Dveri

The Serbian Movement "Dveri" (Serbian Cyrillic: Српски покрет Двери, romanized: Srpski pokret Dveri), also known as Dveri (lit. 'doors'), is a right-wing political party in Serbia. The leader and founder of the movement is Boško Obradović.

Serbian Movement Dveri
Српски покрет Двери
Srpski pokret Dveri
AbbreviationDveri
PresidentBoško Obradović
Vice Presidents
  • Ivan Kostić
  • Milovan Jakovljević
  • Tamara Milenković Kerković
  • Radmila Vasić
Founders
  • Boško Obradović
  • Branimir Nešić
Founded27 January 1999 (1999-01-27)
Registered28 June 2015 (2015-06-28)
HeadquartersĐorđa Jovanovića 11, Belgrade
NewspaperDveri srpske
Youth wingYouth Council
Women's wingWomen's Power
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing
ReligionSerbian Orthodox Church
National affiliationDveri–POKS
European affiliationIdentity and Democracy (cooperation)
International affiliationWorld Congress of Families
Colours
  •   Red
  •   Blue
  •   White
Slogan"Za život Srbije"
("For the life of Serbia")
Anthem"Himna za život Srbije"
("An anthem for the life of Serbia")
National Assembly
6 / 250
Assembly of Vojvodina
0 / 120
City Assembly of Belgrade
2 / 110
Party flag
Website
dveri.rs

Dveri were formed in 1999 as a Christian right-wing youth organization gathered around the eponymous student magazine. Throughout the 2000s they operated as a non-governmental organization, promoting values of nationalism, Orthodox Christianity and family. In the 2010s they became a fully-fledged political party, participating in the 2012 general elections onwards. For the 2016 elections they formed a coalition with the conservative Democratic Party of Serbia, which entered the National Assembly with 5.02% of the popular vote and earning 13 seats, 7 of which belong to Dveri. They were a part of the Alliance for Serbia from 2018 to 2020 and they boycotted the 2020 parliamentary election.

History

Organization (1999–2011)

Dveri were founded by Branimir Nešić in 1999 as a Christian right-wing youth organisation consisting mainly of students from the University of Belgrade which regularly arranged public debates devoted to the popularisation of clerical-nationalist philosophy of Nikolaj Velimirović,[1] a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church who was canonized in 2003 and is considered a major anti-Western thinker.[2]

The organization promotes a pronounced Serbian nationalist ideology. Based on the assessment of partiality and lack of condemnation of crimes by another ethnicity,[3] Dveri opposed a resolution passed by the Serbian parliament in March 2010 which condemned the Srebrenica massacre committed by the Bosnian Serb Army in eastern Bosnia in 1995,.[4] Dveri also fiercely oppose unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo.[5] It is also well known for its opposition to gay rights.[5]

In October 2010 the very first Gay Pride parade was held in Belgrade, in which thousands of anti-gay protesters clashed violently with police units securing the parade participants. One of the far-right groups which organized the anti-gay protest were Dveri, and a member of the organization was quoted by The Economist as saying that the protest was a form of "defense of the family and the future of the Serbian people".[6]

In August 2011, in the run up to the 2011 Pride Parade in Belgrade, the organisation warned that organising such an event could feed social unrest and provoke riots, and added that if the government allowed the march to go forward that "Belgrade will burn like London burned recently".[7] In fear of more violent clashes, the authorities eventually decided to cancel the event, a decision which was criticised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, which specifically singled out Dveri and Obraz as the main right-wing nationalist groups responsible for "orchestrating opposition to the Pride".[8]

Citizen's group (2011–2015)
DSS-Dveri coalition in December 2015

In March 2012 the movement collected 14,507 signatures to register as an electoral list for the May 2012 Serbian parliamentary election.[9] The Dveri Movement received 4.35% of the popular vote, failing to pass the 5% minimum threshold to enter parliament.

In September 2012 Dveri leader Vladan Glišić called for a "100-year ban" on pride parades in Belgrade, describing such an event as "promotion of a totalitarian and destructive ideology" and accused the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia of being influenced by a "gay lobby".[10]

In September 2013, in the run-up to another attempted gay pride march in Belgrade, Boško Obradović said that the event amounted to "the imposition of foreign and unsuitable values, laid out before minors - the most vulnerable section of society".[11]

In 2014, the eurosceptic Democratic Party of Serbia of ex-Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica was considering options about the formation of a "Patriotic Bloc" which would stand up to the political elite's dominating pro-EU stance, the coalition being called forth by the Dveri (with the Serbian Radical Party mentioned as a potential third coalition partner) movement. However, DSS initially rejected the proposal, stating that the proposed parties did not fully embrace DSS positions and that they merely want to join to enter the parliament.[12] Dveri again ran alone in the March 2014 Serbian parliamentary election, winning 3.58% of the vote, failing again to pass the 5% minimum threshold to enter parliament. They were characterized by many as a far-right party at this point of time.[5][13]

Modern period (2015–present)

In November 2014 Dveri and the Democratic Party of Serbia declared that they would contest the next elections as the "Patriotic Bloc" alliance.[14] In January 2015 PULS and the SLS also joined the bloc.[15] Parliamentary elections were held on 24 April 2016, in which the "Patriotic Bloc" won 5.04% of the vote (13 seats, of which Dveri had 7). After this election, for the first time in history, they became a parliamentary party.

Dveri announced on 3 September 2016 that Boško Obradović, the president of Dveri, will be their candidate on the 2017 presidential election. On 10 March, Boško Obradović submitted his signatures for the candidacy to RIK. In the end, he only got 2.16% of the vote on the presidential election.

In 2018, local elections were held in Belgrade and Bor on 4 March. Dveri announced that they will be forming a coalition with Enough is Enough under the name "Dosta je Bilo i Dveri - Da ovi odu, a da se oni ne vrate". In Belgrade, the coalition won 3.89% of the vote, while in Bor they won 8.17% of the vote (3 seats). Local elections were also held in Lučani on 16 December 2018. They participated with the coalition Alliance for Serbia and they won 9.57% of the vote (4 seats). Local elections were also held on the same day in Kladovo, Doljevac, and Kula but Dveri and other parties from Alliance for Serbia boycotted those elections.

Promena sistema - sigurnost za sve

In 2018 they were one of the founding members of the catch-all opposition Alliance for Serbia which boycotted the 2020 parliamentary election. In October 2018, a controversy sparked around the member Srđan Nogo who said that "Ana Brnabić and Aleksandar Vučić should be publicly hanged". Other members of Dveri including the president Boško Obradović opposed this and in early 2019 he was expelled from the party. During the entire existence of the Alliance for Serbia, they were the only eurosceptic party (besides Healthy Serbia who left in early 2020). The coalition was dissolved in August 2020 after an agreement to form a wider coalition of opposition parties called United Opposition of Serbia in which Dveri decided to not participate. In late September, Dveri announced their new political program called "Promena sistema - sigurnost za sve" which was showcased to the public until the end of 2020. In this new program, Dveri officially adopted environmentalism and Christian democracy and since then, they have shifted away from their former far-right stances. Some observers have described them as shifting more towards the center while some claim that they did not abandon their far-right views.

Ideology

Dveri was initially orientated towards Christian fundamentalism,[16] clerical-fascism,[17] and ultranationalism,[18][19][20] and its political positions adhered to the far-right.[21][22][23] Its ideology has been also described as fascist,[24][25] and antisemitic.[26][27] During its foundation, Dveri published books and magazines with clerical and nationalist content.[28] It has also campaigned against abortion.[29] Since its foundation, Dveri has been supportive of Christian right views and monarchism.[26][29][30][31] Scholars have also described its ideological stances as xenophobic, due to their Christian right stances.[16][32] It has also been known as a staunch opponent of gay rights.[22][33]

Dveri has shifted from its initial views to a more right-wing position,[34] although it has maintained nationalist,[35][36][37] and conservative views.[38][39] It has been also classified as a right-wing populist party,[40][41][42] due to its opposition to illegal immigration,[33][43][44] and euroscepticism.[45][46] It is also supportive of economic nationalism,[47][48] protectionism,[49] and eco-nationalism.[50][51][52] Dveri cooperates with the Alternative for Germany and other members of the Identity and Democracy.[53]

Presidents of Dveri
# President Born–Died Term start Term end
1 Boško Obradović 1976–28 June 2015Incumbent

Electoral results

Parliamentary elections
National Assembly of Serbia
Year Leader Popular vote  % of popular vote # of seats Seat change Coalitions Status
2012 Vladan Glišić 169,590 4.34%
0 / 250
 no seats
2014 Boško Obradović 128,458 3.58%
0 / 250
 no seats
2016 190,530 5.04%
7 / 250
 7 With DSS opposition
2020 Election boycott
0 / 250
 7 SzS no seats
2022 144,762 3.92%
6 / 250
 6 With POKS opposition

Presidential elections
President of Serbia
Election year # Candidate 1st round votes  % 2nd round votes  % Elected Notes
2012 8th Vladan Glišić 108,303 2.77% — — Lost
2017 6th Boško Obradović 83,523 2.28% — — Lost
2022 4th 165,167 4.35%

See also

References
  1. Byford, Jovan (2008). Denial and Repression of Antisemitism. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9789639776159.
  2. Buchenau, Klaus (2005). "From Hot War to Cold Integration? Serbian Orthodox Voices on Globalization and the European Union". Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780759105362.
  3. "Dveri: U Srebrenici se nije desio genocid".
  4. "Right wing movement to take part in elections". B92. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  5. Barlovac, Bojana (26 August 2011). "Serb Far-Right Group Prepares Poll Debut". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  6. "Hate in Belgrade". The Economist. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  7. "Belgrade gay pride parade planned for October 2". AFP. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  8. "Banning of Belgrade Pride is a dark day for human rights in Serbia". Amnesty International. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  9. "RIK proglasio izbornu listu Dveri" (in Serbian). B92. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  10. "Socialists described as having "strong gay lobby"". B92. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  11. Vasovic, Aleksandar (26 September 2013). "Serbian gay rights activists say to march despite threats". Reuters. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  12. Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS): Коштуница: ДСС самостално на изборе (in Serbian Cyrillic). 2 February 2014.
  13. "Right wing movement to take part in elections". B92. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  14. DSS i Dveri formirali patriotski blok RTS, 18 November 2014
  15. Uz DSS i Dveri sada i PULS i SLS Blic, 30 January 2015
  16. Spaces and borders : current research on religion in Central and Eastern Europe. András Máté-Tóth, Cosima Rughiniş. Berlin: De Gruyter. 2011. p. 259. ISBN 978-3-11-022814-4. OCLC 757261200.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. Tomić, Đorđe (11 January 2014). "Serbia's Radical Right and Homophobia". Unique. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  18. Armakolas, Ioannis; Maksimović, Maja (May 2013). The Beginning of the End for the Kosovo Problem? The Agreement on Normalisation of Relations between Belgrade and Pristina and its Aftermath. Greece: ELIAMEP. p. 2.
  19. Bechev, Dimitar (2017). Rival Power. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-23184-9. OCLC 999661055.
  20. "Hundreds Of Gay Rights Activists March In Belgrade". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  21. Hooliganism Spills from Political onto Sports Terrains. Belgrade: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. December 2009. p. 4.
  22. Stakic, Isidora (14 March 2015). "Securitization of LGBTIQ Minority in Serbian Far-right Discourses: A Post-structuralist Perspective". Intersections. 1 (1). doi:10.17356/ieejsp.v1i1.17. ISSN 2416-089X.
  23. Jureković, Predrag (2016). Violent extremism in the western Balkans. Filip Ejdus, Landesverteidigungsakademie. Vienna: National Defence Academy. p. 115. ISBN 978-3-902944-99-3. OCLC 1066091374.
  24. Kelly, Luke (June 2019). Overview of research on far right extremism in the Western Balkans. Manchester: University of Manchester. p. 6.
  25. "Serbia's Orthodox Far-Right Increases its Visibility - and Adaptability - with Protests". Balkanist. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  26. Kovačević, Dragana (2008). Anti-Semitism in Serbia and its (re)invention after 1999. Budapest: Department of Nationalism Studies.
  27. Bakić, Jovo (February 2013), Right-Wing Extremism in Serbia (PDF), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, retrieved 18 March 2019, It is reasonable to assume that the Serbian Radical Party lost some of its votes to Dveri, a highly conservative but not, or at least not yet, a far-right ideological and political movement, instead espousing a turn-of-the-twen- tieth-century conservatism much like Joseph de Maistre’s. This movement evidently enjoys the support of the more conservative parts of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and expressly rejects the fascist tradition, anti-Semitism and the use of violence to achieve ideological aims. It does, however, foster extreme conservatism, promoting the family as the most important social institution and advocating a religious-moralistic outlook. As one might expect, this movement fosters an explicitly homophobic position, evident in its organisation of Family Walks on the day before the Pride Parade; but it does not incite its supporters to physically assault the LGBT population. Following the Russian model, in 2012 it called on the government to ban the Parade for the next 100 years. Serbian nationalism and anti-globalisation (expressed in an anti-American orientation and a reserved attitude to the EU) are clearly important components of Dveri ideology so that one can say that it exhibits certain symptoms of the far right but these are not sufficient to classify the movement as such.
  28. Tomić, Đorđe (2013). "On the 'right' side? The Radical Right in the Post-Yugoslav Area and the Serbian Case". Fascism. 2 (1): 110. doi:10.1163/22116257-00201012. ISSN 2211-6249.
  29. Wiesinger, Barbara N. (31 December 2008). "The Continuing Presence of the Extreme Right in Post-Milošević Serbia". Balkanologie. 11 (1–2). doi:10.4000/balkanologie.1363. ISSN 1279-7952.
  30. The Struggle for Secularism in Europe and North America. London: Women Living Under Muslim Laws. 2011.
  31. "Boško Obradović nedeljom: Mi smo za obnovu Kraljevine Srbije | Kolumne". Direktno (in Serbian). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  32. Campaign Watch 2012. Washington D.C.: United States Department of State. April 2012. p. 2.
  33. Sebastian Goll, Martin Mlinaric, and Johannes Gold (2016). Minorities under attack : othering and right-wing extremism in Southeast European Societies. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-19505-8. OCLC 944382380.
  35. Ekerstedt, Malin (2014). Patriotism and Patriarchy – The impact of nationalism on gender equality. Sweden: Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation. p. 13.
  36. "New political alliance in Serbia: Patriotic Block to seek restoration of monarchy". N1 (in Serbian). 2 December 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  37. "EU's Mogherini booed in Serbian parliament ahead of Balkan summit". Reuters. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  38. "Pride parade, anti-globalist rally run parallel in Belgrade". www.euractiv.com. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  39. "Serbia and the 'refugee crisis': from good Samaritan to guard of 'Fortress Europe'". Counterfire. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  40. Passarelli, Gianluca (2019), Passarelli, Gianluca (ed.), "The Presidentialisation of Political Parties in the Western Balkans", The Presidentialisation of Political Parties in the Western Balkans, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–22, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97352-4_1, ISBN 978-3-319-97351-7, retrieved 19 March 2022
  41. Stojic, Marko (2018). Party responses to the EU in the western Balkans : transformation, opposition or defiance?. Cham, Switzerland. p. 138. ISBN 978-3-319-59563-4. OCLC 1003200383.
  42. "Belgrade Bedfellows: Divergent Aims, Styles Laid Bare As Serbia's Anti-Vucic Protests Intensify". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  43. Lažetić, Marina (1 November 2021). "Migration, Extremism, & Dangerous Blame Games: Developments & Dynamics in Serbia". doi:10.37805/wb2021.1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  44. Günay, Cengiz (February 2016). "Understanding Transit Asylum Migration: Evidence from Serbia". International Migration. 54 (4): 31–43. doi:10.1111/imig.12237.
  45. Korzeniewska-Wiszniewska, Mirella (2019). "Dynamics of the Serbian EU accession process – key issues and the challenges of state democratisation in an era of populism". Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej (in Polish). 17 (4): 68. doi:10.36874/RIESW.2019.4.3. ISSN 1732-1395.
  46. The right-wing critique of Europe : nationalist, souverainist and right-wing populist attitudes to the EU. Joanna Sondel-Cedarmas, Francesco Berti. Abingdon, Oxon. 2022. ISBN 978-1-003-22612-3. OCLC 1266207734.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  47. "Factbox: Parties running in Serbia's general election". Reuters. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  48. "Dveri leader sees Family March as start of opposition national front". N1 (in Serbian). 5 May 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  49. Cvejić, Slobodan; Spasojević, Dušan; Stanojević, Dragan; Todosijević, Bojan (November 2020). "Electoral Compass 2020, analysis of the political landscape in Serbia" (PDF). library.fes.de. Heinrich Böll Foundation.
  50. "Dveri predale pismo o zaštiti životne sredine". danas.rs (in Serbian). Danas. 16 November 2020.
  51. "Boško Obradović: Danas nema patriotizma bez zelenog patriotizma". glassumadije.rs (in Serbian). Glas Šumadije. 14 December 2020.
  52. "Dveri predstavile paket od 12 mera za podršku domaćoj privredi". rs.n1info.com (in Serbian). N1. 21 December 2020.
  53. Matković, Aleksandar (7 June 2021). "How Germany's Far Right Is Building Up Anti-Immigrant Parties in the Balkans". Jacobin. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.