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Corruption in the Balkans: an Examination of the Ties Between Government and Crime in Several Southeast European Countries

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Corruption in the Balkans: an Examination of the Ties Between Government and Crime in Several Southeast European Countries View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2013-12 Corruption in the Balkans: an examination of the ties between government and crime in several Southeast European countries Heskett, Jonathan D. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/38946 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS CORRUPTION IN THE BALKANS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TIES BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND CRIME IN SEVERAL SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES by Jonathan D. Heskett December 2013 Thesis Advisor: Robert E. Looney Thesis Co-Advisor: David R. Henderson Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2013 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS CORRUPTION IN THE BALKANS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TIES BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND CRIME IN SEVERAL SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 6. AUTHOR(S) Jonathan D. Heskett 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) The problem of corruption in civil administration has been around for as long as individuals have held public office. The Balkans has proved to be no exception. As early as the 16th century, corruption began to be tolerated and widely accepted within the region. The corruption problem was greatly exacerbated following the disintegration of communism and the successive civil wars that plagued Yugoslavia throughout the 1990s. During this period, governmental officials forged strong, unhealthy relationships with criminal elements. These close ties between organized crime and governmental officials have continued unabated until the present day and help form the basis of a pervasive culture of corruption in the region. This high level of corruption in the Balkans is problematic since both the EU and NATO have continued to expand eastward since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Any new members admitted to either organization must share the same liberal democratic values that helped shape the original organizations and that are held dear by the current members. This thesis examines the corruption of six countries—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, and Serbia—in the Balkans and provides recommendations the countries should follow in their ongoing fight against corruption. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF Corruption, Organized Crime, Political Elite, Governmental Officials, Grand Corruption, North PAGES Atlantic Treaty Organization, European Union, World Bank 117 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited CORRUPTION IN THE BALKANS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TIES BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND CRIME IN SEVERAL SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Jonathan D. Heskett Major, United States Marine Corps B.A., Wittenberg University, 1999 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (EUROPE AND EURASIA) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 2013 Author: Jonathan D. Heskett Approved by: Robert E. Looney Thesis Advisor David R. Henderson Thesis Co-Advisor Mohammed Hafez Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT The problem of corruption in civil administration has been around for as long as individuals have held public office. The Balkans has proved to be no exception. As early as the 16th century, corruption began to be tolerated and widely accepted within the region. The corruption problem was greatly exacerbated following the disintegration of communism and the successive civil wars that plagued Yugoslavia throughout the 1990s. During this period, governmental officials forged strong, unhealthy relationships with criminal elements. These close ties between organized crime and governmental officials have continued unabated until the present day and help form the basis of a pervasive culture of corruption in the region. This high level of corruption in the Balkans is problematic since both the EU and NATO have continued to expand eastward since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Any new members admitted to either organization must share the same liberal democratic values that helped shape the original organizations and that are held dear by the current members. This thesis examines the corruption of six countries—Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, and Serbia—in the Balkans and provides recommendations the countries should follow in their ongoing fight against corruption. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. IMPORTANCE ................................................................................................1 B. LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................2 C. PROBLEMS AND HYPOTHESIS ................................................................7 D. METHODS AND SOURCES .........................................................................8 E. THESIS OVERVIEW .....................................................................................9 II. ORGANIZED CRIME AS THE ROOT CAUSE OF CORRUPTION IN THE BALKANS BACKGROUND ..........................................................................11 A. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................11 1. Communism........................................................................................11 2. War Profiteering ................................................................................13 3. Private Security Companies ..............................................................13 B. ORGANIZED CRIME ..................................................................................15 1. Pervasiveness of Organized Crime in the Balkans .........................16 2. Illegal Drug Trade..............................................................................17 3. Effects of Organized Crime on Business and Government ............18 4. Is Organized Crime’s Power Waning in the Balkans? ...................20 C. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................22 III. CORRUPTION IN THE BALKANS .......................................................................25 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................25 B. TYPES OF CORRUPTION ..........................................................................26 C. BRIBERY IN THE BALKANS ....................................................................27 D. CORRUPTION IN THE BALKANS ...........................................................32 1. Public Opinions on Corruption in the Balkans ...............................35 2. Negative Effects of Corruption in the Balkans................................36 E. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................38 IV. CASE ANALYSIS OF CORRUPTION AMONG THE COUNTRIES OF THE BALKANS .........................................................................................................41 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................41 B. ALBANIA .......................................................................................................42 1. Introduction ........................................................................................42 2. Albanian Organized Crime and Politics ..........................................43 3. Corrupt Judicial System....................................................................45
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