The Irregular Pendulum of Democracy

This book is a "Must-Read" for those interested to grasp the fluidity of dynamics marking the Yugoslav successor states, and particularly Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The author insightfully describes how corruption, clientelism, and populism dramatically squeeze these countries in a vice grip between democratization and its reversal. The image of the "irregular pendulum of democracy" helps focusing on key mechanisms causing the backsliding of democracy in this European region.

Stefano Bianchini, University of Bologna, Italy
The first original contribution of this book is a productive analytical merge of populism, clientelism and corruption with specific strategies that elites employ to push democracy downhill. The second one is a refined analysis of an “irregular pendulum of democracy” in Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. Sotiropoulos’ arguments are clear and convincing. His sophisticated empirical analysis is firmly basedin theory and sovereign knowledge of post-Yugoslav politics.
Jovan Teokarević, University of Belgrade, Serbia, and College of Europe, Belgium
The author offers a lucid account of the weakening of democratic institutions in the Western Balkans and a theoretical explanation of the causal mechanisms enabling authoritarian-minded leaderships to hold on power. Drawing on democratization theory and extensive fieldwork, the book presents a deeply thought-out analytical scheme of authoritarian trends that is worth testing in other regions as well.
Nikolaos Tzifakis, University of the Peloponnese, Greece
​This book interprets the backsliding of democracy through a metaphor, the 'irregular pendulum of democracy', suggesting that regimes may swing between liberal democracy and competitive authoritarianism. Irregular movements may occur back and forth, particularly when democracy is not consolidated. The book analyses the swing of unconsolidated democracyaway from the democratic end in the cases of today’s Serbia and Montenegro and the tentative swing back towards liberal democracy in the case of North Macedonia after 2017.
Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.