One church, one people, one emperor' - strategic challenges for the Serbian Orthodox Church in post-Milosevic Serbian society

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the Serbian Orthodox Church's place in post-Milosevic Serbian society. Specifically, the thesis explores the nature of the influence the Church sways within Serbia's on-going transformation into a liberal democracy. Leveraging Robert Putnam's work on civil society and social capital and Ashutosh Varshney's work on associational networks, the thesis addresses two main questions. First, what is the nature of the Church's influence - does it seek to build bridges across societal sectors or does it seek to exclude others by bonding together an autonomous societal group, consisting of the Church and its faithful? Second, what are the implications of this behavior for Serbia's integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions? Using a blend of case studies (Croatia, Russia), histiography (Serbia) and textual analysis, this study argues that the Serbian Orthodox Church has exhibited both bridging and bonding tendencies with other sectors of civil society, though bonding behavior prevails. The European Union and others can mitigate these bonding inclinations through actions like granting funds to increase charity work and acknowledging the fact that the Church will continue its role within Serbian society/identity for a long time. These actions should allow the more moderate and bridging elements within the Church to further develop.