ABSTRACT
The article analyses the EU’s impact on the rule of law in the Western Balkans and Turkey. It enquires into the reasons behind the patchy record of rule-of-law reforms in Turkey, Croatia and Albania by examining judicial reforms in response to the EU accession requirements. It argues that a credible EU accession perspective and an adequate degree of state capacity are necessary but not sufficient conditions for explaining the fluctuations in the rule-of-law standards in EU accession countries. The genuine, partial or non-alignment of the ruling elites’ domestic incentives with the EU incentives is a key determinant of rule-of-law trends in the Western Balkans and Turkey.
