Nebojša Vučinić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Governance, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development, Geopolitics
- Page Range:371-399
- No. of Pages:29
- Keywords:tabilization; pacification; integration; democratization; human and minority rights; rule of law; market economy; cooperation; good neighborly relations
- Summary/Abstract:The Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe represents a specific inter national agreement signed on June 10, 1999 in Keln, in order to realize a very specific and difficult political task: the accomplishment of long-term pacifica tion, stabilization and democratization of South-Eastern Europe (the Balkans) as a part of a wider, global process of preparing the region for incorporation into Euro-Atlantic development. The Pact foresees the realization of a number of necessary institutional and socio-structural premises for long lasting peace in this region and the inclusion of these states in the process of European integration. These goals should be achieved in three main areas, in successive, short term but time-unspecified, political processes: the advancement of democracy and human rights; the accomplishment, of economic renewal, reconstruction, development and co-operation; and the realization of the complete internal and external safety of the countries under consideration and of the region as a whole.
