Koliko je srpska politicka tradicija jedinstven slucaj?
The Serbian Political Tradition: How Exceptional

Summary/Abstract: In this article the author discusses the crucial aspects of Serbian political tradition as well as its recent political practice, focusing on the critical examination of the structure of arguments on „Serbian exceptionalism“ which are still most present in the Western literature about Serbia. The anti-Miloševic revolution of October 2000 has done little to change the dominant view of Serbia and Serbian history. In the first part of the article the author concludes that the negative Western public perception of Serbian nationalism that crystallized in the 1990s has carried over into the present and is likely to haunt Serbia’s democratic elite for some years to come. In the second part, the author proceeds to offer an alternative view of continuities in Serbian political culture and their implications for the present. The author argues that liberal political tradition did not die in Serbia even during the communist period, and that Serbian nationalism was not „imperialist“ in difference to other ex-Yugoslav nationalities. In conclusion, the Serbian political culture is historically no more „authoritarian“, „aggresive“ and „anti-Western“, but that Serbia’s democratic political and cultural elite does need to undertake a critical examination of its national values.

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