Socialist Party of Serbia
Encyclopedia
The Socialist Party of Serbia (, Socijalistička partija Srbije) is officially a democratic socialist
political party
in Serbia
. It is also widely recognized as a de facto
Serbian nationalist
party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this. The party officially describes itself as a centre-left
on the left-right political spectrum, however this claimed position has been rebuked by critics of the party.
as a merger of Milošević's League of Communists of Serbia
(Serbian section of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
), and the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Serbia (the Serbian branch of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Yugoslavia), led by Radmila Anđelković.
Its membership from its foundation in 1990 to 1997 involved many elements of the social strata of Serbia, including: state administrators, including business management elites of state-owned enterprises; employees in the state-owned sector; less privileged groups farmers; and dependents (the unemployed and the retired). From 1998 to 2000, its membership included: apparatchiks
at administrative and judicial levels; the nouveau riche
, whose business success was founded solely from their affiliation with the regime; top army and police officials and a large majority of the police force; those with a psychological disposition of loyalty to authority and to Milošević's style of rule. Large numbers of people became members simply for reasons of patronage
: to maintain or gain important positions, while holding little commitment to the SPS program. Following its foundation, the SPS demanded strict loyalty to its leader, Milošević, by top party officials and any sign of independence from such loyalty led to expulsion from the party. Anyone who went against policy as defined by the party leadership could face sanctions or expulsion.
The SPS has officially utilized leftist rhetoric throughout its existence, though it has enacted policies that have gone against leftist ideology, such as abolishing the system of worker participation in management that was enacted during the Communist era and workers rights are considered to have been significantly curtailed from 1994 to 1997, this view was held by the Syndicate Alliance of Yugoslavia in 1996 on the SPS-led government's bills on employment and strikes.
The SPS ran on Serbian nationalistic
platforms from 1990 to 1993 during which, the SPS was in an informal coalition with the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party
(SRS); it ran on a non-nationalistic platform from 1994 to 1997 in response to criticism from the international community of the Bosnian Serb government of Radovan Karadžić
; from 1998 through the Kosovo War, the SPS returned to a coalition with the SRS and resumed nationalistic policies.
The SPS during the Milošević era, has been accused of using an authoritarian style of rule and allowing a criminal economy to exist in Serbia including personal profiteering by the Milošević family from illegal business transactions in the arms trade, cigarettes, oil, and drugs. Opposition media to the SPS or Milošević's administration were harassed by threats; media members involved were fired or arrested; independent media faced high fines; state-sponsored paramilitaries seized radio equipment of opposition supporters; and in April 1999, the owner and distributor of the most popular daily newspaper in Serbia was killed. The SPS maintained the Communist era policy of maintaining connection with official trade unions
, however independent trade unions faced hostility and their activists were brutalized by police while in custody.
The party won the first elections in Serbia with 194 out of 250 seats and 77.6% of the popular vote. From 1992 it governed in coalition with other parties – initially with the Serbian Radical Party
, and from 1993 with the New Democracy Party
. They also contested elections in coalition with Yugoslav Left
, a party led by Milošević's wife Mirjana Marković
.
With the ousting of Milošević in 2000, the party became a part of the opposition. In the 2003 Serbian general elections
, the party won 7.6% of the popular vote and 22 out of 250 seats in the National Assembly of Serbia
. In 2004, however, its candidate in the presidential election, Ivica Dačić
, placed fifth with 3.6% of the vote.
In 2007 parliamentary elections
, the Socialist Party of Serbia won 16 seats with 227,580 or 5.64 percent of votes. It formed a sole parliamentary group, with Ivica Dačić
as president and Žarko Obradović
as vice-president. It won 14 seats outright while a single seat was given to its new partner, the Movement of Veterans of Serbia
and non-partisan Borka Vučić
, who became the transitional speaker
, also received a seat.
In Serbian parliamentary election, 2008
, the SPS and the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
(PUPS) have strengthened their links by forming a coalition, on which United Serbia
and Movement of Veterans of Serbia
were present. Coalition won 23 seats with 313,896 or 7.58 percent of votes. SPS and its coalition partners entered post-election coalition with For a European Serbia
and formed new Government of Serbia
. SPS have First Deputy of the government and 4 minister while PUPS have 1 minister.New ideology of SPS is social democracy from December 11, 2010.
and more particularly the agenda of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
, who had come to power promising the strengthening of Serb influence in Yugoslavia by reducing the autonomy of the provinces of Kosovo
and Vojvodina
within Serbia, and had demanded a one-member-one vote system for the League of Communists of Yugoslavia which would have given a numerical majority to the Serbs. This nationalist course was a factor in the splintering of the Yugoslav Communist party, and caused the Serbian communist elite to take part in the creation of the Socialist Party of Serbia.
The political programme of the SPS has stated its intention to develop "Serbia as a socialist republic, founded on law and social justice." The party made economic reforms outside of Marxist ideology such as recognizing all forms of property and intended a progression to a market economy while at the same time advocating some regulation for the purposes of "solidarity, equality, and social security". In power however, the party enacted policies that were negative to workers rights, such as ending the Communists' worker participation programs, and in 1996, the party passed bills on employment and strikes which another left-wing party, the Syndicate Alliance of Yugoslavia criticized as being equivalent to Mussolini's Labour Charter. Beginning in its political programme of 1992, the SPS has supported a mixed economy
, stating: "the Socialist Party of Serbia advocates a modern, mixed economy representing a synthesis of those elements of liberal
and socialist models that have so far proved to be successful in the history of modern society and in our own development." The SPS declared that the mixed economy would include both market economy
but also "a certain degree of state regulation, transformed social ownership, and also the unimpeded transformation into private, cooperative, and state ownership".
Officially the party endorsed the equality of all the Yugoslav peoples and ethnic minorities on the principle of full equality.
From 1990 to 1993, the party endorsed supporting the Serbs in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia who wished to remain in Yugoslavia. A primary objective in 1990 was to keep the respective areas within the federation. As Croatia and Bosnia declared independence, the involvement by the SPS as a ruling party in Belgrade had become more devoted to helping the external Serbs run their own independent entities. The SPS was in coalition with the Nationalist Serbian Radical Party
(SRS) at the time. Milošević responded to press questions of whether the Serbian government approved the Bosnian Serbs, by claiming that the Serbian government did not directly support the Srpska
government or Serb military forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
in their war but claimed that Serbs had the right to self-determination. Fellow SPS member and government official Borisav Jović
- in the 1995 BBC Documentary "The Death of Yugoslavia" - denied this and claimed Milošević did endorse the transfer of Bosnian Serb federal army forces to the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992 to help achieve Serb independence from the Alija Izetbegović
government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Upon the Republic of Macedonia
seceding in 1991, the Milosevic government declared that Macedonians were an "artificial nation" and Serbia allied with Greece against the Republic of Macedonia, even suggesting a partition of the Republic of Macedonia between the FRY and Greece. Subsequent interviews with government officials involved in these affairs have revealed that Milošević planned to arrest the Republic of Macedonia's political leadership and replace it with politicians loyal to Serbia. Milošević demanded the self-determination of Serbs in the Republic of Macedonia and did not recognize the independence of the Republic of Macedonia until 1996.
After 1993, the SPS broke away from the coalition with the Radicals and officially opposed the Bosnian Serb government
of Radovan Karadžić
by passing economic sanctions against it, as Karadžić was opposing peace initiatives and the party officially criticised the discriminatory nationalism of Karadžić's administration.
In 1995, Milošević and the SPS endorsed peace in Bosnia which caused the U.S. to endorse Milošević's presence as representative for the Bosnian Serbs for the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord. In the aftermath, the SPS lost many local elections in 1996 in which it refused to admit, causing massive protests against Milošević's government. The party continued to falter and Milošević resigned as Serbian President to run for Yugoslav President in 1997, which he won.
The SPS, unlike the right-wing nationalist Serbian Radical Party, participated in negotiations along with a number of other Serbian political parties with ethnic Albanian politicians in Kosovo to resolve outstanding disputes between the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo and the federal government in an attempt to stop the Kosovo War
. The SPS however was unwilling to grant secession of any territory from Yugoslavia.
From 1998 onwards, the SPS returned to its more successful coalition with the Serbian Radical Party as Kosovo separatism was on the rise.
The SPS showed initial opposition to the flag adopted in 2004 for Serbia, which SPS leader Ivica Dačić
claimed looked "monarchist". However due to the popularity of the flag in Serbia, SPS opposition has disappeared and now uses the flag in its advertising.
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
reports that in reaction to the 2008 declaration of Kosovo independence, SPS leader Ivica Dačić said he would call for a ban on all political parties and NGOs in Serbia which recognise Kosovo
’s independence.
, endorsing assassination
of political opponents (such as former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić
), providing recruits for paramilitary forces during the Yugoslav Wars
, and profiteering from illicit
drug and oil trade.
The party received 1000000 barrels (158,987,295 l) worth of oil vouchers in the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme
, according to the paper "The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers: The List of 270".
, a coalition of left-wing and communist factions led by Miloševićs wife. The SPS has held close ties with the various political parties led by Momir Bulatović
who had been installed as President of Montenegro with Milosević's aide, the SPS supported the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
until Bulatović's ousting in 1998, Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
under Bulatović from 1998 until his ousting in 2000, and the last one to be led by Bulatović is the People's Socialist Party of Montenegro
. The SPS holds ties with a branch party in the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska which was founded in 1993. After the Dayton Accord, this party became a major opponent to the regime of Radovan Karadžić
. In the short-lived enclave Serb state of the Republic of Serbian Krajina
in Croatia, the SPS supported the Serbian Party of Socialists
and particularly the election bid of Milan Martić
for President of Serbian Krajina in 1993.
The SPS wants to join the Socialist International
. In May 2008, Ivica Dačić travelled to Athens
to meet President of Socialist International George Papandreou
. During this meeting, Papandreou said that Socialist International was ready to initiate the process for the SPS's membership. However there is still some opposition within Socialist International to inviting the SPS, notably from the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It is also widely recognized as a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
Serbian nationalist
Serbian nationalism
Serbian nationalism refers to the ethnic nationalism of Serbs. Originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, under the influence of Serbian linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and Ilija Garašanin....
party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this. The party officially describes itself as a centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
on the left-right political spectrum, however this claimed position has been rebuked by critics of the party.
History
It was founded on July 27, 1990 by Slobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
as a merger of Milošević's League of Communists of Serbia
League of Communists of Serbia
The League of Communists of Serbia was the Serbian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990. Under a new constitution ratified in 1974, greater power was devolved to the various republic level branches. In the late 1980s, the party was...
(Serbian section of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
), and the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Serbia (the Serbian branch of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Yugoslavia), led by Radmila Anđelković.
Its membership from its foundation in 1990 to 1997 involved many elements of the social strata of Serbia, including: state administrators, including business management elites of state-owned enterprises; employees in the state-owned sector; less privileged groups farmers; and dependents (the unemployed and the retired). From 1998 to 2000, its membership included: apparatchiks
Apparatchik
Apparatchik is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management...
at administrative and judicial levels; the nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
, whose business success was founded solely from their affiliation with the regime; top army and police officials and a large majority of the police force; those with a psychological disposition of loyalty to authority and to Milošević's style of rule. Large numbers of people became members simply for reasons of patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
: to maintain or gain important positions, while holding little commitment to the SPS program. Following its foundation, the SPS demanded strict loyalty to its leader, Milošević, by top party officials and any sign of independence from such loyalty led to expulsion from the party. Anyone who went against policy as defined by the party leadership could face sanctions or expulsion.
The SPS has officially utilized leftist rhetoric throughout its existence, though it has enacted policies that have gone against leftist ideology, such as abolishing the system of worker participation in management that was enacted during the Communist era and workers rights are considered to have been significantly curtailed from 1994 to 1997, this view was held by the Syndicate Alliance of Yugoslavia in 1996 on the SPS-led government's bills on employment and strikes.
The SPS ran on Serbian nationalistic
Serbian nationalism
Serbian nationalism refers to the ethnic nationalism of Serbs. Originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, under the influence of Serbian linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and Ilija Garašanin....
platforms from 1990 to 1993 during which, the SPS was in an informal coalition with the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
(SRS); it ran on a non-nationalistic platform from 1994 to 1997 in response to criticism from the international community of the Bosnian Serb government of Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
; from 1998 through the Kosovo War, the SPS returned to a coalition with the SRS and resumed nationalistic policies.
The SPS during the Milošević era, has been accused of using an authoritarian style of rule and allowing a criminal economy to exist in Serbia including personal profiteering by the Milošević family from illegal business transactions in the arms trade, cigarettes, oil, and drugs. Opposition media to the SPS or Milošević's administration were harassed by threats; media members involved were fired or arrested; independent media faced high fines; state-sponsored paramilitaries seized radio equipment of opposition supporters; and in April 1999, the owner and distributor of the most popular daily newspaper in Serbia was killed. The SPS maintained the Communist era policy of maintaining connection with official trade unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, however independent trade unions faced hostility and their activists were brutalized by police while in custody.
The party won the first elections in Serbia with 194 out of 250 seats and 77.6% of the popular vote. From 1992 it governed in coalition with other parties – initially with the Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
, and from 1993 with the New Democracy Party
Liberals of Serbia
The Liberals of Serbia was a political party in Serbia.The party was originally founded in 1990, when the Social Democratic Youth League reconstituted itself as New Democracy...
. They also contested elections in coalition with Yugoslav Left
Yugoslav Left
Yugoslav Left was a left-wing political party in Serbia and Montenegro. It was formed in 1994 as is a coalition of 23 left-wing and communist parties, led by the League of Communists - Movement for Yugoslavia . It has been led by Mirjana Marković, the wife of Slobodan Milošević...
, a party led by Milošević's wife Mirjana Marković
Mirjana Markovic
Mirjana "Mira" Marković is the leader of the Yugoslav Left political party and the widow and childhood friend of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević.-Personal life:...
.
With the ousting of Milošević in 2000, the party became a part of the opposition. In the 2003 Serbian general elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. The Republic of Serbia then was one of the two federal units of Serbia and Montenegro, formerly known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
, the party won 7.6% of the popular vote and 22 out of 250 seats in the National Assembly of Serbia
National Assembly of Serbia
The National Assembly of Serbia is the unicameral parliament of Serbia. It is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies elected in general elections by secret ballot, on 4 years term. The National Assembly elects the President of the National Assembly who presides over the sessions...
. In 2004, however, its candidate in the presidential election, Ivica Dačić
Ivica Dacic
Ivica Dačić is a Serbian politician. He is the leader of Socialist Party of Serbia and is First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs....
, placed fifth with 3.6% of the vote.
In 2007 parliamentary elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections took place in Serbia on 21 January 2007. The first session of the new National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was held on 14 February 2007....
, the Socialist Party of Serbia won 16 seats with 227,580 or 5.64 percent of votes. It formed a sole parliamentary group, with Ivica Dačić
Ivica Dacic
Ivica Dačić is a Serbian politician. He is the leader of Socialist Party of Serbia and is First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs....
as president and Žarko Obradović
Žarko Obradovic
Žarko Obradović is Serbian politician and Minister of Education in the Government of Serbia....
as vice-president. It won 14 seats outright while a single seat was given to its new partner, the Movement of Veterans of Serbia
Movement of Veterans of Serbia
Movement of Veterans of Serbia is a minor political party in the Republic of Serbia. It has a single seat within the parliamentary club of the Socialist Party of Serbia within the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, as per the 21 January 2007 election, ratified on 14 February 2007.The...
and non-partisan Borka Vučić
Borka Vucic
Borka Vučić , was a Serbian politician.She served as the acting President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, elected on the list of the Socialist Party of Serbia in the 21 January 2007 parliamentary election...
, who became the transitional speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
, also received a seat.
In Serbian parliamentary election, 2008
Serbian parliamentary election, 2008
A pre-term parliamentary election was held in the Serbia on 11 May 2008, barely a year after the previous parliamentary election. There were 6,749,886 eligible electors who were able to vote in 8,682 voting places, as well as 157 special voting places designed for refugees from...
, the SPS and the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
The Party of United Pensioners of Serbia is a political party in Serbia. Party leader is Jovan Krkobabić. The party took part in 2007 parliamentary election in coalition with the Social Democratic Party and won no seats...
(PUPS) have strengthened their links by forming a coalition, on which United Serbia
United Serbia
United Serbia is a political party in Serbia, centered in Jagodina. It was previously a close ally of New Serbia, and was a member of its coalition with the Democratic Party of Serbia....
and Movement of Veterans of Serbia
Movement of Veterans of Serbia
Movement of Veterans of Serbia is a minor political party in the Republic of Serbia. It has a single seat within the parliamentary club of the Socialist Party of Serbia within the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, as per the 21 January 2007 election, ratified on 14 February 2007.The...
were present. Coalition won 23 seats with 313,896 or 7.58 percent of votes. SPS and its coalition partners entered post-election coalition with For a European Serbia
For a European Serbia
For a European Serbia – Boris Tadić is an electoral coalition that won the Serbian parliamentary election, 2008, Vojvodina parliamentary election, 2008 and Serbian local elections, 2008...
and formed new Government of Serbia
Government of Serbia
Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...
. SPS have First Deputy of the government and 4 minister while PUPS have 1 minister.New ideology of SPS is social democracy from December 11, 2010.
Policies
The SPS upon its foundation, was the heir to the League of Communists of SerbiaLeague of Communists of Serbia
The League of Communists of Serbia was the Serbian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990. Under a new constitution ratified in 1974, greater power was devolved to the various republic level branches. In the late 1980s, the party was...
and more particularly the agenda of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, who had come to power promising the strengthening of Serb influence in Yugoslavia by reducing the autonomy of the provinces of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
within Serbia, and had demanded a one-member-one vote system for the League of Communists of Yugoslavia which would have given a numerical majority to the Serbs. This nationalist course was a factor in the splintering of the Yugoslav Communist party, and caused the Serbian communist elite to take part in the creation of the Socialist Party of Serbia.
The political programme of the SPS has stated its intention to develop "Serbia as a socialist republic, founded on law and social justice." The party made economic reforms outside of Marxist ideology such as recognizing all forms of property and intended a progression to a market economy while at the same time advocating some regulation for the purposes of "solidarity, equality, and social security". In power however, the party enacted policies that were negative to workers rights, such as ending the Communists' worker participation programs, and in 1996, the party passed bills on employment and strikes which another left-wing party, the Syndicate Alliance of Yugoslavia criticized as being equivalent to Mussolini's Labour Charter. Beginning in its political programme of 1992, the SPS has supported a mixed economy
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
, stating: "the Socialist Party of Serbia advocates a modern, mixed economy representing a synthesis of those elements of liberal
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
and socialist models that have so far proved to be successful in the history of modern society and in our own development." The SPS declared that the mixed economy would include both market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
but also "a certain degree of state regulation, transformed social ownership, and also the unimpeded transformation into private, cooperative, and state ownership".
Officially the party endorsed the equality of all the Yugoslav peoples and ethnic minorities on the principle of full equality.
From 1990 to 1993, the party endorsed supporting the Serbs in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia who wished to remain in Yugoslavia. A primary objective in 1990 was to keep the respective areas within the federation. As Croatia and Bosnia declared independence, the involvement by the SPS as a ruling party in Belgrade had become more devoted to helping the external Serbs run their own independent entities. The SPS was in coalition with the Nationalist Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
(SRS) at the time. Milošević responded to press questions of whether the Serbian government approved the Bosnian Serbs, by claiming that the Serbian government did not directly support the Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
government or Serb military forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in their war but claimed that Serbs had the right to self-determination. Fellow SPS member and government official Borisav Jović
Borisav Jovic
Borisav Jović is a former Serbian communist politician, who served as the Serbian member of the collective presidency of Yugoslavia during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
- in the 1995 BBC Documentary "The Death of Yugoslavia" - denied this and claimed Milošević did endorse the transfer of Bosnian Serb federal army forces to the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992 to help achieve Serb independence from the Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Upon the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
seceding in 1991, the Milosevic government declared that Macedonians were an "artificial nation" and Serbia allied with Greece against the Republic of Macedonia, even suggesting a partition of the Republic of Macedonia between the FRY and Greece. Subsequent interviews with government officials involved in these affairs have revealed that Milošević planned to arrest the Republic of Macedonia's political leadership and replace it with politicians loyal to Serbia. Milošević demanded the self-determination of Serbs in the Republic of Macedonia and did not recognize the independence of the Republic of Macedonia until 1996.
After 1993, the SPS broke away from the coalition with the Radicals and officially opposed the Bosnian Serb government
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
of Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
by passing economic sanctions against it, as Karadžić was opposing peace initiatives and the party officially criticised the discriminatory nationalism of Karadžić's administration.
In 1995, Milošević and the SPS endorsed peace in Bosnia which caused the U.S. to endorse Milošević's presence as representative for the Bosnian Serbs for the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord. In the aftermath, the SPS lost many local elections in 1996 in which it refused to admit, causing massive protests against Milošević's government. The party continued to falter and Milošević resigned as Serbian President to run for Yugoslav President in 1997, which he won.
The SPS, unlike the right-wing nationalist Serbian Radical Party, participated in negotiations along with a number of other Serbian political parties with ethnic Albanian politicians in Kosovo to resolve outstanding disputes between the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo and the federal government in an attempt to stop the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
. The SPS however was unwilling to grant secession of any territory from Yugoslavia.
From 1998 onwards, the SPS returned to its more successful coalition with the Serbian Radical Party as Kosovo separatism was on the rise.
The SPS showed initial opposition to the flag adopted in 2004 for Serbia, which SPS leader Ivica Dačić
Ivica Dacic
Ivica Dačić is a Serbian politician. He is the leader of Socialist Party of Serbia and is First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs....
claimed looked "monarchist". However due to the popularity of the flag in Serbia, SPS opposition has disappeared and now uses the flag in its advertising.
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia is a volunteer, non-profit organization concerned with human rights issues in Serbia. It was formed in September 1994 as one of many national Helsinki Committees for Human Rights formerly organized into the now-defunct International Helsinki...
reports that in reaction to the 2008 declaration of Kosovo independence, SPS leader Ivica Dačić said he would call for a ban on all political parties and NGOs in Serbia which recognise Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
’s independence.
Accusations of illegal activities
Under Milošević's government critics have accused the SPS of utilizing organized crime to aide it, such as utilizing blackmailBlackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
, endorsing assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of political opponents (such as former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić
Ivan Stambolic
Ivan Stambolić was a Communist Party of Yugoslavia official and the President of the Republic of Serbia in the 1980s who was later victim of an assassination....
), providing recruits for paramilitary forces during the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, and profiteering from illicit
Illicit
Illicit may refer to:* illicit antiquities* illicit drug trade** illicit drug use** Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act* illicit major* illicit minor* illicit work* Illicit Streetwear clothing company* Illicit...
drug and oil trade.
The party received 1000000 barrels (158,987,295 l) worth of oil vouchers in the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme
Oil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...
, according to the paper "The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers: The List of 270".
Relations to other parties
Until the final dissolution of a federal Yugoslav state in 2006, the Socialist Party of Serbia held close ties with the Yugoslav LeftYugoslav Left
Yugoslav Left was a left-wing political party in Serbia and Montenegro. It was formed in 1994 as is a coalition of 23 left-wing and communist parties, led by the League of Communists - Movement for Yugoslavia . It has been led by Mirjana Marković, the wife of Slobodan Milošević...
, a coalition of left-wing and communist factions led by Miloševićs wife. The SPS has held close ties with the various political parties led by Momir Bulatović
Momir Bulatovic
Momir Bulatović , formerly served as a Yugoslavian and Montenegrin politician. Bulatović became federal President of Montenegro while Montenegro was part of a Yugoslav federation, and also Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
who had been installed as President of Montenegro with Milosević's aide, the SPS supported the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
until Bulatović's ousting in 1998, Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro is a socialist opposition political party in Montenegro. It has 16 MPs in the Parliament of Montenegro, which it won on the 2009 parliamentary election...
under Bulatović from 1998 until his ousting in 2000, and the last one to be led by Bulatović is the People's Socialist Party of Montenegro
People's Socialist Party of Montenegro
People Socialist Party of Montenegro was an opposition political party in Montenegro within the Serbian List due to its support of political union of Montenegro with Serbia, holding 1 seat in the Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro...
. The SPS holds ties with a branch party in the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska which was founded in 1993. After the Dayton Accord, this party became a major opponent to the regime of Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
. In the short-lived enclave Serb state of the Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
in Croatia, the SPS supported the Serbian Party of Socialists
Serbian Party of Socialists (Croatia)
The Serbian Party of Socialists was the branch in Croatia of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia which was created in the areas under the control of rebel Croatian Serbs . In 1993, Milan Martić ran for President of Serbian Krajina and received heavy financial support...
and particularly the election bid of Milan Martić
Milan Martic
Milan Martić is a Serbian politician, former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina...
for President of Serbian Krajina in 1993.
The SPS wants to join the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
. In May 2008, Ivica Dačić travelled to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to meet President of Socialist International George Papandreou
George Andreas Papandreou
Georgios A. Papandreou , commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος in Greek, is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election...
. During this meeting, Papandreou said that Socialist International was ready to initiate the process for the SPS's membership. However there is still some opposition within Socialist International to inviting the SPS, notably from the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a multi-ethnic social-democratic political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.The party is the successor of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was enlarged by the inclusion of the Socijaldemokrati BiH party to the original...
.
See also
- Predecessor
- League of Communists of SerbiaLeague of Communists of SerbiaThe League of Communists of Serbia was the Serbian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990. Under a new constitution ratified in 1974, greater power was devolved to the various republic level branches. In the late 1980s, the party was...
- League of Communists of Serbia
- Yugoslavia (federal level until 2006)
- Yugoslav LeftYugoslav LeftYugoslav Left was a left-wing political party in Serbia and Montenegro. It was formed in 1994 as is a coalition of 23 left-wing and communist parties, led by the League of Communists - Movement for Yugoslavia . It has been led by Mirjana Marković, the wife of Slobodan Milošević...
(1994–2006)
- Yugoslav Left
- Montenegro
- New Serb DemocracyNew Serb DemocracyNew Serb Democracy is a political party in Montenegro, formed on 24 January 2009 as a merger of the Serbian People's Party and the People's Socialist Party of Montenegro....
(successor of Momir BulatovićMomir BulatovicMomir Bulatović , formerly served as a Yugoslavian and Montenegrin politician. Bulatović became federal President of Montenegro while Montenegro was part of a Yugoslav federation, and also Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
's People's Socialist Party of MontenegroPeople's Socialist Party of MontenegroPeople Socialist Party of Montenegro was an opposition political party in Montenegro within the Serbian List due to its support of political union of Montenegro with Serbia, holding 1 seat in the Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro...
)
- New Serb Democracy
- Serbian Krajina (Serb breakaway territory in Croatia until 1995)
- Serbian Party of Socialists (Croatia)Serbian Party of Socialists (Croatia)The Serbian Party of Socialists was the branch in Croatia of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia which was created in the areas under the control of rebel Croatian Serbs . In 1993, Milan Martić ran for President of Serbian Krajina and received heavy financial support...
- Serbian Party of Socialists (Croatia)
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Socialist Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina)