Confronting Corruption in Post-Milošević Serbia: Discourse and Institutions

Abstract

Charting how the Serbian authorities marshalled anti-corruption efforts, once Milošević was ousted from power in 2000, is important for understanding of contemporary debate on corruption. The analysis here focuses first on the dynamic relationship between discourse and institutions and presents a tentative binary division of political scandals based on the manner in which institutions responded. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the post-Milošević authorities confronted the issue of corruption by strengthening the legal and regulatory framework–a response mainly driven by external forces, such as the EU accession process. It is argued here that the newly established institutions contributed to consolidation of the notion of corruption based on a distinction between public and private spheres, much as it is conceptualised in international and EU legal frameworks.