Goran Musić: Serbia’s Working Class in Transition 1988-2013

The study “Serbia’s Working Class in Transition 1988-2013” is much more than an analysis of workers mobilizations in Serbia in the past 25 years. Researching the position of workers, the author Goran Musić tackles some of the most complex socio-political problems in Serbian society: The rise of nationalism in the late 1980s, economic collapse and deindustrialization during the wars in the 90s and the period of “transition”, as well as the enforcement of neoliberal ideology as a hegemonic paradigm in Serbian politics. A key question in the study is how these developments have affected the consciousness of workers, and the articulation of their struggles for survival.

Goran Music bases his findings partly on the research he conducted for his doctorial thesis, about the workers’ movement in the former Yugoslavia during the end of the 1980s, at the University of Florence (Italy). The study is one of the few analytical texts which deals with the positions of workers in contemporary Serbian society. We hope it will be instrumental in inspiring further discussions. Other viewpoints on this complex problem are of course possible and should be brought forward. The debate on the position of workers in Serbian society, the articulation of their social and political interests, as well as forms of organization, is more relevant than ever. The global financial and economic crisis has had a particular devastating effect in the Balkans. The economies of the countries in Southeast Europe have been in an ongoing recession or stagnation since 2008. Factories and enterprises are being shut down, the unemployment rate has reached a histor ical peak, austerity measures are being imposed. Neoliberal policies of privatization of the remaining stateowned companies and flexibilization of labor relations to the disadvantage of workers are being enforced.

The economic anatomy and the social effects of the current crisis in the Balkans are similar to the situation of the other countries on the periphery of Europe, whether in the Baltic states, Greece, Spain or Portugal. However there is a stark contrast in the political reaction to the crisis. Especially in Greece, Spain and Portugal we can witness strong protest movements. In Serbia and most of the Balkan states the workers’ movement is silent. This study partly explains why this is the case. But it should also contribute to the building of a new workers’ movement, which is able to react to the enormous challenges facing Serbian society.

Boris Kanzleiter,
Head of Office Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Southeast Europe

You can download PDF of the publication in English here and in BHS here