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A student activist and debater before the fall of the Milošević regime in Serbia, Sonja Stojanović Gajić began researching security during Serbia’s democratic transition, realising the importance of the security sector in safeguarding—or undermining—democracy. While the transition years were marked by chaos and violence (symbolised by the assassination of Prime Minister Đinđić in 2003), they also reflected a broad societal consensus towards democracy. This consensus eroded as new political actors entered the scene, challenging the rules of the democratic game. Grievances from the post-communist transition deepened, with norms seen as externally imposed and the rushed introduction of capitalism creating winners and losers. These tensions enabled state capture—a trend not unique to Serbia but common across many post-transition states, and increasingly in Western democracies—where autocratic actors exploit identity politics and use privatised repression to entrench power. One of Sonja Stojanović Gajić’s key achievements is enhancing security governance accountability in Serbia by developing an evidence-based index, created through extensive consultations with competing branches of the sector—a testament to the value of fair and unbiased debate. Despite democratic decline, she believes civil society groups hold promise if they mobilise inclusively and bridge divided perspectives to strengthen democratic resilience.

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‘The Absence of Accountability and Rule of Law Is Directly Leading to the Loss of Lives’. Interview with Sonja Stojanović Gajić

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Serafine Dinkel

摘要

A student activist and debater before the fall of the Milošević regime in Serbia, Sonja Stojanović Gajić began researching security during Serbia’s democratic transition, realising the importance of the security sector in safeguarding—or undermining—democracy. While the transition years were marked by chaos and violence (symbolised by the assassination of Prime Minister Đinđić in 2003), they also reflected a broad societal consensus towards democracy. This consensus eroded as new political actors entered the scene, challenging the rules of the democratic game. Grievances from the post-communist transition deepened, with norms seen as externally imposed and the rushed introduction of capitalism creating winners and losers. These tensions enabled state capture—a trend not unique to Serbia but common across many post-transition states, and increasingly in Western democracies—where autocratic actors exploit identity politics and use privatised repression to entrench power. One of Sonja Stojanović Gajić’s key achievements is enhancing security governance accountability in Serbia by developing an evidence-based index, created through extensive consultations with competing branches of the sector—a testament to the value of fair and unbiased debate. Despite democratic decline, she believes civil society groups hold promise if they mobilise inclusively and bridge divided perspectives to strengthen democratic resilience.