Urušavanje ili slom demokratije
Decline or Eclipse of Democracy in Europe’s New Democracies?
Author(s): Ilija Vujačić, Bojan Vranić
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Political Theory, Economic policy, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Political economy, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Fakultet političkih nauka Univerziteta u Beogradu
- Page Count: 298
- Publication Year: 2016
- Language: English, Serbian
Post(liberalna) demokratija, kapitalizam i kriza države
Post(liberalna) demokratija, kapitalizam i kriza države
(Post(Liberal) Democracy, Capitalism and State Crisis)
- Author(s):Zoran Stojiljković
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Governance, Economic policy, Government/Political systems
- Page Range:9-30
- No. of Pages:22
- Keywords:Crisis; state; capitalism; democracy; participation
- Summary/Abstract:In this text, author argues that (post)liberal democracy has democratic deficit which includes “devaluation” of nation-state as well as involution of social, entrepreneurial and state security. Within this framework, the alluring image of European social model pails and ends in growing inequality that serves only to the capitalists. On this course, the crisis solving processes represent a problem in states such as Serbia, where the transition to capitalism is manifested through recession and increasing poverty. The root of this problem in Serbia is in “disaster capitalism” (Naomi Klein) which converges the neoliberal narrative with crony capitalism and/or party capitalism.
Alternative predstavničkoj demokratiji: paralelizacija sustavne paradigme skroz heterotopije
Alternative predstavničkoj demokratiji: paralelizacija sustavne paradigme skroz heterotopije
(Alternatives to Representative Democracy: Parallelization of Systemic Paradigm Through Heterotopias)
- Author(s):Cirila Toplak
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Comparative politics, Sociology of Politics
- Page Range:31-47
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:representative democracy; heterotopia; Vevčani; Initiative for Citywide Assembly; the Old Believer
- Summary/Abstract:Liberal representative democracy is considered the least bad and therefore the only acceptable political system in contemporary global social conditions. However, any discourse that denies alternatives is essentially a conservative discourse, while extraordinary demographic, economic and technological developments of modernity require innovations and progress in the field of political where institutions and systemic solutions of 200 years ago still prevail. As it appears rather obvious that the concepts and practices of representative democracy have been largely hollowed out and compromised in the context of transformed and rapidly transforming social conditions, alternatives to representative democracy also need be considered although this system is a rather recent systemic experiment for the Western Balkan societies. Numerous contemporary representative systems and especially those recently introduced, are actually more or less authoritative oligarchies representing a stage of transition to a „true“ democratic society. On the other hand, consolidated representative democracies also tend to turn into oligarchies, deemed the most suitable political framework to the (global) rule of capital. In other words, some societies have not yet developed a functional representative democratic system and are oligarchies for now, while other societies have gone past the peak of optimal functioning of the representative system and are being perverted into oligarchies according to Michels’s „iron law of oligarchy“. Since the dilemma around more or less or better or worse representative democracy would keep the academic discussion inside narrow ideological confines, and since it appears idealistic to work toward systemic reforms or wait for a (violent) revolution, this paper will seek for a path to a harmonious so ciety of optimal prosperity through analysis of heterotopias or „other (political) spaces“ where, according to Michel Foucault, alternative institutions and social relations are being formed and life is conceived under non-hegemonic conditions.
Problem legitimacijskog deficita u savremenoj demokratiji
Problem legitimacijskog deficita u savremenoj demokratiji
(The Problem of Legitimacy Deficit in Contemporary Democracy)
- Author(s):Milorad Đurić
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Politics and society, Globalization
- Page Range:49-61
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:Democracy; nation-state; globalization; sovereignty; legitimacy; legitimacy deficit
- Summary/Abstract:The idea that voluntary/autonomous consent of the majority of citizens gives validity and legitimacy of government in the management of political life, is central to our understanding of democracy. Voluntary/autonomous consent is expressed through elections with a known procedure, which are held periodically in the defined territory, and where can participate known in advance the number of citizens. Defined territory and known in advance the number of citizens are relevant community (in fact, the nation-state) within which to implement democratic procedures. The impressive stroke of democracy throughout the second half of the twentieth century crossed, however, with the increasing level of globalization, that is, the growing interdependence and connections on a planetary scale. Since the global association creates and global problems, solving them is necessarily imposed as globally. In this way, the problems are transferred to places that does not have their own political system, who are deprived of a consistent normative and institutional merits. The suspension normative and institutional dimensions of events necessary to produce the structural tensions that cannot be hidden by any ad hoc established equilibrium. Therefore, it should not underestimate the frustration of citizens caught up in systems that have become dysfunctional because their intrinsic political dimension largely relocated to the area above-state sovereignty. In this sense, our basic assumption is that the problem of legitimacy deficit is the result of the structural inability of national states/of democracy that the usual procedure respond to the challenges that transcend national borders and which require coordination of transnational organization. In other words, we believe: that modern democracy – a democracy of the nation state, with whom and which constituted and functioning; that global processes products and global problems, whose resolution exceeds the capacity of individual nation states; they are, therefore, changing the terms of the functioning of democratic systems, and that the legitimacy deficit occurs because the circles of those decisions are not consistent with the circles of those affected by these decisions.
Postoji li nova (mađarska) paradigma autoritarnosti? Polit-ekonomski osvrt
Postoji li nova (mađarska) paradigma autoritarnosti? Polit-ekonomski osvrt
(Is There a New (Hungarian) Paradigm of Authoritarianism? A Politico-Economic Account)
- Author(s):Alpar Lošonc
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Governance, Government/Political systems, Political economy
- Page Range:63-82
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:neoliberal authoritarianism; financial crisis; embedded neoliberalism; illiberalism
- Summary/Abstract:This work thematises the new paradigm of authoritarianism in Hungary. It contains three parts. The first part is dealing with the context of financial crisis in 2008, and the crisis-ridden ramifications regarding Hungary. The second part concerns the phenomenology of authoritarianism including the transformation of the functions of Constitutional Court or the modifying of the checkbalance system of politics. The third part depicts the phenomenology of the national capitalism in Hungary with the account of such political measures as flat tax. In contrast to the usual analysis this work develops an argumentation that: a) explains the authoritarianism as a response to the crisis of embedded neoliberalism in Hungary during the last decade, b) instead of the frequently used populism emphasizes the strong connection amongst neoliberalism, authoritarianism, and neoconservativism. The relatively specific national neoliberalism burdened with the authoritarian patterns of employment and work could throws light on the illiberal tendencies within the paradigm connected to the political figure of Victor Orban.
Globalna demokratska recesija i stanje političkih režima na prostoru bivšeg SSSR-a
Globalna demokratska recesija i stanje političkih režima na prostoru bivšeg SSSR-a
(The Global Democratic Recession and Types of Political Regimes in Former Soviet Countries)
- Author(s):Boris Varga
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Civil Society, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Political behavior
- Page Range:83-103
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:Regimes; democracy; authoritarianism; democratic recession; European Union; Russia; Eurasian Economic Union
- Summary/Abstract:In this article the author analyses types of political regimes in states of former Soviet Union. The analysis is twofold: firstly – on discourse of global “democratic recession”; and “raise of authoritarianism”, and secondly – on political regimes in 12 post-soviet states. The author concludes that global democracy is going through a specific type of crisis. That crisis is also reflected in the zone of transition states. Strong authoritarian countries, such as Russia and China, increase their political and economic influence in the transitional post-Soviet states, which also influences their political regimes. The state of regimes in ex-soviet states is followed by their geopolitical tendencies to merge in political and economic alliances which cut-across Eurasia. States that are in a process of democratic consolidation and whose regimes are hybrid are inclined to EU, while the (semi)consolidated authoritarian states are more inclined to Russia or integration to Eurasian economic block.
Direct democracy and european union foreign policy: Lessons from California
Direct democracy and european union foreign policy: Lessons from California
(Direct democracy and european union foreign policy: Lessons from California)
- Author(s):Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Political economy, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:107-126
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:European Union; foreign policy; Enlargement Policy; California; direct democracy
- Summary/Abstract:Beginning from humble roots linking portions of the manufacturing industries and wider economies of France, Germany (the Federal Republic), Italy, Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands, the European Union (EU) has grown to become one of the more unique and important supra-national institutions in the world. It is only within the past twenty years however that the EU has only begun to focus attention on developing its own independent foreign policy. Although one of the key pillars of the EU’s emerging foreign policy capacity has been its Enlargement Policy, the past few years have seen the limitations of this approach. This failure points to a need for a fundamental rethink of the EU’s strategic vision towards the countries on its periphery and a reorganization of the ways in which it targets its considerable “soft power”. In place of a focus on varied and widely ambitious political, social, and economic targets that seek to “build up” capacity for democratic reform and the rule of law, the EU should instead refocus its Enlargement Policy along more simple lines that seek to set up alternative centers of democratic engagement. Corrupt and compromised local elites and the institutions they inhabit need to by-passed altogether. History can perhaps point the way forward for the EU. The American state of California in the early 1900s was a corrupt polity wholly owned and operated by the Central Pacific Railroad which bought and sold local politicians of all major ideological and party stripes. The hold of the Central Pacific over California state politics was only broken when crusading campaigners succeeded in passing a sweeping set of amendments to the state’s Constitution to completely destroy the influence of the Central Pacific over the state’s politics. The lessons from California, though almost a century old, still have resonance today and point to important lessons for the EU in its emerging foreign policy capacity.
Extractive Institutions in the Western Balkans
Extractive Institutions in the Western Balkans
(Extractive Institutions in the Western Balkans)
- Author(s):Dušan Pavlović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Public Administration, Government/Political systems, Fiscal Politics / Budgeting
- Page Range:127-140
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:“grabbing hand of the state”; democracy; public institutions; political institutions; extractive institutions
- Summary/Abstract:The most recent indicators about the state of democracy in the Western Balkans point to the worsening of democratic process and a gradual decay of democratic institutions (human rights, media freedoms, electoral process, division of power, rule of law etc.). Why does this occur? I argue that the major reason for this trend is the nature of public institutions (institutions that allocate public resources). If institutions are extractive and grabbing, they will adversely affect the democratic development; if institutions are inclusive, they will promote it. Political and economic elites adjust their behavior with respect to the existing institutional nature. Extractive public institutions are understood as a boon for politicians and public officials, because they allow unaccountable use of public resources for private and political purposes. Weak public institutions create incentives for officials to block the access to such institutions for the opposition by making future elite turnover harder (or impossible), rather than easier. As a result, the state of democracy gets worsen as the time goes by. What we should aim at is the change in the nature of public institutions. If political elites are surrounded by controlling institutions–ones that promote accountable behavior in allocating public resources–, elites will have an incentive to promote democracy.
The bending of constitutional norms in times of economic crisis: the Greek case
The bending of constitutional norms in times of economic crisis: the Greek case
(The bending of constitutional norms in times of economic crisis: the Greek case)
- Author(s):Themistoklis Tzimas
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Economic policy, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:141-159
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:European Union; EMU; Greece; Constitution; statehood; supranational
- Summary/Abstract:The theme of the current article is the impact of the handling of economic crisis within the Euro zone, on the interpretation and potential implementation of Greek constitution. The main argument is that the formation of the European Monetary Union as a specific type of supranational statehood, as well as its policies in the framework of the economic crisis has a structural influence on Greece concerning the quality of democracy in the latter. Apart from the general deterioration of democracy in the framework of economic crisis, it is argued that it is the participation of Greece in the EMU a reason which further breaches its constitutional “integrity”. The article examines the relationship between the EMU as a type of supranational statehood, within the framework of the European Union and the Greek constitutional functions, as a depiction of Greek democracy.
Solving problems in Europe’s backyard
Solving problems in Europe’s backyard
(Solving problems in Europe’s backyard)
- Author(s):Zhidas Daskalovski
- Language:English
- Subject(s):International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics
- Page Range:161-179
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:EU; Western Balkans; enlargement; democratic consolidation
- Summary/Abstract:The European Commission praises the accession policy ‘as one of the European Union’s most effective foreign policy instruments’, but four main challenges pose obstacles to the accession of the Western Balkan countries: lack of popular will in EU member states; flagging interest on the side of the EU; bilateral challenges thwarting implementation of regional cooperation; and indifference to the EU from the side of increasingly authoritarian regimes in some Western Balkan countries. Emerging regional powers such as Turkey, or Russia, are ready to step into a vacuum. Without a new impetus towards enlargement, the EU will risk losing strategic influence in a neighbouring region to other regional powers. This article examines how to re-charge the enlargement process, with a focus on an enhanced reform drive by the governments in the region. Elite consensus on democratization is necessitated to stop the democratic backsliding. Active civil society and engaged citizens are needed to aid the strengthening of democracy in Western Balkans. On the other hand, for own interests the EU should induce consensus on democratic consolidation and EU enlargement among parties in the region. The EU should launch a more intensive engagement with the Western Balkans, start the screening process and open accession negotiations with all of the countries as soon as possible, because the accession process is a powerful tool to drive reforms and institutional transformation.
Migracijska kriza u Europi i Hrvatskoj: politike integracije migranata
Migracijska kriza u Europi i Hrvatskoj: politike integracije migranata
(Migration Crisis in Europe and Croatia: Politics of Migrants Integration)
- Author(s):Siniša Tatalović, Ružica Jakešević
- Language:Croatian
- Subject(s):Migration Studies, Inter-Ethnic Relations, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:183-200
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:migration crisis; European union; Croatia; migrant integration policies; national minorities
- Summary/Abstract:Recent discussions on diversity management in the European context have been more and more directed towards the integration of migrants, or so called new minorities. While some European countries, such as Germany, France, United Kingdom and the Netherlands have a very rich experience as migrant receiving countries, countries like Croatia, which are new EU members do not have such experience or have very limited one. Issues of asylum and migration are discussed and agreed on at the EU level in order to create common policies, while the models of integration are within the competences of member states. This is also evident in the past and current policies and practices of the EU member states, which put different emphasis on the political, socio-economic and cultural dimension of integration in their integration policies. Croatian position is specific in this regard – it is a new member of the European Union; it is not a member of the Schengen system; traditionally it hasn’t been a destination but a transit country for migrants; and it has a very developed system and rich experience in the integration of traditional national minorities. Due to contemporary migration flows and the experiences of some Eastern and Central European countries that have become EU members before the Croatian, it is certain that in the coming period Croatia will be faced with the higher rate of immigration. In addition, according to the quota system of the EU, Croatia has committed itself to receive and provide for 1,600 people in the period between 2016 and 2018. As part of a (future) migration policy, it is necessary to define and create sustainable migrant integration policy. Hence, the question is whether the experience in the integration of national minorities into Croatian society in whole or in part can be applied the new communities that will be shaped by migrants permanently residing in Croatia.
Nedemokratske tendencije institucionalnih reformi savremene Italije: berluskonizam bez Berluskonija
Nedemokratske tendencije institucionalnih reformi savremene Italije: berluskonizam bez Berluskonija
(Non-Democratic Tendencies of the Institutional Reforms in Contemporary Italy: Berlusconism without Berlusconi)
- Author(s):Radivoje Jovović
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Public Administration, Government/Political systems
- Page Range:201-218
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:Italy; institutional reforms; constitutional and electoral engineering; nondemocratic tendencies; Matteo Renzi; Berlusconism
- Summary/Abstract:Italy is facing the potential radical transformation of electoral engineering and the party system, which has been tightly connected to the necessity for the political system reform by the governing Democratic party. The Italian society in a crisis has found itself in front of the choice offered by the current Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, in an attempt to shift the executive power from the unstable and disfunctional domain, caused predominantly by the inadequate electoral systems and perfect two-chamber parliament, to the domain of single-party government within the context of asymetrical bicameralism. The paper deals with the recently adopted electoral system which inaugurates one-party majority in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of Italian Parliament, as well as with the ongoing constitutional reform, which would significantly reduce the power of the Senate, the upper chamber. With the implementation of these institutional reforms, there would be a dramatic change of the constitutional and electoral engineering in the direction of centralising the power of the Italian executive. The very last phase of application of this idea is constitutional referendum, as a necessary confirmation of the already adopted change in the parliament. The main emphasis of the paper is placed on the analysis of the contents and political consequences related to this institutional arrangement. Focusing on the issues of democracy of electoral regulations, centralisation of political power and destruction of the separation of powers principles, the paper concludes that the analysed reforms have authoritarian undertones. In one particular excursus, it is highlighted that these institutional reforms go along with the general political activity of Matteo Renzi, the initiator of the reforms; that is, that they belong to nondemocratic tendencies close to the political discourse and approach known as Berlusconism. Finally, a potential scenarios are offered, which present plausible results in the forthcoming period depending on how successful or unsuccessful the implementation of the institutional arrangement will be.
Evropska unija i ishodi demokratizacije u Srbiji
Evropska unija i ishodi demokratizacije u Srbiji
(The European Union and the Outcomes of Democratization in Serbia)
- Author(s):Zoran Lutovac
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:219-239
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:Democratization; Serbia, the European Union; European Commission; Europeanization
- Summary/Abstract:The paper deals with the scope and outcomes of democratization in Serbia and the influence of the European Union, as an external factor of democratization, with particular emphasis on the conditioning, criteria and enlargement policy. Viewed from the perspective of European integration, Serbia could be classified as moderately prepared candidate country, with good results in terms of adoption he acquis, but without deep changes in terms of consolidation of democracy. It can be said that the European integration is treated by the ruling elite in Serbia more like an administrative and technical harmonization with European legislation, but as a process of building a functional democratic political community. Diplomatic pointing of the EU to the failures, gaps, deficiencies and inactivity - are reduced or interpreted in a distorted way and sometimes even ignored in Serbia , while in Brussels, until now, all this is tolerated mainly because of the cooperation of Serbia in the process of normalization of relations with Pristina. If we made conclusions about the outcomes of democratization in Serbia on the basis of the report of the European Commission, it could be said that the democratization, as a result of the European integration process, is still in its infancy in many areas, that there is a verbal political will to deepen it, but often this principle preference is being pushed into the second plan under the influence of the narrow interests of political elites.
Izbori 2016. godine i (totalni?) poraz autonomaške ideje u Vojvodini
Izbori 2016. godine i (totalni?) poraz autonomaške ideje u Vojvodini
(2016 Election and (Total?) Defeat of Autonomist Idea in Vojvodina)
- Author(s):Duško Radosavljević
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Electoral systems, Political behavior, Politics and society
- Page Range:241-255
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:Political parties; Vojvodina; Autonomism; 2016 Election
- Summary/Abstract:During more than 25 years of pluralistic party system existing in Serbia and in Vojvodina, a large number of parties and non-government organizations, which put Vojvodina’s position and its improvement in the focus of their acting, have been formed. Over time, parts of these efforts have been taken over by the parties that were formed outside of Vojvodina,, achieving better election results than the “original autonomists”, while diluting those views, they also legitimized them in political struggles. The second group, parties of national communities in Vojvodina, once natural allies to autonomist options, has also joined this process, achieving their particular interests by ignoring and bypassing provincial interests. The third group, parties – deniers of regional particularities have been ambivalent about the question of the province from the beginning of the multiparty system in Serbia/Vojvodina – in the opposition they seek reduction of the rights of Vojvodina,, if they are in power, they try to at least bureaucratically increase the level of competence, in order to efficiently exploit provincial resources (public enterprises, institutions and companies), strengthen personal position within the party and finance their parties. 2016 elections were held in such an environment. Democratic/liberal/civic option has emerged in several columns, with a set of unrealistic goals, parties of national communities with the desire to recognize the winning side, the third group with the intention to strengthen the monopoly position of state-level by installing the provincial government and minor Vojvodina’s options to acquire citizenship rights. In a political fight without advocacy for clear political objectives, which has been reduced to questioning what amount of power should the ruler be showered by and not understanding what goal of the election is, democratic parties’ options, especially those with autonomist and national precursors, have easily given up the efforts to amend the status of Vojvodina. For a longer period of time the autonomist idea has been defeated. Whether it is fatal or not is the theme of this article.
Džentrifikacija kao nova urbana strategija i oblik krize liberalne demokratije u globalizovanom svetu
Džentrifikacija kao nova urbana strategija i oblik krize liberalne demokratije u globalizovanom svetu
(Gentrification as a New Urban Strategy and Manifestation of the Crisis of Liberal Democracy in Globalized World)
- Author(s):Snežana S. Đorđević
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Rural and urban sociology, Economic development
- Page Range:257-276
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Gentrification; urban renewal; social and liberal urbanism; spatial and urban planning; inclusive zoning and housing; revanchist urbanizam; construction industry; displacement
- Summary/Abstract:This article deals with gentrification like new urban strategy in globalized world and is a part of urban studies. Liberal urbanization is often obedient to interests of profit in the process of contraction and development of city, surpressing public interest, excluding public dialogue and evolves in revanshist urbanization implementing mesasures of maltreatment and displacing of poor citizens. The aim of this article is to describe in which manner amalgamation of economic crize and strengthened autoritarian political culture, stimulates gentrification causing great spatial and social unequilities and unjustice, and to point out to possible direction of change and improvement. Research methods are descripiton of conditions and analysis of gentrification consequences in a number of western developed countries (USA and Europe) with comparations and case studesa (Los Angeles, Berlin and Belgrade). The article points out on benefits from strenghtening the concept and practice of social urbanism, and citizens participation in creation and implementation of urban policy and projects.
Demokratizacija medija u Srbiji: Etika novinarske profesije posmatrana kroz analizu naslova u dnevnoj štampi
Demokratizacija medija u Srbiji: Etika novinarske profesije posmatrana kroz analizu naslova u dnevnoj štampi
(The Media Democratization in Serbia: Journalism Ethics Analysed Through Newspaper Headlines)
- Author(s):Ana Milojević, Aleksandra R. Krstić
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Media studies
- Page Range:277-296
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:Headlines; daily newspaper; ethical standards; journalism code of ethics
- Summary/Abstract:Professional ethics and self-regulation are among the weakest links of the media democratization in the post-communist countries. Although the codes of ethics have been adopted in all of the post-communist countries, including Serbia, they have no value unless journalists respect them, and broader professional and social climate do not support ethical conduct. The aim of this paper is to examine the ethical norms of the Serbian Journalists’ Code in the headlines of the national print media as an indicator of the achieved level of the media democratization. Headlines are the first and often the only contact of the reader with the text. Furthermore, headlines can be considered as the most important part of the text because they provide a summary of the central idea of the text, attract the attention of readers and set the frame for interpreting the text. At the same time, headlines are responsibility of the entire editorial team. Therefore headlines make a solid basis for evaluating the ethical behavior of a professional group. Qualitative content analysis of the headlines of four daily newspapers in Serbia during two weeks in September 2015 shows that: some headlines convey different information than the stories they lead, some are ambiguous, discriminatory, disturbing and colloquial, or contain hate speech, slander, libel and hidden propaganda.
