The specter of neo-authoritarianism is circling the Balkans

Deeply rooted and long clichéd notions about the Balkans - a powder keg, never predictable and eternally unstable, are confirmed again and again in practice. EU membership for the Balkan countries is still a moving target, which the country's leaders are no longer even trying to hit, instead they are increasingly shooting themselves in the foot. What is the least common content of the situation in all Balkan countries is the strong manifestation of authoritarian tendencies, which is manifested by the concentration of power in the hands of a handful of oligarchs or often a dominant political leader. In practice, this also means stifling the freedom of the media, systematic and brutal violation of human rights, corruption on a huge scale and pronounced organized crime.

This time, Macedonia is on fire. After the opposition published videos that leave no doubt that Prime Minister Gruevski and other high-ranking officials were involved in serious crimes of corruption and abuse of office, illegal wiretapping and monitoring of the opposition and other citizens, election rigging, the justified revolt of Macedonian citizens turned into demonstrations on the streets of Skopje and demands for the resignation of the Government. The government's response to those demands was the use of force against the demonstrators. Somehow, two terrorist attacks are happening at the same time, under very mysterious circumstances that irresistibly provoke speculation that they are actually staged attacks, which are a desperate attempt by Prime Minister Gruevski's government to preserve power. From the recordings previously published by the opposition leader Zaev, it is evident that Gruevski does not have excessive scruples, nor does he choose means to preserve power. Which further reinforces suspicions about staged attacks.

Nor does Macedonia's northern neighbor, Serbia, have any less of a problem with neo-authoritarian tendencies. Final works on the construction of the personality cult of Lord Vučić are underway. Skadar on Bojana, i.e. Belgrade on the water, is a paradigm of Lord Vučić's rule. And just like in the epic poem when the wife of one of the lords who built the city was built into the foundations of Shkodër, basic democratic principles, human rights and freedoms and hope for a modern European Serbia were built into the foundations of Belgrade on the water. The bestial treatment of the regime's media and ministers against the protector of citizens, Janković, who dares to do his job in accordance with the law, are only the most recent examples of the true nature of the Vučić regime. The complete control over the media seems to surpass even the Milosevic regime, which had the manner to at least leave the impression that there are media that he does not control.

In both BH entities, the situation is no better. After hundreds of millions disappeared without a trace from the privatization of Telekom, the RS continues to take on dizzying amounts of debt, the criminalized regime, its own fear of citizens' anger translates into dictatorial laws.

After the law on public order and peace, which allows the police to detain citizens for writing on social networks, and the law prohibiting gatherings near institutions, it was the turn of the crackdown on non-governmental organizations, which heavily accused the authorities of the RS of crimes committed measures hundreds of millions. With the new law, the Ministry of Justice will be authorized to assess which organizations can operate on the territory of the RS. Therefore, the RS is increasingly moving in the direction of introducing an open dictatorship, which became completely obvious after the affair of buying support for the new government. In FBiH, all state resources have long been taken over by family clans and the intelligence underground.

While in the capital, armed gangs terrorize ordinary citizens and fight each other daily, the criminalized government fails to provide citizens with basic services - water distribution, for example. Meanwhile, the oligarchy continues to funnel state resources into private pockets. Herzegovina is governed sovereignly from the table city by the powerful Dr. Dragan Čović, who changed the course of the river to build his own home, protecting of course and primarily Croatian national interests, obviously not neglecting his own, which he seems to understand to be equally vital.

The situation in Kosovo is perhaps the most complex of all the Balkan countries. The government is fully integrated with organized crime groups. War criminals, drug cartels are important actors of political life. The EULEX mission, which has operational responsibilities, not only did not contribute to stabilization, but is faced with serious problems of corruption in its own ranks.

Montenegro has been ruled by one man for almost three decades. Although he changed positions during that time, alternately serving as president and prime minister, in practical terms his position could actually be compared to the title held by the Roman emperors domius et deus (lord and god). For a long time now, there has been no boundary between the private property of Prime Minister Đukanović and the state property, all institutions in the country are guided solely by the discretion of what would suit the owner, and this is followed in the decisions of state bodies. It is true that during that time the master changed a wide range of ideologies and beliefs from a Serbian nationalist to a Montenegrin independentist, from a loyal executor of works to Milošević to a pro-European determined factor of stability in the eyes of Western capitals. Only one thing has not changed in all that time, the desire to preserve the acquired wealth and power.

Brussels responds to difficult and bad news from the Balkans with deafening silence. The bureaucratic routine of decision-makers in Brussels does not seem to be disturbed by the bad news that is coming more and more often from the south-eastern edge of the Union. Infamous comparisons with the beginning of the 90s, when some Western politicians euphorically said that it was time for Europe in the Balkans, are inevitable. Instead of returning to Europe, the Balkans then returned to the 90th century. As in the early XNUMXs, the EU's current approach to the Balkans seems more and more like a farce. The approach based on conditionality through the implementation of reforms (conditionality) in exchange for progress in accession, which proved to be successful in the case of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, apparently produces almost no results in the Balkans, with the exception of Croatia, which became a full member. No one can realistically expect that the political elites of the Balkans will subordinate their narrow private interests to the general interest, without a struggle, that is, without pressure from below and above, that is, from the citizens and the EU. Long-term sustainable reforms can only happen when there is a strong enough demand for reforms in the countries themselves. Articulating the discontent of citizens across the Balkans into demands for reforms will be a painstaking process. And that's where the EU has to get more directly involved, working with citizens, civil society, and universities precisely to articulate dissatisfaction.

In June, it will be 15 years since the EU offered the Balkans a European perspective at the summit in Santa Maria da Feira. Maybe that's a good reason to draw a line and take stock. For now, it seems that the hour for Europe in the Balkans, which Jacques Poss announced in 1991, has not yet struck. Einstein noted a long time ago that the first signs of insanity are when you keep repeating the same thing, expecting a different outcome...

(6yka.com)