Passive Revolution in Contemporary Slovenia. From the 2012 Protests to the Migrant Crisis

Abstract

Two episodes have impacted on the formation of the Slovenian ruling class over the last five years: the protests of 2012-2013 and the refugee crisis of 2015-2016. In both cases, the responses taken by the elites involved changes to their own composition and nuances in their ideological formulation. Central to this dynamic were the role of right-wing actors in the system, the partial integration of new actors, the assimilation of some of their claims, and the introduction of new questions into projected friend-enemy relations that frame the political life of the country. In no case did these variations lead to substantial changes in the formulation of the basic ideas of the post-socialist regime, including Slovenia's role in the process of European integration, its hierarchical position in relation to its southern neighbours, the deregulation of the economy, and the introduction of increasing restrictions within democratic procedures. These continuities went through several electoral processes and the birth and weakening of major political parties. The Gramscian notion of passive revolution offers a framework that explains the reproduction mechanisms of the Slovenian ruling class during that period.