The Autocratic Trend In The Western Balkans - Interview With Human Freedom Index Co-Author

Tanja Porcnik, president of the Visio Institut in Slovenia and co-author of the 2017 Human Freedom Index, discusses the trend of Western Balkan states becoming more autocratic.

Porcnik gives several reasons as to why power is concentrating in the hands of a few individuals in Western Balkan states and argues that these political developments are bad for individual freedom. Porcnik also touches upon the geopolitics of the region and gives her thoughts on the EU accession process for the Western Balkan countries that remain outside of the European Union.

2018 is a year in which the Western Balkans returned — at least very briefly — to the forefront of the European Union agenda. The EU held a high-level Western Balkan summit in May. You can find my coverage of the event in a series of Steemit posts, concluding with this — EU Western Balkans Summit: What Was Accomplished?

I also have an entire video playlist of reports from the Western Balkans this year.

Additionally, today the fifth Western Balkan Summit (sounds repetitive, I know), which includes some EU leaders, is taking place in London. I will not be there to cover it, though.