Mobility Phases: Central European University, Vienna | GlobalFocus Center, Bucharest
Geopolitical Competition and the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans
Dr. Marius Ghincea is Postdoctoral Researcher at ETH Zurich. He is also Visiting Fellow at the the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (EUI) and Executive Director at the Bucharest-based Quartet Institute. Marius earned his Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute in March 2024. He has received prestigious awards, including being a Fulbright Scholar and a Global Leaders Fellow. Marius has taught at several American universities as a TA or instructor. During his re:constitution fellowship, he was a visiting researcher at the Central European University in Vienna and the GlobalFocus Center in Bucharest. His research agenda focuses on three main areas: the geopolitics of European integration, looking at how domestic contestation and external great power competition affects the European Union and its enlargement and deepening; the domestic politics of international relations, studying how domestic partisan contestation and consensus affects international relations; and the foreign and security policy of his native Romania in the wider context of Central and Eastern Europe.
Geopolitical Competition and the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans
The Western Balkans region has become a battleground for global powers vying for influence. With ongoing geopolitical tensions and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, this competition is likely to continue. The impact of this competition on the region's adherence to the rule of law is concerning, with scholars observing signs of backsliding, "stabilitocracies," and weakened EU conditionality. The involvement of other geopolitical actors has led the EU to adopt a more instrumental approach, deemphasizing the rule of law as a diplomatic objective. Local elites have also leveraged this competition to sidetrack European democratization efforts. To counter these threats, the EU must develop a new set of policies that protect and promote the rule of law in the Western Balkans while competing with autocratic powers. Rather than adopting a pragmatic and norm-free strategy, the EU should reinforce its "normative power" approach and prioritize democratic institutions and values. This will allow the EU to maintain its political distinctiveness and provide a normative soft power advantage over competitors.
