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
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: Political system; political elite; executive power; legislative power; judicial power; clientelism
Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes the political order and the structure of the ruling elites in Serbia. The author dwells on four principal weaknesses of the current political order in Serbia. The first weakness is a fragmented elite. Powerful anti-reformist, and even undemocratic political elites are still at work in Serbia, predominantly among the ranks of the previous regime: the SPS, the SRS and the SSI. Moreover, there are deep-cleft divisions within the democratic and reformist political elite. One fragment of the political elite leagues with Koštunica and the DSS and the other is concentrated around Đinđić and the DS. There is not only rivalry between them, but they, all too often, tend to violate fundamental democratic principles in the course of their joint showdowns. The political system of Serbia therefore deserves the title of an unconfirmed democracy. The second weakness is a marked dominance of executive power over the other two branches of power. By various measures undertaken during the course of 2001 and 2002, an overall rule of the executive branch over the legislative and judicial ones has been reinstalled. The third weakness is an insufficiently independent public, i.e. the dependence of the media elite on the political elite. A weak opposition and the “foul political games” of the two main factions of the DOS call for an independent and critical public sector. However, this sector in Serbia is too weak at the moment. Finally, the fourth weakness is the regeneration of clientelistic structures. The patrimonial network has remained in place, the only changes having taken place amongst the personnel of the key political divisions. This is particularly prominent in the sphere of government-protected crime. The author’s conclusion is that the system, essentially, has not changed since the toppling of Milošević and his regime. The liberal public should, therefore, put more pressure on the political elite to initiate a faster democratization of the system.

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