I’d Rather Bite My Tongue Off Than Stand with Them: Paralysis of Political Engagement in Serbia

Abstract

The text analyses how the discursive paralysis of political engagement in Serbia is triggered and manifested, as well as how the elements connected with this paralysis are reproduced and reinforced. We begin with the premise that the discursive paralysis of political engagement interacts with two elements: understanding politics as an inherently immoral field of activity, and the importance placed upon personal moral integrity as an essential personal resource for citizens of Serbia. Based on the empirical data from Facebook comments made on a Serbian news portal, the text analyses and presents two types of strategies used to trigger paralysis, as well as how these comments reproduce and reinforce the very perception of politics as a field of immorality and the significance of moral integrity as a personal resource. Finally, we show how these elements are reproduced independently of one another, outside their particular context of “defence” from attack and “precaution.”