CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN SERBIA
CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN SERBIA

Author(s): Vukašin Pavlović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Sociology
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
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.

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