The EU Accession Negotiations of Croatia as a Model Case of Modern Conditionality in International Law: An Essay on the Connection of Law, Politics, and Diplomatic Power in the Context of European Enlargement

Abstract

Croatia's accession negotiations are among the most defining examples of modern European conditionality. The European Union linked politically formulated expectations with international-legal duties, creating a steering instrument that reaches far beyond classical diplomacy. The coupling of the accession steps to Croatia's full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) shows how political and legal levels can interlock. The article analyses the asymmetric power constellation between EU and Croatia, the structural function of conditionality, and the role of the ICTY as an informal instrument of conditionality. External steering ends where it meets nationally anchored identity narratives and politically sensitive transitional justice. Modern conditionality works as legitimate and lasting only when it is transparent, consistent, and socially anchored.