DEPOLITICIZING INTELLIGENCE: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS IN WESTERN BALKAN NATIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.6316Keywords:
Intelligence Leadership, Appointments, Dismissal, Western Balkans, PoliticizationAbstract
This study examines the legal frameworks governing the appointment of intelligence service leaders in the Western Balkans, focusing on their relationship with patterns of politicization and institutional development. Through a doctrinal analysis of legislation in Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the study finds that formal appointment procedures often coexist with divergent practical outcomes. These range from centralized executive control to institutional fragmentation and reform-driven dispersion of authority. The findings indicate that politicization is a common feature across the region, though it manifests through distinct governance models shaped by legal design and political context. The paper argues that strengthening merit-based appointment procedures and institutional safeguards could reduce political influence and enhance both effectiveness and democratic accountability in intelligence governance.
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