An online survey on monarchy in Serbia (October 2015, N=202) indicates that the idea of restoring the monarchy does not have majority support, but that the topic still attracts interest—especially when framed as a question of direct citizen decision-making.
To the direct question of whether Serbia should once again be a kingdom, i.e., a parliamentary monarchy, 53.47% answered “no,” 26.73% were in favour, and 19.80% had no opinion. Although only 10.40% describe themselves as monarchists and 21.29% as republicans, the most striking figure is that 51.49% of participants describe themselves as apolitical. This suggests that monarchy is not experienced as an identity-forming issue, but rather as a secondary topic compared to everyday problems and trust in institutions.
Almost all respondents (96.04%) have heard of Crown Prince Aleksandar II Karađorđević, but overall attitudes toward him fall largely into the zone of indifference: 51.49% are “neither positive nor negative,” while the share of negative ratings (31.69%) is almost twice the share of positive ones (16.84%). When moving from impressions to arguments, perceived positives are most often linked to humanitarian work (24.93%), scholarships (15.41%), and international connections (14.57%). Negative associations, however, are more concrete and sharper: insufficient knowledge of the Serbian language (32.51%), poor communication with the public (24.57%), a lack of understanding of Serbia’s problems (19.35%), and—in open-ended responses—criticisms related to status and costs.
Interestingly, despite majority opposition to monarchy, 35.82% support holding a referendum, while 43.78% oppose it and the rest are undecided. Yet when asked about turnout, 57.65% say they would vote in such a referendum. In other words, part of the public does not want a monarchy, but does want the dilemma “closed” through a public vote.
More broadly, answers about the “two best forms of government” reveal a tendency toward personalization of politics: the highest support goes to a ruler elected directly by citizens (17.19%), followed by a parliament elected in elections (15.31%) and a government chosen in parliament (11.25%), but also the idea of self-organized citizens without a state (10%). This is a mix of a desire for a “strong mandate” and frustration with party mediation.
Methodological note: The research was conducted online on a self-selected sample of platform users; the findings are not representative of Serbia’s population. In questions allowing multiple answers, percentages do not add up to 100%.