Serbia

Why are students protesting in Serbia? What are the social and political reasons for the upheaval? What is the state of the Serbian democracy? Is the European Union choosing interests over values? And should we fear the recent geopolitical tensions in the Balkans? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Ivan Vejvoda, Permanent fellow at the IWM. Ivan is the head of Europe’s Futures program and a host of Vienna Coffee House Conversations.

Can societies function without systems of punishment? What is the alternative to prisons? How does the system treat criminals? And is there any room for compassion in the criminal justice system?

The paper focuses on the concept of populism in practice in the countries of the Western Balkans, mostly in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the use of state institutions and government-controlled media to propagate populist narratives. The basic research question relates to the nature of this populism, in the context of the theoretical framework of the given term, as well as the future challenges of the region.

In this episode, we talk about the Western Balkans in the context of the EU enlargement, the current situation in respective potential candidates, opportunities and threats resulting from premature entry into the EU, and the prospects for further European integration.

People can be nudged in a certain direction without the government introducing public policies or implementing high taxes. As any changes in default options, framing or social influences may have a great impact on the choices people make, public policy creators use insights from psychology to create nudges.

In Serbia there is a plethora of possible government policy actions beyond the establishment and operation of SOEs. Having in mind the negative results stemming from the operation of SOEs, to alleviate this problem an approach other than appointing new management is necessary, as might be heard in public discourse.

Hungarian government started building a fence on the border with Serbia to ward the immigrants off. The construction, stretching over 170 kilometers, is not in any way a solution to the problem of immigration. All that the fence will do is manifest Hungary’s separation from Europe.