“Captured State – Understanding the Macedonian Case” by Mancho Mitevski

The book was released in 2018 in Macedonian language and by translating it Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Skopje wants to widen its reach and allow an international audience to read this powerful analysis. The book was presented on 12^th March in EU Info Center in Skopje and the pdf version it will be promoted also abroad.

Mancho Mitevski chronicles and dissects the way the Macedonian state and society have become hostage to a corrupted political elite during the years of 2006-2016. Focusing on that period the author describes the instruments and mechanisms the Gruevski-led government during that period had installed in order to capture the state and its resources. We believe this book provides tangible examples for mechanisms of state capture and identifies early warnings, that were overlooked or ignored in the Macedonian case. The analysis helps to understand how a state capture of this scale was possible at that time and it helps to understand the work load the current Macedonian government has, in order to overcome the past. Above all, this book is a useful read to apply the Macedonian lessons to other examples in the Balkans and abroad in order to identify and hopefully prevent similar developments.

The PDF version of the publication can be accessed here.