Serbia
Serbia is a parliamentary democracy with competitive multiparty elections, but in recent years the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations.
Research & Recommendations
Serbia
| PR Political Rights | 18 40 |
| CL Civil Liberties | 39 60 |
Overview
Serbia is a parliamentary democracy with competitive multiparty elections, but in recent years the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations.
Democratic governments and donors must increase and sustain support for those working to defend and promote fundamental freedoms around the world. Failure to do so emboldens autocrats and can result in the loss of hard-won progress.
The events of the past year in places such as Nagorno-Karabakh and the Gaza Strip provided stark evidence that populations without self-determination are at greater risk of extreme human rights abuses or atrocities.
At least 40 countries are holding national-level elections in 2024, and many more will conduct other types of balloting. Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of any democracy, and independent and transparent electoral processes are necessary to foster genuine competition and public trust.
Serbia
| A Obstacles to Access | 22 25 |
| B Limits on Content | 24 35 |
| C Violations of User Rights | 25 40 |
Overview
Serbia registered a slight decline in internet freedom during the coverage period. The country features high levels of internet access, limited website blocking, and strong constitutional protections for journalists. However, progovernment news sites, some of which are connected to the ruling party, engage in disinformation campaigns. The government has reportedly employed trolls on social media to advance its narrative and denigrate critics. The surveillance infrastructure poses concerns as well, with research showing that government agencies have used spyware surveillance tools, including Predator. Journalists continue to face strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) concerning “insults” or “slander” against public officials, though detentions and prison sentences in these cases are rare.
Freedom of expression online is increasingly under attack as governments continue to restrict connectivity and block social media platforms and websites that host political, social, and religious speech. Protecting freedom of expression will require strong legal and regulatory safeguards.
Even before the new wave of generative artificial intelligence (AI) products, AI was a key factor in the crisis of information integrity, serving as an intensifier in environments that were already vulnerable to manipulation. However, advancements in generative AI will supercharge the creation and dissemination of false and misleading content.
Governments worldwide have passed increasingly disproportionate surveillance laws, and can access a booming commercial market for surveillance tools, giving them the capacity to flout the rule of law and monitor the private communications of individuals inside and beyond their borders.
Serbia
| DEMOCRACY-PERCENTAGE Democracy Percentage | 43.45 100 |
| DEMOCRACY-SCORE Democracy Score | 3.61 7 |
Overview
Political life in Serbia in 2023 was impacted by several major shocks, from two mass shootings on May 3 and 4 to various events concerning Kosovo, including violence in May and September and agreements reached in Brussels and in the Macedonian city of Ohrid in February and March, respectively. The two shootings led to the largest protests of the century in Serbia, while the events in Kosovo brought pressure on the Serbian government from both the international community and the domestic public. The turmoil culminated in snap parliamentary and local elections held on December 17.
The future of European democracy and security is now inextricably linked to the fate of Ukraine. European Union (EU) and NATO member states must not only invest far more—and more efficiently—in their collective defense, but also provide Ukraine with the assistance it needs to roll back Russian advances and build a durable democracy of its own.
In addition to defending the international order from emboldened autocrats, democratic governments must attend to democratic renewal within Europe, particularly among nascent democracies.
Military aggression from autocracies in the region has underscored the dangers of exclusion from democracy-based organizations like the EU and NATO, galvanizing the political will of policymakers in aspiring member states and generating further public pressure to undertake long-sought democratic reforms.