Democracy in post-Yugoslav societies

[Ivo Skoric]

People in post-Yugoslav societies are disappointed with the slow 
deliverance of the desired and over-idealized Western prosperity, 
that, they insist, was promised in return for them accepting the 
democracy and the rule of law as their new way of life. They are 
voting with their feet - educated minority's first priority is to find a 
way to stay in some Western democracy.

Meanwhile, in their 'old country' the economic situation is getting 
considerably and comparably worse. Which adds up to more 
disappointment, even distrust of the good intentions of the West. 
Ultimately, that means less and less people showing up for the 
ballots. Only 55% of eligible voters actually voted in the recent 
Bosnia's elections. The result is that the ruling nationalist parties 
remained in power, moderates remained out of power, and the 
economy is likely to continue to lag behind. (The U.S. also has 
meager voter ouput, but the stakes are not as high.) 

In other words, this is a vicious circle. Furthermore, the "success" 
of nationalist incumbents to continue their crippling hold on Bosnia, 
due to the disappointment of the local population with the 
democratic process there, is likely to be copied in Serbia and in 
Kosovo, soon. Politicians in power there are viewing the Bosnian 
elections results with an open excitement, looking forward for the 
same in their own fiefdoms.

The proverbial international community experienced failure after 
failure after failure in transforming failed states into democracies 
through the attempt for cooperation with the local political 
structures: Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan. Perhaps, that's why 
Bush's proposal for an outright military occupation of Iraq, similar to 
that the U.S. imposed half a century ago on Japan, is met by a 
silent nod even among those Western politicians generally 
opposed to American hegemonism and militarism.

ivo