Between Justice and Stability: The Politics of War Crimes Prosecutions in Post-Milosevic Serbia

by Mladen Ostojic

Overview

Exploring the impact of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY) on regime change in Serbia, this book examines the relationship between international criminal justice and democratisation. It analyses in detail the repercussions of the ICTY on domestic political dynamics and provides an explanatory account of Serbia's transition to democracy. Lack of cooperation and compliance with the ICTY was one of the biggest obstacles to Serbia's integration into Euro-Atlantic political structures following the overthrow of Milosevic. By scrutinising the attitudes of the Serbian authorities towards the ICTY and the prosecution of war crimes, Ostojic explores the complex processes set in motion by the international community's policies of conditionality and by the prosecution of the former Serbian leadership in The Hague. Drawing on a rich collection of empirical data, he demonstrates that the success of international judicial intervention is premised upon democratic consolidation and that transitional justice policies are only ever likely to take root when they do not undermine the stability and legitimacy of political institutions on the ground.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317174998
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/15/2016
Series:	ISSN
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mladen Ostojić specializes in different aspects of international intervention and democracy-promotion in South-East Europe. He completed his PhD at Queen Mary, University of London, in 2011. His research expertise lies in the areas of transitional justice, democratisation, Europeanisation and civil society development in South-East Europe.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: International Justice and Transitional Democracy; Chapter 2 Setting the Context: Serbia’s Protracted Transition; Chapter 3 Regime Change and the Politics of Cooperation with the ICTY; Chapter 4 International Justice, State Responsibility and Truth-Telling; Chapter 5 Domestic War Crimes Trials; Conclusion: An Ambivalent Legacy;

Editorial Reviews

"Between Justice and Stability will be an essential reading for scholars of the Western Balkans, transitional justice, and international human rights interventions more broadly."

Jelena Subotić, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Georgia State University

After the rapid change of regime in 2000, Serbia's new government faced demands to establish itself in power, build democratic institutions, satisfy international powerholders, and provide justice. Mladen Ostojic gives us valuable insight as to why all of those goals did not always go together. His interviews with post-2000 officials shed new light on the dilemmas of an incoming regime.

Eric Gordy, University College London, UK

Between Justice and Stability provides an incisive and lucid analysis of the impact of international justice on Serbia's political evolution since the fall of Milosevic. By examining the complexities and at times counterproductive effects of external judicial intervention in a post-conflict society, it presents a valuable contribution to the current debates on transitional justice in the Balkans and beyond.

Jasna Dragovic-Soso, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

There is much to be admired in Between justice and stability by Mladen Ostojic, not least as it fills a major gap in the literature on the democratic transition of the ex-Yugoslav space. By focusing on transitional justice and its relationship to democratic transition in Serbia and the attitudes of ruling elites, the author demonstrates how complex and challenging this relationship really was. Ostojic bases his argument on a variety of primary sources, including interviews with leading politicians, official documents, reports and speeches, producing a rather thought-provoking and informative read. This work is very well written and presents plausible arguments and I most warmly recommend it as both a useful and an engaging read.

International Affairs

From the Publisher