The world is increasingly becoming less democratic and this trend has not left Southeast Europe untouched. But instead of democratic breakdown what we are witnessing is a gradual decline and the rise of competitive authoritarian regimes. This book aims to give a country-by-country overview of how illiberal politics has led to a decline in democracy and the re-emergence of autocratic governance in Southeast Europe, more specifically in the Western Balkans. It defines illiberal politics as the everyday practices through which ruling parties undermine democratic institutions in order to remain in power. Individual chapters examine recent political developments and identify practices of illiberal politics that target electoral institutions, rule of law, media freedom, judicial independence, and enable political patronage, while several thematic chapters comparatively explore cross-regional patterns. This book addresses academics, policymakers, and practitioners with professional interest in Southeast Europe or democratic decline and is both timely and relevant as the European Union attempts to reengage with the countries of the Western Balkans. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.

Edited by two of the world's leading analysts of post communist politics, this book brings together distinguished specialists on Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia/Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania. The authors analyse the challenge of building democracy in the countries of the former Yugoslavia riven by conflict, and in neighboring states. They focus on oppositional activity, political cultures that often favour strong presidentialism, the role of nationalism, and basic socioeconomic trends. Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrott provide theoretical and comparative chapters on post communist political development across the region. This book will provide students and scholars with detailed analysis by leading authorities, plus the latest research data on recent political and economic developments in each country.

This book explores the interaction of the EU in Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia in three key policy sectors – cohesion, border managements and the environment – and assesses the degree to which the European Union’s engagement with the democracies of South East Europe has promoted Europeanization and Multi-Level Governance. Although there is a tendency to view the Balkans as peripheral, this book argues that South East European states are central to what the EU is and aspires to become, and goes to the heart of many of the key issues confronting the EU. It compares changing modes of governance in the three policy areas selected because they are contentious issues in domestic politics and have trans-boundary policy consequences, in which there is significant EU involvement. The book draws on over 100 interviews conducted to explore actor motivation, preferences and perceptions in the face of pressure to adapt from the EU and uses Social Network Analysis. Timely and informative, this book considers broader dilemmas of integration and enlargement at a time when the EU’s effectiveness is under close scrutiny. The European Union and South East Europe will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, public policy, and European Union governance and integration.

"A useful text and reference book. These essays are at their best in serving both area study and political sociology."--Slavic Review --

Europe remains divided between east and west, with differences caused and worsened by uneven economic and political development. Amid these divisions, the environment has become a key battleground. The condition and sustainability of environmental resources are interlinked with systems of governance and power, from local to EU levels. Key challenges in the eastern European region today include increasingly authoritarian forms of government that threaten the operations and very existence of civil society groups; the importation of locally-contested conservation and environmental programmes that were designed elsewhere; and a resurgence in cultural nationalism that prescribes and normalises exclusionary nation-building myths. This volume draws together essays by early-career academic researchers from across eastern Europe. Engaging with the critical tools of political ecology, its contributors provide a hitherto overlooked perspective on the current fate and reception of ‘environmentalism’ in the region. It asks how emergent forms of environmentalism have been received, how these movements and perspectives have redefined landscapes, and what the subtler effects of new regulatory regimes on communities and environment-dependent livelihoods have been. Arranged in three sections, with case studies from Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Serbia, this collection develops anthropological views on the processes and consequences of the politicisation of the environment. It is valuable reading for human geographers, social and cultural historians, political ecologists, social movement and government scholars, political scientists, and specialists on Europe and European Union politics.

This volume explores recent episodes of progressive citizen-led mobilisation that have spread across Southeast Europe over the past decade. These protests have allowed citizens the opportunity to challenge prevailing notions of citizenship and provided the chance to redress what is perceived to be the unjust balance of power between elites and the masses. Each contribution debunks the myth of inherently passive post-socialist populations imitating West European forms of civil society activism. Rather, we gain a deeper sense of progressive and innovative forms of activist citizenship that display essentialist and particular forms of protest in combination with the antics of global protest networks. Through richly detailed case study research, the authors illustrate that whilst the catalysts for protest in Southeast Europe were invariably familiar (the expanse of private ownership into urban public spaces; the impact of austerity), the pathology of such protests were undoubtedly indigenous in origin, reflecting the particular post-socialist/post-authoritarian trajectories of these societies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue in Europe-Asia Studies.

The only textbook to provide a complete introduction to post-1989 Central and Southeast European politics, this dynamic volume provides a comprehensive account of the collapse of communism and the massive transformation that the region has witnessed. It brings together 23 leading specialists to trace the course of the dramatic changes accompanying democratization. The text provides country-by-country coverage, identifying common themes and enabling students to see which are shared throughout the area, giving them a sense of its unity and comparability whilst strengthening understanding around its many different trajectories. The dual thematic focus on democratization and Europeanization running through the text also helps to reinforce this learning process. Each chapter contains a factual overview to give the reader context concerning the region which will be useful for specialists and newcomers to the subject alike.