Lutovac, Zoran (2021) Public interest and global crisis: Pandemic and stabilitocracy in Serbia. In: Democracy and Populism Equality, Truth, and Disagreement in the Age of COVID. Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics, & Ethics (CAPPE), Brighton.
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The political order called stabilitocracy is in fact an autocratic order based on the undemocratic rule of a strong leader, an order of underdeveloped democratic institutions and a very limited rule of law, suppressed civil liberties, but supported by the EU and the US for “regional stability”. Although it is constituted as a state governed by the rule of law, in which there is a division of power into legislative, judicial and executive power, as a state in which civil rights and freedoms are supreme – in political practice there is no real division of power, the opposition is treated as an enemy is usurped state institutions and controlled private and state media. This was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic through the campaign on “care for the health of citizens” and through the election campaign held without basic conditions to be free and fair and at a time of health threats to citizens. Enormous power is concentrated in the hands of an autocrat who controls state and public institutions. All of this, seemingly, can be an advantage in making quick and efficient decisions in crises like a pandemic. Democracies are often criticized for being slow and inefficient, for having complicated procedures, and for these weaknesses to be especially evident in crises. However, the example of Serbia has shown that the opposite is true: all the weaknesses of autocracy in times of crisis are completely exposed, and the lack of democratic and liberal procedures and values directly affects the public interest. This especially refers to the fact that there is no institutional control of the executive and that the media are in the service of such an uncontrolled government, and not of the public interest. In times of crisis, it is shown that democratic “complicated” procedures and “complex ways of decision-making” are obstacles to political abuse and a security mechanism for the protection of the public interest.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Institutional centre: | Centre for political research and public opinion |
| Depositing User: | D. Arsenijević |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Apr 2025 09:29 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Apr 2025 09:29 |
| URI: | http://iriss.idn.org.rs/id/eprint/2671 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
