yugoslavias implosion

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ChApter 4
society with still incalculable consequences. Several generations
of young people grew up on a model of violence perpetrated with
impunity. The cultural model evolved out of radical ethno-nationalism
and of the exclusion of others on ethnic, religious, and political
grounds. The youngsters who were fed state propaganda on primetime
news, lived among the “tough guys” who ruled the streets
and witnessed hunger and desperation during the 1990s are putting
their lessons into practice on a massive scale. Violence in schools and
streets, at sporting events, and against minorities and dissidents is the
order of the day.
In spite of its formally multiparty system, Serbia is not a pluralist
country. Impoverished, frustrated, and demoralized, its leaders
are unable to strike an internal balance by turning Serbia into a
modern state that respects the human rights of its citizens. The issue
of minorities, for instance, continues to reveal Serbia’s reluctance
to make a break with the ethno-national agenda of the early 1990s.
Despite the fact that Serbia passed a minorities law in 2001 (above all
to meet a Council of Europe membership requirements), the lack
of a proactive minorities policy indicates that Serbian nationalists
continue to opt for a program that will effect ethnic consolidation.
Efforts to consolidate the state on ethnic grounds further exclude
minorities from political decision making. The deterioration of ethnic
relations, especially in Vojvodina, and the subsequent attention
paid to ethnic minorities by the eu and the Council of Europe, have
not been enough for the government to address the minority issue in
earnest. 530
Serbia has yet to make a start on a democratic transition, which
requires a transformation of its political, economic, and cultural
530 A state built on ethnic principles cannot solve the question of its miniorities democratically
because it regards minorities as an anomaly and a threat . The minorities, who are thus denied
their “share of the state,” do not identify themselves with an order that puts a premium on
ethnic values and the interests of the majority nation . They, therefore, seek a solution in
autonomy and special status and, by doing so, raise others’ doubts as to their loyalty .