The role of party patronage in populist capture of public administration : Evidence from Serbia

Jerinić, Jelena (2026) The role of party patronage in populist capture of public administration : Evidence from Serbia. Rivista storica delle terre adriatiche, 5. pp. 43-58. ISSN 3035-0182

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Abstract

This article analyses the influence of populist agendas on public administration reforms during the past decade, with a particular focus on the Western Balkans, taking a Serbian example for a case study. Drawing primarily on Cas Mudde’s definition of populism, and engaging additional approaches developed within public administration scholarship, it examines whether specific reform patterns can be identified as characteristically populist. The article situates public administration within broader processes of democratic backsliding, highlighting politicisation of the civil service, executive centralisation, and weakening of oversight and accountability mechanisms. It addresses a gap in comparative administrative law and public administration literature, which has largely focused on constitutional and political dimensions while neglecting the administrative sphere. Using a legal-doctrinal approach, the article analyses the practice of appointing high-level acting senior administrative officials in Serbia during the rule of the Serbian Progressive Party. It argues that institutional change has occurred not through formal legislative reform, but through and selective application of existing legal framework, contributing to rule-of-law erosion.

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