Below is an abstract of the report published by the International Crisis Group on the recent adoption of a new constitution in Serbia and its impact on the Kosovo’s status solution:

The latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, warns that there may be little the West can do to achieve its goals of strengthening Serbian democracy and convincing the government to accept Kosovo’s eventual independence. Instead, it appears that Premier Vojislav Kostunica will use the new constitution, which was passed in the 28-29 October referendum, to chart a new course that moves deliberately away from European integration and creates a hybrid, home-grown form of illiberal, authoritarian democracy.

“The government is playing a game of high-stakes bluff”, says Nicholas Whyte, Crisis Group Europe Program Director. “The main purpose of the new constitution was to demonstrate Serbian hostility to Kosovo independence and to create further legal barriers against it. It makes it legally impossible – without further constitutional amendment – for Serbia to recognise Kosovo independence and could contribute to long-term political instability”.

The deeply-flawed referendum – the government seems to have stuffed the ballot box and falsified figures to claim that the necessary numbers of citizens took part and voted in favour – opens the door to increased centralisation of the state, curtailed human and minority rights, destruction of judicial independence and potentially even a parliamentary dictatorship. It was a victory for Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and his ideological allies, Milosevic’s Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) of war crimes indictee Vojislav Seselj.

The government still wants to delay new elections as long as possible, partially in the hope this would cause the international community to delay the Kosovo status process. A real possibility exists that the new constitution could be misused to impose a temporary state of emergency to deal with the government’s political enemies.

“Milosevic’s real legacy was to indoctrinate many Serbs with an ideology that is anti-Western and xenophobic, views Serbia as a victim and is based on a populist, Kosovo-centric mythology”, says Nicholas Whyte. “It is on this foundation that Kostunica is building Serbian democracy. Western governments’ commendation of a highly dubious referendum result suggests there is too little understanding of the real situation”.

The full version of the International Crisis Group Report is available here:  “Serbia’s New Constitution: Democracy Going Backwards”