Civil-Military Relations and Democratic Control over the Armed Forces in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

This article focuses on the democratization of civil-military relations and the implementation of democratic control of the armed forces in the Republic of Serbia. By analyzing the basic parameters of democratic civil-military relations, we attempt to evaluate whether civil-military relations in the Republic of Serbia can be classified into a type of relations that occur in consolidated democracies. Based on an examination of legal documents and other data, this article concludes that democratic changes since October 2000 have greatly influenced the course of relations between military and political elites and that civil-military relation in Serbia meet most of the defined parameters. However, due to the difficulties in the implementation of this control in practice, civil-military relations in Serbia can only partially be classified as a type of relations that occur in consolidated democracies. © The Author(s) 2012.