Stability without democracy: The aesthetics of modern autocracy and Western conformism in Albania!

In an Albania gripped by economic uncertainty, social despair and declining trust in politics, the presence of the Giro d'Italia and a European summit at the heart of the May 2025 electoral campaign created a profound paradox. On the one hand, these events projected an Albania that welcomes the world with a smile and European organization. On the other, they created the feeling of a decorated country for tourists and diplomats, while the internal reality remains bleak for ordinary citizens.

This is not an isolated episode. It is part of a sustained strategy of power: to focus attention on image, spectacle, and international relations, and to slowly dismantle the spaces of real democracy.

From content to presentation: transforming power into performance

Edi Rama has built a new model of autocracy that no longer relies on open brutality or violent repression, but on symbolic and cultural control. He is the artist who recognizes the power of the image, the director who understands the importance of scenography. Instead of strong institutions, he builds strong images. Instead of open debate, he produces spectacle. And instead of transparency, he creates fog through the aestheticization of reality.

This model, which could be called “aesthetic autocracy,” is more refined and more acceptable to international partners than the brutal forms of the past. European leaders no longer see a Balkan politician with nationalist rhetoric and unstable behavior. They see a calm colleague who speaks their language, uses similar cultural references, and offers security in cooperation.

Europe's conformism: peace at the expense of democracy

Europe is no longer the moral ideal it once was. Faced with successive crises over migration, energy, the war in Ukraine, and the rise of right-wing extremism, it has become more cynical and pragmatic. In this context, it seeks “manageable” partners, not necessarily democratic ones.

In Albania, this conformism translates into tolerating serious violations of democratic standards for the sake of external stability. Critical reports from the EU, OSCE or DASH exist, but are not accompanied by real consequences. On the contrary, they are covered up with diplomatic visits, summits, marathons and international activities that create the perception of a “functioning state”.

This is a clear message to the Albanian citizen: democracy is no longer a criterion, but a luxury. And as long as it does not produce exportable chaos, Albania can remain a simulated democracy, managed through spectacle and silently approved by outsiders.

The psychology of the spectator: the feeling of abandonment and loss of representation

In this politicized scene, the Albanian citizen is invited only as a spectator. He sees events that do not represent him, leaders who do not listen to him, and media that do not talk about him. The feeling of being invisible and abandoned produces a silent form of collective depression: withdrawal from participation, disregard for the vote, lack of faith in change.

In this sense, political spectacle is no longer just a propaganda tool but has become a weapon to stifle the sense of agency in the citizen. It is the way in which power says: “we control everything from the image the world sees to the opinion you have.”

What can be done?

Denouncing this reality should not come from victimization, but from responsibility. Albania does not have to choose between false stability and chaos. There is an opportunity to build a sustainable system based on real institutions, free debate, separation of powers, and independent justice.

This requires that internal actors such as the opposition, the media, civil society, and any independent voice, not become part of the government's scripts, but rather protect the spaces of reality and free speech.

And Europe, if it wants not to lose its moral legitimacy in the Balkans, must decide clearly: is it an ally of the citizen or a collaborator of power?

Because in the end, Albania does not need a big show, but real construction.

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