Deconstructing Balkan particularism: the ambiguous social capital of Southeastern Europe

This article is concerned with particularism in the post‐communist Balkans. First, it discusses notions such as particularism and social capital in a post‐communist context, attempting to relate these two concepts to each other. Second, it provides a descriptive picture of particularism, informal behaviour and social capital in Southeast Europe based on a comparative survey conducted in 2003 in five countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Third, it constructs explanatory models of social capital and discusses the policy implications for the region’s Europeanization.