The European Union and Democratization in Central and Southeastern Europe since 1989

Abstract Summary: The purpose of this article is to examine the different progress of the post-communist world in consolidating democracy, in order to determine the suitability of a collective or group-based examination. The article argues that the post-communist countries should not be analyzed as a single unit, but separately into groups according to the progress in consolidating democracy. Conceptually, the article utilizes Linz and Stepan's five arenas of consolidated democracy. The article employs comparative methodology using empirical data from the Freedom House Nations in Transit reports and specific country reports comparing the particular problems each of the separate groups face. The article highlights the differences in the progress in consolidating democracy between three groups of post-communist countries: the current member of the European Union (EU), the countries of Southeastern Europe, and the non-Baltic former Soviet countries.

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Linkage, Leverage, and the Post-Communist Divide

East European Politics and Societies and Cultures ◽

10.1177/0888325406297134 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 48-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Lucan A. Way ◽

Steven Levitsky

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

The United States ◽

External Pressure ◽

The European Union ◽

Southeastern Europe ◽

Post Cold War ◽

International Environment ◽

Key Dimensions ◽

Central And Southeastern Europe

An important source of the post-Communist divide between a relatively democratic Central and Southeastern Europe on one side and a highly autocratic former Soviet Union on the other is the different character of the international environments in the two regions. Post-Communist countries differ along two key dimensions of the post–cold war international environment: Western leverage, or governments' vulnerability to external pressure; and linkage to the West, or the density of a country's economic, political, organizational, social, and communication ties to the European Union and the United States. High linkage and leverage in Central and Southeastern Europe generated intense international democratizing pressures, contributing to democratization even under unfavorable domestic conditions. By contrast, weaker linkage and leverage in the former Soviet Union has produced a much more permissive international environment. As a result, democratization has failed in the absence of a strong domestic push.

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Europeanisation in Southeastern Europe

10.4018/978-1-7998-9055-3.ch004 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 67-90

Author(s):

Theofanis Kakarnias

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Literature Review ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Eastern European ◽

The European Union ◽

Southeastern Europe ◽

Western Balkans ◽

The Rule Of Law ◽

The Balkans ◽

Sociological Approaches

Despite relatively recent enlargement rounds, the European Union (EU) is bound to enlarge even further. Yet, for a country to be admissible into the club, it must have successfully Europeanised in multiple areas. Against that background, this chapter aims to assess why apparently similar candidate countries in the Balkans manage the Europeanisation process with widely divergent degrees of success. To answer that question, a diverse and well-established literature review is accounted for, while applying rationalist and sociological approaches to new unexplored cases and examining specific domestic pre-conditions and factors regarding their potential to induce Europeanisation. By assessing past enlargement rounds, notably the Central and Eastern European enlargement and the ongoing Western Balkans enlargement, the objective is to provide for a thorough account of the effectiveness of Europeanisation in the Balkans, especially as regards EU conditionality in the area of the rule of law.

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Current situation of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Southeastern Europe and neighboring countries: a public health risk for the European Union?

Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease ◽

10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.03.012 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 81-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Shemsedin Dreshaj ◽

Sali Ahmeti ◽

Naser Ramadani ◽

Gresa Dreshaj ◽

Isme Humolli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

European Union ◽

Health Risk ◽

Hemorrhagic Fever ◽

Current Situation ◽

The European Union ◽

Southeastern Europe ◽

Public Health Risk ◽

Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

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European Union and Southeastern Europe: A clash of the principle of conditionality and the regional approach

Medjunarodni problemi ◽

10.2298/medjp0401029w ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 29-39

Author(s):

Nina Wichmann

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

The European Union ◽

Southeastern Europe ◽

East Europe ◽

Regional Approach ◽

South East Europe ◽

The Eu

The European Union in June 2003 has made it very clear that the principle of conditionality and the regional approach will be the prime instruments of the EU in South East Europe. The author in this article investigates if some of the stipulations about these instruments do hold. The central stipulation is that only in tandem would the principles provide for stability. The author contents that it remains doubtful whether the proclaimed compatibility of the two approaches is given. Rather, competition seems to exist between them. However, if this rivalry is really given and yet the combination of the two principles remains to be the flagship policy of the EU, this may be counter-effective for reaching the desired stabilization and democratization of the region.

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