EU Accession and the Rule of Law

This book offers a critical examination of how the EU's Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) has influenced governance and legal reform across the Western Balkans and beyond. Focusing on six countries at different stages of the accession process, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia, and North Macedonia, this book assesses the IPA's evolving role as a mechanism for strengthening the rule of law. Through country-specific analyses, the book explores how IPA funding has supported judicial reform, anti-corruption measures, and legal harmonisation, while also considering the long-term effects in Croatia, the region's only EU member state. Additional contributions provide a broader assessment of the IPA's strategic development, successes, and limitations as an instrument of EU conditionality. Bridging theoretical perspectives with empirical insights, this book offers a comprehensive yet accessible exploration of EU financial aid as a driver of governance reform. This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of EU expansion and regional development, providing valuable lessons from the diverse trajectories of the Western Balkans.