![Sample our Politics & International Relations journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5947/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Politics-International-Relations.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
While the Europeanization literature has focused extensively on analysing progress towards the adoption of the European model, scant attention has been devoted to cases of resistance and contestation, which may lead to the emergence of a new phenomenon identified as de-Europeanization. In order to inquire on this phenomenon, a case study analysis will be applied to Serbian media freedom. Is this sector undergoing a process of de-Europeanization while the country is progressing toward full EU membership? The analysis demonstrates the recent consolidation of a de-Europeanizing trend, coinciding with the return to power of former Milošević ruling parties.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Marcelo Oscar Camerlo, Susana Coroado, Erika Harris, Andrés Malamud and the two anonymous referees, as well as the participants to the Seminar of the research group ‘Regimes and Political Institutions’ of the Institute of Social Science, University of Lisbon, for their feedback on earlier drafts of this paper. Any remaining mistakes are alone our responsibility.
Notes
1 In the first half of the 1990s, the SPS and its smaller sister party JUL had 1.5–10 times more airtime than the oppositions (Dolenec, Citation2013, p. 168). During 2000 elections, several local newspapers were taken over by Milošević’s allies and state-owned media obscured oppositions (Goati, Citation2001).
2 According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), this process was ‘plagued by fundamental weaknesses, deliberate disregard of the law, and arbitrary decision making.’ (Cited in NIT, Citation2007).
3 According to the October 2006 amendment, the Government had to approve the RBA budget (FoP, Citation2007).
4 At the end of 2005, there were still 150 public media outlets (NIT, Citation2006).
5 The IREX’s Media Sustainability Index (Citation2008–2012) and Reporter Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index (Citation2008–2012) confirm this negative trend in the period 2008–2012.
6 This sentence has been one of few exceptions since, normally, this kind of incidents were not properly investigated: in the period 2007–2011 authorities have resolved only 17 out of 212 reported attacks against journalists (EC, Citation2009; NIT, Citation2012). Moreover, even public condemnation by the government remained weak (EC, Citation2011).
7 This is confirmed also by the IREX’s Media Sustainability Index (Citation2013–2017) and the Reporter Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index (Citation2013–2017).
8 Only 20 percent of these funds were allocated via competitive processes (FoP, Citation2016).
9 In 2015 the advertising market corresponded to €155 million (FoP, Citation2016).
10 In June the news website Peščanik.net was attacked by anonymous hackers after publishing reports about allegedly plagiarized doctoral theses by prominent SNS party members (FoP, Citation2015).