New development: Patronage police appointments in autocracies—lessons from Serbia

Abstract

IMPACTThis article is particularly relevant for senior police leaders, public sector managers, oversight bodies, and international reform practitioners working in contexts of de-democratization and autocratization. It shows how patronage-based appointments of police leadership undermine professional policing by weakening operational independence, distorting internal incentives, and eroding public trust. Practitioners can use these findings to identify early warning signs of politicized appointment processes and to design safeguards that protect merit-based recruitment and leadership selection. The analysis highlights how patronage at the top of the police hierarchy signals to lower ranks that political loyalty outweighs professional standards, thereby reinforcing broader patterns of organizational politicization. More broadly, the article contributes to debates on police professionalism and public sector governance by showing how leadership appointment structures shape institutional autonomy and democratic policing outcomes.