Research framework and broader academic knowledge base
Serbia: documented application of the same framework
How does a law that does not apply equally to everyone force people to comply?
Selective application of the law creates obedience because citizens do not know who and when they will become a target. If the regulation is broad or unclear, and the government strictly applies it only to critics, many people begin to avoid completely legal activities in advance so as not to attract attention.
It is not necessary to punish thousands: several visible procedures show that almost everyone can be found a violation, while allies for similar behavior remain protected. Uncertainty is part of the mechanism, because the government retains the opportunity to present pressure as an ordinary application of rights. To prove selectivity, it is necessary to compare similar cases who is reported, how quickly the procedure is initiated, what the punishment is and whether political affiliation predicts different treatment.
Unequal application should be shown by comparing similar cases. A small number of procedures or the right of the official to choose a priority may have other explanations.
Works supporting this answer, with their evidence type and an explanation of how they relate to the claim.
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Moustafa, T. (2014), „Law and Courts in Authoritarian Regimes“, Annual Review of Law and Social Science 10: 281–299.
- Contribution to this answer
- Moustafa shows how selective limits of legal protection can make the law formally valid, and that politically sensitive people and cases still have different treatment. Such inequality changes expectations about where it is safe to insist on rights.
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Scheuerman, W. E. (2006), „Emergency Powers“, Annual Review of Law and Social Science 2: 257–277.
- Contribution to this answer
- Scheuerman shows that the executive power has the incentive to extend and extend extraordinary powers and thus normalize unequal legal treatment and wider discretion of the state.
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Whiting, S. H. (2023), „Authoritarian Legality and State Capitalism in China“, Annual Review of Law and Social Science 19: 357–373.
- Contribution to this answer
- Whiting shows how formal legal procedure can coexist with the politically directed priorities of the state. This helps to understand why people are not only assessing the text of the law but also the way they expect it to be applied.
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Earl, J. (2003), „Tanks, Tear Gas, and Taxes: Toward a Theory of Movement Repression“, Sociological Theory 21(1): 44–68.
- Contribution to this answer
- Earl shows that repression can come through legal and administrative measures, not only through police force. The very possibility of selective use of these instruments increases the cost of political action.
Explain how the system works
Ritter, E. H. i Conrad, C. R. (2016), „Preventing and Responding to Dissent: The Observational Challenges of Explaining Strategic Repression“, American Political Science Review 110(1): 85–99.
- Contribution to this answer
- Ritter and Conrad show that repression can be preventative and that people adapt behavior to expected state responses. The work, however, does not directly study selective legal uncertainty as a source of daily obedience.
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