6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This policy paper began by placing Albania in a broader context of democratic backsliding in the region, based on scientific articles and data of democracy index. Despite some progress in different policy areas, as shown in the 2020 progress report by European Commission, concerns remain, not only in the policy aspect but as I have argued, also at the political/party level and especially regarding the politicization of state institutions. Data shows that citizens have various security concerns which are not only related to the aftermath of natural catastrophes(the earthquake on 26 November 2019) and the COVID­19 pandemic and their(mis)management by responsible authorities but also widespread criminality and weak performance of several state institutions in providing security. This paper, thus, contextualized citizens’ concerns about security as shown in the Albanian Security Barometer and explored some of the potential factors that shape these concerns. Additionally, it emphasized some areas of improvements in the performance of some institutions as well as analysed the representation of citizens’ concerns in party programs and statements of political leaders under the context of national elections. It also raised concerns about how politics may affect the impartiality of institutions. The analysis shows a need to build institutional capacity concerning e.g. State Police or the Armed Forces, as well as a need towards professionalization of political content and better representation of citizens’ concerns about security. Thus, this last section is dedicated to a set of recommendations that derive from the overall analysis: 6.1 TO THE POLITICAL PARTIES: • Parties should improve their online content by better structuring their programs and making them available for broader audiences. • Parties should design their electoral programs by consulting, among other sources of data, the available data on public perceptions of different issues so that they update the content accordingly and engage better with citizens’ concerns. • Parties should refrain from making promises that are too ambitious to be achieved within one mandate so that voters are properly informed before the elections about what can be realistically achieved in the upcoming mandate. • Political leaders should engage in more constructive criticism that addresses citizens' concerns rather than in personal attacks towards their opponents. 28