The Impact of Informal Actors in the EU Anticorruption Policies: The case of Western Balkans

After twenty years of political and military interventions, the Western Balkans (WB) countries continue to be at the core of the European Union regional strategy. The legacy of communist political regimes, the influence of ethnic fragmentation, the need to manage a subtle transition to democracy has led WB towards a troubled period of adaptation. The need to face high level of corruption is still part of the efforts which are required to fulfill the enlargement criteria. What happened in the WB is an example of how informal actors may flourish in a post-war context, by severely influencing all aspects of the State system and weakening the rule of law. The Working Paper aims at assessing the improvements made by WB states in the policies against corruption and organized crime, by stressing the role of key actors.