siarzar7 “The Right Way is Forward: Democracy in Serbia
ro
Era}
arte
The European Venue for Green Ideas
THE RIGHT WAY IS FORWARD: DEMOCRACY IN SERBIA
By Zaklina Zivkovié
Languages
Date of publication
April 23, 2015
Other themes
Balkans, Corruption, Democratic Crisi
, Populism, Privatisation
The end of the twentieth century was marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall and gradual
transition of the former “communist block” to democracy. Optimism spread throughout
Europe and the political theorist Francis Fukuyama announced in his famous book - The
End of History and the Last Man - the victory of democratic system.
At that time, the Balkan region faced a tragic civil war. Serbia's democracy was conquered the hard way,
ten years later. We won it at the elections, and when it was robbed from us, we went out to the streets
to defend it with civil disobedience and resistance. At that time, democracy was the promise of a better
and different life. After that period, we had our ups and downs, but democracy was always winning
Each successive government was elected by the will of Serbian citizens, at free and fair elections.
Fourteen years have passed, and beyond this minimum requirement of elections, we have not come
very far: weak rule of law, corruption at all levels, nepotism and party state, social inequality, lack of
freedom of the media ... As a result, all across Serbia citizens increasingly miss the old days, like it was
25 years ago. It is disconcerting that the citizens of Serbia are increasingly saying that maybe that time
was undemocratic but citizens (allegedly) lived better and people felt some kind of security. Now the
question is, should we so easily give up on our hard-won freedom?
What is democracy?
There are two main understandings of democracy. The first equates democracy with democratic
procedures in decision-making, and it's called procedural (minimum) democracy. As long as citizens
elect their representatives and institutions in free and fair elections, the outcomes are also democratic.
On the other hand, there is participatory democracy which is not exhausted in the elections but
requires certain citizen virtues. It sets maximalist demands ~ decision-making through deliberation, as
a constant rethinking of decisions through an open and broad dialogue of all participants. This kind of
society requires an advanced level of political and democratic culture. It also requires commitment.
hitps:ihwew.greeneuropeanjournal.eulthe-right-wayis-forward-democracy-in-serbia!
18sit4r20%7 “The Right Way is Forward: Democracy in Serbia
According to this understanding, politicians are dedicated to citizens, they are participating in
discussions and taking into account the views of professional associations, a
citizens themselves. On the other hand, people use all democratic means and elected representatives to
make their voice heard, and to defend their rights and freedoms. Professional associations and
academic communities have ethical standards and uphold them without fear for their position, Power
possible, and because of that freedom must always be conquered
again and again. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
\demia, the media and the
always strives to occupy as much a
It’s not easy
Participatory democracy requires a lot of work an not easy to achieve. The crisis of democracy in
Serbia is caused by satisfaction with procedural democracy. After changes in the year 2000, citizens
passed all their hope onto elected representatives. They were seen as saviours, like the ones before,
ly elected. Those democratic forces had carte
blanche support for everything they did. Their power was becoming ever larger.
with the difference that the new ones were democratic:
Before the democratic changes, the civil sector was dealing with democratisation and human rights in
Serbia, and therefore its members were considered traitors and mercenaries by the regime, Today's
activism is alarmingly decreasing, as non-governmental organisations are serving as an expert sector
for government institutions. ‘The media are increasingly enslaved, as they are divided between the
obedient and disobedient ones, and as there is a very non-transparent ownership and funding, behind
which stands the political parties and the individuals in power.
Privatisation of economy is conducted so that individuals are earning a lot, and workers are losing their
jobs and social support. Decentralisation and local development of (self)government were never
implemented, Municipalities and cities are just another branch of the central government, from which
they drain out money. But the reaction of the citizens has not been protesting. They retreated to the
private sphere and day-to-day surviving, and completely withdrew from the public sphere.
What does Europe stand for?
All political parties in the Serbian parliament today are ‘pro-European’, But only on the surface. The
majority of them is adopting the legislation in the process of harmonisation with the European Union
very fast. Many directives are being introduced into legislation by urgent procedure, without public
debate or critical attitude towards them. And, what is more concerning, without trying to adjust
directives to the specificities of Serbia.
In reality, we have laws that were enacted ten years ago and Serbia is not even close to implementing
them, When faced with problems caused by increasing legal uncertainty and lack of law enforcement,
the government just changes them back and goes back a decade ago. Together with the International
Monetary Fund, the Serbian government imposed austerity measures, reduced salaries and pensions,
and on the other side increased public debt.
Now they are announcing an increase in taxes and prices, which will only worsen the situation for the
poorest. The ruling parties are introducing investments and projects that are not transparent, so their
origin is reasonably suspicious. Serbia has the support of the international community, largely because
it is doing the most of those things that it requests. Today, citizens are hiding in their private lives,
having no one to turn to in the public sphere. In addition to all the problematic decisions and the
growing gap between the rich minority and the impoverished majority, the protests organised by the
few opposition parties or the citizens’ movements never have more than 200 people present.
hitps:ihww.greeneuropeanjourna.eulthe-right-wayisforward-democracy-in-serbia!
218Serbia is a country of betrayed democracy
In such a situation, there is a growing authoritarianism and populism. We cannot expect anymore that
the international community will build a democracy, or some third, fourth or fifth political option, As
long as people do not realise that a decision is entirely on them, things will not improve. Such changes
must come from “below”: from the local communities, municipalities and cities. New political forces in
Serbia must develop their local political, economic and social agenda which will articulate the interests
of the citizens, not the political elite and large companies
Local parliaments must develop mechanisms for public debate and civic initiatives, for getting the
better decisions. Local authorities must have more direct income, rather than the money that is,
allocated by the central government. And the economy must start “from below’, and should also be
more democratic. We should not lay all our hope in gigantic projects that after a few years, after having
taken enough money from citizens, perish. Serbia must orient its economy towards small and medium-
sized enterprises, sustainable jobs, and an economy that does not consume a lot of resources. Economy
that works for people and for the environment.
The answer does not lie in returning to the old way. Instead, we need to find more power for change.
The solution is very simple. Serbia needs more democracy.
ren European Journal 2017
hitps:ihww.greeneuropeanjournal.eulthe-right-wayisforward-democracy-in-serbia!
38