Natasha Wunsch is Postdoctoral Researcher in the European Politics Group at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and Associate Fellow with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). Her research has appeared, among others, in the Journal of European Public Policy, Journal of Common Market Studies, Acta Politica, and East European Politics.

1 - Introduction: Differential Empowerment and Domestic Change Agents

2 - Evolving Opportunities in the EU Accession Process

3 - Civil Society Mobilisation in Croatia

4 - Civil Society Mobilisation in Montenegro

5 - Civil Society Mobilisation in Serbia

6 - Comparing Mobilisation Strategies and Outcomes

7 - Conclusion: Civil Society Empowerment and Its Limits

List of interviewees

List of events attended

Index

This book examines civil society empowerment during the EU enlargement process. Building on extensive fieldwork, it compares mobilisation around rule of law issues in Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the top-down impact of EU support, it demonstrates NGOs' agency and analyses their shifting strategies throughout the membership negotiations. Its approach and findings will appeal to scholars and advanced students of EU integration, social movements, and the politics of South East Europe.