AUTORITARNO NASLEĐE I PREPREKE ZA RAZVOJ CIVILNOG DRUŠTVA I DEMOKRATSKE POLITIČKE KULTURE
AUTHORITARIAN LEGACY AND OBSTACLES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CULTURE

Author(s): Zagorka Golubović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Sociology of Politics
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: authoritarian society; authoritarian mentality; authoritarian succession; civil society; democratic political culture
Summary/Abstract: During the transition from a traditional, peasant society to a totalitarian order in Serbia after the Second World War, in the process of industrialization, the "ruralization of cities", the "folklorization of city culture" and the paternalization of social institutions occur. The authoritarian principle of subordination of individuals to the political elite rules, which excluded the possibility of constituting citizens as social subjects. Political socialization, which dominates, stifles the "ego" and reinforces the role of the "super-ego" (leader, party, parent), not enabling individuals to fight for their human and civil rights. The text discusses the conditions that prevent the development of civil society and, first of all, states the need to overcome the assumptions of a totalitarian order and a closed political system, whose main and only subject is the state apparatus. The conditions in the post-October period in Serbia are analyzed and it is stated that the "awakened citizen" has only taken the first step towards his liberation, but individuals are no longer reconciled to the status of subjects. It is also noticeable that the political culture found has not changed much, especially in the relationship of the political elite towards "ordinary people" and in the field of education (where the history of the recent past still needs to be rewritten), but also in the character of the political elites themselves (who are still inclined to give priority to party interests and the creation of a "party state). Regarding the development of civil society, the conclusion is: the appropriate conditions have not yet been created for society to free itself from the influence of the state and become an independent entity, as a space for the functioning of numerous NGOs, trade unions and other associations, which should become partners of the state.

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