Research framework and broader academic knowledge base
Serbia: documented application of the same framework
How do people begin to behave as if unwritten rules were normal?
People begin to act as if the unwritten rules are normal when they see that the formal procedure does not give results again, while the shortcuts are rewarded and not punished. If a job is obtained through a relationship, the problem is solved by a call, and the criticism brings a risk, the individual adapts the behavior to what he expects to really do.
Over time, the institution no longer tries to travel regularly, so the institution gets even fewer requests to respect it. So the unwritten rule becomes self-fulfilling. This does not mean that people love or approve of the system; they often try to protect the family and do the work in the conditions in which their choice is narrowed. The danger is that the authoritarian system turns a reasonable individual adjustment into a pattern that renews it daily.
The fact that people have adapted does not mean that they support the system. It is necessary to distinguish between habit, fear, attempt to survive and sincere approval.
Works supporting this answer, with their evidence type and an explanation of how they relate to the claim.
long-term direct monitoring of political life
Wedeen, L. (1999), Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria, University of Chicago Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Wedeen on Syria shows how people can participate in loyalty rituals over and over again that neither they nor the authorities really believe to be true. The point of these rituals is to teach everyone what is said publicly and how it behaves so obedience is built into everyday life over time and without real conviction.
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Kuran, T. (1995), Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification, Harvard University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- The Koran explains why people publicly represent something they privately do not want: when honesty carries a social, economic or political price, adaptation becomes rational. When many do it, everyone sees the very public behavior of others and the existing rule begins to look much more accepted and normal than it really is.
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Gerschewski, J. (2023), The Two Logics of Autocratic Rule, Cambridge University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Gerschewski shows that authoritarian authorities do not only keep people from being repressed: some keep them politically mobilized, while others keep them satisfied, passive and away from politics. For this question, it is useful as a broader framework for how a certain way of life under the regime turns into “normal”, but it is not a direct study of unwritten rules among people.
Study of Serbia
Petrović, V. (2026), „Under Pressure: The Politics of Clientelism and Coercion in Serbia“, Democratization.
Petrović, V. (2026), “Under Pressure: The Politics of Clientelism and Coercion in Serbia”, Democratization.
- Contribution to this answer
- Petrovic shows how in Serbia, the benefits and pressure can appear in the same political relationship: work, access to the public sector or other benefits can be associated with political support and fear of loss. When such relationships are repeated, people learn the practical rules of the system without anyone having written them formally.
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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 a similar process at the institutional rather than interpersonal level: the executive branch has the incentive to declare, extend and use emergencies, so what started as an exception can become the usual mode of government over time. For “unwritten rules” of human behavior, it is therefore an indirect source.
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