Publication

This paper's main argument is that consolidating democracy beyond the creation of formal institutions must be at the heart of EU strategies towards the Balkans. The author notes that it is by ensuring that democratic institutions function in practice and societies are fully able and free to participate in the democratic process that progress will be made. Enlargement to the Balkans will remain one of the EU's most important projects for generations to come. Yet progress has been uneven, marred by the persistence of unsolved statehood problems which affect much of the region.