Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 12, Issue 2, 2023 147 INSTITUTIONAL AND NON-INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS IN POLICY-MAKING PROCESSES: A CASE STUDY Ngadhnjim Brovina * , Dritero Arifi ** * Faculty of Political Science, University for Business and Technology, Prishtina, the Republic of Kosovo ** Corresponding author, Faculty of Political Science, University for Business and Technology, Prishtina, the Republic of Kosovo Contact details: University for Business and Technology, 10000 Prishtina, the Republic of Kosovo Abstract How to cite this paper: Brovina, N., & Arifi, D. (2023). Institutional and non-institutional actors in policy-making processes: A case study. Journal of Governance & Regulation, 12(2), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgrv12i2art13 Copyright © 2023 The Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/ ISSN Online: 2306-6784 ISSN Print: 2220-9352 Received: 25.11.2022 Accepted: 16.05.2023 JEL Classification: Y70, Y60, Y50 DOI: 10.22495/jgrv12i2art13 This article examines the role and importance of institutional and non-institutional actors in Kosovo’s foreign policy processes. It is based on a review of official documents, non-governmental organization (NGO) research and academic literature, using a research method of material analysis. The paper’s findings reveal Kosovo’s challenges in its policy-making processes and emphasise the essential role of international factors and NGOs. The article provides a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and importance of Kosovo’s foreign policy and the role and influence of institutional actors, such as the ruling party and opposition parties, and non-institutional actors, such as international actors and NGOs. The results emphasise the need for the engagement and support of the international community in Kosovo’s foreign policy efforts. In conclusion, the paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on the policy-making processes in Kosovo and its foreign policy. Judah (2012) emphasised that for Kosovo to have a successful foreign policy, it must have a flourishing internal (domestic) policy because one cannot be successful without the other. The article emphasises the importance of considering institutional and non-institutional actors in the policy-making processes in Kosovo. Keywords: Institutional and Non-Institutional Actors, Policy-Making Processes, Kosovo, International Factor, NGOs Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — N.B.; Methodology — D.A.; Investigation — N.B. and D.A.; Writing — Original Draft — D.A.; Writing — Review & Editing — N.B. Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. 1. INTRODUCTION Policy-making processes in another form in Kosovo also started during the 1999 war, especially with the involvement of NATO (international factors) and the bombing of the former Yugoslavia. While in 1999, on the territory of Kosovo, with United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1244, the country was placed under the international administration of the UN (Arifi & Brovina, 2022). Those involvement has helped the country’s state- building and the development of all policies. After the declaration of independence in 2008, the Government of Kosovo became a relevant actor in promoting political processes related to state- building and the country’s development in the international arena. Next, a very complicated policy-making process was the beginning of talks and negotiations with Serbia (in 2011), which took place for several years and is still ongoing (IFIMES, 2023). The Ahtisaari Plan was next to follow, as a package containing conditions therein, namely requirements that had to be met by the Kosovo side. From December 2008, the EU operated in Kosovo