Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans

by Jasmin Mujanovic

Less than two decades after the Yugoslav Wars ended, the edifice of parliamentary government in the Western Balkans is crumbling. This collapse sets into sharp relief the unreformed authoritarian tendencies of the region's entrenched elites, many of whom have held power since the early 1990s, and the hollowness of the West's "democratization" agenda. There is a widely held assumption that institutional collapse will precipitate a new bout of ethnic conflict, but Mujanovic argues instead that the Balkans are on the cusp of a historic socio-political transformation. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, with a unique focus on local activist accounts, he argues that a period of genuine democratic transition is finally dawning, led by grassroots social movements, from Zagreb to Skopje. Rather than pursuing ethnic strife, these new Balkan revolutionaries are confronting the "ethnic entrepreneurs" cemented in power by the West in its efforts to stabilise the region since the mid-1990s. This compellingly argued book harnesses the explanatory power of the striking graffiti scrawled on the walls of the ransacked Bosnian presidency during violent anti-government protests in 2014: 'if you sow hunger, you will reap fury'.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunger and Fury : The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans, by Jasmin Mujanovic, is an examination of the modern political processes in multiple Balkans nations, focusing mostly on Macedonia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with small blurbs on Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo and Montenegro (often called the Western Balkans). The book posits two main theories: the first is that the main political trend in the Balkans from historical times to modern times has been that of local autocratic leaders who will do whatever it takes to stay in power. The second is the failure of Western powers and institutions, notably the US, EU and NATO, to combat autocratic trends and democratic backsliding in the Balkans.

The first theory brushes over large amounts of history in the Balkans, from Ottoman to Austro-Hungarian to Nazi to Yugoslavia to post-Soviet. The main just of this section is that regardless of the political trappings of local elite - Imperial governor's under the Sultan, Nationalist parties backed by the Nazi's or Socialist reformers in Yugoslavia, genocidal nationalists or modern Parliamentarian democrats - most elites are focused on the maintenance of power in the Balkans, and will utilize whatever means necessary to ensure their system of crony exploitation of the state remains intact. Mujanovic notes the alarming trend of democratic backsliding in the Balkans, as elites either use forms of cooperative authoritarianism - ie. flipping parties in elections while maintaining the status quo under a faux-competitive democracy, the use of nationalism as in Serbia and Croatia to keep voters in a state of anxiety and voting for the ruling party, and democratic backsliding, where elites follow prescribed Western economic and political reforms for gain - as in Slovenia and Croatia joining the EU, or Albania and Macedonia NATO, and then begin to backslide into more autocratic tendencies once the gains are held.

The second portion of Mujanovic's thesis is about Western failure in the Balkans. This is widely regarded as the case in terms of the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990's - where options of a Federal, Democratic Yugoslavia, stable democratic nation-states, or (as is the case) a collapse into ethnic conflict that left many thousands dead. Western powers largely fell short on this issue - at first not really engaging, and only getting involved when the genocides began. This policy of coming up short continues today - especially in the era of Trump and Brexit, which Mujanovic notes has eroded both Western interest in the Balkans, as Western powers begin to look internally, as well as the growth and acceptance of authoritarian and illiberal regimes not just in the West, but in the EU as well - in Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland, for example. Mujanovic also notes the fact that the West and International institutions are losing ground in the Balkans to external geopolitical rivals. Russia is moving into the region as a spoiling factor, looking to disrupt Western influence, discredit the US and EU, and exploit power vacuums. Russian strategy appears to focus on either stopping or rolling back the expansion of NATO, keeping some nations in the region out of the EU, and propping up cooperative regimes in the Balkans - ie. in Serbia. China is another player in the region, although their influence is purely economic and diplomatic in nature, as they seem to want to both boost infrastructure hooked into the Belt and Road Initiative, and secure diplomatic favours in both EU and non-EU countries. This allows China to bolster its diplomatic clout in the UN and EU. Examples include when Croatia and Slovenia pushed to tone down language in an EU draft calling out Chinese on its human rights record in its restive Western territories. Finally, the Gulf states and Turkey are becoming involved. Turkey is backsliding into Illiberal principles itself, and is seeking to bolster its geopolitical security in the face of strained ties with the West. It has close ties to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Islamic communities in other Balkan states. The Gulf Arab states are also looking to boost economic and diplomatic ties, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE funding and sponsoring Sufi schools across the region. This could potentially be destabilizing, as Gulf States are also purchasing large amounts of old Soviet weapons which have been found in conflict zones in Syria and Libya.

This was a fairly interesting read. Some nitty-gritty details on politics within Yugoslavia and details on modern issues within the Balkans in terms of the development of democratic culture within Balkans polities. Although some of the details stretch, and the other has far too many tangents for just two small thesis, this is still a very interesting book that offers good, modern perspective on Balkans politics. A good book to pick up if one is into Balkans politics or would like to learn more about the regions history, culture and current events.

[Murtaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is less a history of the Balkans or even an analysis of its current political situation than a look at the origins of its institutional dysfunction. The Balkans have always traditionally been ruled by outside empires, be they Ottomans or Habsburgs. Instead of asserting control directly, these empires typically used existing patrimonial and criminal networks to govern the region by proxy. As the empires gradually collapsed, these minor princes and bandits transformed themselves into political leaders. Regardless of the changes in top-level rule these local strongmen have sought to maintain their own powers on the local level and have used every trick in the book to do this, including the fomentation of ethnic identities and hatreds. The disastrous consequences of this should be familiar with anyone who has followed the politics of the region over the past two decades.

The most recent imperial power to assert itself over the Balkans has been the EU and NATO. However, with the undeniable decline in Western influence since the 90s, the shaky post-war status quo is coming under increasing challenge. Russia, Turkey and China are all competing to influence local elites in the service of various agendas, with Russian influence being potentially the most malign and dangerous. During the period of Western hegemony in the region there was a real failure to promote genuine democracy. As such the region remains divided among various warlords in suits who have simply adapted themselves to the new order. Some real authoritarian war criminals have managed to reinvent themselves as committed Atlanticists within the course of a few years, all in the ultimate aim of staying at the top of the heap in terms of power.

Mujanovic makes a good point that Western narratives of the region are mistaken in fixating solely on the question of whether the region will return to war or not. This question, frequently invoked by local leaders, helps terrorize an already traumatized population into denying itself real political choice and acquiescing to a miserable and stagnant political order. The Balkans remains a region saddled with petty tyranny, inequality and absence of opportunity for the young. Only by genuinely empowering the common people and creating participatory democracy, Mujanovic argues, can any future conflict really be avoided, as war itself is really the result of a failure or absence of ordinary politics.

The book goes very deep into Balkan history to explain the roots of its current political order. It assumes a fairly high level of knowledge of the region and perhaps is not ideal as an intro. However it lays out a compelling narrative which is somehow both bleak and optimistic at the same time. It is bleak in the sense that the people of the Balkans face serious challenges and a looming future of social upheaval. But its optimistic in the prospects of them channeling the popular democratic values, that they continue to see elsewhere in Europe, in order to build a better future for themselves. Above all the book reminds me of Why Nations Fail in its focus on the deep history of the Balkans predatory modern institutions. A solid read about an underanalyzed but every important region - the thin tissue that separates Europe from the Middle East.

[PJ Jelének · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jasmin Mujanović ve své knize nabízí přesvědčivý pohled na problematiku "elastického autoritářství" na Balkáně - fenoménu, kdy elity dokáží přežít jakoukoliv změnu režimu tím, že se přizpůsobí navenek, ale uvnitř zachovají staré mocenské struktury.

Autor analyzuje, jak západní přístup k demokratizaci regionu selhal tím, že příliš důvěřoval místním elitám. Výsledkem jsou režimy, které nabízejí stabilitu, ale bez skutečné demokracie. Na příkladech Bosny a Hercegoviny, Slovinska a Severní Makedonie ukazuje, že naděje na změnu nespočívá v mezinárodních intervencích, ale v grassroots hnutích a aktivním občanství. Kniha je čtivá a na nic si nehraje. Mujanović někdy sklouzává k jednostranné kritice Západu a jeho argumenty by mohly být lépe podloženy daty, přesto jde o cenný příspěvek k pochopení komplexní situace regionu. Pro každého, koho zajímá budoucnost demokracie nejen na Balkáně, ale v celé Evropě, jde o četbu, která vyvolává důležité otázky o tom, co dělá demokracii skutečnou.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[CJ]

I was introduced to Jasmin Mujanovic's work during my study abroad program in the Balkans and I've been a big fan of his ever since (if you're on twitter I highly recommend giving him a follow there @JasminMuj). This book is an interesting look about the current democratic crisis in the post-Yugoslav states and their potential for both greater illiberalism or true democracy. What direction the region takes will in large part depend on the degree to which the EU and the U.S. support democratization, a role both have largely abandoned in the past several years. I am hoping the Biden administration will take up the mantle of that role again, but it's too soon to say. A lot of Balkan scholarship is still focused on the 1990s, and books like this that are forward-looking are refreshing. It's pretty academic if you're just a casual reader and if you don't already have some base of knowledge about the region it would probably be hard to follow. But barring those two caveats I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to learn about the current political climate in the Balkans without the tired cliches about unending ethnic rivalry.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve spent a bit of time on holiday in various Balkan countries - Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia - but I’ve found it quite difficult to get any real sense of the local politics when there. So I started following Mujanovic on twitter and found him to be an insightful pundit and analyst, and buying his book seemed like the next logical step.

In some ways the analysis in this book is quite simple, but that’s not a criticism. There’s a proposition to be stood up across multiple countries. The one small criticism I might have is that he says he’d been lucky to have written a thesis that transferred easily to a book for the general reader; I think another couple of sweeps by the editor might have helped as there is a fair bit of unnecessary jargon, especially earlier on. Then again, I assume English is not his first language, so fair play.

[Steve Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books you could read to understand what is brewing in the former Yugoslavia. The author is insightful and analytical. I appreciated his ability to make complex situations easily understandable. Would be excellent to read an updated version or more from this author as to what he thinks about the almost decade since the protests he writes about.

[Haris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review pending. But it's good.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i learnt a lot and unlearnt quite a fair bit too

[Griffin Barriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Mujanović was a professor of mine in undergrad and one of my professional mentors, so read this in his voice which was cool. I really appreciate how well synthesized his narrative throughout, and was honestly the first analysis of the current state of the Balkans that even discusses history before 1989. The book is DARK throughout, but it ends on a surprisingly optimistic tone which I kinda find rare in these kind of books. I learned a ton from this read, ever more relavent in light of the recent NATO-Serb paramilitary clashes in Kosovo. This is 100% a required reading for US/EU foreign policy establishment, as US Balkans policy needs an overhaul.