2/03/2022
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) today on 2nd of March 2022, presented the results of the first report in the framework of the regional project Western Balkans Security Barometer the report on the integrity of public institutions.
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) today on 2nd of March 2022, presented the results of the first report in the framework of the regional project Western Balkans Security Barometer the report on the integrity of public institutions. Reflecting the opinions and perceptions of citizens, this report provides the basis for designing a citizen-centered approach to governance and policies. The report consists of three parts. The first part discusses the results of public perceptions in Kosovo towards security, justice, and public institutions at the central level. The second part examines citizens 'perceptions regarding the spread of corruption in public institutions, and the third part focuses on citizens' perceptions regarding the employment process in public administration.
Kosovo Security Force, Kosovo Police, President of Kosovo, and Municipalities are the most trusted public institutions in Kosovo, where over 50 percent of respondents stated that they trust or fully trust these institutions. These are followed by Kosovo Customs and the Kosovo Intelligence Agency with 45 percent of respondents sharing such an opinion. On the other hand, less than 40 percent of respondents stated that they trust or fully trust the Courts, the Prosecution, the Kosovo Correctional Service, the Government of Kosovo, and the Assembly of Kosovo. The report results show that the citizens of Kosovo see more reliable security institutions with a higher level of trust in them than other public institutions in Kosovo, such as justice institutions, which citizens perceive as less reliable and with poor integrity.
Citizens' trust in the institutions of courts and prosecutors in Kosovo is constantly declining and this is worrying. Citizens have a higher degree of trust in central level public institutions, especially compared to the previous year (2020), however, skepticism towards these institutions generally prevails. Citizens' perception of the presence of corruption in public institutions coincides with their perception of trust in institutions. The lower the trust in an institution, the higher the perception that corruption is present in the relevant institution. Accordingly, Security institutions are perceived to be less corrupt compared to other institutions. The Kosovo Security Force and the Kosovo Police are perceived to be the least corrupt institutions with less than 25 percent of respondents declaring that these two institutions are corrupt or highly corrupt, followed by municipalities with 33 percent of the respondents who share the view that municipalities are corrupt. On the other hand, more than 45 percent of respondents perceive the Government of Kosovo, the Courts, and the Prosecution as corrupt and highly corrupt.
Finally, BSBP respondents have a high level of skepticism regarding the competence of public administration employees. Most BSBP respondents believe that only a small group of individuals are employed in state administration solely based on merit and qualifications. Although at a slightly lower level, similar attitudes are present about security institutions. More than 50 percent of respondents think that only a fraction of employees in security institutions are there thanks to their merits and qualifications.
This report was published in the project "Western Balkans Security Barometer" framework. The BSBP serves as an instrument to measure the perceptions of the citizens of Albania, Kosovo, and Serbia on various issues related to security, rule of law, justice, regional cooperation, and peacebuilding. This regional project is led by KCSS with the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The report can be found here: Citizens perceptions of integrity of public institutions in Kosovo
