Untangling the Gossamer Web: Policy Learning and Informal Networks in Croatia and Serbia

Abstract

Thirty years on from the collapse of Yugoslavia, the paths of the former constituent republics have diverged, with Slovenia and Croatia acceding to the European Union and the rest remaining hopeful Europeans. This article analyses this discrepancy through the lens of policy learning, conceptualising the process of accession as one of learning on the part of the candidate state, and uses social network analysis to identify the impact of informal political networks in parliaments of Croatia and Serbia on their respective EU accession processes. It finds that informal networks in Croatia enabled accession while those in Serbia constrained it.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For a history of policy learning as a discipline, see Dunlop et al. (2018).

2 There have been discussions of further partitions in the region (Rudic 2018), but, as of publication, these ideas have not gained mainstream support.

3 The seat distribution generated from this process can be found in Appendix 2.

4 This is used without prejudice to the naming or existence of the language group.

5 ‘Meeting of the Head of EU Delegation and the President of Serbia’, EU in Serbia, 13 April 2021, available at: http://europa.rs/meeting-of-the-head-of-eu-delegation-and-the-president-of-serbia/?lang=en, accessed 27 April 2021.

6 All SNA maps generated according to the following specifications: Yifan Hu Proportional, Optimal Distance: 100, Relative Strength: 20, Initial Step Size: 20, Step ratio: 0.95.

7 ‘Croatia Jails Former PM Sanader for Party Slush Funds’, Reuters, 13 November 2020, available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-croatia-corruption-sanader-idUSKBN27T1BZ, accessed 21 May 2021.

8 Serbia interview 4: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 18 December 2019; Croatia interview 5: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 4 March 2021; Serbia interview 6: Serbian politician, Belgrade, 18 February 2020.

9 Croatia interview 1: former Croatian MP, conducted via WhatsApp, 19 May 2020.

10 Croatia interview 5: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 4 March 2021.

11 Croatia interview 5: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 4 March 2021.

12 Serbia interview 1: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 4 June 2019.

13 Serbia interview 2: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 7 June 2019.

14 Serbia interview 4: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 18 December 2019.

15 ‘Zašto baš “Kukuriku koalicija”?’, Nova.hr, 10 December 2011, available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20111210223345/http://odluka2011.dnevnik.hr/clanak/zasto-bas-kukuriku-koalicija.html, accessed 19 August 2021.

16 Serbia interview 6: Serbian politician, Belgrade, 18 February 2020.

17 Croatia interview 2: former EU actor in Croatia, conducted via Zoom, 31 July 2020; Croatia interview 3: Croatian politician, conducted via telephone, 20 November 2020.

18 Serbia interview 7: foreign civil servant, Belgrade, 19 February 2020; Serbia interview 9: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 20 February 2020.

19 Croatia interview 6: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 12 March 2021.

20 Croatia interview 4: Croatian politician, conducted via email, 23 April 2021.

21 Serbia interview 3: Serbian politician, Belgrade, 17 December 2019; Serbia interview 4: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 18 December 2019.

22 Croatia interview 5: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 4 March 2021; Croatia interview 6: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 12 March 2021.

23 Serbia interview 1: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 4 June 2019; Serbia interview 4: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 18 December 2019.

24 Croatia interview 4: Croatian politician, conducted via email, 23 April 2021; Croatia interview 6: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 12 March 2021.

25 Croatia interview 2: former EU actor in Croatia, conducted via Zoom, 31 July 2020; Croatia interview 6: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 12 March 2021.

26 Croatia interview 5: former Croatian MP, conducted via Zoom, 4 March 2021.

27 Serbia interview 2: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 7 June 2019; Serbia interview 8: Serbian MP, Belgrade, 19 February 2020.

28 Serbia interview 1: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 4 June 2019.

29 Serbia interview 3: Serbian politician, Belgrade, 17 December 2019; Serbia interview 5: former Serbian politician, Belgrade, 18 December 2019.

30 Serbia interview 3: Serbian politician, Belgrade, 17 December 2019; Serbia interview 5: former Serbian politician, Belgrade, 18 December 2019.

31 Serbia interview 2: former Serbian MP, Belgrade, 7 June 2019. See also, ‘Serbian Opposition Says to Boycott Parliament, Demands Snap Election’, Reuters, 11 February 2019, available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/serbia-politics-idINKCN1Q01FZ, accessed 27 April 2021.

32 ‘Meeting of the Head of EU Delegation and the President of Serbia’, EU in Serbia, 13 April 2021, available at: http://europa.rs/meeting-of-the-head-of-eu-delegation-and-the-president-of-serbia/?lang=en, accessed 27 April 2021.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) under the terms of a UACES-James Madison Charitable Trust (JCMT) Scholarship. The author would like to thank Dr Theofanis Exadaktylos for his comments on an earlier version of this manuscript and the two reviewers for their insightful comments.

Notes on contributors

Alexander Mesarovich

Alexander Mesarovich, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LD, UK. Email: [email protected]