REFRAMING SOCIAL POLICY: INSTITUTIONS, ACTORS AND POLICY IN ALBANIA Ecce Gubernator ! 75 Abstract 76 Enkeleida Tahiraj School of Slavonic& East European Studies, University College London This paper explores governance in Albania in the light of contemporary ideas of multi-level governance. It examines some governance concerns in the country, particularly as have impacted the development of welfare policy since the end of state socialism. The focus is on the rôles of institutions and actors, domestic and international, in this process. While recent literature has proposed complex, recip­rocal and multi-layered policy transfer mechanisms between donor organisations and host countries, it is found that in Albania the flow has been largely linear and unidirectional, and not just during the heat of early transition. Especially, institu­tions in both government and civil society appear still to be functionally mired in meeting the multiple demands of a variety of donor organisations. Far from the theoretically attractive convergence or isomorphy in institutions, I propose here that we observe an institutional pseudomorphosis, whereby structurally impaired organisations attempt to emulate the functions of donor agencies, while incorporat­ing atrophied versions of civic or democratic values. "Palinurus, the breeze is kind, the water smooth, and our ship sails steadily on her course. Lie down awhile and take needful rest. I will stand at the helm in your place." "Tell me not of smooth seas or favoring winds, me who have seen so much of their treachery. Shall I trust Æneas to the chances of weather and wind?" …and he continued to grasp the helm and to keep his eyes fixed on the stars. But Somnus waved over him a branch moistened with Lethean dew, and his eyes closed in spite of all his effort. Then Somnus pushed him overboard and he fell; 75 Literally –‘Behold the Pilot.’ Etymologically, the word governor is derived from the Latin gubernator. 76 The author would like to express deep gratitude to pHracKtl for being a useful foil. 204