Corruption is endemic on the Balkans. It has a firm grip on politics and almost every part of society. Little is done about. The lastes episode of the political webshow Talk Real gives you an insight why.

This episode was shot in Prizren in Kosovo. This is the Balkan country that’s arguably most plagued by corruption. So it was probably no coincidence that the theme of last year’s Dokufest, the biggest festival for documentary films on the Balkans, was indeed Corruption.

Kosovo’s neighbors don’t trail far behind. So, the discussion might as well have taken place in Istanbul, Athens or Beograd, where this pieces title photograph was shot.

The panel of this episode of Talk Real depicts this rather accurately. The experts are from all over the region.

Una Hajdari, a journalist, and Rron Gjinovci, an activist, are from Kosovo. Darko Soković is an artist and social entrepreneur from Serbia. Çiğdem Çidamlı is a Turkish union and human rights activist.

Rather then re-telling some of the overly abundant episodes of corruption in their home countries they have experienced or investigated, they explain how corruption is embedded in the political systems of Balkan countries. And how the often precarious political situations keep it alive, alongside nationalist narratives.

Title picture: The headquartes of Belgrade Waterfront, a real estate development project that’s at the very center of a corruption scandal that has shaken Serbian society for more than a year now. (c) Balkan Stories/Chris Baumgarten