Linking to the State: Hierarchical Statebuilding After Ethnic Conflict in the Western Balkans

Abstract

Fighting in Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia ended with internationally-sponsored settlements aimed at constituting unified states, but participatory politics by ethnic groups differed afterwards. This study asks how institutional mechanisms of statebuilding led to disparate forms of participation at different levels of governance. The principle conclusion is that both participation and ways of contesting government policies or actions are conditioned by the institutional means for ethnic elite actors to access distributable patronage. Providing ethnic elites with distributable resources allows them to act as brokers between the state and the ethnic group, linking their own political positions with participation. This in turn secures the support of key players, discourages parochial opposition, and marginalizes spoilers.