ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on key concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book argues that the progress of states in implementing liberal democratic institutions to the satisfaction of the European Union is not a reliable guide for ascertaining whether or not liberal democratic ideas have taken root in those societies. This argument is grounded in the findings of comparative ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Bulgaria and Serbia, mainly during the 12 months of 2011 with shorter return visits to each country at the time of the Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections in May 2012. In Serbia meanwhile, the emerging political hegemony of the hardline nationalists turned European conservatives of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has led many liberal intellectuals to publicly voice their concerns about the rise of authoritarian populism embodied by the emergent leader Aleksandar Vui.
