Alliance of Independent Social Democrats

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 chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. SNSD members Željka Cvijanović and Radovan Višković are the current President of Republika Srpska and Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, respectively.

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats
Савез независних социјалдемократа
Savez nezavisnih socijaldemokrata
LeaderMilorad Dodik
Founded10 March 1996
HeadquartersBanja Luka
Membership192,707[1]
Ideology
Political positionFiscal: Centre-left[9]
Social: Right-wing[10][11]
House of Representatives
6 / 42
House of Peoples
4 / 15
National Assembly of Republika Srpska
28 / 83
Party flag
Website
www.snsd.org

The creation of 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, which was led by Radovan Karadžić for the majority of the 1990s. SNSD was seen as a moderate and non-extremist alternative to SDS, with many of its members, including Dodik, being part of the former non-nationalist and multi-ethnic Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia.

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 a more aggressive advocacy of Serbian nationalism, threatening the secession of Republika Srpska from the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina numerous times.[12][13][14][15] This has also led to the party being expelled from the Socialist International in 2012 for continuing to "espouse a nationalist and extremist" line.[16][17]

History

1991–96

The party grew out of the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus (IMPC), known as "the club", of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) in 1996.[18] The club was in opposition to the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) during the Bosnian War (1992–96).[18] The IMPC was established from the caucus of ethnic Serb members of the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina elected in 1990 from the election list of the Union of Reform Forces. The Serb members of the Parliament of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, the majority of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), including the members of the IMPC, established the Assembly of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 24 October 1991 (later renamed National Assembly of the Republika Srpska), following the majority of the parliament (mostly Croats and Bosniaks) approved the "Memorandum on Sovereignty" on 15 October 1991. In 1992, the Bosnian parliament held an independence referendum which led to the declaration of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The absolute majority of the newly founded NSRS was from the SDS. The IMPC was the only parliamentary opposition from the founding of the National Assembly through the first post-war elections in September 1996. The Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) participated in the elections in the "Union for Peace and Progress" coalition along with the Socialist Party of RS (SPRS) and a minor party.[18] The club and later party (SNSD) was chaired by Milorad Dodik.[18]

1997–present

In the early 1997 elections it cooperated with SPRS and the Serb National Alliance (SNS) in the Sloga ("Unity") coalition.[18] The SNS was founded by Biljana Plavšić, who had left the SDS following internal clashes.[19] Dodik was the RS PM in 1998–2001.[18]

In December 1999 the Social Liberal Party of Republika Srpska merged into the SNSD, and after local elections in 2000 Nikola Špirić's Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) merged into it in 2001, the SNSD then changed its name to the "Alliance of Independent Social Democrats", keeping its old abbreviation.[20] DSP was a splinter party of the SPRS. In August 2002 the New Labour Party of Republika Srpska merged into SNSD.

The SNSD was suspended from Socialist International in 2011 for continuing to "espouse a nationalist and extremist" line.[16] It was later expelled on 4 September 2012.[17]

Ideology

The party is nominally social-democratic, centre-left in the economic section, conservative in the social and cultural section, having transformed since the 1990s, and can now also be classified as nationalist and secessionist due to a proposed secession of Republika Srpska.

International cooperation

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats cooperates with several Eastern European pro-Russian parties and the ruling party in the Russian Federation, United Russia. On several occasions, representatives of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats signed cooperation agreements with representatives of United Russia.[21] In 2016, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats joined a declaration that supported a declaration of Balkan parties that supported the idea of military neutrality in the region.[22] In 2018, representatives of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats signed a cooperation agreement with the South Ossetian ruling party United Ossetia.[23]

Electoral results

National Assembly elections
Parliament of Republika Srpska
Year Popular vote % of popular vote # of seats Seat change Coalition Government
1996 125,372 11.05%
2 / 83
 2 NSSM opposition
1997 Unknown 2.41%
2 / 83
 — government
1998 53,802 7.30%
6 / 83
 4 — government
2000 81,467 13%
11 / 83
 5 — opposition
2002 111,226 21.79%
19 / 83
 8 — opposition
2006 244,251 44.95%
41 / 83
 22 — government
2010 240,727 38%
37 / 83
 4 — government
2014 213,665 32.28%
29 / 83
 8 — government
2018 218,203 31.87%
28 / 83
 1 — government

Presidential elections
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Election year # Candidate Votes % Elected?
1998 1st Živko Radišić 359,937 51.3% Yes
2002 2nd Nebojša Radmanović 101,119 19.9% No
2006 1st Nebojša Radmanović 287,675 53.3% Yes
2010 1st Nebojša Radmanović 295,629 48.9% Yes
2014 2nd Željka Cvijanović 310,658 47.5% No
2018 1st Milorad Dodik 368,210 53.9% Yes
President of Republika Srpska
Election year # Candidate Votes % Elected?
2000 2nd Milorad Dodik 161,942 25.7% No
2002 2nd Milan Jelić 112,612 22.1% No
2006 1st Milan Jelić 271,022 48.87% Yes
2007 1st Rajko Kuzmanović 169,863 41.33% Yes
2010 1st Milorad Dodik 319,618 50.52% Yes
2014 1st Milorad Dodik 303,496 45.39% Yes
2018 1st Željka Cvijanović 319,187 46.97% Yes

Positions held

Major positions held by Alliance of Independent Social Democrats members:

Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and HerzegovinaYears
Nebojša Radmanović 2006–2014
Milorad Dodik 2018–
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
of Bosnia and Herzegovina		Years
Nikola Špirić 2007–2012
Zoran Tegeltija 2019–
President of Republika SrpskaYears
Milan Jelić 2006–2007
Rajko Kuzmanović 2007–2010
Milorad Dodik 2010–2018
Željka Cvijanović 2018–
Prime Minister of Republika SrpskaYears
Milorad Dodik 1998–2001
2006–2010
Aleksandar Džombić 2010–2013
Željka Cvijanović 2013–2018
Radovan Višković 2018–
Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika SrpskaYears
Igor Radojičić 2006–2014

References
  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. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Bosnia-Herzegovina". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  3. 'Za sve bi najbolja bila konfederacija Herceg Bosne, Republike Srpske i Bosne'. Večernji list, 14. veljače 2014. Pristupljeno 26. ožujka 2014.
  4. "Програм Савеза независних социјалдемократа" (PDF). Savez nezavisnih socijaldemokrata. 7 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  5. zbeissmann@ffos.hr
  6. https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2018/01/26/state-bosnia-herzegovinas-european-integrations/
  7. http://rs.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a478460/Brit-runs-office-for-preventing-Russia-s-influence-in-Bosnia.html
  8. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bosnia-election/nationalists-win-in-bosnia-including-serb-who-opposes-impossible-state-idUSKCN1MI1C3
  9. Nardelli, Alberto; Dzidic, Denis; Jukic, Elvira (8 October 2014). "Bosnia and Herzegovina: the world's most complicated system of government?". The Guardian.
  10. Rosas, João Cardoso; Ferreira, Ana Rita (8 January 2014). Left and Right: The Great Dichotomy Revisited. ISBN 9781443855709.
  11. Passarelli, Gianluca (January 2018). The Presidentialisation of Political Parties in the Western Balkans. ISBN 9783319973524.
  12. https://www.rferl.org/a/republika-srpska-statehood-day-defying-court-ban/28964699.html
  13. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sanctions-bosnia-dodik/u-s-imposes-sanctions-on-bosnian-serb-nationalist-leader-dodik-idUSKBN1512WI
  14. http://www.balkanalysis.com/bosnia/2016/10/04/the-2016-local-elections-in-bosnia-a-win-for-the-major-ethno-nationalist-parties/
  15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "SNSD suspended from the Socialist International" (in Croatian). 2 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  17. "Member Parties of the Socialist International". Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  18. Stojarová & Emerson 2013, p. 94.
  19. Stojarová & Emerson 2013, p. 88.
  20. Stojarová & Emerson 2013, p. 89.
  21. Russia: Bosnian Serb PM Visits To Discuss Balkans, Energy, stratfor.com 15 September 2010.
  22. Putin’s Party Signs ‘Military Neutrality’ Agreements with Balkan Parties, medium.com 29 June 2016.
  23. The ruling parties of South Ossetia and Republika Srpska agreed to cooperate, cominf.org 11 January 2018.

Sources
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