Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Two opposing sides configured the political scene of the 1990s in Serbia: on the one side, Slobodan Milošević's power bloc–the authoritarian nationalist regime that led Serbia in direct confrontation with other Yugoslav republics and the “international community”–and, on the other, the so-called “pro-democratic” bloc, which included various and heterogeneous political parties, movements, civic groups, and NGOs, opting for a democratic and European Serbia. This political struggle within Serbia took different forms: from inner parliamentary struggle, propaganda and counter-propaganda, peaceful protests and demonstrations, to direct and violent conflicts. In December 1990 the first multi-party elections in Serbia since World War II took place. Due to the decisive electoral victory, Milošević (the newly elected president of Serbia) and his Socialist Party of Serbia (the reformed League of Communists of Serbia) secured an absolute majority in the Serbian parliament and succeeded in keeping the party's monopoly over public media. This media monopoly was used immediately by the regime to create an atmosphere of national homogenization and hostility toward political opponents, mostly the political leaderships in Slovenia and Croatia. This was the time when socialist Yugoslavia entered the last stage before its break-up. The opposition in Serbia, after the electoral defeat, was largely frustrated ... log in or subscribe to read full text