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The capture of the state in the Western Balkans and Turkey is enriching politicians and their networks at the severe cost of ordinary citizens. It is also eroding public trust in government institutions, as they are increasingly being used to serve private interests.
The presence of state capture in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey has been reported in the European Commission’s enlargement country reports, but its underpinnings and motivations are not sufficiently addressed in the reforms promoted in the region.
This Transparency International report examines two key enabling factors of state capture in the Western Balkans and Turkey: impunity for high-level corruption and tailor-made laws. The report provides insight into how the judiciary ineffectively handles grand corruption and other corruption by high-level officials. It also shows how this problem and undue influence on law-making in the service of private interests help to achieve and maintain state capture.
In the context of the regional project Ending Impunity for Grand Corruption in the Western Balkans and Turkey, Transparency International national chapters and partner organisations published their own country reports in local languages. These reports are available through the links below:
Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM Albania):
TI Bosnia and Herzegovina:
TI Kosovo / Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI Kosovo):
TI Macedonia:
MANS Montenegro (The Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector):
Transparency Serbia:
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Since the early 1990s, with the ever-increasing prospect of integration into the European Union, the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey have taken important steps to…
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Assessments in the Western Balkans and Türkiye reveal a complex mixture of slow progress in strengthening integrity systems, along with democratic backsliding that strongly…
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This study analyses political finance regimes in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. It identifies regulatory and enforcement…
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This report underscores how open data can be used to uphold political integrity in the Western Balkans and Türkiye in political financing, law-making and resource allocation.
