Bridging the gap: the Serbian struggle for good governance

Abstract

Absract: This article explores the role of the European Union (EU) in the implementation and promotion of good governance principles in Serbia. It is clear that the EU demands on democratisation in the Western Balkan region are crucial in achieving the respect for good governance principles. Even though the membership perspective might be a promising instrument to promote good governance in external countries, the main causal mechanisms have to be identified in order to provide facts for this assumed causality. Conditionality serves in this context both as a EU promising tool to promote good governance and as a theoretical framework to explain causalities between the EU membership perspective and the implementation of good governance principles in Serbia. However, progress in the area can hardly respond to the integration that Serbia aspires to in its relation with the EU. Looking to the European Commission’s latest report on the country’s progress, there are several internal constraints to the implementation of good governance principles, such as corruption and organized crime. The article aims to uncover Serbia’s progress towards good governance principles. The main question is to find out if conditionality is working in this case, and if not, what are the main reasons why not.