Digital Forum

Democracy or agony

6 Dec 8:00pm 2020

Since 1990 Elections to Date
Guests: Robert Botteri, Boris Dežulović, Andrej Nikolaidis, journalists and columnists

Host: Dragan Markovina

While the entire Eastern Europe, inspired by the fall of the Berlin wall and convinced that a Soviet intervention was impossible, euphorically entered the world of liberal democracy and almost permanent, often unsuccessful transition, Yugoslavia clearly indicated in 1989 that the country was facing serious conflicts and that the optimism of citizens who believed in joining the Western world without repercussions, was unfounded. The televised collapse of the Yugoslav Communist Alliance (SKJ) at 14th Congress combined with results of multi-party elections, which in all republics with the exception of Slovenia produced victories of nationalist parties or successors of republic parties, created the preconditions for country’s dissolution and ensuing brutal wars, from which we have yet to fully recover. Was everything pointing to this scenario and what responsibility for it lies with the political “elites” and citizens who supported nationalist projects?