Digital government applications and models oftenadd layers to existing structures, organizations,and routines to facilitate public services. In most statesdigital government is thus added to established structuresand organizations, but what happens when egovernmentdevelop at as an integrated part of newstate building? This is the overall question in this paperpresenting an analysis of best practices of e-governmentin six countries in the Western Balkans – Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro,North Macedonia and Serbia. The cases of best practicehave been identified through an interactive researchprocess, and analyzed through a combined lensof eGovernment stage-models and core public values.The analysis shows how new digital government applicationsand innovations are designed and used innew democracies as part of new state building structures.The findings indicate a lack of new institutionalarrangements for digital government. Taken togetherit shows that the development of eGovernment in theWestern Balkans follows a path-dependence of otherstates, in spite of the opportunities for more innovativeand sustainable eGovernment by continuing the institutionalreformation.