Western Balkans

Summary This paper grapples with several questions central to the RE-ENGAGE research agenda: How do geopolitical shifts and interventions by non-Western actors affect the commitments of Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina to building functional democracy and these countries’ aspirations for EU integration? To what extent, and by what means,…

Summary: Almost three years into the war in Ukraine, the EU enlargement remains central to the EU’s efforts for resilience and stability in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Neighbourhood. In a fast-changing geopolitical situation, the EU’s threat perception of external actors depends on their behavior regarding the EU integration…

Summary: This study analyses the main interests and modes of engagement of the dominant EU’s actual and potential competitors and other external actors in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. The paper specifically zooms on four such actors – Russia, China, Türkiye, and the U.S. – and outlines their long-term…

This paper examines the hybrid governance in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Albania, focusing on their capacity for democratic resilience and the effectiveness of EU democracy promotion, with attention to electoral systems, political parties, judicial independence, and media freedom.

This paper examines the policies and instruments the EU has deployed to promote democracy in the Western Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood

This paper explores the relationship between theory and method and serves as a basis for further studies in the project's focus areas the Western Balkans and the Eastern Neighbourhood.

That EU enlargement is a geopolitical imperative is no longer in doubt. But to make enlargement happen, the EU may need to decouple bilateral disputes from the accession process.

With Russia’s war on Ukraine raging on its eastern border, EU enlargement in the Western Balkans has a new geopolitical urgency. The EU must commit to supporting their accession – and a fixed date like 2030 alongside a staged approach will add credibility to this commitment