ABSTRACT
Hence, the central research focus with regard to a multifactor analysis remains the same for this book: the existence and kind of influence the EU institutions have as the independent variable, so that the EU institutions and the countries of South East Europe selected for comparative purposes-namely Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has concluded a Stabilization and Association Agreement; Kosovo, which is a potential EU candidate; Macedonia, which is enjoying candidate status but also experiencing serious problems in the stability of its institutions; Montenegro, which is currently in the phase of accession negotiations; and Serbia, which is set to open its first accession chapter in 2015-form the basic units of analysis. From this basic analytical framework, a subset of more concrete research questions follows: Howmuch pressure has been put by EU institutions on domestic political elites?Which incentives are given? Under which conditions are EU rules adopted? How and when does “formal change” through legal transposition of the EU Acquis Communautaire onto national legal systems, i.e. rule adoption, not only mean lip-service to EU requirements, but also triggers rule implementation and norm socialization, i.e. behavioral changes?
