The Security Sector in a Captured State

State capture is a deliberate political undertaking in which political actors use the consequences (both real and imagined) of the previous government as justification for the complete capture of the state’s institutions. These legitimising narratives are specific to every country and range from fighting crime and corruption, to advancing social justice, preserving national and cultural identities, mythomaniac notions of national origins and so forth. Of course, the narratives can change over time, as evidenced by the example of Serbia, but their essence remains the same: to act as a smokescreen for ever broader and ever deeper capture of the state.

In such an endeavor, security sector institutions are among the first targets of political actors, since by increasing and concentrating their security power they are simultaneously increasing their political power. Some security sectors and institutions are also on the receiving end of significant budgetary outlays (e.g. the defence sector and the police), which makes them potentially significant sources of cash flow for the party leadership and those close to them. Deep-seated control of security institutions also ensures the ruling party leadership can redirect public funds into private pockets unhindered.

Due to the importance and pervasiveness of this phenomenon in Serbia, the BCSP conducted a study the aim of which was to determine the main context, factors, mechanisms and actors of state capture in the country’s security sector.

This article presents the main findings of this study, illustrated through a number of real-world examples, used to show readers the damage that state capture can do to citizens and the state itself. The study covers the following: parliament, the police, the security services, the military, state finance and private security.

The study is just the first step the BCSP has taken towards a better understanding of this problem and towards highlighting how important it is to resolve it in the shortest possible timeframe. Our intention is, therefore, to continue to investigate state capture in Serbia and also to determine the best ways out of this situation.

This publication was produced with the financial support of National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Responsibility for the content of this publication belongs solely to Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.