Western Balkans at the Crossroads: Democratic Backsliding and External Actors' Influence – Final Report
PSSI / 30 Aug 2023
This final report offers the results of Prague Security Studies Institute's latest research on democratic backsliding in the Western Balkans and Croatia (an EU member state), conducted between fall 2022 and spring 2023.
The goal of this research project was to identify and analyze various influence activities and approaches used by external actors (namely Russia, China, Türkiye, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf) in the Western Balkans and Croatia, including the specific tactics and mechanisms of their projection of influence. The research also explored how the local political actors contributed to the in/stability of the countries and the region more broadly, including the frequently discussed phenomenon of democratic backsliding.