ABSTRACT Three decades since the beginning of democratization processes, the Western Balkan countries have built a democratic façade by holding elections, by promulgating legal acts guaranteeing freedom of expression, or by constitutionally declaring a strict system of checks and balances. In reality, however, political elites rely on informal structures, clientelism, and control of the media to undermine democracy. Given that formal democratic freedoms are effective only to the extent that political elites are bound by the effective rule of law, the core argument of this study is that the structural weaknesses of democratic institutions are purposefully exploited by domestic regimes, which are able to misuse these fragile institutions to their advantage.

中文翻译：

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西巴尔干地区的法治与民主：解决政策与实践之间的鸿沟

摘要自民主化进程开始以来的三十年间，西巴尔干国家通过举行选举，颁布保障言论自由的法律法案或通过宪法宣布严格的制衡制度，建立了民主立面。但是，实际上，政治精英依靠非正式的结构，客户主义和对媒体的控制来破坏民主。鉴于正式的民主自由仅在政治精英受有效法治约束的情况下才有效，所以这项研究的核心论点是，国内制度有目的地利用民主制度的结构性弱点，从而有能力滥用这些弱点。脆弱的机构对其有利。