The 'Alternative Right' in Contemporary Serbian Politics

Öz

Under Tito’s rule in Socialist Yugoslavia, Serbian nationalism had limited influence. After Tito’s death, however, it rose again and became dominant under Slobodan Milošević until the country’s breakup. During the civil war, the traditional Serbian-Orthodox nationalist line, shaped by Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, became central with its symbols and slogans. Modern Serbian nationalism, built on this legacy, draws not only on ethnic nationalism and Orthodox conservatism, but also incorporates key elements of the Alternative Right—such as anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-migrant sentiments, Islamophobia, defense of white European identity, and strong resistance to liberalism and the global order. One central theory is “The Great Replacement”, which claims white Europeans are being replaced by Muslims and migrants. This idea matches the older belief that Serbs are the "Guardians of Europe" against Islam. In this context, groups like Srpska Desnica, Dveri, Levijatan, and Narodne Patrole have grown stronger, helped by their ties to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and President Aleksandar Vučić. The Alternative Right has also shaped Serbia’s foreign policy. Vučić and Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik gained support from far-right actors in the US and Europe. For instance, Hungary’s Prime Minister Orbán blocked EU sanctions on Dodik, and Trump’s key advisors supported Serbia in the Kosovo issue. These links show the global reach of the Alternative Right in Serbian politics today.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Serbian Nationalism
• Alternative Right
• Transnational Networks
• Identity Politics
• Far-Right Movements

Günümüz Sırp Siyasetinde ‘Alternatif Sağ’

Öz

Sosyalist Yugoslavya’da Tito döneminde sınırlı etkiye sahip olan Sırp milliyetçiliği, Tito’nun ölümünden sonra yeniden yükselişe geçmiş ve Slobodan Milošević’in liderliğinde, Yugoslavya’nın dağılma sürecine kadar baskın bir ideoloji hâline gelmiştir. İç savaşla birlikte Piskopos Nikolaj Velimirović’in çizdiği geleneksel Sırp-Ortodoks milliyetçi çizgisi, sembolleri ve sloganlarıyla milliyetçi söylemin merkezine yerleşmiştir. Bu miras üzerine inşa edilen günümüz Sırp milliyetçiliği ise etnik milliyetçilik ve Ortodoks Muhafazarlık kadar LGBTQ+ ve Göçmen karşıtlığı, İslam düşmanlığı, Beyaz Avrupalı kimliğin savunulması, küresel düzene ve liberalizme tepkiselliğe de dayanmaktadır. Alternatif Sağ’a özgü bu yeni unsurlar içerisinde Beyaz Avrupalıların Müslümanlar ve göçmenler tarafından yerinden edileceğine dair aşırı sağ bir teori olan “The Great Replacement” (Büyük Yer Değiştirme) teorisi, Sırp milliyetçiliğinin eskiden beri savunduğu “Sırpların İslam’a karşı Avrupa’nın bekçileri” olduğu savıyla da uyum sağlamıştır. Bu etkileşim içerisinde Sırbistan’ da arka arkaya kurulan Srpska Desnica, Dveri, Levijatan, Blood & Honour, Srpska Akcija ve Narodne Patrole gibi gruplar, iktidarda olan SNS (Sırp İlerleme Partisi) ve Sırbistan Cumhurbaşkanı Aleksandar Vučić ile kurdukları ilişki sayesinde etki alanlarını genişletmişlerdir. Alternatif Sağ düzlem, iç politikada olduğu kadar Sırp dış politikasına da belirli açılımlar sağlamıştır. Vučić ve Bosna Sırp Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı Milorad Dodik, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri (ABD) ve Avrupa’daki Alternatif Sağ çevrelerden aldıkları destekle Kosova sorunu ve Bosnalı Sırpların Bosna Hersek devletinden ayrılma arayışlarında, 1990’ların aksine Atlantik ittifakının Sırplara karşı yekpare hareket etmesine engel olmuşlardır. Macaristan Başbakanı Viktor Orbán’ın Avrupa Birliği (AB)'nin Dodik’e uygulayacağı yaptırımları engellemesi ve ABD başkanı Donald Trump’ın yakın ekibinin Kosova sorununda Sırplardan yana olan tavrı bu ulusötesi ilişkinin derinliğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sırp Milliyetçiliği
• Alternatif Sağ
• Ulusötesi Ağlar
• Kimlik Siyaseti
• Aşırı Sağ Hareketler

Kaynakça

1. Babić, M. (2015) Defining Political Extremism in the Balkans: The Case of Serbia. Interdisciplinary Political and Cultural Journal, 73-90.
2. Bakic, J. (2013) Right-Wing Extremism in Serbia. Bonn: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
3. BBC (2011) 'Breivik Manifesto' Details Chilling Attack Preparation. 24 Temmuz. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14267007 (Erişim Tarihi: 11.02.2025).
4. Betabriefing (2024) Directorate for Diaspora Funneled Funds to Right-Wing Organizations. Betabriefing, 1 Temmuz. https://betabriefing.com/archive/news/27751-directorate-for-diaspora-funneled-funds-to-right-wing-organizations#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20payments%20of%20several,Europe%20reported%20on%20July%201 (Erişim Tarihi: 08.03.2025).
5. BGNES (2025) Aleksandar Vučić Pours Millions of Dollars into Lobbying in the US to Ensure Survival. 19 Şubat. https://www.bgnes.com/analyses/alexander-vu-i-pours-millions-of-dollars-into-lobbying-in-the-us-to-ensure-survival (Erişim Tarihi: 07.01.2025).
6. Buljubašić, M. (2022) Violent Right-Wing Extremism in the Western Balkans. Radicalisation Awareness Network.
7. Byford, J. (2008) Post-Communist Remembrance of the Serbian Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović. Budapest, New York: Central European University Press.
8. Ćerimagić, A. (2024) With Friends Like These: Orbán's Balkan Allies. Royal United Services Institute, 15 Mart. https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/friends-these-orbans-balkan-allies#:~:text=For%20Orb%C3%A1n%2C%20this%20brotherhood%20shows,deeds%20a%20stamp%20of%20approval (Erişim Tarihi: 06.02.2025).

9. Colborne, M. (2020) Levijatan: Serbian Animal Rights Vigilantes Go To The Polls. Bellingcat, 18 Haziran. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/06/18/levijatan-serbian-animal-rights-vigilantes-go-to-the-polls/#:~:text=heads%20up%20a%20Serbian%20far,facade%20of%20protecting%20animal%20rights (Erişim Tarihi: 19.02.2025).
10. Devic, A. (2021) Paradoxes of Gender Politics: Nationalism, Patriarchy, and the Hijacked Feminism of the New Right in Serbia. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 226–245.
11. Dzihic, V. (2023) The Far Right in the Western Balkans: How the Extreme Right is Threatening Democracy in the Region. Wien: Österreichisches Institut für Internationale Politik.
12. Dzombic, J. (2014) Rightwing Extremism in Serbia. Race & Class, 106-110.
13. Hermansson, P., Lawrence, D., Mulhall, J. & Murdoch, S. (2023) Uluslararası Alternatif Sağ: 21. Yüzyılın Faşizmi mi? İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
14. Hetrick, K. (2018) Bosnian Separatist Party Hires Ex-Trump Aides. Legistorm, 2 Ağustos. https://www.legistorm.com/pro_news/2214/bosnian-separatist-party-hires-ex-trump-aides.html#:~:text=A%20Russia,campaign%20aides%20as%20foreign%20agents (Erişim Tarihi: 11.03.2025).
15. Karčić, H. (2022) How Bosnia Became an Easy Target for the Far Right. Rusi, 12 Ocak. https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/how-bosnia-became-easy-target-far-right (Erişim Tarihi: 06.04.2025).
16. Karcic, H., & Hanson-Green, M. (2024) Remove Kebab: The Appeal of Serbian Nationalist Ideology among the Global Far Right. Journal of Right-Wing Studies, 16-43.
17. Kico, A., Kapetanović, M., & Šušnica, S. (2022) The Western Balkans and the War in Ukraine. Atlantic Initiative.
18. Kiper, J. (2021) An Obstacle to Decolonising Europe: White Nationalism and its Co-option of Serbian Propoganda. Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 112-122.
19. Lažetić , M. (2018) Migration Crisis and the Far Right Networks in Europe: A Case Study of Serbia. Journal of Regional Security, 131–178.
20. Matković, A. (2021) How Germany’s Far Right Is Building Up Anti-Immigrant Parties in the Balkans. Jacobin, 7 Haziran. https://jacobin.com/2021/07/germany-alternative-fur-deutschland-dveri-balkans-anti-immigrant-far-right#:~:text=Dveri%20was%20founded%20in%201999,seats%20in%20the%20Serbian%20parliament (Erişim Tarihi: 08.03.2025).
21. Mirilović, F. (2022) The Extreme Right in Belgrade: The Young Hopes of Serbian Fascism Vreme, 11 Ağustos. https://vreme.com/en/vesti/ekstremna-desnica-u-beogradu-mlade-nade-srpskog-fasizma/#:~:text=,Ukraine%2C%20Portugal%2C%20Greece%2C%20and%20Russia (Erişim Tarihi: 10.01.2025).
22. Mladenov Jovanović, S. (2018) The Dveri Movement through a Discursive Lens: Serbia’s Contemporary Right-Wing Nationalism. Südosteuropa, 481-502.
23. Mladenov Jovanović, S. (2020a) A New Political Scarecrow? The Political Program and Activity of the ”Serbian Right“. International Social Sciences & Humanities Journal, 11-26.
24. Mladenov Jovanović, S. (2020b) Militant Orthodox Fringe: Political Programs of Early 21st Century Serbian Right-Wing Organizations. Dialogues Security (Bezbednosni Dijalozi), 85-98.
25. Mörner, N. (2022) The Many Faces of Far Right in the Post-Communist Space. Stockholm: Centre for Baltic and East European Studies, CBEES, Södertörn University.
26. N1info (2024) Richard Grenell, a Favoured Figure of Serbian Authorities: A Man Who Has a Solution for Everything. 11 Mayıs. https://n1info.rs/english/news/richard-grenell-a-favoured-figure-of-the-serbian-authorities-a-man-who-has-a-solution-for-everything/#:~:text=Peace%20Negotiations%20between%20Serbia%20and,%E2%80%9C (Erişim Tarihi: 21.02.2025).
27. Petrović, P. (2024) Serbia: Government and the Scarecrow. K. Rekawek, T. Renard, & B. Molas (der.), Russia and The Far- Right: Insights from Ten European Countries (77-109). Hague: International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) Press.
28. Petrović, P. & Ignjatijević, M. (2023) Violent Extremism in Serbia: Islamist and Far Right. Belgrad: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy .
29. Ristić, K. (2024) Far Right Digital Memory Activism: Transnational Circulation of Memes and Memory of Yugoslav Wars. Memory Studies, 741 –756.
30. Ruge, M. & Ćerimagić, A. (2024) Trump’s Tinderbox: US Politics and the Next War in the Balkans. European Council on Foreign Relations, 29 Ekim. https://ecfr.eu/publication/trumps-tinderbox-us-politics-and-the-next-war-in-the-balkans/ (Erişim Tarihi: 24.03.2025).
31. Spasojević, D. (2019) Transforming Populism - From Protest Vote to Ruling Ideology: The Case of Serbia. The New Politics of Decisionism, s. 125-140.
32. Spasojević, D. (2019) Riding the Wave of Distrust and Alienation: New Parties in Serbia after 2008. Politics in Central Europe, 139-162.
33. Stojarová, V. (2013) The Far Right in the Balkans. Manchester, New York: Manchester University Press.
34. Tait, R. (2024) ‘Building an Authoritarian Axis’: The Trump ‘Envoy’ Courting the Global Far Right. The Guardian, 5 Nisan. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/05/richard-grenell-trump-far-right-foreign-policy (Erişim Tarihi: 17.02.2025).
35. Tepšić, G., & Džuverović, N. (2024) State, Clientelism, and Extremist Groups in Serbia: Between Vulnerability and Resilience. J. Beaujouan vd. (der.), Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism: An Actor-Centric Approach. Routledge.
36. Tomić, Đ. (2013) On the ‘Right’ Side? The Radical Right in the Post-Yugoslav Area and the Serbian Case. Fascism: Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies, 94-114.
37. Varagur, K. (2018) Why Bannon is Meddling With Bosnia. Pulitzercenter, 6 Eylül. https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/why-bannon-meddling-bosnia (Erişim Tarihi: 26.03.2025).
38. Youtube (n.d.) Original Remove Kebab Song with English Subtitles.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DIDokGpzag (Erişim Tarihi: 28.01.2025).