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Constitutional backsliding in Slovenia?Matej Avbelj, 2021, izvirni znanstveni članek
Opis: Executive Summary
• Despite many achievements since independence across social, political, economic and constitutional domains, which are unobjectionable, equally many constitutional and political objectives still need to be met.
• Slovenia is unique with its specific model of state-owned capitalism, monopolized by the postcommunist left, that has resulted in the absence of economic pluralism, which consequently stands in the way of all other forms of social pluralism, including the existence of a vibrant pluralist civil society and professional pluralist media.
• The relatively small size of the country and the increasing weakness of the state’s formal institutional infrastructure (especially regarding the judiciary) and the growing passivity of the electorate, have enabled strong factional groups to create a parallel infrastructure of decisionmaking, which uses the formal institutions of the state as an instrument for their on-going economic self-enrichment and further entrenchment of their de facto political power.
• The dynamics of politics in Slovenia is thus opposite to that in the currently backsliding CEE countries. Rather than seeking a profound change in the society, the political agenda of the contemporary ‘Slovenian new class’ (i.e. the informal power structure undergirding the postcommunist left) is the preservation of the status quo by all means. Whenever this status quo is at least potentially challenged, bitter political and social conflicts, as at present, erupt.
• Under the radar of international attention, the specific Slovenian transition has resulted in an institutionally undernourished rule of law system and democratic governance, marked by an implosion of the political space, incessant populism and growing political radicalization in favour of illiberal democracy. The latter has traditionally existed on the (far-)left, but more recently its support started to build also on the former centre-right, which began to voice public support for the actually backsliding CEE countries.
• The course of the development of the Slovenian constitutional democracy three decades after the country’s declaration of independence therefore remains uncertain as never before.
Ključne besede: Slovenia, independence, constitutional objectives
Objavljeno v ReVIS: 18.06.2025; Ogledov: 98; Prenosov: 1
Celotno besedilo (711,08 KB)
