yugoslavias implosion

312
ChApter 4
the fledgling civil society that existed in the country. Destructiveness
and primitivism are the main characteristic of Serbian society
today. Serbian society must face its criminal past and deconstruct
Milošević’s legacy at all levels, from personal to programmatic. Raising
the issue of moral responsibility is the only way to break with
the barbarous practices of the previous decade to construct a new
Serbian identity. As the political scientist Nenad Dimitrijević has
remarked, “we must make a clean break with the humiliating past in
order to be able to make room for a new beginning.” 532
Serbia has no strength left to wage war; as such, Serbia is no
threat to its neighbors but still can undermine the consolidation
of Bosnia and Kosovo by encouraging the Serbs there to reject any
notions of accommodation, reconciliation, and cooperation. The fact
that all of Serbia’s neighbors wish to join or have already become
members of the eu can have a positive impact on Serbia. However,
the eu’s expectation that, given time, Serbia will integrate into
Europe may be overly optimistic because, given Serbia’s conservative
traditions and social forces, it cannot be a political and economic
partner in the region without significant and sustained support from
pro-European forces outside the country. Serbia’s democratic transition
is possible only if the international community lends a helping
hand and takes charge of Serbia’s institutions—especially the Army,
police, judiciary, and education—while providing extensive economic
support. Nationalism is the only identity of the Serbian elite
at present—and the reason why Serbia’s future in Europe is unclear.
The May 2008 elections brought to light Serbia’s dilemmas
regarding its future. The so-called pro-European government (the
coalition of the Democratic Party and Milošević’s Socialist Party
of Serbia) that was established after the elections was the most
532 Nenad Dimitrijević, Moralna odgovornost za kolektivni zločin, Beogradski krug,
Zajednica sećanja, no . 1–4/ 2006 . Dimitrijević is from Novi Sad and was a professor
at the local law school before being purged and moving to Hungary .