Authoritarianism in the Making? The Role of Political Culture and Institutions in the Albanian Context

Elections are a prime concern for democracy. The study of elections and electoral systems becomes important in understanding how a political system will function. On the other hand, an anti-democratic political culture can distort democratic institutions. Thus one might wonder whether it really matters more which electoral system a country adopts or what political culture there is in that country. We argue that beside the constitutional arrangements and reformulating its electoral system and mechanism, an un-democratic culture of authoritarianism has underpinned much of Albanian political activity lately. The latter has been the prime cause of the lack of consolidation of Albanian democracy and not its institutions. Two empirical snapshots of the most important Albanian recent political events are delineated in order to understand the intricate mechanisms of institutions and political culture in shaping and reshaping the political system.