Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework chapter examines the concepts that are crucial for the study of how political elites “hijack” formal institutions to gain and maintain power—state capture, media capture and political clientelism vis-à-vis the media. State capture and clientelism have been the catalysts for the de-Europeanization of both EU Member States (i.e. Hungary and Poland) as well as the Western Balkan candidates, which is particularly visible in the media sphere. The chapter further posits that the EU, through its conditionality bargaining game and toleration of autocratic leaders, has (un)intentionally entrenched state capture and clientelism in its neighbourhood. However, the EU’s bargaining game is insufficient in explaining the reasons for why rent-seeking political elites in the EU and WB6 seek to control formal institutions. Thus, it is necessary to examine the domestic side where a political culture of apathy, disengagement with politics and mistrust of political elites/institutions as well as legacies of the communist past have all aided in facilitating the consolidation of state capture in the region.