Informal Institutions in the Western Balkans: An Obstacle to Democratic Consolidation

Abstract:

The countries of the Western Balkans have achieved significant progress in protecting civic freedoms and political rights, that is, formal democracy. However, the region's performance is lagging behind other consolidated democratic post-communist countries with strong formal institutions. By following the theory of impartiality (Rothstein and Teorell), this paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of citizens' perception of informal institutions in the region, and support for a democratic regime with impartial public administration. We employ a quantitative online survey in three countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The findings indicate that citizens consider formal institutions as very ineffective and hence embrace informal institutions as the lesser of two evils. At the same time, citizens would approve of a more equitable political system and hence contribute to democratic consolidation.