Western Balkans In Transition

This book explores the economic and social development of the Western Balkan region, a group of six countries that are potential candidates for EU membership. It focuses on the key economic issues facing these countries, including the challenge of promoting economic growth, limiting public deficits and debt, and fostering international trade relations. Given the severe impact of the recent economic crisis on social welfare in the region, it also investigates the nature and extent of social exclusion, a factor likely to produce future political instabilities if not effectively addressed by a return to sustainable economic growth. The contributions explore these issues in light of the major influence of EU policy instruments and advice, which are currently guiding the economies along an accession trajectory to future EU membership.

The main purpose of this publication is to give an overview of recent macroeconomic and structural developments in the countries of the Western Balkan region. The first two chapters of the issue include contributions on topics that represent a common challenge for all the economies, while the third one features a brief country-by-country economic assessment. This Paper intends also to facilitate the work of scholars, researchers and analysts of the enlargement process, which are mainly interested in the economic aspects.

This book explores the ambiguous role played by civil society in the processes of state-building, democratization and post-conflict reconstruction in the Western Balkans challenging the assumption that civil society is always a force for good by analysing civil society actors and their effects in post-communist and post-conflict transition.

This books draws a comparative balance of twenty years' international media assistance in the five countries of the Western Balkans. The central question was what happens to imported models when they are transposed onto the newly evolving media systems of transitional societies. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia undertook a range of media reforms to conform with accession requirements of the European Union and the standards of the Council of Europe, among others. The essays explore the nexus between the democratic transformation of the media and international media assistance. The cross-national analysis concludes that the effects of international assistance are highly constrained by the local context. From today's vantage point it becomes obvious, that scaling media assistance does not necessarily improve outcomes. The experiences in the region suggest that imported solutions have not been very cognitive in all aspects of local conditions but international strategies tent to be rather schematic and lacked strategic approaches to promote media policy stability, credible media reform and implementation. The book offers valuable insights into the nature and effects of media assistance and the strategies deployed by international aid agencies, local political forces, media professionals, civil society organizations and other actors.

Developing and ‘transition’ economies face myriad challenges in their attempts to achieve and maintain political stability and foster the economic growth essential for national security, the social well-being of current citizens and sustainable environments for future generations. Governments in the Western Balkans have striven to achieve all of the above, and this volume assesses the nature of their experiences as well as the level of their success in doing so. Featuring detailed case studies of public policy reforms in the region as well as comparative analysis on a range of indicators, the book analyzes the role of key players in setting the political agenda as well as implementing policy reforms. It also distils the lessons that can be learned from the Western Balkan experience, recommending strategies for enhancing the policy making process. In addition, it examines the developmental role played by the full spectrum of policy actors, including the private sector, NGOs, special interest groupings, international financial institutions, donor nations and the EU. Each case study has been prepared by academics with deep knowledge and experience of the western Balkans and addresses a core set of questions: identifying the policy issue and its broader context, defining the roles of specific individuals in formulating policy and reform and assessing the influence of networks and coalitions in the policy making process. With so little detailed literature on public policy making in a group of nations strategically positioned between Europe, Russia and the near East, the detailed insights provided by this volume will be widely welcomed. Our book provides case studies of specific public policy reform episodes in selected Western Balkan post-conflict and transition countries. The focus of these case studies extends beyond the technical aspects and entails substantive examination of the policy actors, constituencies and politics that ultimately shape the policy that emerges from the policy making process. This analysis draws lessons for strengthening the quality of policies, the transparency, consistency, and governance of the policy making process and ultimately for contributing to economic and social development of the region.

In einem Europa, das von Entdemokratisierung und Entsolidarisierung geprägt ist, zeigt der Autor Wege der Transition auf: hin zu einem starken und polymorphen Europa mit ausgeprägten und demokratisch organisierten Institutionen. Ausgangspunkt der Analyse sind der Zusammenbruch des Warschauer Paktes und die Transitionsprozesse in Mittel- und Osteuropa. In drei großen Teilen werden Begrifflichkeiten geklärt und das Verhältnis der mittel- und osteuropäischen untereinander analysiert sowie Bruch und Annäherung von Ost und West anschaulich dargestellt. Zunächst wird in Teil I die Phase nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer bis zum Jahr 2008 mit all ihren Paradoxien und Annäherungsprozessen nachgezeichnet, bevor sich anschließend ab 2008/09 die Phase der großen Krisen (Teil II) andeutet. In Teil III wird ein kleiner Ausblick gewagt, der trotz Corona bedenkenswert ist.