Assessment of the EU as a promotor of democratic values in the Western Balkan countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60054/PEU.2023.10.256-268Keywords:
EU, democratisation, promotor of democracy, stabilitocracy, Western Balkan countriesAbstract
The European Union has been instrumental in promoting reforms in areas such as the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, and human rights protections. Furthermore, its conditionality policy has provided a powerful incentive for the governments of the Western Balkan (WB) countries to make progress in these areas, and the EU’s financial and technical assistance has helped to support these efforts. Although there have been some concrete achievements because of these efforts, there have also been significant challenges and setbacks in these countries’ democratisation process. The objective of this paper is to assess if, and to what extent, the EU has been successful in promoting democratic values in the countries of the Western Balkans? For this purpose, a qualitative analysis is conducted with secondary data from many sources, here including reports from international organisations, policy events as well as the rhetoric review of the progress reports delivered to the WB countries. Taking into consideration the results of the analysis, I argue that there are three main factors affecting the EU’s capability of being a successful promotor of democratic values in the Balkans, namely: internal political instability; external pressures from a broader geopolitical context; and a ‘not-to-willing’ EU.
References
Bermeo, N. (2016). On Democratic Backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5-19.
BiEPAG. (2017). The Crisis of Democracy in the Western Balkans. An Anatomy of Stabilitocracy and the Limits of EU Democracy Promotion, Policy Study. Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group.
BTI. (2023). BTI Trasnformation Index: Political transformation.
Burnell, P. (2000). Democracy Assistance: The State of Discourse. In P. Burnell (Ed.), Democracy Assistance: International Co-operation for Democratisation (pp. 3-33). Frank Cass Publishers.
Dafa, A., et al. (2020, July). The Western Balkans and the Covid -19: Effects on good governance, rule of law and civil society, Think for Europe Network Policy Brief.
Dimitrova, A. (2016). The EU’s Evolving Enlargement Strategies. Does Tougher Conditionality Open the Door for Further Enlargement?, MaxCap - Working Paper Series 30. Freie Universitaet Berlin.
Dimitrova, A., & Pridham, G. (2004). International actors and democracy promotion in central and eastern Europe: the integration model and its limits. Democratisation, 11(5), 91-112. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510340412331304606
Freedom-House. (2023). Global Freedom Status.
Karcvic ́, H. (2022). Russia’s Influence in the Balkans: The Interplay of Religion, Politics, and History. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/russia-s-influence-in-the-balkans-the-interplay-of-religion-politics-and-history.
Keil, S., & Arkan, Z. (2016). The limits of normative power. In S. Keil & Z. Arkan (Eds.), The EU and Member State Building. European Foreign Policy in the Western Balkans (pp. 15-31). Routledge.
Kmezic, M. (2019). EU Rule of law Conditionality: Democracy or “Stabilitocracy” Promotion in the Western Balkans? In J. Dzankic, S. Keil, & M. Kmezic (Eds.), The Europeanisation of the Western Balkans (pp. 87-109).
Kurki, M. (2010). Democracy and Conceptual Contestability: Reconsidering Conceptions of Democracy in Democracy Promotion. International Studies Review, 12(3), 362-386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2486.2010.00943.x.
Lemstra, M. (2020). The destructive effects of state capture in the Western Balkans, Policy Brief. Clingendael Institute.
NIT, F. H. (2022). Nations in Transit.
O’Brennan, J., & Gassie, E. (2009). From stabilisation to consolidation: Albanian state capacity and adaptation to European Union rules. Journal of Balkans and Near East Studies, 11(1), 61-82.
Pinto, H. (2016). The role of European Union accession in democratisation processes. Democratic Progress Institute.
Polo, E., & Malaj, D. (2021). Reviewing the evaluation approaches of WB candidate countries performance in meeting the economic and political criteria. European Academic Research, 9(2), 1366-1377.
Pridham, G. (2005). Designing democracy: EU enlargement and regime change in post-communist Europe. Palgrave Macmillan.
Renner, S., & Trauner, F. (2009). Creeping EU Membership in South-east Europe: The dynamics of EU Rule Transfer to the Western Balkans. Journal of European Integration, 31(4), 449-465.
Stanicek, B., & Russell, M. (2022). Russia’s influence in the Western Balkans. European Parliamentary Research Service. https://epthinktank.eu/2022/06/09/russias-influence-in-the-western-balkans.
Timmer, A., Majtenyi, B., Ha.u.sler, K., & Salat, O. (2014). EU Human Rights, democracy and rule of law: from concepts to practice, Frame working paper, 3(2).
Vogel, T. (2018). Beyond Enlargement. Why the EUs Western Balkans Policy Needs a Reset. FES.
Zweers, W., et al. (2022). The EU as promotor of democracy or “stabilitocracy” in the Western Balkans. Clingendael Institute and the Think Tank for Europe Network (TEN).
