Between Authoritarianism and Democracy : Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia Vol. II, Civil Society and Political Culture
Between Authoritarianism and Democracy : Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia Vol. II, Civil Society and Political Culture
Contributor(s): Dragica Vujadinović (Editor), Lino Veljak (Editor), Vladimir Goati (Editor), Veselin Pavićević (Editor)
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: civil society; rule of law; limited state power; democratic participation; state–society relations; constitutional democracy; political pluralism
Summary/Abstract: In the history of western political theory up to the new era and modernity the dominant standpoint was the policy of power, i.e. an interpretation - on various legitimization grounds and in various modalities - of political power as a right of rulers to rule, and an obligation of citizens to obey. In the new era, and modernity in particular - with the several-centuries long development of liberal and liberal-democratic ideas - another type of political theory and practice evolved and became dominant. Namely, the theory and practice of limited power, separation of powers, political pluralism, universal human rights, legitimization of power mainly through the electoral will of citizens, but also through political participation in the democratic public sphere, freedom of the press, democratic political culture, and the right to civil disobedience in case of unjust laws.
- Print-ISBN-13: 86-903739-2-6
- Page Count: 537
- Publication Year: 2004
- Language: English
CIVIL SOCIETY, THE DISSOLUTION OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE FUTURE OF SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
CIVIL SOCIETY, THE DISSOLUTION OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE FUTURE OF SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
(CIVIL SOCIETY, THE DISSOLUTION OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE FUTURE OF SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE)
- Author(s):Lino Veljak
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Political Sciences, Civil Society, Governance, Wars in Jugoslavia
- Page Range:45-58
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:civil society; breakup of Yugoslavia; war violence; synthesis of nationalism and conservative bolshevism; metaphysics ofthe na tion; political culture; potentials for change
- Summary/Abstract:The introductory part of the paper refutes the thesis on the chronic deficit of civil society in former Yugoslavia as compared to Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, as well as the thesis on the underdeveloped civil society as the cause for the dissolution ol the country. It also takes into consideration different levels of development of civil society rudiments in Yugoslavia before it disintegrated, the highest level being in Slovenia, whilst in Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina traces of civil society are nearly impossible to find. The former Yugoslavia was characterized by the authoritarian rule of the communist nomen clature but also by elements of autonomy of certain spheres of social life. Such autonomy could not generate a socially and politically relevant civil society due to the domination of various forms of metaphysics of nation (and of nationalism in general, i.e. ethnocentrism) in the autonomous spheres of social life (literature, art, science, culture, partially economy), but they were one of the generators of the negative synthesis between traditional nationalism and conservative bolshevism. This synthesis (symbolized primarily by Slobodan Milošević in Serbia and by Franjo Tuđman in Croatia) came about as an answer to the necessity to reconstruct a dwindling legitimacy. The paper also points out the importance of geostrategic factors in the failure to support the reforms in the period immediately before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and also questions the responsibility of the international community for the bloody scenario that marked the dissolution. The violent nature of the country's dissolution is explained primarily as a combination of the reconstruction of lost legitimacy of the ruling elites with the underdeveloped democratic political culture and the lack of a relevant civil society. The civil society took shape in Croatia, just as it did in Serbia, in the resistance to war and the authoritarian regime, but it had not played a decisive role in the downfall of the regime. In conclusion, the potentials of civil society in the break-up with the burden of the past are questioned, in view of the limits set by both the evidently corruptive segments of civil society, and the temptations of self-satisfied moralism.
SERBIA AS AN UNFINISHED STATE
SERBIA AS AN UNFINISHED STATE
(SERBIA AS AN UNFINISHED STATE)
- Author(s):Nenad Dimitrijević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Constitutional Law, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:59-74
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:unfinished statehood; statelessness; constitutional continuity; rule of law; legalism; democratic transition; monopoly of violence
- Summary/Abstract:“Sober observers will soon get the impression that the very fundamentals have been challenged here. The impression is that Yugoslavia is actually an unfinished state. It looks like a repository of open options, which resists to all attempts aimed at its precise definition. In the vacuum that spreads behind the communist con cept (or more precisely non-concept) of statehood, a variety of plants has grown, turning the lack of prerequisites for life into their own precondition for life.” These words, written in 1987, pertained to the statehood of socialist Yugoslavia. In a different way, they give a precise diagnosis of the essence of the Milošević regime. In a different way, they also apply to Serbia after October 2000. In this paper I will try to explain something that today, in April 2003, could be astonishingly obvious: that the assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić is directly related to the character of statelessness in Serbia, i.e. to the main features of a situation in which it was impossible to identify the state in a precise way. Under the circumstances, it was impossible to determine who had and who did not have the right to use the instruments of coercion, nor did reliable rules exist that would separate the allowed from the forbidden types of behavior.
SERBIA ON THE ROAD TO NORMAL STATEHOOD
SERBIA ON THE ROAD TO NORMAL STATEHOOD
(SERBIA ON THE ROAD TO NORMAL STATEHOOD)
- Author(s):Milan Podunavac
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems
- Page Range:75-91
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Order; non-order; legitimacy; legitimacy deficit; constitution; statehood; dual state; consensus; nationalism; constitutional patriotism
- Summary/Abstract:This paper analyzes the political dynamics in Serbia in the last decade of the past century. A reconstruction of the process of destroying and renewing order is attempted. The basic nucleus of the political order in the former Yugoslavia consisted in the system of charismatic power and charismatic legitimacy. When this order was destroyed, in Serbia a regime (called here non-order, as contrary to order) was established characterized by usurpation, corruption, caesarism, propaganda and production of fear. The “great transformation” which happened with the ousting of this regime was a constitutional chance that the Serbian political and civil societies have failed to take advantage of. Similarly, they have not used the broad possibilities of constitutional choice. In conclusion, an analysis of the failure of the establishment of normal statehood in Serbia is offered. On the basis of a normative view that there is a generic connection between modern state and polyarchy (constitutional democracy), the assumptions are offered on which the establishment of modern statehood is feasible. The establishment of a modern order grounded in the formative principles of law is possible only in a well-ordered state. Only on these grounds is it possible to shape the institutions and values of constitutional democracy (freedom, limited and controlled government, democratic legitimacy) that are identified as the summum bonum of a well-ordered community. The shaping of the basic consensus on liberal values would enable the building of the minimum framework for the modern state.
RELIGION AND POLITICS - THE SYMPTOMATIC CASE OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 1990s
RELIGION AND POLITICS - THE SYMPTOMATIC CASE OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 1990s
(RELIGION AND POLITICS - THE SYMPTOMATIC CASE OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 1990s)
- Author(s):Srđan Vrcan
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Political Theory, Politics and religion, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Sociology of Religion
- Page Range:93-111
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:religion; politicization of religion; ethnification of politics; the former Yugoslavia; de-secularization; re-traditionalization
- Summary/Abstract:In this paper the role of religion and religious communities in the conflicts which marked the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the 1990s in general is analyzed. The author analyzes the structural affinities in the relations between religion and nationalism and registers the turnabout from a substantial separation of the state and the religion and church, and from a secular state and secularized state politics, in the direction of elimination of the strict separation of the state and the religion and church, which implies a gradual dismantling of the secular character of the state. The processes of ethnilication of politics and politicization of the ethnic, within which the aforementioned de-secularization is taking place, reveal the connection between revitalization of religion and intensive renewal of ethno-nationalism. The cultural-political consequence of this process is reflected in the affirmation of a specific type of democracy, the so-called democracy of the sameness, which reconciles the political demands for relativity with absolutistic demands of the religion of a cultural and ethical character.
RELIGION AND POLITICS 1991-1999 - THE MONTENEGRIN PERSPECTIVE
RELIGION AND POLITICS 1991-1999 - THE MONTENEGRIN PERSPECTIVE
(RELIGION AND POLITICS 1991-1999 - THE MONTENEGRIN PERSPECTIVE)
- Author(s):Šerbo Rastoder
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Political Theory, Politics and religion, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Sociology of Religion, Wars in Jugoslavia
- Page Range:113-132
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Montenegro; church; politics; war; authority
- Summary/Abstract:It is possible that the judgments, relying on the recently initiated research of the role of religious communities in the wars that only just have ended and in the process of the dissolution of the SFRY, would prove insufficient and unfounded and therefore easily disputed, if they were to rely merely on the analysis of the available documents, and fail to use a comprehensive complementary analysis, as is the case with this paper. Hence, taking into account all the risks, even a superficial analysis nevertheless shows that in the transition of the society from communism to national totalitarianism the church largely played the role of the ideological yeast in the process of national homogenization. In the case of Montenegro the Serbian Orthodox Church perceived the communist heritage as the main reason for Montenegro’s “deviation from the Serbhood and the tradition of St. Sava“. Hence, there is a need for its “restoration” within the national-o manticist vision of the “Serbian Sparta“, which would be in the front line of the fight in an “imposed and defensive” war against “Orthodoxy“, for encircling the Serbian national space and the final correction of the “mistake” made in 1918, when, “instead of a Serbian national state44, Yugoslavia had been created. All this accelerated the process of national polarization in Montenegro, which in its turn became an overwhelming limitation to the modernization of its society.
THE BALKAN GOD MARS - THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN THE WARS 1991-1999
THE BALKAN GOD MARS - THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN THE WARS 1991-1999
(THE BALKAN GOD MARS - THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN THE WARS 1991-1999)
- Author(s):Mirko Đorđević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics, Political Theory, Politics and religion, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Wars in Jugoslavia
- Page Range:133-143
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:Religious communities; Serbian Orthodox Church; war; symphony; applied theology; religious-ideological discourse; religious-warlike discourse
- Summary/Abstract:The paper discusses the role of the religious factor in the wars fought in the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1999. Special attention has been given to the Serbian Orthodox Church and the religious-warlike discourse that dominated its rhetoric in those years (and the rhetoric of other religious communities) and its so-called applied theology. The aforementioned discourse was directly in the function of the war objectives of the Serbian regime headed by Slobodan Milošević, with whom the Church had established some kind of a symphony in accordance with the archaic model of Byzantine origin. On the one hand the Church has been manipulated there, but on the other, it paid a price for its incapacity to achieve an evangelical spiritual renewal, which was substituted by the initiation of a strong clerical influence on the society in that period.
THE CHURCH, THE NATION, THE STATE - THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND TRANSITION IN SERBIA
THE CHURCH, THE NATION, THE STATE - THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND TRANSITION IN SERBIA
(THE CHURCH, THE NATION, THE STATE - THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND TRANSITION IN SERBIA)
- Author(s):Olga Popović-Obradović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics, Politics and religion, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Sociology of Religion, Wars in Jugoslavia
- Page Range:145-161
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Serbian Orthodox Church; State-Church; borders; war; national identity; anti-Western attitude
- Summary/Abstract:After four decades of Communist rule, and with the coming of Milošević into power, the Serbian Orthodox Church entered the public scene in Serbia to help make the Greater Serbia state project operational. Nevertheless, its new role has not been institutionalized due to the unclear attitude that the Milošević regime had regarding the communist ideological heritage, which entailed - among other things - a secular state. With the downfall of Milošević and the arrival of the new authorities which openly and manifestly based their legitimacy on anti-communism, all such ideological obstacles have been removed and intense activities began for an institutional abandonment of the secular principle on all levels of life in the society and the state, especially those playing a key role in the shaping of the national identity and the overall cultural model for the youth. Bearing in mind its close relations with government institutions, both civil and military, as well as its media promotion it could be said that the conditions for the legalization of such a role of the Serbian Orthodox Church were never more favorable. This fact, which is problematic by itself from the perspective of general modern standards, gains particular importance considering that, firstly, the Church is performing this role in a situation marked by disintegrated society, identity crisis and general lack of values that the recent wars have left behind; secondly, that the Church itself bears much of the responsibility for those wars and the destruction they have caused and that it has not yet faced it; and thirdly, that nearly without exception, all the values promoted by the Church are in conflict with the very foundations of modern society.
NATION: A NATIONALISTIC, CIVIC OR POST-NATIONAL CONSTELLATION
NATION: A NATIONALISTIC, CIVIC OR POST-NATIONAL CONSTELLATION
(NATION: A NATIONALISTIC, CIVIC OR POST-NATIONAL CONSTELLATION)
- Author(s):Srđan Vrcan
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Political Theory, Politics and religion, Nationalism Studies, Inter-Ethnic Relations
- Page Range:163-179
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:nation; nationalism; ethno-centrism; liberal nationalism; civic na tion; constitutional patriotism; state; democracy
- Summary/Abstract:This paper deals with the problem of nationalism, raising the question about the possible shift from authoritarian ethno-nationalism to liberal nationalism. In the territories of the former Yugoslavia this option proved quite unrealistic in the 1990s, because all the dominant nationalisms were overwhelmed by the idea of a nation state, which is corroborated by the political practice of certain liberals within the framework of the dominant ruling nationalist paradigm. The matrix of nationalism has not yet been questioned, but the possibility of switching from hard to soft nationalism has been opened once the hard variant achieved some of its strategic goals, or was forced into defeat by external pressure. The civic nation is possible in the measure in which the modern state can be founded on the so-called constitutional patriotism in a way which is sustainable in terms of integration, legitimation and mobilization. A step towards a civic nation is desirable, but under the existing assumptions it is democratically unfeasible.
NATIONALISM/POPULISM VERSUS CIVIC OPTION - SERBIA
NATIONALISM/POPULISM VERSUS CIVIC OPTION - SERBIA
(NATIONALISM/POPULISM VERSUS CIVIC OPTION - SERBIA)
- Author(s):Božidar Jakšić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics, Recent History (1900 till today), Nationalism Studies, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Inter-Ethnic Relations, Wars in Jugoslavia
- Page Range:181-200
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:nationalism; populism; civic tradition; civic option
- Summary/Abstract:In the final two centuries of the past millennium, Serbian nationalism expressed its power both as an ideology and as a movement, but was much less articulated as a theoretically planned orientation. In fact it was articulated in the two Serbian uprisings against the Ottoman rule. From the early 19th century on, it relied on two myths that were strongly present among the Serbian people — the St. Sava myth and the Kosovo myth. To this mythical base more than seventy years of struggle for the creation of an independent Serbian state throughout the 19th century was added and then, at the beginning of the 20th century, Serbian nationalism showed its imperial face in the Balkan Wars as well as its strong patriotism in World War I. Finally, at the end of the Great War, it built its statehood in the foundation for the common state of the South Slavs (without the Bulgarians) — i.e. the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians. During those struggles that lasted more than a century, Serbian nationalism displayed an outstanding power of absorption that made it different from the majority of other Balkan nationalisms that pursued an exclusivist orientation. To put it in terms of modern political theory, this very power made Serbian nationalism “less transparent, and seemingly less aggressive, more tolerant in accepting others but definitely not weaker. On the contrary! Serbian nationalism lost this power at the end of the 20th century - it too became exclusivist and populistic and thus strongly contributed to the disintegration of the Yugoslav state. Serbian nationalism and populism first pushed the Serbian people and other citizens of Serbia into a conflict with their neighbors and with the rest of the world and then - in those conflicts - destroyed the motivational and material conditions for an economic, political, cultural and moral reconstruction of the society. Due to a strong motivation of the citizens, the change of the political regime in Serbia took place, at the end of year 2000. Has it weakened Serbian nationalism and populism? It is difficult to give an unambiguous, let alone positive answer to this question.
TAMING, RADICALIZATION OR COMPLETE CHANGE: NOTES ON NATIONALISM IN SERBIA
TAMING, RADICALIZATION OR COMPLETE CHANGE: NOTES ON NATIONALISM IN SERBIA
(TAMING, RADICALIZATION OR COMPLETE CHANGE: NOTES ON NATIONALISM IN SERBIA)
- Author(s):Alpar Lošonc
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Politics and religion, Nationalism Studies, Inter-Ethnic Relations
- Page Range:201-215
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:nation building; liberal nationalism; conflicting discourses; policy towards minorities; fragility of the state apparatus
- Summary/Abstract:Debates about the scope of nationalism are intensifying in Serbia with the forthcoming restructuring of the political space, primarily in view or of the forthcoming adoption of the Constitution. The key question for the policy to wards nationalism in Serbia is the attitude towards the past, towards the ethics of responsibility vis-a-vis the war crimes, and the attitude towards the minorities. Attention must also be paid to the discursive conflicts that played an important role in the previous period as well. Liberal nationalism has important strongholds, but it must be taken into account that in Serbia the orientation under the same name acquires different aspects than in the rest of the world, and is more oriented towards a restriction of rights. Importance must also be given to the positions taken by a certain part of the church elites that find it appropriate to articulate the nation building on references to anti-Western thought. The paper offers a diagnosis of the minority policy, acknowledges steps that can be deemed positive but also stresses the fragility of the achievements and the weakness of the overall institutional apparatus of the state that might react to everyday situations. In this regard, guidelines are stressed for the institutional ensemble of the state facing the task to carry out reforms within the framework of a tardy “transition“.
NATIONALISM VERSUS CIVIC OPTION IN MONTENEGRO
NATIONALISM VERSUS CIVIC OPTION IN MONTENEGRO
(NATIONALISM VERSUS CIVIC OPTION IN MONTENEGRO)
- Author(s):Miloš Bešić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Civil Society, Governance, Sociology, Nationalism Studies, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
- Page Range:217-232
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:nationalism; civic option; social conscience; development; totality; ideology; collectivism; individualization; structural compatibility; functional complementarity; legitimation principle
- Summary/Abstract:This paper offers a sociological analysis of the relations between the civil and the national option in Montenegro. The analysis is based on the methodological principle of totality and its presentation has firstly a structural, then a historic and finally a functional character. The objective of this paper is to explain the expansion of nationalism and the marginalization of the civic idea after the fall of real-socialism, as well as the creation of the theoretical-empiric model of analysis of the actual social relations and forces operating towards the preserva tion or regression of both the national and the civic option in Montenegro. The presentation of the relations between the two alternative models of social integration has also a comparative-historic character, because it indicates the differences and similarities of the status of the national and the civic idea in Montenegro in relation to the ex SFRY environment. Finally, the paper values and supports the civic idea but, in the analytical sense, everything has been done to prevent the distortion of the sociological analysis of the national option.
COMING TO TERMS WITH THE EVIL PAST: DOES SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO NEED A TRUTH COMMISSION?
COMING TO TERMS WITH THE EVIL PAST: DOES SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO NEED A TRUTH COMMISSION?
(COMING TO TERMS WITH THE EVIL PAST: DOES SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO NEED A TRUTH COMMISSION?)
- Author(s):Nenad Dimitrijević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Sociology, International relations/trade, Nationalism Studies, Inter-Ethnic Relations
- Page Range:233-252
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:ruth commission; responsibility; justice; crime
- Summary/Abstract:The paper comprises three parts. The first describes typical characteristics of a truth commission, relying on a comparative review of the experiences of countries that had such bodies. The second part analyzes the justification of the need for such a commission. This part is divided into two sections. The first outlines a general legitimation basis of truth commissions. The second section confronts such a general legitimation pattern with particular features of the political and cultural context in Serbia and Montenegro, in an effort to explain and justify the need for a truth commission in our country. The third part provides a sketch of possible specific arrangements for a potential future commission.
AUTHORITARIAN HERITAGE AND OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CULTURE
AUTHORITARIAN HERITAGE AND OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CULTURE
(AUTHORITARIAN HERITAGE AND OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CULTURE)
- Author(s):Zagorka Golubović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Civil Society, Government/Political systems, Political behavior, Sociology of Culture
- Page Range:255-270
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:authoritarian society; authoritarian mentality; authoritarian heri tage; civil society; democratic political culture
- Summary/Abstract:In the transition from a traditional, rural society into a totalitarian order in Serbia, after World War II, in the course of industrialization, a “ruralization of cities“, “folklorization of urban culture“, as well as a paternalization of social institutions took place. The authoritarian principle of subordination of individuals to the political elite rules, which excludes the possibility of constituting citizens as social subjects. The political socialization, which dominates, suppresses the 44ego” and increases the role of the “super-ego” (of the leader, party, parent), without enabling individuals to fight for their human and civil rights. The text discusses the conditions that obstruct the development of civil society and in first place stresses the need for overcoming the preconditions for a totalitarian order and a closed political system whose main and only subject is the state apparatus. It analyzes the conditions in the post-October period in Serbia and it claims that the “awoken citizen” has made only the first step towards his liberation, but that individuals do not conform any longer with the status of mere subjects. Also, it has been remarked that the actual political culture has not changed much, especially concerning the relation of the political elite towards “ordinary people” and in the sphere of education (where a rewriting of the recent history is still necessary), but also in the character of the political elites themselves (which still tend to give priority to party interests and create a “party state44). As for the development of a civil society, the conclusion is: appropriate conditions have not yet been created for the society to free itself from the influence of the state and become an independent subject, as a space for the functioning of numerous NGOs, trade unions and other associations, which should become partners of the state.
POLITICAL CULTURE, AUTHORITARIANSM AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN CROATIA
POLITICAL CULTURE, AUTHORITARIANSM AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN CROATIA
(POLITICAL CULTURE, AUTHORITARIANSM AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN CROATIA)
- Author(s):Ivan Šiber
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Sociology, Nationalism Studies, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
- Page Range:271-286
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:transition; political culture; authoritarian personality; Croatia
- Summary/Abstract:Political changes that occurred in 1989 and 1990 both in the former Yugoslavia and in the entire Eastern Europe, have revealed a historical collapse of a model and an idea - a utopia, and at the same time, have further actualized the problem of political culture and its appropriateness for a democratic organization within the framework of a multiparty political system. In other words, the basic question arises: to what extent are the absence of civil society tradition and the presence of authoritarian tradition hindering the development of democratic processes and relations? The paper shows that the value vacuum generated by the breakup of the previous system has been simply replaced by new footholds, primarily the nation, religion and history. The development of a democratic political culture, as well as the change of the authoritarian consciousness require both time and a process of political resocialization. Empirical studies have shown that in the former Yugoslavia until 1990 and in the Republic of Croatia after 1990, authoritarian evaluations are evidently present, with all the characteristics found in research studies throughout the world: the more intense authoritarianism is, the greater the exclusiveness towards the others, the greater the presence of right-wing (nationalist) parties, the greater the religiousness, the greater the focus on traditions etc. It is primarily the question of the so-called cognitive authoritarianism, namely the type of evaluation and behavior acquired through the process of socialization in a traditional environment with a dominant parochial political culture. According to research results, younger and more educated interviewees show a much lesser degree of authoritarianism than the older and less educated population.
CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN SERBIA
CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN SERBIA
(CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN SERBIA)
- Author(s):Vukašin Pavlović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Sociology
- Page Range:289-327
- No. of Pages:39
- Keywords:civil society; uncivil society; social capital; political changes; social changes; democracy development strategy
- Summary/Abstract:A society without a development strategy is a society without true and right politics. And vice versa, politics lacking a good and clear strategy for social development is not and cannot be successful politics. That is why it is a well- known fact that every social and political change has its social price. The case of Serbia that embarked on the uncertain path to democracy, lagging a whole decade behind all other Eastern European societies, clearly indicates another thing. After democratic changes in 2000, many democratic protagonists and political analysts in Serbia are, with sighs and reproach, blaming the population of having a short political memory, and that it had forgotten the bad aspects of life in the nineties too quickly. In doing so, they are neglecting the fact that it is in the human nature to look at past difficulties with less concern than at the current problems or future uncertainties. The civil society domain in Serbia is still more fragmented than the political domain. To generate a civil strategy for democratic changes in such an environment, many more partnership projects are needed involving different associations and organizations of citizens, i.e. civil sector networking is a must. Nongovernmental organizations and civil movements that are unable to formulate a clear and civil strategy for democratic development and to demand changes, will vegetate in a marginalized civil society and will lack both the strength and the capacity to serve as a critical counterweight to the government.
CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN CROATIA
CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN CROATIA
(CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN CROATIA)
- Author(s):Lino Veljak
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
- Page Range:329-341
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:civil and political society; reduced civil society; transition; democratic culture; liberal-democratic order; stable democracy
- Summary/Abstract:The paper discusses the role of civil society in the process, which led to the change of government at the parliamentary elections held on January 3, 2000. After an operative definition of the reduced civil society and a presentation of the genesis of the civil society and of the multiparty system in Croatia, the author reconstructs the shaping of the civil society in the period marked by the authoritarian rule of the HDZ. Special attention has been dedicated to independent media and the NGOs adhering to a system of values compatible with the liberal-democratic order. The role of civil society in building a democratic culture appropriate to such an order cannot be defined precisely, just as it is difficult to define the degree of direct and indirect influence of civil society on the results of the aforementioned elections. Arguments corroborating the relevance of this influence have been given, as well as arguments questioning the attempt to ascribe excessive or decisive importance to such influence. The relation between civil and political society is also problematized, and their ambivalent interaction is pointed out.
THE MONTENEGRIN NONGOVERNMENTAL SECTOR - PAST, PRESENT, AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE
THE MONTENEGRIN NONGOVERNMENTAL SECTOR - PAST, PRESENT, AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE
(THE MONTENEGRIN NONGOVERNMENTAL SECTOR - PAST, PRESENT, AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE)
- Author(s):Srđan Darmanović, Rade Bojović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Public Administration
- Page Range:343-359
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:civil society; non-governmental sector; NGOs; Milosevic's regime; the government of Montenegro; type of transition; opposition; alternative; Law on NGOs; legislative initiatives; economic sustainabili
- Summary/Abstract:During the decisive final decade of the already past century, Montenegrin civil initiatives and independent media laboriously struggled against their marginal social status and the political climate that prevented the development of civil society. The dissolution of Yugoslavia, the war and other accompanying effects of this grave crisis, had a major impact on the Montenegrin society and state. Under such conditions, when the public scene was dominated by destructive processes, the first Montenegrin civil society institutions and organizations have been created. These relatively scarce, but rather loud representatives of the civil sector were, in fact, one of the main focuses of the opposition movement in Montenegro until the end of 1997, when a radical political change took place in Montenegro. This first period of activities of the civil society organizations was, therefore, a period of antagonistic attitude towards the Montenegrin government, since at that time the government acted as a political ally of the Milošević regime. The second period, after the political turnabout in Montenegro and the split within the ruling DPS party, spanning from 1997 till the end of 2000 - i.e. to the downfall of the Milošević regime in Belgrade - was a period of mutual tolerance and partial and occasional cooperation between the civil sector and the Montenegrin government. In certain aspects, and especially regarding the defen se from the common threat - the Milošević regime - this relationship included the elements of strategic alliance. Different types of political transition in Serbia and in Montenegro resulted also in different types of functioning of civil society organizations. In Serbia, the political transition ended with the final confrontation between the regime and the opposition, when an exhausted dictatorial regime came to an end in a collapse and breakdown. The civil society protagonists were not only allies of the oppo sition movement in Serbia in this decisive confrontation but also its integral part. In Montenegro, transition took a different course. The government in Montenegro became at the same time the opposition to the Milošević regime. Within the nominally federal system of the two-member federation that existed at that time (FRY), the government of one of the member states (Montenegro) became the adversary of the government/rćgime of the other state (Serbia/fede- ration). Within this confrontation, civil society protagonists naturally sided with the pro-democratic government, but also with their state.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS IN SERBIA
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS IN SERBIA
(POLITICAL PARTIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS IN SERBIA)
- Author(s):Vladimir Goati
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems, Corruption - Transparency - Anti-Corruption
- Page Range:361-374
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:civil society; interest groups; privatized state; para-state cartel
- Summary/Abstract:Political parties, as organizations that connect civil society and the government, inevitably experience the influence of both the society and the state. In Serbia, the weaknesses of civil society during the Milošević era (underdeve lopment, poor organizational structure of interest groups, spreading of organizations fighting for illegal objectives etc.) and of the state (arbitrary decision making, connections with the crime), had a negative effect not only on the ruling SPS, but on the opposition parties as well. After the October 2000 turnabout, the DOS coalition tried to use privatization to expand the sphere of civil society and democratize the country.
LEGITIMACY, STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY
LEGITIMACY, STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY
(LEGITIMACY, STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY)
- Author(s):Vučina Vasović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:377-393
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:political legitimacy; state; democracy; civil society
- Summary/Abstract:Political and democratic transition in the part of the former Yugoslavia known today as the union of Serbia and Montenegro abounds with numerous difficulties and problems. Expectations that after the fall of the former regime of real-socialism and the successfully performed pluralistic liberal revolution, Serbia and Montenegro would take the path of faster socio-economic, cultural and democratic development didn't come true. The biggest surprises and stagnations appear in the political sphere, that is, especially there where the biggest and fastest steps towards democratic development were expected. On the example of the union of Serbia and Montenegro it can be clearly demonstrated how much the stagnations in the political and legal sphere represent obstacles to the expected growth in all other areas of social life. The author of this paper demonstrates the character and the influence of these stagnations by analyzing the status of political legitimacy, state, democracy and civil society in the union of Serbia and Montenegro.
CONSTITUTIONALISM, LEGITIMACY AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
CONSTITUTIONALISM, LEGITIMACY AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
(CONSTITUTIONALISM, LEGITIMACY AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA)
- Author(s):Arsen Bačić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Constitutional Law, Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems
- Page Range:395-410
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Croatia Rediviva; constitutionalization; constitutionalism; constitution; minority rights; identification; democracy; civil society
- Summary/Abstract:In the paper, the author points out the strong relationship between constitutionalism and the rule of law, demonstrating that the legitimacy of the constitutional state weakens if there is a passively compromising and cunctative attitude in the society towards the implementation of constitutional values, and a permanent distrust regarding the constitutional-patriotic orientation of the civil society institutions. The author believes that such a slate of affairs greatly affects the credibility and legitimacy of every administrator who tails to see that Croatia will truly become a part of the Western civilization only if there is a coherent and unquestionable affirmation of the idea and practice of democratic constituti onalism and the corresponding type ot' constitutional state as a credible and powerful “cultural achievement“.
JUDICIARY AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
JUDICIARY AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
(JUDICIARY AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO)
- Author(s):Vesna Rakić Vodinelić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
- Page Range:411-433
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:јudicial system; human rights; security; civil society
- Summary/Abstract:This work questions the very foundations of international relations and human rights today; it questions whether a substitution of the key legal concept “human rights” with a new concept legally still insufficiently defined - “national security“. took place. The grounds for this belief can be found in the legislative practice in the U.S. following September 11, 2001. The relations between the judicial system and the civil society in Serbia and Montenegro are discussed within this general framework. It has been noted that the ideas of a legal state, independent judiciary, fair trial, were especially affirmed during the time of authoritarian rule in Serbia, and that the most prominent promoters of these ideas were institutions of the civil society. When the new regime came to power in 2000, some of these ideas were adopted by the government. However, soon after the collapse of the ruling coalition, especially after the murder of Prime Minister Đinđić, and after the unconvincing desistance from prosecuting human trafficking in Montenegro, the time has come when the state administration grows increasingly indifferent to these ideas, and essentially acts contrary to them, while the institutions of civil society are unable to find an adequate response.
THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME: ON ATTEMPTS AND FAILURES OF THE POLICY OF SPEEDING UP COURT PROCEEDINGS IN CROATIA
THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME: ON ATTEMPTS AND FAILURES OF THE POLICY OF SPEEDING UP COURT PROCEEDINGS IN CROATIA
(THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME: ON ATTEMPTS AND FAILURES OF THE POLICY OF SPEEDING UP COURT PROCEEDINGS IN CROATIA)
- Author(s):Alan Uzelac
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
- Page Range:435-453
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:court proceedings; reform ofjudiciary; reasonable time; fair trial; Croatia
- Summary/Abstract:Attempts for speeding up court proceedings in Croatia are going into several directions, both on the organizational and the proceedings level. This paper starts with a presentation of several aspects that incited discussions on the need for speeding up the procedure and moved them to the very focus of discussions on reforms in the judiciary. As the background of the problem of lengthy trials, a short historical overview of the development of court proceedings is given, in the context of legal and political tradition in which legal institutions developed. Six strategies for acceleration of trials are analyzed, as identified in the current reform initiatives. Intended reforms of court proceedings (litigation, enforcement and bankruptcy) are given in brief, as well as the attempts of introducing national constitutional means in order to avoid complaints for infringement of rights to fair trial before the European Court of Human Rights. In the conclusion, the doubt is expressed whether it will be possible, given the current personnel structure and political readiness to conduct only halfway reforms, to achieve considerable progress. Without an efficient judiciary, however, a comprehensive transition according to the model of democratic liberal state is not possible either, and the problem of the delay also puts in question the feasibility of economic reforms.
CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY AND THE STATE ADMINISTRATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY AND THE STATE ADMINISTRATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
(CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY AND THE STATE ADMINISTRATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA)
- Author(s):Zoran Malenica
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Governance, Corruption - Transparency - Anti-Corruption
- Page Range:455-469
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:corruption; judiciary; state administration; fight against corrup tion; renewal of patriarchalism; de-professionalization
- Summary/Abstract:The paper elaborates the level of corruption and its origins in the Croatian judiciary, executive and administration authorities. The paper starts with the presentation of the most recent results of surveys on the extent of corruption in different areas of social and political life. A presentation of general reasons for the expansion of corruption in societies in transition follows, and then the specific features of corruption in Croatian society. The accent is on the processes of the renewal of patriarchalism and clientelism, which evolved during the HDZ rule (1990-2000) and significantly contributed to the expansion of different forms of corruption. Finally, efforts and attempts to reduce the level of corruption in the judiciary and state administration of the new (coalition) government after January 3, 2000 are analyzed. The author concludes that these efforts were not followed by sufficient political will and courage and therefore gave no important results.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO IN MID-2003
HUMAN RIGHTS IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO IN MID-2003
(HUMAN RIGHTS IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO IN MID-2003)
- Author(s):Vojin Dimitrijević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Public Administration
- Page Range:471-489
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:human rights; legislation; Judiciary; international law; impact of armed conflicts in the territory of Yugoslavia; international sanctions; NATO; Council ofEurope; SFRY; the FRY; Constituti onal Char
- Summary/Abstract:The regime in the SFRY was not inclined towards human rights, even though in a later phase, this state formally adopted appropriate international treaties to enhance its international reputation. This even more applies to the Milošević regime in the FRY. The ideological basis for the aversion towards human rights in both cases was collectivism, at the time of the SFRY in its Marxist-Leninist ideology and at the time of the FRY in its nationalistic variant. Generally speaking, civil liberties and political rights were not respected in the FRY until October 2000, with an emphasized component of discrimination based on nationalistic grounds. Hyperinflation in 1993-1994 led to a bad economic situation, which put economic and social rights at stake. Mass dissatisfaction first burst out in civil protests that lasted for three months, in Belgrade and other towns in Serbia, in winter 1996/1997 because of ballot-rigging at local elections. After the armed intervention of NATO in 1999 the alienation of citizens eventually led to the fall of the regime on September 24 and October 5, 2000. The parties gathered in the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) included in their programs the establishment and strengthening of democracy, respect of the rule of law and observance of human rights. Consistency in that respect was disturbed by turbulence in DOS in 2001 and 2002 following the withdrawal of the Democratic Party of Serbia from the coalition, and the assas sination of Prime Minister Zoran Đindić on March 12, 2003, followed by the state of emergency. Despite all that, the FRY after 2000, and Serbia and Montenegro since 2003, have improved formal respect of human rights by adopting new legislation. The most important legislative acts are the Constitutional Charter of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro of February 4, 2003, which provides that the attained level of human and minority rights cannot be lowered, the Charter on Human and Minority Rights and Civil Liberties of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro of February 28, 2003, which represents the biggest normative step in the protection of human rights, and the Code of Criminal Proceedings of 2001, which guarantees greater rights in criminal procedure. Serbia and Montenegro were admitted to the Council of Europe in 2003. The biggest obstacles to the full realization of human rights are observed in the judicial sector. The reform of courts and prosecutors’ offices failed due to conflicts between parties and to compromises, personal disagreements and suspicion of the executive towards an independent judiciary. The reputation of courts is still low. Other difficulties are not essentially linked to the domain of law, but must be sought in the sphere of material conditions, difficult transitional circumstances and low level of political culture.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CROATIA - THE BURDEN OF THE ETHNIC MINORITIES PROBLEM
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CROATIA - THE BURDEN OF THE ETHNIC MINORITIES PROBLEM
(HUMAN RIGHTS IN CROATIA - THE BURDEN OF THE ETHNIC MINORITIES PROBLEM)
- Author(s):Siniša Tatalović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Ethnic Minorities Studies
- Page Range:491-513
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:human rights; legislative and organizational preconditions of human rights protection; human rights violation; ethnic minority rights
- Summary/Abstract:The state of human rights in Croatia is characterized by good legislative and institutional preconditions for their protection, but also by a lack of political will and general conditions needed for their implementation. Therefore, citizens are often unable to secure the implementation and protection of many guaranteed rights and freedoms. Although the existing constitutional and legislative solutions, institutions and procedures are harmonized with corresponding international standards in this area, international organizations criticize Croatia because of their implementation in practice. A significant discrepancy is evident between prescribed solutions and the application of legal norms in concrete cases, namely the behavior of the state administration bodies in practice. This especially applies to the area of implementation of ethnic minority rights in Croatia. Belonging to ethnic minorities most often corresponds to violation of human rights in many areas, from property rights to obtaining citizenship.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN MONTENEGRO BETWEEN RHETORIC AND REALITY
HUMAN RIGHTS IN MONTENEGRO BETWEEN RHETORIC AND REALITY
(HUMAN RIGHTS IN MONTENEGRO BETWEEN RHETORIC AND REALITY)
- Author(s):Nebojša Vučinić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
- Page Range:515-534
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:human rights; the system of protection of human rights; violation of human rights
- Summary/Abstract:Generally speaking, the existing state of human rights in Montenegro is marked by the following general characteristics: insufficiently developed and inefficient system of institutional protection, both the primary - preventive one, and the secondary - repressive one, which often prevents the citizens from securing the implementation and protection of many guaranteed rights and freedoms. Moreover, the existing constitutional and legal solutions, institutions and procedures are often not sufficiently in compliance with the corresponding international standards in this area. Finally, a significant discrepancy is evident between the prescribed solutions and the implementation of the legal norms in concrete cases, that is, the behavior of the state agencies in practice.
