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Eastern dimension and the Balkans / Backgrounder

Serbia's Elections and the Challenges Ahead

15/01/2007 By Sofia Sebastián

Sharp divisions persist in Serbia between democrats, in favour of bolstering reform and integration into the European Union (EU), and radicals, who remain wedded to nationalist rhetoric and are opposed to drastic political overhauls.

In the immediate run-up to the elections, opinion polls have given a slim lead to democratic forces.

Unlike the 2000 elections in which civil society mobilised in decisive fashion, reform-minded sectors of the Serbian population are now distant from and disenchanted with the political process; the result of the election will depend on the ability of the pro-reform parties to mobilise their constituency to vote.

Moreover, even many of those routinely labelled as democrats, including Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, have in practice been increasingly half-hearted in their pursuit of democratic deepening and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Crucially, whoever wins the election, a ‘deep’ transformation of the Serbian state and political process is still required if the country is to move towards the EU and fully consolidated democracy.

Published in the run-up to the elections, this Backgrounder examines the implications of these trends for European Union policies.

Download the full version of this publication, available in English (199 kB)
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Keywords

Democracy Elections EU Foreign Policy Serbia Western Balkans

Related publications

• Can Democratic Elections Solve a Civil War? The case of Serbia and Kosovo
• Serbia's Troublesome Road to Democracy

Bio author: Sofia Sebastián

Sofia Sebastian is a PhD candidate in the Government Department at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she teaches a seminar on democracy and democratization processes. The title of her thesis is 'The Interplay of Domestic and International Actors in the Process of Political Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina.' Prior to her PhD studies, Sofia earned an MSc in Foreign Service with a focus on foreign policy and international security at Georgetown University under the sponsorship of the Fulbright Commission. Sofia received her BA in Political Science and International Relations from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.