Rocky Road to Europe: Disciplining Croatia and Montenegro through the Accession Process
Rocky Road to Europe: Disciplining Croatia and Montenegro through the Accession Process

Summary/Abstract: The article explores the Croatian and Montenegrin EU accession path as a two-sided disciplining process established through the negotiations. The “success”of the EU’s civilising mission in the two countries is determined throughthe feedback/dialogue relationship formed between the EU and the candidate country. I analyse two aspects of the accession negotiations: cooperation withthe ICTY and the rule of law institutions. In Croatia, the domestic elites’ determination to ensure the membership paired up with the EU’s civilising mission in the Balkans. In Montenegro, the EU membership has not outright represented the mythical return to Europe, hence initially self-civilising wasnot high on the list of the priorities. Moreover, Montenegro was the successstory of the Balkans and the EU initially did not insist on the institutional development.The paper contributes to the wider EU enlargement literature by specifically emphasizing the cultural studies framework and by emphasizing the importance of the overlooked feedback/dialogue characteristics of the accession process.

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