This volume allows a new generation of scholars, from the Balkans and beyond, to shed light on some of the struggles the region faces. The combination of post-communist and post-conflict transition, together with the current economic and financial crisis, pose difficult challenges for the Western Balkans. What is the state of democracy in the region? Are the countries of the Western Balkans stuck somewhere between authoritarianism and genuine democracy? What are the remaining obstacles to state building? What effect has the crisis had on young people in the Western Balkans? These are some of the questions the authors of this volume seek to answer. The studies look at different countries and combine methods from various disciplines ranging from political science, history, economics and law to sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.

Claire Gordon is a Teaching Fellow in East European Politics at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom) Marko Kmezic is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for South East European Studies at the University of Graz (Austria). Jasmina Opardija is the Programme Manager of the Regional Research Promotion Programme (RRPP) in the Western Balkans at the Interfaculty Institute for Central and Eastern Europe, University of Fribourg. She holds an MA in East European Studies from the Free University of Berlin.

Contents: Claire Gordon/Marko Kmezic/Jasmina Opardija: Introduction: The Challenges of Political, Social and Economic Change in the Western Balkans – Jasmina Opardija: Building Social Science Research Capacities in the Western Balkans: RRPP Experiences and Perspectives in the Light of EU Integration – Ana Stojanova: Defective Democracies: Challenges to Democratic Consolidation in the Western Balkans – Snjezana Milivojevic: High Tech Low Pay: Journalism and Journalists in Serbia – Mina Petrovic/Jelisaveta Vukelic: The Transformation of the Governance Regime in Serbia: Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making – Predrag Cvetičanin/Jasmina Nedeljković/Nemanja Krstić: Social Space in Serbia – Marius Calu: What Makes Kosovo A ‘Weak’ State? – Aisling Lyon: Municipal Decentralization: Between the Integration and Accommodation of Ethnic Difference in the Republic of Macedonia – Simonida Kacarska: The Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities in the EU Accession Process - the Case of the Republic of Macedonia – Vladimir Turjačani/Danijela Majstorović: Construction of Ethnic and State Identity among Youth in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina – Dragan Stanojević/Smiljka Tomanović: Getting on their Feet? Changes in Economic Status of Young People in Serbia between 2003 and 2011 – Jana Korunovska Srbijanko/Neda Korunovska Avramovska/Tanja Maleska: The ‘Getting Nowhere’ Generation: The Transitions of Unemployed Youth in Transitional Macedonia – Neda Milevska–Kostova: Equity in Health in Macedonia: Socio-Economic and Financial Aspects and Effects of Policy Changes on Access to Prescription Medicines in Primary Healthcare.