Work

There’s strength in networks: the external incentives model and informality in South-Eastern Europe

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Joining the European Union (EU) is a complex process involving significant and often difficult domestic reform. Under the logic of the External Incentives Model (EIM), states engage in this process because of the substantial rewards, including EU membership. However, politicians also pursue their own individual rewards, which may or may not align with accession and are constrained by a culture of informality in which they are embedded. Drawing on documentary analysis and elite interviews, this paper examines the interaction between individual, subjective rationality and the state-level rationality espoused by the EIM as mediated by informality. Specifically, it addresses the question of under what conditions the EU was successful in promoting Europeanization in Croatia and Serbia from 2000 to 2020. In doing so, the article identifies periods of successful and unsuccessful Europeanization, which may help the EU better align its incentives to promote change in the new candidate states.

Source: Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies

DOI: 10.1080/14683857.2025.2563940

Author: Alexander Mesarovich

Institution: European University Institute

Language: English

Topic: European Union Policy and Governance

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Academic Association for Contemporary European Studies