An Unexpected Fate of a Regulatory State at the EU’s Gate: Internationalisation and Non-Consolidation of the Serbian Regulatory State

This article examines how the regulatory state in Serbia, a transitional country transition on the EU's semi-periphery, has evolved and whether it has solidified over the past two decades. Despite the proclaimed goal to develop a democracy based on market principles and sound regulatory principles, Serbia's regulatory state appears to remain unconsolidated. The research reveals deviations from the key principles of the regulatory state, such as the government's non-interference in markets and commitment to Better Regulation guidelines. During the transition period from 2001 to 2023, Serbia's regulatory approach has blended various elements, including features of the developmental state. To grasp the trajectory of the regulatory state's lack of consolidation, decay, reversal, and replacement, we need to consider a consolidation perspective in addition to the prevalent ‘modelling perspective’. The latter mainly distinguishes between the ‘Regulatory State of the South’ and the ‘Regulatory State of the Global North’. The observed lack of consolidation in Serbia's case study calls for a rethinking of theories on internationalisation and trends in global governance's transnationalisation. It implies the possibility of the rise of varied regulatory models, even in countries close to the Global North and within the EU's neighbourhood, diverging from the traditional regulatory state paradigm. This study adds to the conversation on regulatory state frameworks and sheds light on the intricate paths and potential futures of regulatory states in countries undergoing transition.