Original scientific paper

Nataša Beširević ; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

European integration in the Western Balkans is the starting point of
europeanisation that is closely intertwined with the process of democratisation
and democratic consolidation; those two processes are interconnected and
conditioned. This paper presents concept of democratisation as wanted
political outcome of the EU Enlargement policy and theoretical frame of
europeanisation as international dimension of democratisation, i.e. one of the
EU external relations’ objectives. As it argued; those processes are inherent
from the beginning of the European integration in the Western Balkans that
strongly correlated with Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). With its
democratic conditionality European Union serves as main impulse and initiative
of democratic consolidation determining official benchmarks in fulfilling
political (Copenhagen) criteria and encouraging changes on different levels
of democratisation process. Interdependence of modernisation, statehood
development and influence of external actors, in a case of resolved nationbuilding
question, increases the consolidation of former real-socialist countries
in the Western Balkans.

Keywords

European Union; Western Balkans; europeanisation; democratisation; instrument of political EU conditionality

Hrčak ID:

146192

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/146192

Publication date:

17.4.2012.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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