Obstacles to Rule of Law Reforms in Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia.

• In Event: Poster Session: Division 13 Politics of (former) Communist Societies

Abstract

20 years after the NATO intervention, Western Balkans countries see their eventual integration at the European Union as the path to peace and prosperity. The EU entry is unlikely to occur in the near future due to enlargement fatigue within the EU and the economic crisis in Western Balkans. Yet, all these countries are going to great length to comply with EU conditionality that focus on rule of law reforms.

This paper will investigate how the legal culture in postwar and postcommunist Western Balkans poses obstacles to rule of law reforms. Legal culture is defined as stable patters of legally oriented social behavior and attitudes. Legal nihilism (laws are instrumental and can be easily broken), ethical dualism (treating only family and community fairly, but not others) and corruption undermine reform that aim to apply law impartially. Using nationally representative surveys, focus groups and interview data collected in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia, I investigate how factors like socio-economic conditions, generation, education and gender correlate with citizen compliance with laws. Previous research in Russia and other Eastern European contexts indicate that residents of wealthier regions, older generations who lived under communism, better educated citizens and women would be more likely comply with laws than residents of poorer regions, younger people who grew up during war and postcommunist transition, less educated people and men. In this paper, I would test these relationships in Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia and draw implications for rule of law reforms and potential EU integration.

Author

• Elton Skendaj, University of Miami