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The Western Balkans during the pandemic: Democracy and rule of law in quarantine?
[journal article]
Abstract
In the Western Balkans, as elsewhere around the world, governments took extraordinary measures to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19, measures that entailed serious restrictions to individual freedoms. They also introduced extra powers that upset the ordinary division and balance of governme... view more
In the Western Balkans, as elsewhere around the world, governments took extraordinary measures to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19, measures that entailed serious restrictions to individual freedoms. They also introduced extra powers that upset the ordinary division and balance of governmental power. In this context, several analysts have expressed concern that the authoritarian trend observed in the region during the last decade will become further entrenched. The worst fear, that some of the Western Balkan leaderships may retain extraordinary powers indefinitely, has not been confirmed. However, constitutionally prescribed procedures were disregarded and the operation of formal and informal mechanisms of checks and balances ignored. The article argues that the ease with which the Western Balkan leaders removed any checks and controls over their rule raises the valid question of how they may deal with future circumstances which may endanger their power.... view less
Keywords
Southeastern Europe; epidemic; health policy; authoritarian system; constitutional state; democracy; political power; abuse; EU expansion
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Western Balkans
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 197-205
Journal
European View, 19 (2020) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1781685820963333
ISSN
1865-5831
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed