VIENNA / GRAZ – Last week, the documentary produced by the European Western Balkans, “The Time of Stabilitocracy” was screened at the Central European University in Vienna, as well as the University of Graz.
The documentary, which premiered in 2022, analyses the relationship between EU integration and democratization in the Western Balkans, as well as the phenomenon of “stabilitocracy“, undemocratic rule with international support thanks to the promise of stability.
The special focus of the movie is on Montenegro under Milo Đukanović, North Macedonia under Nikola Gruevski and Serbia under Aleksandar Vučić. The documentary aims to explain how “stabilitocracies” were created, why they were supported or tolerated by the European Union, and how the enlargement deadlock can be broken and democracy supported in the Western Balkans.
At the Central European University, the documentary was screened under with the support of the Yugo-Region Research Group. Daniel Bochsler, associate professor at CEU and full professor at the University of Belgrade, participated in the subsequent discussion of the documentary together with the co-author Nikola Burazer. The discussion was moderated by Freya Cumberlidge, PhD candidate at CEU.
The screening in Graz was organized by the Centre of Southeast European Studies of the University of Graz. The participants in the panel discussion were researchers Claudia Laštro and Lura Pollozhani, while the moderator was Professor Florian Bieber, Director of the Centre of SEES and one of the speakers in the documentary.
The documentary “The Time of Stabilitocracy” premiered in Belgrade in December 2022, and has been broadcast on Serbian TV N1 throughout 2023. It is available online.