🌍 Beyond Stability: Who Governs the Western Balkans? Vera Tika explores how civic mobilisations across the region are reshaping democratic demands. 📖 Read the full op-ed on our website: tinyurl.com/33aj5hfx Image credits: protesti.pics #WesternBalkans #Democracy

Beyond Stability: Who Governs the Western Balkans?

More than sixty years ago, Robert Dahl posed a deceptively simple question: Who governs? His inquiry was not merely about who holds office, but about how power is exercised, who benefits from polit...

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🎙️ New episode of “Seriously Enlargement” is out! In our first episode Donika Emini talks with Timothée Truelle and Natasha Wunsch about France’s evolving view on EU enlargement, the future of Europe, and what it means for the Western Balkans. 🎧 Listen now: tinyurl.com/45wbanhu

🇷🇸 Srebrenica cannot be openly discussed in autocratic Serbia. The genocide has become a political instrument wielded by the state. Dragan Popović argues that only democracy can create the conditions necessary for truth, acknowledgment, and regional reconciliation. New op-ed: tinyurl.com/mrx576ua

🇷🇸 Serbia's student movement has emerged as the only political force challenging the regime. But can they keep Serbia on the EU path? In her BiEPAG op-ed, Jelena Vasiljević examines what post-Vučić Serbia needs to avoid being lost to competing geopolitical projects. Read now: tinyurl.com/9t2hp9xy

⛏️ New BiEPAG study is out! 🌳 The EU needs critical raw materials for its green transition. The Western Balkans has them. But can mining projects proceed in weak institutional environments without sacrificing democracy and environmental protection? 🔗 Download from our website: tinyurl.com/yc4mkvck

⚖️ Montenegro leads EU accession negotiations. Yet its public sector has ballooned by 5.500 employees in six years. One in three workers is employed by the state. Alessandro Ieranò examines the paradox of progress on paper versus dysfunction on the ground. Read his blog: tinyurl.com/224acuyr

🏛️ Across the Western Balkans, mass protests rise while opposition parties weaken. Citizens turn to streets because they no longer trust institutions. 🔍 Bernard Nikaj and Lura Pollozhani examine what this democratic disconnect means for the region. 🔗 New BiEPAG blog is online: tinyurl.com/5zbcbzfv

The way and timing of #Vucic announcement point to "a game of castling in chess – relinquishing the presidency to assume the office of prime minister while preserving effective political control" in #Serbia, explains Giorgio Fruscione (@biepag.bsky.social) newunionpost.eu/2026/06/29/v...

Behind Vučić’s words on resignation and elections in Serbia

It seems "a game of castling in chess" – relinquishing the presidency for the role of prime minister and preserving power in Serbia, explains Fruscione (ISPI)

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A new @biepag.bsky.social policy paper examines why democratic breakthroughs in the #WesternBalkans & other competitive authoritarian regimes fail to produce lasting democratic change. www.biepag.eu/publication/...

The Narrow Corridor of Re-Democratization in the Western Balkans (and beyond): Making Democratic Breakthroughs Work

A new BiEPAG policy paper by Florian Bieber, Claudia Laštro, and Enej Lovrečič examines why democratic breakthroughs in the Western Balkans and other competitive authoritarian regimes so o...

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📋 New BiEPAG policy brief is out! When competitive authoritarian regimes fall at the ballot box, there is a narrow window for reform. Yet most democratic breakthroughs fail. @fbieber.bsky.social, Claudia Laštro, and Enej Lovrečič examine why and what must change. Read now: tinyurl.com/jck8k2j5

🎙️In Episode 25 of our podcast, BiEPAG Fellow Gresa Hasa and Member of the Albanian Parliament Redi Muçi examine mass protests demanding accountability from PM Rama and opposition leader Berisha. Hosted by Florian Bieber. 🎧Tune in for a discussion on "the flamingo revolution": tinyurl.com/4ywkcnsp

🗳️Vetëvendosje remains the largest party, but Kurti's gamble cost him. Turnout collapsed from 48% to 37%. Voters stayed home, signaling lost faith in a process defined by confrontation over compromise. Donika Emini examines what these results reveal about Kosovo's democracy. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3zp7cu7n

🔊 The Serbian and Albanian protests use charged ethnonyms as political weapons. Yet beneath these slogans lies a shared struggle for democracy, rule of law, and environmental protection. In our BiEPAG blog, Aleksandar Pavlović contextualizes what unites these movements. 🔗 tinyurl.com/23m9uu3y

The Merz-Macron proposal on gradual integration offers a European Economic Area+ model. But does it address the real challenge? EU must follow through with internal reforms and deliver predictable accession pathways. Marina Vulović and Odeta Barbullushi analyze the stakes. 🔗 tinyurl.com/7rsfnmnr

🦩 The Zvërnec mega-resort project has sparked debate over project governance, environmental protection, and decision-making transparency in Albania. Lutjona Lula examines systemic issues exposed by ongoing mass protests over Jared Kushner-linked resort in Albania. 🔗 tinyurl.com/46jdhzew

📢 New BiEPAG study chapter is now online ✍️ In her analysis, BiEPAG member Jelena Vasiljević examines how environmental activism has evolved into one of the most influential forms of civic mobilization in the Western Balkans. 📖 Read here ⬇️ tinyurl.com/ahawckpr

Serbia's Growth Plan funding hangs in balance. Only six of 34 reforms implemented by March 2026. ⚖️ The EU freezes payments over judicial independence, yet hesitates to call it. Will geopolitics trump rule of law? Read the analysis from BiEPAG Fellow Ivana Miličević. 🔗 tinyurl.com/28vyasen

⛏️ New BiEPAG study chapter "Mining in the Western Balkans: Who Really Profits?" by Biljana Jovanović, Kristijan Fidanovski, and Branimir Jovanović explores who captures the gains from the region’s growing mining sector and critical raw materials projects. 📖 Read the chapter: tinyurl.com/296j73hj

My latest guest blog for @biepag.bsky.social on how Europe+ can take the initiative in the #WB6 in the interests of these countries' citizens - and their own. www.biepag.eu/blog/europe-...

Europe+ Needs to Ensure Security in the Western Balkans – Including Its Own

Most Western Balkan leaders comfortably inhabit an indeterminate gray zone. They want the validation and benefits of being EU partners without paying the freight. In this sense, the entropy in Bosn...

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Western Balkans leaders claim EU partnership while avoiding responsibility. Bosnia and Herzegovina sits at the center of regional instability, yet Europe+ has the leverage to reset this dynamic. A bold new strategic vision is imperative. Read the full analysis by @kurtbassuener.bsky.social ⬇️

🔔 New BiEPAG blog Serbian students’ “Memorandum on Kosovo” sparked outrage at home and abroad, but its actual position is political mainstream. ✍️ Nikola Burazer argues its nationalist rhetoric is unlikely to shape the broader dynamics of the dialogue process. 📖 Read ⬇️ tinyurl.com/2m2fredz

📢 New BiEPAG study chapter ⛏️ Legal and Environmental Aspects of Mining in the Western Balkans This chapter, authored by a group of contributors, examines environmental governance, legal frameworks, and public participation in mining projects across the region. 📖 Read here ⬇️ tinyurl.com/363ek4c7

#Montenegro Accession Treaty is set to become a model for all the other EU candidates – not only for the Western Balkans, but potentially also for Ukraine and Moldova, explain @biepag.bsky.social members @jomarovic.bsky.social and Odeta Barbullushi newunionpost.eu/2026/05/20/m...

Montenegro's EU Accession Treaty is set to become a model

An Accession Treaty combining full membership with safeguard mechanisms can be

newunionpost.eu

🔔 New BiEPAG blog ✍️ Gresa Hasa 🔹 Edi Rama is Offended by Corruption Can GDP growth be used as proof that corruption is declining? Gresa Hasa argues that economic growth figures can obscure systemic governance failures, corruption risks, and state capture in Albania. 📖 Read ⬇️ tinyurl.com/48a83956

Out now! 📢My new work: "The EU and authoritarian norm diffusion in the Western Balkans" Proud to be featured alongside a group of distinguished experts in this new volume edited by Igor Vidačak. 🔓Read it here (it's Open Access): doi.org/10.4324/9781... @biepag.bsky.social @geopower-eu.bsky.social

The Western Balkans and the Challenges of EU Accession | The Resilient

This book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary analysis of the transformation of Western Balkan candidate countries as they move toward European Union

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🔔 This month, we will present chapters from our forthcoming BiEPAG study on mining in the Western Balkans. Florian Bieber (@fbieber.bsky.social) explores the geopolitical dimensions of mining projects and growing competition over critical raw materials in the region. 📘 Read ⬇️ tinyurl.com/y699t978

🔔 New BiEPAG Podcast #24 ⛏️🏗️ Mining & Real Estate in the Balkans: Is Corrosive Capital Western now? From Jadar Valley to Vareš, this episode explores how major mining projects affect governance, public trust, and environmental justice across the Western Balkans. 🎧 Listen now ⬇️ tinyurl.com/hb2884f8

🔔 New BiEPAG podcast 🎙️ Hungary after Orbán Hungary’s 12 April elections brought a landslide victory for Peter Magyar’s Tisza party, ending 16 years of Fidesz rule. What does this shift mean for the Balkans and for illiberal alliances in the region? 🎧 Listen here⬇️ open.spotify.com/episode/3Sst...

🔔 New BiEPAG policy brief 🔹 Mining in the Western Balkans: How to counter authoritarian extractivism? As the EU secures critical raw materials, mining in the Western Balkans raises concerns over governance, environmental risks, and weak public participation. 📄 Read here ⬇️ tinyurl.com/mrxz77xh

🔔 New BiEPAG blog ✍️ Giorgio Fruscione 🔹 The US and the Legitimation of Secessionism in Bosnia The removal of US sanctions against Milorad Dodik carries powerful symbolism in BiH, potentially legitimizing secessionist ambitions and weakening the Dayton framework. 📖 Read here ⬇️ tinyurl.com/yd3u43pe