Building multi‐level governance in Southeast Europe?

Drawing on the contributions to this volume, this concluding analysis reflects on the extent to which European Union (EU) cohesion policy and related pre‐accession instruments are contributing to the development of more compound polities in Southeast Europe and, specifically, promoting multi‐level governance. It argues that these EU policies have created more compound polities but that system‐wide multi‐level governance remains weak in the case study states and central governments remain prominent. However, there are interesting and potentially important developments in relation to particular features of multi‐level governance, not least in states whose engagement with the EU in this sphere is relatively new. As such, a large part of this story appears yet to unfold.