Political cleavages in Serbia: changes and continuities in structuring left–right orientations

This study examines the structuring of political attitudes in Serbia through the framework of the left–right schema. Using data from public opinion surveys taken during the 1990s and early 2000s, the impact of socio‐demographic variables, economic interests, democratic support, social values, and nationalistic sentiments on respondents’ left–right orientations is analysed, as well as the relationship between left–right placements and support for individual political parties. Results show that in addition to age and religiosity, evaluation of communist rule and satisfaction with the state of democratic development form the main axis of contestation, while there is little evidence for economic, authoritarian–libertarian, or nationalist cleavages.