EUROPEANIZATION AND RULE OF LAW REFORMS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS – WHISTLEBLOWING LAWS IN SERBIA, ALBANIA AND KOSOVO
EUROPEANIZATION AND RULE OF LAW REFORMS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS – WHISTLEBLOWING LAWS IN SERBIA, ALBANIA AND KOSOVO

Summary/Abstract: Whistleblowing, as concept covering the institutional dimension and its practical manifestations, took different forms in the Western Balkans. Using a rational choice institutionalist definition of Europeanization, the research explores the conceptual framework of whistleblowing and the protection of whistleblowers as an underlining element of rule of law in the European Union. Subsequently, the paper presents the evolution of whistleblowing as element of EU’s conditionality in relation to the Western Balkan countries, describing the events, the stakeholders and the role played by EU’s conditionality in adopting whistleblowing laws. Case studies covering Serbia, Albania and Kosovo , as three states in different stages of accession to the European Union, analyze the evolution of legislation that ensure the protection of whistleblowers, the timeframe ranging differently for each country due to the moment they first adopted such legislation, searching to understand the role played by European Union’s institutions in shaping the development and adoption processes of such legislation. Finally, the paper uses rational choice institutionalism to explain the dynamics within the principal-agent relation and why, as confirmed in literature, certain reforms are not lasting if they do not include elements to enhance their role within the society.

• Details
• Contents