Speaking European: Conditionality, Public Attitudes and Pro-European Party Rhetoric in the Western Balkans
FOLLOWING THE 2004 AND 2007 EASTWARD EXPANSIONS of the European Union (EU), scholars are focusing increased attention on the question of EU integration and conditionality in the Western Balkans (Vachudova 2005). A growing number of studies not only contribute to the existing body of more generalised work on conditionality, but also close critical gaps in knowledge about the EU integration process in the region. Another fruitful development in this expanding literature is its increasing tendency to treat conditionality as a cross-level issue which takes into account both international and domestic factors. While these studies break new ground by focusing more closely on how domestic and international political factors shape national leaders’ and governments’ interests, an important area which remains largely unexplored is the interlinked issues of party change and intra-party politics. Popular and academic accounts of Croatian and Serbian reactions to conditionality in the aftermath of their respective 2000 ‘revolutions’ tend to ‘black box’ parties, treating them as unitary rational actors which respond to external stimuli in a manner which maximises the parties’ chances of attaining or maintaining office (Pond 2006; Fisher 2006; Peskin 2008). Although this theoretical tool is often justified in describing the everyday working of a party under ‘normal’ conditions, it fails to address the issue of party change—specifically with regard to the transformation of EU-sceptic and anti-EU parties. Considering that
“Blocked political system”: Serbia 2000-2008
Through an overview of the relationship between the ruling democratic parties, the international community, and the Radicals, this paper will attempt to answer the question of whether the cost of this “blocked political system” (i.e. immobile democracy) is higher than the continuous exclusion of the SRS from power. In this way, the paper will touch upon some fundamental dilemmas of political theory such as the toleration of the intolerant and the role of the international factor in the democratisation process of a country. Moreover, a short overview of the theories of democratisation will be used to define the “blocked political system” phenomenon.  The methodological approach of this paper draws on an analysis of a general theory of democratisation, and a politico-historical analysis of Serbia from 2000-2008.
The European Council and The Council of the European Union: Shapers of a European Confederation
The European Council and the Council of the European Union play key roles in the European Union.' The European Council is largely concerned with system-steering, while the Council of the EU undertakes sectoral policymaking. What is common to these roles is the balancing act carried out by both institutions. Both have to mediate the centripetal dynamics of integration, termed cooperative confederalism here, and the centrifugal dynamics which are found in the strongly entrenched territorial nature of power, centered on the member states. Using new institutionalist analysis, the article illuminates different facets of the two institutions 'functioning in mediating the two dynamics.