Promises and Challenges of Deliberative and Participatory Innovations in Hybrid Regimes: The Case of Two Citizens’ Assemblies in Serbia

Abstract

A worrying trend of autocratization that has been spreading globally in recent years, has thrust forward a new wave of appeals for deliberative and participatory democracy as a remedy for the crisis. With a few exceptions, the majority of participatory and deliberative institutions were implemented in stable democracies. The efforts to institutionalize participatory and deliberative models are almost completely absent in Serbia and other Western Balkan countries. Yet, there has been a trend of citizen mobilization in the form of social movements and local civic initiatives, which are both a symptom of unresponsive and quite openly authoritarian institutions, as well as a potential pathway to democratization. The pace and scope of these developments in the undemocratic societies of the Western Balkan region, in terms of both bottom up and top-down democratic experimentation, call for a better understanding of their internal dynamics, and their social and political impact. Responding to this need, the articles in the special issue focus on social movement mobilizations and deliberative experimentation.

To begin with, our introductory article focuses particularly on understanding the possible role deliberative institutions could have in hybrid regimes. It looks at the first two cases of deliberative mini publics (DMPs) ever organized in Serbia, analyzing their rationale, specific design, implementation, as well as considering the possible role deliberative institutions could play in the hybrid regime of Serbia.

Zabrinjavajući trend autokratizacije koja se širi svetom poslednjih godina je pokrenuo novi talas poziva na deliberativnu i participativnu demokratiju kao lek za krizu. Uz nekoliko izuzetaka, većina participativnih i deliberativnih institucija je uspostavljana i sprovođena u stabilnim demokratijama. Napori da se participativni i deliberativni modeli institucionalizuju skoro u potpunosti izostaju u Srbiji i drugim zemljama Zapadnog Balkana. Ipak, ono što je prisutno je mobilizacija građana u okviru društvenih pokreta i lokalnih građanskih inicijativa, koja je istovremeno simptom neodgovornih i sve očiglednije autoritarnih institucija, kao i potencijalni put ka demokratizaciji. Tempo i obim ovakvog razvoja demokratskih eksperimenata, kako onih odozdo nagore tako i onih odozgo nadole, u nedemokratskim društvima regiona Zapadnog Balkana, zahtevaju bolje razumevanje njihove unutrašnje dinamike i njihovog društvenog i političkog uticaja. Kao odgovor na ovu potrebu, članci u ovom tematu stavljaju naglasak na mobilizaciju društvenih pokreta i deliberativno eksperimentisanje. Na samom početku, naš uvodni članak se posebno fokusira na razumevanje moguće uloge koju bi deliberativne institucije mogle da imaju u hibridnim režimima. Razmatraju se prva dva slučaja deliberativnih mini javnosti (DMJ) ikada organizovanih u Srbiji, uz analizu obrazloženja, specifičnog dizajna, sprovođenja DMJ, kao i sagledavanje moguće uloge koju bi deliberativne institucije mogle da imaju u hibridnom režimu Srbije.