Introduction: The Europeanisation of the Western Balkans

Abstract

The Western Balkans represent a unique laboratory for exploring a wide array of parallel-tracked political processes. Over the past three decades, the region has experienced manifold state disintegrations, violent and non violent conflict between and within countries, as well as a delayed transition to democracy and market economy. All of these experiences have been framed through the concurrent, overlapping, and conflicting dynamics of nation- and state-building processes and aspirations to join the European Union (EU). Understanding nuances of the interplay between these processes is central to understanding why the carrot of EU membership, has had different and differentiated effects in the Western Balkans compared to Central and Eastern Europe. Against this backdrop, the Introduction provides a general overview of the topic of the book and situates the individual contributions in the wider discussions on Europeanisation. It also offers a methodological umbrella for each chapter and guides the reader through the edited volume.