Article

 

Corrupted transition: The painful re-education of the Balkan leviathans (p.49-69)

by

Momtchil Karpouzanov, European University of Lefke

Keywords : Transition, Corruption, European Union Integration, Bulgaria, Romania, Balkans

JEL classification : D73, O17, P26

Abstract

The EU integration of Romania and Bulgaria questions their future development and catching-up with EU standards both economical and political. Because of their specific patterns of transition, the Balkan countries struggle to embrace a genuine “rule of law” with strong reliable institutions. If institutions matter, their lack results in a growing and deepening lag in respect to the rest of the Union. While the perspective of EU membership was a major force of institutional alignment with the Union, once acquired it does no longer have the needed discipline effect. Endemic widespread corruption is an obvious characteristic of this ill transition with poor prospective results.