Captured Societies in Southeast Europe
Author | : Eric Gordy |
Publisher | : Central European University Press |
Total Pages | : 0 |
Release | : 2024-02-28 |
ISBN-10 | : 963386643X |
ISBN-13 | : 9789633866436 |
Rating | : 4/5 (436 Downloads) |
Download or read book Captured Societies in Southeast Europe written by Eric Gordy and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Southeast Europe there is a big disjunction between formal procedures and informal practices—and this gap is growing. When formal institutions fail, informal practices can solve problems. These practices can be viewed critically, as a space for favoritism and corruption, or favorably, as a space of creative problem-solving. In any case, informal practices consolidate the hold of unaccountable actors on power. This book presents findings from a collaborative and multidisciplinary research project. During a three-year exercise, a group of forty researchers looked at the world of informal practices in nine countries of Southeast Europe. The main strength in their procedures is the reciprocal modification and cross-checking between interviews and media, and the assemblage of comparative quantitative data. In the context of a mismatch between "the way the world is" and the world as described by law, the Balkans add a unique perspective due to a persistent deficit in state legitimacy and capacity. The underlying agenda is to bring Southeast Europe into line with European liberal democracy. The emerging evidence offers a critical assessment of "Europeanization" processes that produce only superficial changes and formal institutional resolutions. The book offers a rich analysis of the array of informal practices that people in the Balkans have resorted to in compensation for the poor implementation of formal reforms.