The Power of the Speaker of the Parliament as Enabler or Barrier to Autocratization (working title)

This paper explores the role, power, and responsibilities of the Speaker of the Parliament in furthering or countering the process of autocratization of the Parliament in context of a competitive authoritarian regimes. While there is a rich and growing literature on the role and functioning of parliaments in the so-called electoral authoritarian regimes, little attention is paid to the power of the Speaker of the Parliament as a potential gatekeeper contesting the authoritarian tendencies, or on the other hand, as one of the main contributors furthering the misuse and degradation of parliamentary mechanisms and processes. The position of the Speaker of the Parliament holds the power, as well as moral responsibility to defend the position, functioning and power of the Parliament as an institution against looming authoritarian trends, but it also leaves potential space enabling the political actors that hold this function to take an active part in undermining of Parliament’s functioning, role, and public image in such regimes. Based on empirical evidence from the case of the Serbian Parliament, functioning in the context of undermined democracy that can be defined as a competitive-authoritarian regime, this paper aims to deepen our understanding of the role and power of the Speaker of the Parliament in guiding political action to defend or undermine democratic ideals and principles. For this purpose, the paper will focus on a comparative analysis of the narratives as well as actions of the Speakers of the Parliament in three legislative periods – the 11th legislature (from June 2016 to August 2020), 12th legislature (from August 2020 to August 2022), and 13th legislature (from August 2022 to February 2024), with the aim to identify potential patterns and assess their impact on the overall functioning and perception of the Parliament. In addition, the paper will also include shadow cases from other countries providing examples of Speakers of the Parliament which contributed to defending and strengthening the functioning and role of the Parliament.