The persistence of elites and extractive practices in the energy sector in successor Yugoslav states (1980s-2010s)

This doctoral thesis concerns the development of corruption and informality through the political and economic transition in successor Yugoslav states, in the period from the late 1980s to the end of the 2010s. It analyses the practices that have emerged, how actors have navigated the changes, and the consequences for the rule of law. The empirical chapters deal with a highly lucrative and strategic industry, where political and economic interests have long been mixed: the energy sector. Fieldwork was conducted mainly, though not exclusively, in Croatia and Serbia. The chosen methodological framework, an adaptation of process tracing (Beach and Pedersen, 2013) and practice tracing (Pouliot, 2015), is used to track the development of extractive practices (as informed by: Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012; Helmke & Levitsky, 2004; Ledeneva, 1998, 2006 & 2013; Mungiu-Pippidi, 2006 & 2015) through the period under consideration, as well as to analyse the trajectories of key business and political actors, which are examined with reference to the various types of capital (Bourdieu, 1986 & 1990) they possessed at specific stages. Making use of archival data collection, Freedom of Information requests and more than 50 elite interviews with experts, politicians, and businesspeople, the thesis identifies and classifies the extractive practices that have emerged in this sector during transition, showing that they outweigh inclusive ones. It is suggested that the way these practices were formed at the beginning of transition (early 1990s) is part of the reason why EU-led reforms promoting the strengthening of the rule of law have had little success in the post-Yugoslav space. The analysis of actor trajectories reveals how a class of elite actors was able to consolidate its position of dominance at the beginning of transition and prosper in the specific form of capitalism that took root in successor Yugoslav states during the period under examination.