Rule of law and democracy in the Western Balkans: addressing the gap between policies and practice

Skopje 2014: Disneyfication Of A City Or Powerful Tool In The Hands Of The Competitive Authoritarian Regime In Macedonia?1

“…Both the democracy and rule of law principles have a long common tradition. The key function of the functional rule of law is the ability to control the conferral of wide and unguided powers of the political and economic elites (Kmezic 2020). As a whole, promoting the rule of law appears closely related to the objective of supporting democratisation and good governance as a precondition for political, economic, and institutional development (Appicciafuoco 2010).…”

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“…Although it is necessary to note how the effectiveness of the protection tools provided by the EU against authoritarian tendencies is anything but obvious, as demonstrated by the cases of Poland and Hungary, European integration and democratic consolidation can therefore be defined in terms of a two-way relationship of strengthening -or weakening -reciprocal: a lower commitment shown in terms of democratic consolidation slows down the accession process, as well as being a possible indicator of reduced interest. In this sense, the democratic decline currently underway in the Western Balkans, particularly marked in Serbia since 2013 and between 2008 and 2007 in North Macedonia (Kmezić, 2020;Hehir, 2020;Kmezić et al, 2014;Dawisha, 1997), can be viewed as a symptom of a growing indifference towards the prospect of membership and the commitments connected to on the part of the respective political elites. As noted in the World Governmental Index (WGI), the rule of law and democratic consolidation have presented and still represent fundamental and mandatory requirements for the construction of a privileged relationship with the European Union, up to the prospect of actual membership, also to minimize the risk of including politically and economically unstable members (Kmezić, 2020;Kmezić et al,2014).…”

“…In this sense, the democratic decline currently underway in the Western Balkans, particularly marked in Serbia since 2013 and between 2008 and 2007 in North Macedonia (Kmezić, 2020;Hehir, 2020;Kmezić et al, 2014;Dawisha, 1997), can be viewed as a symptom of a growing indifference towards the prospect of membership and the commitments connected to on the part of the respective political elites. As noted in the World Governmental Index (WGI), the rule of law and democratic consolidation have presented and still represent fundamental and mandatory requirements for the construction of a privileged relationship with the European Union, up to the prospect of actual membership, also to minimize the risk of including politically and economically unstable members (Kmezić, 2020;Kmezić et al,2014). The Balkan scenario today places the European Union in front of a further challenge compared to the integration of the countries of the former USSR, considering that the process of European integration develops simultaneously with the process of democratization but also of state-building in the context of the long Yugoslav post-war status (Potter, 2017;Bianchini & Minakov, 2018;Bassauner, 2016).…”

Chinese Impact in the Western Balkans: the Effect of the Belt and Road Initiative on the EU's Normative Role

“…There may be a connection of interests between authoritarian political patterns and large segments of society. 72 However, as Robinson mentioned, the possibility of using force will never be removed from the table. 73 Serbia's recent armament move confirms this understanding.…”