Party Responses to the EU in the Western Balkans
Party Responses to the EU in the Western Balkans

Author: Marko Stojić

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-09-04

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 3319595636

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines how European issues have played out in Serbian and Croatian party politics since 2000, in the context of significant challenges brought by European integration of the Western Balkans. It provides a comprehensive analysis of how political parties in these countries have determined and shifted their positions on the EU, by exploring the effect and interaction of party ideology and strategy, position within the party system, relations with the general public and voters as well as transnational party linkages. The author argues that the particular nature of European issues, closely related to crucial identity and statehood dilemmas in these post-conflict societies, largely determined party stances on the EU, feeding significant Eurosceptic sentiments. At the same time, a number of core parties underwent a rapid pro-EU conversion, pragmatically responding to internal and external incentives in the context of dynamic electoral competition and strong EU presence, and aimed at maximising their chances of securing executive office. The book will be of interest to advanced students and scholars in the fields of comparative politics, Western Balkan politics, and EU studies.

Public Opinion, Party Competition, and the European Union in Post-Communist Europe
Public Opinion, Party Competition, and the European Union in Post-Communist Europe

Author: R. Rohrschneider

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-30

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1137115009

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Investigating public scepticism in Eastern Europe towards the EU, this book examines how citizens' and parties' responses to integration have been affected by economic, social, institutional and historical circumstances. Focusing on the importance of normative and instrumental bases of support and opposition for integration provides great insight.

EU Leverage and National Interests in the Balkans
EU Leverage and National Interests in the Balkans

Author: Milada Anna Vachudova

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 19

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The enlargement of the European Union (EU) continues in the Western Balkans in the 2010s because the underlying dynamics remain largely the same. I argue that EU member states still see enlargement as a matter of national interest bringing economic and geopolitical benefits over the long term. The risk of instability in the Western Balkans has made the dividends from the EU's “democratizing effect” especially substantial. I also argue that the enlargement process continues to have a 'democratizing effect' as Western Balkans candidates and proto-candidates respond to the incentives of EU membership: political parties have changed their agendas to make them EU-compatible, and governments have implemented policy changes to move forward in the pre-accession process. Yet the EU is taking on candidates with difficult initial conditions: I explore the changes that the EU has made in order to exercise its leverage more effectively in the Western Balkans, and whether these have helped overcome problems with expertise, consistency and legitimacy in the EU's pre-accession process.

The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans
The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans

Author: James Ker-Lindsay

Publisher:

Published: 2019-11-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780367432690

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans examines the way in which a number of European Union member states, including Germany and France, formulate their policies towards enlargement in the Western Balkans. The six countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - are on course to become the next members of the European Union. While there has been a lot of work on the ways in which these countries are preparing for accession, and how the EU as a whole approaches the question of expansion, very little attention has been paid to how individual EU member states regard enlargement into a region that presents a number of serious challenges, including the legacies of the conflicts of the 1990s, economic underdevelopment and poor governance. Focusing on key states, such as Germany, France and Italy, the neighbouring countries of Central and South East Europe, and Britain, once a leading advocate of enlargement that is now in the process of leaving the European Union, this volume casts important new empirical and conceptual light on the diverse motivations that underpin member state attitudes towards EU enlargement. The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans will be of great interest to scholars of the European Union, European politics, and the politics of the Western Balkans. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.

The Western Balkans and the EU
The Western Balkans and the EU

Author: Morton Abramowitz

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Today, more than fifteen years after the end of the wars that accompanied Yugoslavia's dissolution, the "Balkan question" remains more than ever a "European question". In the eyes of many Europeans in the 1990s, Bosnia was the symbol of a collective failure, while Kosovo later became a catalyst for an emerging Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). In the last decade, however, the overall thrust of the EU's Balkans policy has moved from an agenda dominated by security issues related to the war and its legacies to one focused on the perspective of the Western Balkan states' accession to the European Union. This Chaillot Paper, which features contributions from authors from various parts of the region, examines the current state of play in the countries of the Western Balkans with regard to EU accession. It brings together both views from the Balkans states themselves and overarching thematic perspectives. For the first time the European Union has become involved in the formation of new nation-states that also aspire to become members of the Union. The EU's transformative power has proved effective in integrating established states; now it is confronted with the challenge of integrating new and sometimes contested states. Against this background, this paper makes the case for a concerted regional approach to EU enlargement, and a renewed and sustained commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans.

The Europeanisation of the Western Balkans
The Europeanisation of the Western Balkans

Author: Jelena Džankić

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-09-21

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 331991412X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume casts a fresh look on how the political spaces of the Western Balkan states (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania) are shaped, governed and transformed during the EU accession process. The contributors argue that EU conditionality in the Western Balkans does not work ‘effectively’ in terms of social change because rule transfer remains a ‘contested’ business, due to veto-players on the ground and strong legacies of the past. The volume examines specific policy areas, salient in the enlargement process and to a different degree incorporated in the accession criteria, as well as EU foreign policy in the spheres of post-conflict stabilisation, democratization and the rule of law promotion.

The Western Balkans in the World
The Western Balkans in the World

Author: Florian Bieber

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-06-26

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0429516495

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides a detailed understanding of how different types of engagements impact upon the reform and EU integration of the Western Balkan region. It examines the influence of Russia, China, Turkey and the UAE in the region and analyses the range of existing links. Contributors offer an academic and multifaceted perspective of the role of external and non-Western actors in the region that goes beyond, on the one hand, the tendency of some Western decision makers to perceive all engagement by third powers as a sinister threat and, on the other, the view of regional governments of all external involvement as a boon coming at a time of Western neglect and reduced foreign investments. By looking at the importance of Russia, Turkey, China and the UAE in the Western Balkans, the book sheds light on one key arena of global competition, offers new insights on the strengths and weaknesses of Euro–Atlantic integration and advances our knowledge of foreign policy and its economic, social and security dimensions for small and medium-sized countries. It will be of interest to academics, postgraduate and research students, and think-tankers with research interest in IR and Southeast European Studies. European decision makers will also gain an insight into the extent of non-Western influence in the region.

Atlas of Challenges and Opportunities in European Neighbourhoods
Atlas of Challenges and Opportunities in European Neighbourhoods

Author: Pierre BECKOUCHE

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-26

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 3319285211

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This atlas provides a macro-regional overview of the areas that surround the European Union, from the Sahara to the Middle East, Western Balkans to European Russia, Turkey to the Arctic. Detailing key socio-economic data as well as developmental trends, the maps provide a comprehensive territorial analysis at a local scale and explore the potential for regional integration and cooperation.These pioneering maps examine challenges that threaten this wide, yet inter-connected, region, including environmental concerns in the North, political unrest in the East, social factors in the Western Balkans, and the upheaval in the Mediterranean since the Arab spring. Coverage investigates such key countries and areas as Libya, Israel, Palestine, Syria, and the Ukraine as well as explores such essential issues as Europe’s energy procurement. In addition, it also presents a comparison with other world regions such as East Asia and North America.In the end, readers discover that territorial integration faces many shortcomings, but that deep regional cooperation would be a key driver for the EU’s sustainable future. This atlas features the main results of the “Integrated Territorial Analysis of the Neighbourhoods” research project undertaken by ESPON (The European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion). It provides scholars; local authorities and NGOs involved in cross-border cooperation; companies interested in energy, agriculture, water, transportation and communication; and interested readers with key insights into this important region.

Government at a Glance: Western Balkans
Government at a Glance: Western Balkans

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2020-07-07

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 9264701184

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Government at a Glance: Western Balkans presents information on public governance in the Western Balkan region – covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, and compares it to OECD and OECD-EU countries.

EU Rule of Law Promotion
EU Rule of Law Promotion

Author: Marko Kmezic

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2016-10-14

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1317140176

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Do EU institutions have an influence on the implementation of the rule of law in potential candidate countries and, if so, of what kind? During the compliance monitoring process related to the effective rule of law and democracy the EU Commission tests and criticizes the effectiveness of the judiciary and strengthens the rule of law in preparation for accession. In the Western Balkans this was a process fraught with difficulties. Despite the fact that academic scholarship and democratic politics agree on rule of law as a legitimizing principle for the exercise of state authority, there is no uniform European standard for institution-building or monitoring activities by the EU in this area. With focus on the reform of the judiciary in five case study countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, this empirical research investigates the EU's transformative power with regard to the effectiveness of rule of law and judicial sector reform in its infancy. It analyses the depth and limitations of EU rule of law promotion in the Western Balkans and presents policy recommendations intended to address the shortcomings in judiciary reform. This book aims to fill the gap in the existing academic scholarship of EU politics, law and Western Balkans literature.