Serbia Since 1989: Politics and Society under Milošević and After

457 Pages·2005·1.44 MB·English

by  Sabrina P. Ramet

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The Crisis ofLeninism and the Decline ofthe Left:
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Sino-Soviet Normalization and Its International
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Contradictions: Artistic Life, the Socialist State, and the
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The Production ofHindu-Muslim Violence
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Modern Clan Politics: The Power of“Blood”
in Kazakhstan and Beyond, by Edward Schatz
Serbia since 1989: Politics and Society under Milopevi_and After,
edited by Sabrina P. Ramet and Vjeran Pavlakovi_
Serbia
1989
SINCE
POLITICS AND SOCIETY UNDER MILOSEVI– AND AFTER
EDITED BY SABRINA P. RAMET AND VJERAN PAVLAKOVI–
WITH A NEW EPILOGUE BY JAMES B.LYON
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS • SEATTLE AND LONDON
This publication was supported in part by the Jackson School
Publications Fund, established through the generous support ofthe
Henry M. Jackson Foundation and other donors, in cooperation
with the Henry M. Jackson School ofInternational Studies
and the University ofWashington Press.
© 2005 by the University ofWashington Press
First paperback edition, 2007
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Serbia since 1989 : politics and society under Milopevi_and after /
edited by Sabrina P. Ramet and Vjeran Pavlakovic.
p. cm. Includes index.
isbn-10:0-295-98650-6 (pbk.)
isbn-13:978-0-295-98650-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Serbia—History—1992– 2. Yugoslav War, 1991–1995—Serbia
and Montenegro—Serbia. 3. Milopevi_, Slobodan, 1941–2006
i. Ramet, Sabrina P., 1949– ii. Pavlakovic, Vjeran.
dr2049.s47 2005 949.7103—dc22 2005008069
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and 90 percent
recycled from at least 50 percent post-consumer waste. It meets
the minimum requirements ofAmerican National Standard for
Information Sciences-Permanence ofPaper for Printed
Library Materials, ansiz39.48–1984.8A
TO GYÖRGY PÉTERI
AND
VERA AND IVAN PAVLAKOVI–
CONTENTS
PREFACE ix
1
Introduction:
Serbia as a Dysfunctional State 3
VJERAN PAVLAKOVI–
PART I. THE CENTER
2
Serbia Transformed? Political Dynamics
in the Milopevi_Era and After 13
VJERAN PAVLAKOVI–
3
From the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia to
the Union ofSerbia and Montenegro 55
RENEO LUKI–
4
An Airplane with Eighteen Pilots:
Serbia after Milopevi_ 95
OBRAD KESI–
PART II. THE LEGACY OF THE WAR
5
Under the Holy Lime Tree: The Inculcation
ofNeurotic and Psychotic Syndromes as a
Serbian Wartime Strategy, 1986–95 125
SABRINA P.RAMET
6
The Impact ofthe War on Serbia: Spoiled
Appetites and Progressive Decay 143
JAMES GOW AND MILENA MICHALSKI
7
Postwar Guilt and Responsibility in Serbia:
The Eªort to Confront It and the
Eªort to Avoid It 166
ERIC D. GORDY
8
Crime and the Economy under
Milopevi_and His Successors 192
MAJA MILJKOVI–AND MARKO ATTILA HOARE
9
The Trial ofSlobodan Milopevi_ 227
KARI M. OSLAND
PART III. CULTURE AND VALUES
10
The Politics ofthe Serbian Orthodox Church 255
SABRINA P. RAMET
11
Nationalism, Motherhood, and the
Reordering ofWomen’s Power 286
BILJANA BIJELI–
PART IV. PERIPHERIES
12
Kosovar Albanians between
a Rock and a Hard Place 309
FRANCES TRIX
13
Vojvodina since 1988 350
EMIL KERENJI
14
The Yugoslav Roma under
Slobodan Milopevi_and After 381
DENNIS REINHARTZ
PART V. CONCLUSION
15
The Sirens and the Guslar:
An Afterword 395
SABRINA P. RAMET
16
Epilogue: Serbia after
the Death ofMilopevi_ 414
JAMES B. LYONS
GLOSSARY 421
CONTRIBUTORS 425
INDEX 431
PREFACE
S
erbia continues to fascinate us, as few other countries have done. It
remains a mysterious country—not because there are vast secrets
there, but because it is the quintessential “Balkan” land ifby “Balkan”
we mean a land lying on the southeastern doorstep ofVienna and having
a history of intrigue; because it occupies the twilight zone between de-
mocracy and authoritarianism; because it seems to be a land which hatches
conspiracies and cabals; because it is a society important sectors ofwhich
are in denial: not just ofthe extent ofSerbs’ responsibility for the war and
for the atrocities committed in the course of that war, not just of ordi-
nary Serbs’ complicity in the atrocities committed in Kosovo, and not just
ofthe illegitimacy ofthe “Greater Serbia” project, but, for some people (as
noted in chapter 10), ofliberalism itself. A society in which denial is main-
stream, in which nationalism still tends to be viewed as positive, in which
there has been a sense ofcrisis in the air for most ofthe past century, is a
society in which movement forward toward stable democracy can only be
di‹cult.
Among the Yugoslav successor states, Serbia remains the key. The atti-
tude of the government of Serbia will aªect the future of Montenegro,
Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in obvious ways, as well as that ofCroa-
tia in less obvious ways. While Serbia may no longer have the military mus-
cle it flexed in the early 1990s, it remains an important element for Balkan
security. A stable Serbia can contribute to stability throughout the region,
while continued political instability can send out ripples aªecting other
societies.
We are profoundly grateful to our volume contributors, for their pro-
fessionalism, for their willingness to undertake revisions as needed, and
for their patience during the review process. We also wish to thank
Michael Duckworth, executive editor at the press, for his sensible advice;
Stephen E. Hanson, director ofthe Russian, East European, and Central