Alliance of Independent Social Democrats

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats
Савез независних социјалдемократа
Savez nezavisnih socijaldemokrata
AbbreviationSNSD (СНСД)
LeaderMilorad Dodik
Founded10 March 1996; 28 years ago (1996-03-10)
HeadquartersBanja Luka
Youth wingYoung Social Democrats
Women's wingActive Woman Social Democratic
Membership192,707[1]
Ideology
Formerly:
Political positionSyncretic
Fiscal: Centre-left[3]
Cultural/Ethical: Right-wing[4][7][8]
HoR BiH
6 / 42
HoP BiH
3 / 15
NA RS
31 / 83
Party flag
Flag of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats
Website
www.snsd.org

The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (Serbian: Савез независних социјалдемократа, romanized: Savez nezavisnih socijaldemokrata; abbr. СНСД or SNSD) is a Serb political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 1996, it is the governing party in Republika Srpska, with its leader, Milorad Dodik, serving as the current president of Republika Srpska. The party's vice-president, Željka Cvijanović, is the current member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while SNSD member Radovan Višković is the current prime minister of Republika Srpska.

The creation of the SNSD can be traced back to the Independent Members of Parliament Group, which eventually grew to become the Party of Independent Social Democrats. During this time, the party served as the only opposition to the dominance of the ultra-nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS), which was led by Radovan Karadžić for the majority of the 1990s. The SNSD was seen as a moderate and non-extremist alternative to the SDS, with many of its members, including Milorad Dodik, being part of the former non-nationalist and multi-ethnic Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia.

The SNSD's first real electoral success was recorded in 2006, where it won 41 of the 83 seats in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, attracting 44.95% of the popular vote. Since then, the party has gradually abandoned its reformist ideology for more assertive advocacy of Serbian nationalism, threatening the secession of Republika Srpska from the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina numerous times.[9][10][11][12] This has also led to the party being expelled from the Socialist International in 2012 for "continuing to espouse a nationalist and extremist line".[13][14]

  1. ^ Popadić, Slobodan (5 March 2019). "SNSD slavi 23. rođendan, Dodik: Republika Srpska je epicentar našeg djelovanja". Srpskainfo (in Serbian). Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Bosnia-Herzegovina". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b Nardelli, Alberto; Dzidic, Denis; Jukic, Elvira (8 October 2014). "Bosnia and Herzegovina: the world's most complicated system of government?". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b c Kubát, Michal; Mejstřík, Martin (June 2020). Populist Parties in Contemporary Europe (PDF). Democratic Efficacy and the Varieties of Populism in Europe.
  5. ^ "Dodik claims British person runs office in Sarajevo to prevent Russian influence". N1. 23 April 2019.
  6. ^ Sito-Sucic, Maja Zuvela, Daria (8 October 2018). "Nationalists win in Bosnia, including Serb who opposes 'impossible state'". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Rosas, João Cardoso; Ferreira, Ana Rita (8 January 2014). Left and Right: The Great Dichotomy Revisited. Cambridge Scholars. ISBN 9781443855709.
  8. ^ Passarelli, Gianluca (January 2018). The Presidentialisation of Political Parties in the Western Balkans. Springer. ISBN 9783319973524.
  9. ^ "Defying Ban, Republika Srpska Proceeds With 'Statehood Day'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 January 2018.
  10. ^ "U.S. imposes sanctions on Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Dodik". U.S. 17 January 2017 – via www.reuters.com.
  11. ^ "The 2016 Local Elections in Bosnia: a Win for the Major Ethno-nationalist Parties - Bosnia". Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  12. ^ "The Political System of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Institutions – Actors – Processes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  13. ^ "SNSD suspended from the Socialist International" (in Croatian). 2 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Member Parties of the Socialist International". Retrieved 9 September 2012.