Albania's Way to EU Accession and Its Challenges

A unique style of communism ruled Albania for 45 years. It was the most Stalinist regime and Albania isolated itself in the world. The country has been the poorest country in Europe. The surf of changes in Eastern Europe affected this country, causing the system change in 1991. Having skipped capitalism, socialism was constructed in this country after World War II — now switching over to capitalism without bourgeoisie. At the same, the country opened the door. A great wave of influences from the outside world surged over this small country. For example, (a) Europeanization: accelerating European Union integration and its effects on member states and states within its orbit; (b) Globalization (mainly economic and technological dimensions): economic interdependence, financial markets, international competition and technological development; and (c) Membership of international organizations (NATO, CoE, OECD, IMF, World Bank, etc.) (Bogdani and Loughlin, 2007, p. 219)…