Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe article explores the role of political parties in hybrid regimes in the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans have been marked by considerable variations in democracy ratings over the past decades, altogether informed by the number of government turnovers and degree of political consolidation since the 1990s. Yet all countries in the region feature deeply entrenched political parties, that draw on either their socialist legacies, anti-communist profile, or the representation of a particular demographic, as well as their control over state institutions. Rather than differentiating between democratic and authoritarian systems in the region, the article stresses their commonalities. It understands parties and their extended networks as the central gatekeepers that mediate citizens' access to economic and societal resources, effectively reversing the accountability between parties and voters. The article categorises party systems along two axes, based on the criteria of competitiveness and consolidation. Instead of adhering to the common dichotomy of authoritarian versus democratic systems, it suggests to understand plural and dominant systems as different manifestations of the same principle. It concludes that the main difference between plural and dominant systems lies in the fact whether power is monopolised or dispersed.

AbstractThis article investigates opposition to the competitive authoritarian regimes in Montenegro (1997–2020), North Macedonia (2006–2017), and Serbia (2012–). In each of the three countries, opposition parties face or have faced the challenge of competing on an electoral playing field that is structurally skewed in favour of the incumbent. The articles explore the question in which circumstances opposition parties have been able to contest the dominant parties. In doing so, it focuses on three dimensions, namely the relationship between spatial party competition, different levels of opposition cohesion or fragmentation, as well as extra-institutional strategies of contestation. The country comparison illustrates that party systems with cross-cutting cleavages tend to produce divided patterns of contestation (Montenegro and Serbia), whereas reinforcing cleavages facilitate the coordination among different types of opposition actors (North Macedonia). Finally, large protests, rather than boycotts, prior to elections have been important factors in facilitating opposition cohesion and signalling broad support (Montenegro and North Macedonia).

Abstract
This article analyses the mechanisms that contributed to the 30-year predominance of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) in Montenegro. The authors pay particular attention to the DPS' programmatic flexibility, use of co-optation, repression and control, as well as clientelism, examining their role in shaping state–society relations and party competition over time. In doing so, the article also seeks to explain the DPS' setback in the 2020 elections and the ongoing transition from a dominant party system towards a more competitive multiparty system.