Dissertation/ Thesis

Europeanisation in EU candidate states: Revisiting the role of EU conditionality

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: Europeanisation in EU candidate states: Revisiting the role of EU conditionality
Συγγραφείς: Kakarnias, Theofanis
Thesis Advisors: Karagiannis, Yannis
Πηγή: TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa)
Στοιχεία εκδότη: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2026.
Έτος έκδοσης: 2026
Φυσική περιγραφή: 95 p.
Θεματικοί όροι: Unión Europea, ampliació, European Union, enlargement, Unió Europea, ampliación
Περιγραφή: This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of EU conditionality in promoting democracy and the rule of law in EU candidate states, both considered as core dimensions driving Europeanisation. Although conditionality remains the EU’s main enlargement tool, outcomes often diverge, ranging from incremental reforms to democratic and rule of law backsliding. The thesis is structured around three articles. The first employs Bayesian process tracing in the case of Serbia, showing how EU and domestic factors—particularly a declining credibility of EU conditionality and geostrategic interests—limited the EU’s capacity to prevent democratic backsliding. Delving into the impact of domestic factors on the evolution of rule of law, a fundamental principle for EU accession, the second article applies two-way fixed effects and dynamic regression models to eight Southeastern European countries (1995–2023). Results demonstrate that civil liberties, economic growth, and path dependency weigh more heavily on rule of law trajectories than other variables emphasised in Europeanisation literature. The third article applies selectorate theory to the case of Albania, highlighting how governments adopt reforms superficially to balance EU requirements with domestic survival strategies. Overall, the dissertation shows that EU conditionality’s impact is mediated by domestic factors and structural constraints, limiting its transformative power. Building on these findings, my future research agenda will aim to expand the scope of the research by examining wider political, socio-economic, and institutional conditions that promote or undermine the rule of law, extending the analysis to EU member states and the EU´s neighbourhood.
Description (Translated): Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Doctorat en Ciències Polítiques i Socials
Τύπος εγγράφου: Dissertation/Thesis
Περιγραφή αρχείου: application/pdf
Γλώσσα: English
Σύνδεσμος πρόσβασης: https://hdl.handle.net/10803/697443
Rights: ADVERTIMENT. L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi doctoral i la seva utilització ha de respectar els drets de la persona autora. Pot ser utilitzada per a consulta o estudi personal així com en activitats o materials d'investigació i docència en els termes establerts a l'art. 32 del Text Refós de la Llei de Propietat Intel·lectual (RDL 1/1996). Per altres utilitzacions es requereix l'autorització prèvia i expressa de la persona autora. En qualsevol cas en la utilització dels seus continguts caldrà indicar de forma clara el nom i cognoms de la persona autora i el títol de la tesi doctoral. No s'autoritza la seva reproducció o altres formes d'explotació efectuades amb finalitats de lucre ni la seva comunicació pública des d'un lloc aliè al servei TDX. Tampoc s'autoritza la presentació del seu contingut en una finestra o marc aliè a TDX (framing). Aquesta reserva de drets afecta tant als continguts de la tesi com als seus resums i índexs.
Αριθμός Καταχώρησης: edstdx.10803.697443
Βάση Δεδομένων: TDX
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  Data: Europeanisation in EU candidate states: Revisiting the role of EU conditionality
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kakarnias%2C+Theofanis%22">Kakarnias, Theofanis</searchLink>
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  Data: Karagiannis, Yannis
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  Data: TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa)
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  Data: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2026.
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  Data: 95 p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Unión+Europea%2C+ampliació%22">Unión Europea, ampliació</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22European+Union%2C+enlargement%22">European Union, enlargement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Unió+Europea%2C+ampliación%22">Unió Europea, ampliación</searchLink>
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  Data: This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of EU conditionality in promoting democracy and the rule of law in EU candidate states, both considered as core dimensions driving Europeanisation. Although conditionality remains the EU’s main enlargement tool, outcomes often diverge, ranging from incremental reforms to democratic and rule of law backsliding. The thesis is structured around three articles. The first employs Bayesian process tracing in the case of Serbia, showing how EU and domestic factors—particularly a declining credibility of EU conditionality and geostrategic interests—limited the EU’s capacity to prevent democratic backsliding. Delving into the impact of domestic factors on the evolution of rule of law, a fundamental principle for EU accession, the second article applies two-way fixed effects and dynamic regression models to eight Southeastern European countries (1995–2023). Results demonstrate that civil liberties, economic growth, and path dependency weigh more heavily on rule of law trajectories than other variables emphasised in Europeanisation literature. The third article applies selectorate theory to the case of Albania, highlighting how governments adopt reforms superficially to balance EU requirements with domestic survival strategies. Overall, the dissertation shows that EU conditionality’s impact is mediated by domestic factors and structural constraints, limiting its transformative power. Building on these findings, my future research agenda will aim to expand the scope of the research by examining wider political, socio-economic, and institutional conditions that promote or undermine the rule of law, extending the analysis to EU member states and the EU´s neighbourhood.
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  Data: Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Doctorat en Ciències Polítiques i Socials
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  Data: ADVERTIMENT. L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi doctoral i la seva utilització ha de respectar els drets de la persona autora. Pot ser utilitzada per a consulta o estudi personal així com en activitats o materials d'investigació i docència en els termes establerts a l'art. 32 del Text Refós de la Llei de Propietat Intel·lectual (RDL 1/1996). Per altres utilitzacions es requereix l'autorització prèvia i expressa de la persona autora. En qualsevol cas en la utilització dels seus continguts caldrà indicar de forma clara el nom i cognoms de la persona autora i el títol de la tesi doctoral. No s'autoritza la seva reproducció o altres formes d'explotació efectuades amb finalitats de lucre ni la seva comunicació pública des d'un lloc aliè al servei TDX. Tampoc s'autoritza la presentació del seu contingut en una finestra o marc aliè a TDX (framing). Aquesta reserva de drets afecta tant als continguts de la tesi com als seus resums i índexs.
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  Data: edstdx.10803.697443
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      – Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 95
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      – SubjectFull: Unión Europea, ampliació
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: European Union, enlargement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Unió Europea, ampliación
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Europeanisation in EU candidate states: Revisiting the role of EU conditionality
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            – D: 26
              M: 03
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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