The vicious circle of corrosive capital, authoritarian tendencies and state capture in the Western Balkans
Journal: Journal of Regional Security
Year: 2020

The presence of 'non-Western actors' in the Western Balkans has recently attracted the attention of policy-makers and academics alike, with the rise in prominence of non-EU countries coinciding with the weakening power of accession conditionality. While this trend was initially discussed in the context of a 'new Cold War' narrative, evidence-based research soon showed that this engagement is underpinned by particularistic interests at the top and 'corrosive capital'. The governance dimension is