MACMILLAN Democratisation and Institutional Reform in Albania (New Perspectives on South-East Europe)

Albania’s democratic transition – one of the longest and most arduous of post-communist Europe – has failed to produce consolidated institutions. Therefore, this book undertakes the first comprehensive review of Albania’s military and judicial reform – from 1992 to 2009 – to ascertain why military reform produced substantial institutionalisation and judicial reform did not. The author analyses the different outcomes by outlining how political elites constructed the interests that shaped their subsequent political actions. Overall, this book presents a novel theoretical account for institutionalisation in emerging democracies and sheds light on two of Albania’s most important democratisation reforms. The book will appeal to practitioners working on institutionalisation reforms, institutionalist and democratisation researchers interested in post-authoritarian transitions, and area study scholars focusing on Albania and the Western Balkans. Review “This rigorous and fascinating book tackles one of the most profound questions in political science: what explains institutionalisation?  How do laws and organisations become effective independent of personalities and networks? Gjevori convincingly links interests and ideas through collective historical memory. This approach is tested against alternative theories by quantitative and qualitative studies of thousands of newspaper articles and parliamentary debates over twenty years in Albania.  Gjevori's theory has important implications for any society where rules and interests are in flux.” (Iain McMenamin, Professor of Comparative Politics, Dublin City University, Ireland) “Elvin Gjevori's study offers an important advance in the understanding of how institutions are built and reformed in post-Communist countries. The research adopts the approach of looking closely at those cases where reform has succeeded, and identifies the factors that lead to the question of reform being removed from the field of political contention into a popular consensus about the need for change. This book stands out from a number of studies that have observed politicians ignoring the public interest by explaining when and how they recognise a public interest, coordinate their approaches, and act.” (Eric Gordy, Professor of Political and Cultural Sociology, University College London, UK) “This empirically and theoretically solid account of Albania’s political development from 1992 to 2009 gives a timely answer to the question why one key societal area – the military – was successfully reformed whereas another one – the judiciary – was not. While providing important insights to the understanding of the case at hand, Gjevori’s book also gives a very valuable contribution to the general literature on political dynamics in post-authoritarian settings.” (Bo Petersson, Professor of Political Science, Malmö University, Sweden) From the Back Cover Albania’s democratic transition – one of the longest and most arduous of post-communist Europe – has failed to produce consolidated institutions. Therefore, this book undertakes the first comprehensive review of Albania’s military and judicial reform – from 1992 to 2009 – to ascertain why military reform produced substantial institutionalisation and judicial reform did not. The author analyses the different outcomes by outlining how political elites constructed the interests that shaped their subsequent political actions. Overall, this book presents a novel theoretical account for institutionalisation in emerging democracies and sheds light on two of Albania’s most important democratisation reforms. The book will appeal to practitioners working on institutionalisation reforms, institutionalist and democratisation researchers interested in post-authoritarian transitions, and area study scholars focusing on Albania and the Western Balkans. About the Author Elvin Gjevori is Lecturer of Politics at the European Univer