Monday, April 29, 2019

Vucic’s Path Towards Competitive Authoritarianism

Koautorski tekst za The Globe Post: https://theglobepost.com/2019/04/29/serbia-vucic-orbanization/



Serbians are finally rising up against President Aleksandar Vucic’s regime. For the last five months, massive protests against his reign, and especially the use of political violence against the opposition, have taken place in the capital Belgrade and across the country.

Serbia’s road towards illiberalism is nothing new. Articles about the celebration of the country’s early 2016 parliamentary and 2017 presidential elections have shown how Serbia’s democracy is progressively deteriorating, and how Vucic’s change from prime minister (more powerful) to president (more figurative) could even lead to the collapse of democracy in Serbia.

While democracy might not have collapsed yet, one thing is certain after seven years of Vucic’s reign characterized by his party’s capture of institutions, media, and the public sector: Serbia is no longer a “defective democracy,” but rather a “competitive authoritarian” one.

Partije i (ili) pokreti

Autorski tekst za NIN: http://www.nin.co.rs/pages/article.php?id=118692


U poslednjih nekoliko godina građanski pokreti su postali sve učestalija forma političkog okupljanja. Prvo moramo da pokušamo da odgovorimo na pitanje šta su građanski pokreti, zašto su pokreti, a ne partije i šta bi u stvari bio cilj tih građanskih pokreta? Da li su pokreti kritičari društva, predlagači politika iz sfere civilnog društva, borci za unapređenje kvaliteta života ili su ipak politički subjekti? Odnosno, šta bi bila ta razlika između pokreta i partija i na koji način se ona percipira kod nas?