Serbia: documented application of the same framework
Academic research base
How can a state efficiently monitor and punish while providing poor health care, education, and protection?
State competence is not a single feature. The government can invest a lot in the police, supervision, tax control and registers because these systems directly help it to see opponents, collect money and carry out the order.
Health, education and social protection, however, require professional independence, accurate bad news, cooperation of many institutions and equal treatment of a large number of people. If employees hide problems in order not to be punished, such services are difficult to learn and improve. That is why strong coercion can exist with poor public service. Poor hospital or school results do not prove a deliberate political decision, it is necessary to compare money, personnel, powers and the ability of different parts.
The state can be very capable where the political top priority is to collect data, impose a penalty, organize an event or implement a central decision and weak where the service requires expertise, local adjustment and open admission of error. In Serbia, this can be seen in the rapid introduction of the Social Card system and broad administrative control, as opposed to problems with the explanation of decisions, appeal and protection of the most vulnerable.
How the finding is separated in the matrix
A 11 documents the consequences and non-transparency of the Social Map, and reports on public administration record the gap between digitization and real responsibility, citizen involvement and quality of services. FemPlatz shows the gap between large budget competitions and the absence of funded services for women in violence, while ASTRA shows the same gap through the protection of 11 migrant workers at a politically important construction site.
Capacity is not one thing: the system can invest in what enhances inspection and control from above, while neglecting professional autonomy and feedback that would improve treatment, school or social protection.
Partially the example shows an uneven capacity, but the quality of different public services must be measured separately.
The digital system is not by definition a means of repression and can reduce errors. The problem arises when the criterion is hidden, the data is incorrect, and the citizen has no explanation, human verification and an effective remedy.
Bad service does not prove that the authorities deliberately neglected it for supervision and punishment. It is necessary to compare money, people, tasks and results of different services.
Works supporting this answer, with their evidence type and an explanation of how they relate to the claim.
Development and verification of measurement methods
Hanson, J. K. i Sigman, R. (2021), „Leviathan’s Latent Dimensions: Measuring State Capacity for Comparative Political Research“, Journal of Politics 83(4): 1495–1510.
- Contribution to this answer
- Hanson and Sigman give an almost direct answer: state capability has different dimensions. The ability of the state to coerce and control is not the same as the ability of its administration to devise policies, regulate the economy, and provide public services so a strong apparatus of force does not prove that the rest of the state is equally capable.
review more research
Pepinsky, T. B., Pierskalla, J. H. i Sacks, A. (2017), „Bureaucracy and Service Delivery“, Annual Review of Political Science 20: 249–268.
- Contribution to this answer
- It shows how much the provision of health, education and other services depends on what is going on deep in the bureaucracy on the organization, the local context and the relationship of officials with citizens. These are completely different capacities than the ability of the state to find, supervise or punish someone.
review more research
Dahlström, C. i Lapuente, V. (2022), „Comparative Bureaucratic Politics“, Annual Review of Political Science 25: 43–63.
- Contribution to this answer
- Dahlstrm and Lapuente show that the way in which bureaucracy is made affects the economic development, corruption and quality of services. A politically very controlled apparatus therefore does not have to be an apparatus that is best organized for professional solving of citizens’ problems.
Explain how the system works
Wallace, J. (2022), Seeking Truth and Hiding Facts: Information, Ideology, and Authoritarianism in China, Oxford University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Wallace in China shows the paradox of a system that measures and controls its own state very much: numerical goals help the top to see and direct a huge administration, but at the same time encourage lower levels to “play” indicators and produce data that looks better than reality. The state can therefore have a lot of information and control, and yet have serious blind spots right where it needs accurate bad news.
comparing several countries or cases
Greitens, S. C. (2016), Dictators and Their Secret Police: Coercive Institutions and State Violence, Cambridge University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Greitens shows that the apparatus of coercion is being built towards a special political goal to protect the regime from rebellion and coup. Therefore, it is not unusual for the state to invest enormous organizational capacity in services that control and control people, without developing this ability in the same degree in schools, hospitals or social services.
Sources supporting the Serbia example, with the claim they support and their limitations.
Domestic NGOs monitoring of social rights - Verified 21.08.2026
Inicijativa A 11. 2025. Evropska komisija ponovo usvojila komentare Inicijative A 11: sporan algoritam Socijalne karte i druga kršenja socijalnih prava. Beograd: A 11.
Initiative A 11. 2025. The European Commission has again adopted the comments of Initiative A 11: the controversial algorithm of the Social Map and other violations of social rights. Belgrade: A 11.
- What the source records
- “A 11 states that nearly 60,000 people lost their aid in three years and points to a non-transparent algorithm, insufficient reasoning, and poor ability to appeal effectively.
- Claim it supports
- The claim that the state can quickly build the capacity for records and central decision, while remaining weak in the explanation, appeal and service to the adapted citizen.
- Source limitation
- The organization represents social rights and publication summarises its findings and comments of the European Commission; the number and causality should also be checked through official administrative data.
Regional NGO monitoring of public administration - Verified 21.08.2026
WeBER 2.0 / European Policy Centre. 2023. Western Balkan PAR Monitor 2021/2022. Belgrade: European Policy Centre.
WeBER 2.0 / European Policy Centre. 2023. Western Balkans PAR Monitor 2021/2022. Belgrade: European Policy Centre.
- What the source records
- For Serbia, there are persistent gaps between formal reform and the experience of citizens and officials, especially in employment, transparency and accountability.
- Claim it supports
- The claim that the state can quickly build the capacity for records and central decision, while remaining weak in the explanation, appeal and service to the adapted citizen.
- Source limitation
- The regional methodology gives a comparison, but does not explain every institution or every bad result with political pressure.
Official international monitoring - Verified 21.08.2026
European Commission. 2025. Serbia 2025 Report. Commission Staff Working Document. Brussels: European Commission.
- What the source records
- The report notes weak election conditions, limited parliamentary scrutiny, strong political pressure on the judiciary and concerns that the president is in practice directing decision-making beyond the constitutional idea.
- Claim it supports
- The claim that the state can quickly build the capacity for records and central decision, while remaining weak in the explanation, appeal and service to the adapted citizen.
- Source limitation
- The report is related to the EU accession process and describes a certain period; it does not represent a scientific causal study or a uniform assessment of the type of regime.
Legal study of the country - Verified 21.08.2026
Krstić, Ivana, i Marko Davinić. 2021. “Serbia: Legal Response to Covid-19.” U: The Oxford Compendium of National Legal Responses to Covid-19. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/law-occ19/law-occ19-e7
Krstić, Ivana, and Marko Davinić. 2021. “Serbia: Legal Response to Covid-19.” In: The Oxford Compendium of National Legal Responses to Covid-19. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/law-occ19/law-occ19-e7
- What the source records
- The study shows that urgent decisions in Serbia were made with a weak parliamentary role and more contentious issues of legality and proportionality.
- Claim it supports
- The claim that the state can quickly build the capacity for records and central decision, while remaining weak in the explanation, appeal and service to the adapted citizen.
- Source limitation
- Legal analysis assesses norms and procedures, but does not measure their social and political consequences.
Domestic NGOs public finance analysis - Verified 21.08.2026
FemPlatz. 2024. Analiza javnih konkursa za podršku projektima udruženja usmerenih na promociju, zaštitu i unapređenje rodne ravnopravnosti i sprečavanje nasilja prema ženama objavljenih tokom 2023. Pančevo: FemPlatz.
FemPlatz. 2024. Analysis of public competitions for support to projects of associations aimed at promotion, protection and improvement of gender equality and prevention of violence against women published during 2023. Pančevo: FemPlatz.
- What the source records
- Comparing the ability of the state to conduct and pay for large competitions with the absence of financed specialized services for women in a situation of violence.
- Claim it supports
- It supports the gap between the administrative ability to distribute money and the ability to ensure the protection of vulnerable citizens.
- Source limitation
- Desk analysis and four interviews accurately check the selected competitions, but do not prove that every funded association GONGO nor that every bad decision is politically motivated.
Domestic NGOs documented case study - Verified 21.08.2026
ASTRA. 2024. Neispričana priča 11 radnika žrtava trgovine ljudima u Srbiji. Beograd: ASTRA.
ASTRA. 2024. Untold story of 11 victims of human trafficking in Serbia. Belgrade: ASTRA.
- What the source records
- Compare the state’s ability to support a large investment project with a reaction or lack of reaction when serious violations of the rights of migrant workers occur.
- Claim it supports
- Supports the gap between the state’s capacity for the project and the capacity to protect vulnerable people in its shadow.
- Source limitation
- “It is a case collected in the short term before the departure of the workers; it shows what the privileged position of the investor may look like, but it does not prove the general state policy towards all investors.
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