Back to Competitive Authoritarianism? Democratic Backsliding in Vučić’s Serbia

Abstract

Despite growing concerns expressed by think thanks and international organisations about the deterioration of democracy in Vučić's Serbia, this country has been neglected by the emerging literature on the 'crisis of democracy'. Thanks to a quali-quanti research strategy for detecting changes in regime types, including various V-DEM measures and the over three-dozen indicators provided by the competitive authoritarian framework, the analysis confirms the recent regression of Vučić's Serbia to competitive authoritarianism. The peculiar features of this case, which went through a double transition to and from democracy in less than two decades, appear to strengthen a pessimistic outlook for the future of democracy.Is the current situation proving that Serbia went through an autocratization process or it just represents a further deterioration of the Serbian democracy? What is the theoretical contribution of this case to the debate on the 'crisis of democracy'? The analysis highlights the re-emergence of a competitive authoritarian regime in Vučić's Serbia, making this case part of a broader trend of global authoritarian retreat triggered by elected leaders.

COVID-19 and erosion of democracy

“…Starting with various characteristics of the democracy backsliding phenomenon, the literature indicates that the gradual weakening of democracy is characterized by a tilt towards autocracy ( Lührmann and Lindberg, 2019 ). There is also evidence that countries that have smoothly transitioned from autocracy to democracy in the past are at risk of the process of democracy backsliding, which entails moving again towards autocracy ( Castaldo, 2020 ). Moreover, an autocratic regime in a strong neighbouring country may have an impact on democracy backsliding in a dependent country ( Fong, 2021 ).…”

Voided Ballots in the 2012 Parliamentary Election in Serbia

“…Despite the growing concern expressed by international organizations about the deterioration of democracy in this country, the literature on the "crisis of democracy" has somewhat neglected Serbia, notes Castaldo (2020). Using a combined qualitative-quantitative research strategy to detect changes in regime types, 69 he empirically confirms, as he says, the recent regression of Vučić's Serbia to the competitive authoritarianism of the Milošević era.…”

Form over Substance: Possibilities to Prove Electoral Irregularities under Serbian Law

“…Academic research is primarily in the field of political science (e.g. in relation to elections as an institution of the hybrid political regime, including the role of REC, see Pavlović, 2020; or on comparison of scale of electoral manipulations in the 2010s and during the authoritarian regime of the 1990s, see Castaldo, 2020), while organisational aspects are thoroughly analysed by national and international election observation organisations (e.g. OSCE/ODIHR or the local organisation CRTA).…”