POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE POST-COMMUNIST COUNTRIES OF THE WESTERN BALKANS AFTER 2008

Abstract

The countries of the Western Balkans (WB) from a geographical point of view are Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo, but in the scientific literature it is called those Balkan countries that are not members of the EU. The article selects three cases for study – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, which provide an idea of the differences between individual countries, but also of the common features of The Western Balkans Region. The aim of the research is to identify the results of the political transformation of the Western Balkans countries after 2008, the year of the global economic crisis which had large-scale consequences for all aspects of the socio-political life of the states of the region. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the process of forming a government both at the national level and at the entity level was delayed due to the dominance of populists in the country's political field, the most influential of whom was Milorad Dodik. Dodik does not want to lose the support of Moscow, a significant factor in his electoral successes, not to mention his main sponsor, so he is playing on the geopolitical rivalry of the great powers. In Macedonia, disagreements between parliamentary parties and ethnic groups can at any time again turn into demonstrations and pogroms, as was the case in 2015 and 2016. The political situation that has developed in the country shows that the Ohrid Agreement of 2001 was far from ideal and could not finally resolve the conflict. Moreover, the provision of the Ohrid Agreement, which provided for the training of thousands of Albanian police officers in the north of the country, rather contributed to the emergence of open hostilities, rather than the settlement of the conflict. The parliamentary crisis of 2016, which led to street demonstrations and the change of the prime minister, was also a strong blow to the country. It follows that the established principle of “proportional representation” and the right of “veto” for the minority in ethnic issues did not help stabilize the parliamentary institution. The Islamic factor plays a significant role in the political life of Albania. On the one hand, the country declares its desire to become a full member of NATO, to integrate into the European space; on the other hand, Albania is the first European country to receive full status in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Part of the political elite believes that the Islamic factor in Albanian politics can create serious difficulties in cooperation with Euro-Atlantic partners. Thus, all three countries of the Western Balkans have passed only the first stage of the reform process. The tasks of the second stage will be the formation of a strong civil society, a two-party political system, judicial independence, public control over new media.