West is best: how ‘stabilitocracy’ undermines democracy building in the Balkans

Recent months have seen unrest in Macedonia, with a violent protest at the country’s parliament, while other countries in the Balkans such as Montenegro have also witnessed large anti-government protests. Srđa Pavlović argues that the West’s approach to the Balkans has suffered from what he terms ‘stabilitocracy’, with the EU and United States backing governments that promise stability, but have undermined the establishment of democracy. He argues that if such an approach continues, it will likely produce anything but stability for the region.