Post‐socialist transformation, penal reform and justice sector transition in Albania
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21157113 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brad K Blitz (0000-0003-4765-8806, Oxford Brookes University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 345-364 |
| Publication date | 2008-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-3857 • E-ISSN: 1743-9639 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14683850802556376 |
| OpenAlex | W2073283844 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 26 |
The place of prisons is largely ignored in the literature on political transitions. Yet, given the historic role that prisons served in the former Communist bloc, as instruments of repression, the management of the penal system is an important indicator of democratic change. This article considers the development of the penal system in Albania from 1990 to the present day. It examines the state of pre‐trial detention facilities, prisons and prison hospitals, and evaluates efforts by the Albanian government to reform the penal system. The empirical basis of this article is informed by 20 interviews conducted in autumn 2006 with Albanian government officials, members of the prison administration, human rights monitors, international organizations, NGOs, penal experts, and donor governments. It also evaluates attempts by the European Union and Council of Europe to promote penal reform in Albania. The main finding is that in spite of its considerable investment in Albania, the European Union and associated partners have not managed to curb occurrences of torture and have had a limited impact over substantive penal reform. This article examines four explanations for the EU’s relative failure in this policy area. The principal reasons for Albania’s non‐convergence with European norms lie with the weakness of Albanian state structures and the persistence of systemic illiberal practices
Communism · Democracy · Economic policy · Economics · European union · Human rights · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Prison · Sociology · Torture · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
The EU's Transformative Power
Political Parties
The Dark Side of Social Capital
Albania
Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation
Democratic Development, Judicial Reform and the Serbian Question in Croatia
Statelessness and the Social (De)Construction of Citizenship
Security and Economic Transition
EU Accession of Central and Eastern European Countries
The Instrumental Use of European Union Conditionality
European Regional Organizations, Political Conditionality, and Democratic Transformation in Eastern Europe
The Albanians
Europeanization and Regionalization in the EU's Enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe
Albania
Russia's penal peripheries
When does the EU Make a Difference? Conditionality and the Accession Process in Central and Eastern Europe
Change and Continuity in the European Union's Political Conditionality
On the Tasks of a Democratic Opposition
The EU's Political Conditionality and Post‐Accession Tendencies
Social Capital
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2011 - 2024 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |