Captured states and/or captured societies in the Western Balkans

Abstract

This article proposes the new concept of societal capture for analysing informal practices implemented by political elites in Western Balkan societies. In contrast to the notion of state capture, which refers to a mechanism of exploitation of state and public resources by political and economic elites, the concept of societal capture denotes a mechanism of domination of political elites over civil society actors (citizens, trade unions, NGOs, religious institutions), and economic actors (private companies and private media), aiming to perpetuate their political rule. The article describes and illustrates three core mechanisms of societal capture and points out that notions of state capture and societal capture refer to different types of informal practices in terms of their aims, preconditions for functioning, mechanisms used, outcomes, levels of secrecy, and their social effects.