Serbia: Interest groups in an unconsolidated pluralist democracy

Abstract

Like Serbian politics in general, informal ways of conducting political business also characterize the country's contemporary interest group system. This is largely due to decades of authoritarian rule and less than 30 years' experience with pluralist democracy. Added to this, the period following the end of socialist Yugoslavia, particularly the authoritarian rule of Slobodan Milosevic and Serbia's involvement in war, undermined the development of a pluralist group system. Despite these setbacks, and in the face of continuing constraints, several elements of a modern group system have begun to emerge. This development has contributed to the advancement of Serbia's brand of majoritarian democracy.