This paper examines the politicisation of the ministerial bureaucracy in the Western Balkan states. It has a twofold objective. First, the paper presents new evidence from an expert survey that is currently conducted in seven Western Balkan states (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo) in order to reveal the degree and patterns of politicisation. Second, the paper explores how accession Europeanisation and domestic politics interact to shape the politicisation of the ministerial bureaucracy in Western Balkan states. The paper shows that the Europeanisation effect has been largely formal, while domestic political incentives have largely contradicted de-politicisation in practice, especially in the ethnically heterogeneous countries that have institutionalised mechanisms of equitable representation.
