Serbia's transition: towards a better future, by Milica Uvalic, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 344 pages, ISBN 978–0-230–21160–5 (original) (raw)

2011, Nationalities Papers

What are the political consequences of economic change in 2001-201O? For example, what has been the effect on party constituencies, public opinion, electoral turnout and choice, possible political coalitions in government, and so forth, of developments such as: • the declining role of labor as an organized political force was already taking place dramatically during the 1990s, but these economic policies make this much worse • increasing regional inequalities within Serbia • who politically are the new private sector likely to be? This fourth question is, for me, as a political scientist, the most interesting of the many next questions, but in relation to this book, in particular, the answer will tell us about the hopes for a change in Serbian policy toward the new consensus among economists globally that Milica Uvalic discusses as the way forward for Serbia, too, and the hopeful ending of concrete policy recommendations for industrial policy, employment policy, and research and development. As she makes clear, this will require a change in the role of the state itself. Will that be possible, or is the resistance to change that she documents (at least 30%) likely to grow under anger at the consequences of these policies?