Minority Rights and EU Conditionality in the Western Balkans. From External to Internal Politics?

The Western Balkans provide a unique example of the weakness of the European approach in the field of minority rights. Indeed, the minority rights framework adopted under the pressure of EU conditionality, with a few relevant exceptions, is subject in general to poor implementation and adverse effects. It is suggested, therefore, that minority politics in the WB should be widely reconsidered, both at European and at domestic level, thus providing for a shift from the logic of the implementation of external standards to that of the genuine development of internal democratic values. To this aim, the chapter provides a critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the minority rights standards in EU conditionality, as well as their effects on the constitutional design and the legal framework on national minorities in the WB states, with a particular focus on linguistic rights and the right to political participation.