Suchergebnisse

Selling Sex in World Cities, 1600s–2000s: An Introduction /Magaly Rodríguez García , Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk and Lex Heerma van Voss -- Urban Overviews -- Europe -- Selling Sex in Amsterdam /Marion Pluskota -- Selling Sex in a Provincial Town: Prostitution in Bruges /Maja Mechant -- Sex for Sale in Florence /Michela Turno -- A Global History of Prostitution: London /Julia Laite -- Prostitution in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia /Philippa Hetherington -- The Paradoxes and Contradictions of Prostitution in Paris /Susan P. Conner -- Prostitution in Stockholm: Continuity and Change /Yvonne Svanström -- Africa and the Middle East -- Prostitution in Cairo /Hanan Hammad and Francesca Biancani -- Colonial and Post-Colonial Casablanca /Liat Kozma -- Selling Sex in Istanbul /Mark David Wyers -- Sexualizing the City: Female Prostitution in Nigeria's Urban Centres in a Historical Perspective /Mfon Umoren Ekpootu -- Sex Work and Migration: The Case of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, 1918–2010 /Deborah Bernstein , Hila Shamir , Nomi Levenkron and Dlila Amir -- The Americas -- A Social History of Prostitution in Buenos Aires /Cristiana Schettini -- Prostitution in the us: Chicago /Mary Linehan -- Prostitution in Havana /Amalia L. Cabezas -- Facing a Double Standard: Prostitution in Mexico City, 1521–2006 /Fernanda Nuñez and Pamela Fuentes -- The Future of an Institution from the Past: Accommodating Regulationism in Potosí (Bolivia) from the Nineteenth to Twenty-first Centuries /Pascale Absi -- Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: Police Management without Regulation /Thaddeus Blanchette and Cristiana Schettini -- Section 4Asia-Pacific -- Commercial Sex Work in Calcutta: Past and Present /Satarupa Dasgupta -- Prostitution in Colonial Hanoi (1885–1954) /Isabelle Tracol-Huynh -- Prostitution in Shanghai /Sue Gronewold -- Selling Sex in Singapore: The Development, Expansion, and Policing of Prostitution in an International Entrepôt /Shawna Herzog -- Prostitution in Sydney and Perth since 1788 /Raelene Frances -- Thematic Overviews -- "We Use our Bodies to Work Hard, So We Need to Get Legitimate Workers' Rights"*: Labour Relations in Prostitution, 1600–2010 /Marion Pluskota -- Working and Living Conditions /Raelene Frances -- Migration and Prostitution1 /Nicole Keusch -- Prostitution and Colonial Relations /Liat Kozma -- Seeing Beyond Prostitution: Agency and the Organization of Sex Work /Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette -- Coercion and Voluntarism in Sex Work /Mark David Wyers -- A Gender Analysis of Global Sex Work /Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk -- The Social Profiles of Prostitutes /Maja Mechant -- Conclusion -- Sex Sold in World Cities, 1600s–2000s: Some Conclusions to the Project /Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk , Magaly Rodríguez García and Lex Heerma van Voss.

The Nagorno-Karabakh issue is well-studied in the schorarly literature. However, most works cover the dynamics of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict or genesis of a South Caucasus de facto state. This article is devoted to the consideration of the phenomenon of Nagorno-Karabakh for the nation-state project of post-Soviet Armenia, its domestic and foreign policy agenda. The author considers it in the two historical contexts: the genesis of the Armenian state during the last years of the Soviet Union and in the first years after its demise, as well as the current socio-political situation. The article explains why the factor of Nagorno-Karabakh, which became the trigger for the struggle of the late Soviet Armenians for "miatsum" (the unification of the former Armenian SSR and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijani SSR), has ceased to be a cementing element for the elite and society of today's Armenia. The Nagorno-Karabakh consensus, around which the authorities and the opposition, as well as civil society institutions united, becomes the past. The informal taboo on the discussion of the Nagorno-Karabakh status beyond any form of state integration with Armenia has been lifted. It has become one of the publicly discussed issues. The author analyses these transformations with the help of updated methodological tools, rejecting "geopolitical determinism" and linking the fundamental transformation in the Armenian current agenda not only with radical military changes on the "line of contact" between the two conflicting states of the South Caucasus but, above all, with the value and generational shift within Armenia. Addressing the theory of "paradigm shift" by T. Kuhn and the "method of generations" by J. Ortega y Gasset, he concludes that the current unprecedented concessions to Baku on the part of Yerevan are not only a manifestation of weakness, voluntarism and a foreign policy U-turn of the current Armenian leadership to the West. In many ways, they are determined by the transformation in the moods of the elites and society of Armenia throughout the entire post-Soviet period. This approach allows us to trace and explain how and why the Republic, constituting its statehood around the "Karabakh idea" in the process of national self-determination, took the path of revision of the original goal-setting.

This paper highlights a need to make a transition from a compulsory military service to voluntary-and-professional enlistment in line with the new way of state established by Constitution in 1991, whose cornerstone is the constitutional value and principle as a function of basic right of dignity of the human being. Faced with this view there are some countries having done this transition, evidencing that modern states don't require the compulsory military service since its abolition is not a detriment to security; otherwise, a professionalization of this job could result in a more effective defense and security.This paper also addresses a formula that could solve the defense and security issues of the Colombian state thanks to active military reserve members that, in the event of war, would supply the lack of youth forced.Finally, an analysis of the Constitutional Court rulings against the enforceability of this standard as well as ending this obligation from a conscientious objection and a legislature absence to rule this voluntarism despite the recommendation by the Constitutional Court. ; El presente artículo evidencia la necesidad de operar el tránsito de un servicio militar obligatorio a uno voluntario y profesional, en consonancia con la nueva forma de Estado instaurada a partir de la Constitución de 1991, cuyo fundamento es el respeto de la dignidad de la persona humana. Muestra cómo existen al respecto países que ya han realizado esta transición evidenciando que en los Estados modernos es innecesario el servicio militar obligatorio, ya que con la abolición de este no se menoscaba la defensa de su seguridad, mientras que con la profesionalización de dicho servicio, las labores de defensa y seguridad son más efectivas.El artículo refiere una fórmula con la cual puede solventarse la defensa y la seguridad del Estado colombiano a partir de las reservas activas, las cuales, en caso de guerra, suplirían la ausencia de los contingentes integrados por jóvenes obligados a prestar el servicio militar.Finalmente, se presenta un análisis de los pronunciamientos de la Corte Constitucional frente a la exequibilidad de la norma que establece el servicio militar como obligatorio, así como el primer asomo de la terminación de esta imposición a partir de la objeción de conciencia y la ausencia del legislador para regular esta voluntariedad, pese a la recomendación de dicha Corte

Anchored in a constructivist attitude, a theoretical foundation of public management and public organizations, this exploratory thesis in management sciences mobilizes the fields of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy in order to decipher French public policy of exemplarity in sustainable development and to analyze its effects on public organization and public management. The desire to observe exemplary rhetoric and to understand what it can mean for a public organization leads us to question its content: "What is exemplarity for a public organization - networked": Is it a Weber bureaucracy? Is this new public management? Is it an organizational transformation that tends towards an emerging public organization? We will see that, in reality, exemplarity leads to public organizations that do not always fit into a particular paradigm. They exist in the form of "hybrid" systems whose characteristics of the different bureaucratic, post-bureaucratic paradigms overlap and describe a mix between organizational knowledge and fragmented governance that is neither that of Weberian centralization, nor that offocusing on "managerial voluntarism", at the centre of the logic of the post-bureaucratic organizational model" (De Rozario, Pesqueux, 2018). ; Ancrée dans une attitude constructiviste, une fondation théorique du management public et des organisations publiques, cette thèse exploratoire en sciences de gestion mobilise les champs de la bureaucratie et de la post-bureaucratie afin de décrypter la politique publique française d'exemplarité en matière de développement durable et d'analyser ses effets sur l'organisation publique et le management public. La volonté d'observer les rhétoriques exemplaires et de comprendre ce qu'ils peuvent signifier pour une organisation publique amène à en questionner le contenu : « C'est quoi l'exemplarité pour une organisation publique - en réseau » : S'agit-il de bureaucratie wébérienne ? S'agit-il de nouvelle gestion publique ? S'agit-il d'une transformation organisationnelle qui tend vers une organisation publique émergente ? Nous constaterons qu'en réalité, l'exemplarité induit des organisations publiques qui ne s'inscrivent pas toujours dans un paradigme particulier. Elles existent sous la forme de systèmes « hybrides » dont les caractéristiques des différents paradigmesbureaucratiques, post-bureaucratiques se chevauchent et décrivent un mix entre des connaissances organisationnelles et une gouvernance éclatée qui n'est ni celle de la centralisation wébérienne, ni celle de la focalisation autour du « volontarisme managérial au centre de la logique du modèle d'organisation post-bureaucratique (De Rozario, Pesqueux, 2018).

The research is implemented through the pool of scientific methods including theoretical (studying branch literature for the theoretical basis of the research) and empirical ones (the analysis and generalization of creativity focusing on formation satirical humorous text formation; the method of observation) The typological method was used to study the thematic and problematic salnted publicaitons in "Perets" ("Pepper"). "Perets" magazine since its first issues went through the complex and controversial way of its formation which was caused with the need for constant balancing between the social and political situations of that days. The totalitarian system, the Second World War, Khrushchev era's voluntarism, the stagnant Brezhnev's period, and the "perestroyka" (the time of reorganization) did not prevent the magazine from taking the first rate among Ukrainian satirical editions. "Perets" marks a successful combination of graphic and text materials, which actively tested the artistic and journalistic genres as well as satirical genres. The leading graphic genre is a caricature with its diverse thematic focus (international, agricultural, social). It is for the first time that specific features of cooperation between documentary journalism and satire within the functioning concept of this satirical magazine "Perets". The results of the research can be used for further study of genre and theme and graphic components of the magazine for further development of the ideal model of the humorous and satirical edition. ; Проанализировано определение понятия публицистики, рассмотрены различные подходы украинских ученых относительно его толкования, общих и отличительных черт с собственно журналистикой. Определены пути взаимосвязи между сатирой и публицистикой, выяснены специфические особенности сатирической публицистики сквозь призму дефиниций исследователей, ее общее функциональное назначение, в том числе в контексте деятельности украинского сатирического журнала «Перець». Предоставлена краткая историческая справка о деятельности журнала, его авторах, функциональной и тематической направленности в разные периоды существования. ; Проаналізовано визначення поняття публіцистики, розглянуто різні підходи українських вчених до його тлумачення, спільних та відмінних рис із власне журналістикою. Визначено шляхи взаємозв'язку між сатирою й публіцистикою, з'ясовано специфічні особливості сатиричної публіцистики крізь призму дефініцій дослідників, її загальне функціональне призначення, зокрема в контексті діяльності українського сатиричного журналу «Перець». Надано стислу історичну довідку про діяльність часопису, його автуру, функціональну та тематичну спрямованість у різні періоди існування.

This paper highlights a need to make a transition from a compulsory military service to voluntary-and-professional enlistment in line with the new way of state established by Constitution in 1991, whose cornerstone is the constitutional value and principle as a function of basic right of dignity of the human being. Faced with this view there are some countries having done this transition, evidencing that modern states don't require the compulsory military service since its abolition is not a detriment to security; otherwise, a professionalization of this job could result in a more effective defense and security.This paper also addresses a formula that could solve the defense and security issues of the Colombian state thanks to active military reserve members that, in the event of war, would supply the lack of youth forced.Finally, an analysis of the Constitutional Court rulings against the enforceability of this standard as well as ending this obligation from a conscientious objection and a legislature absence to rule this voluntarism despite the recommendation by the Constitutional Court. ; El presente artículo evidencia la necesidad de operar el tránsito de un servicio militar obligatorio a uno voluntario y profesional, en consonancia con la nueva forma de Estado instaurada a partir de la Constitución de 1991, cuyo fundamento es el respeto de la dignidad de la persona humana. Muestra cómo existen al respecto países que ya han realizado esta transición evidenciando que en los Estados modernos es innecesario el servicio militar obligatorio, ya que con la abolición de este no se menoscaba la defensa de su seguridad, mientras que con la profesionalización de dicho servicio, las labores de defensa y seguridad son más efectivas.El artículo refiere una fórmula con la cual puede solventarse la defensa y la seguridad del Estado colombiano a partir de las reservas activas, las cuales, en caso de guerra, suplirían la ausencia de los contingentes integrados por jóvenes obligados a prestar el servicio militar.Finalmente, se presenta un análisis de los pronunciamientos de la Corte Constitucional frente a la exequibilidad de la norma que establece el servicio militar como obligatorio, así como el primer asomo de la terminación de esta imposición a partir de la objeción de conciencia y la ausencia del legislador para regular esta voluntariedad, pese a la recomendación de dicha Corte

Maternal mortality in low and middle income countries (LMICs) continues to remain high. The Ugandan Ministry of Health's Strategic Plan suggests that little, if any, progress has been made in Uganda in terms of improvements in Maternal Health (Millennium Development Goal 5) and, more specifically, in reducing maternal mortality (MOH, 2010:43). Furthermore, the UNDP report on the MDGs describes Uganda's progress as 'stagnant' (2013: iii). The importance of understanding the impact of delays on maternal and neonatal outcomes in low resource settings has been established for some time. Indeed, the '3-delays' model has exposed the need for holistic multi-disciplinary approaches focused on systems change as much as clinical input. The model exposes the contribution of social factors shaping individual agency and care seeking behaviour. It also identifies complex access issues which, when combined with the lack of timely and adequate care at referral facilities, contributes to extensive and damaging delays. It would be hard to find a piece of research on this topic that does not reference human resource factors or 'staff shortages' as a key component of this 'puzzle'. Having said that, it is rare indeed to see these human resource factors explored in any detail. In the absence of detailed critique (implicit) 'common sense' presumptions prevail: namely that the economic conditions at national level lead to inadequacies in the supply of suitably qualified health professionals exacerbated by losses to international emigration. Eight years' experience of action-research interventions in Uganda combining a range of methods have lead us to a rather stark conclusion: the single most important factor contributing to delays and associated adverse outcomes for mothers and babies in Uganda is the failure of doctors to be present at work during contracted hours. Failure to acknowledge and respond to this sensitive problem will ultimately undermine all other interventions including professional voluntarism which relies on local 'co-presence' to be effective (author ref, 2014). Important steps forward could be achieved within the current resource framework, if the political will existed. International NGOS have exacerbated this problem encouraging forms of internal 'brain drain' particularly among doctors. Arguably the system as it is rewards doctors for non-compliance resulting in massive resource inefficiencies.

Законность это система требований и принципов, обеспечивающих выявление основополагающих правовых ценностей в законах и соответствующих им иных нормативно-правовых актах и их реализацию в фактическом поведении всех участников общественных отношений. Основными структурными элементами законности являются: требования законности, принципы законности, механизм реализации требований и принципов законности. ; Legality is a system of requirements and principles, which guarantee implementation of fundamental legal values in relevant laws and other legal norms, its realization in actual behavior of all participants of social relations. The main structural elements of the legality are the requirements of legality, the principles of legality, the mechanism for the implementation of the requirements and principles of legality. The requirements of legality are correspondence of legislation to real needs of social relations; implementation of will and interests of the majority of subjects in laws; the compliance of laws and other legal acts to the natural law and moral principles; legislative recognition of the inalienability of fundamental rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen; the rule of law in the system of legislation; strict observance of competence and procedure of passing laws and legal acts; the requirement of strict and constant law observance and obeyance of laws by all subjects of law; existence of a control and oversight system over strict and constant law observance and obeyance of laws by all legal subjects, including the state, its departments and officials. The principles of legality are strict observance of the hierarchy in the system of legal acts, unity of the legality, reasonability of the legality, inadmissibility of the opposition of law and justice, universality of the legality. The mechanism for implementation of the requirements and principles of legality includes: the system of state authority, allowing to enact laws appropriate to the needs of legal regulation of social relations, to create methods and facilities to identify such needs, excluding negative effects such as voluntarism and subjectivism in lawmaking, the lag of law from the changing needs of society, hindering social progress; the mechanism of identification of inefficient legal norms, scientific analysis of new social relations, comprehensive scientific prediction of possible consequences of new laws; mechanism of legal education.

У другій частині статті аналізуються спроби наукового освоєння радянськими спеціалістами гуманітарної галузі раднаргоспівської реформи, які здійснювалися протягом другого (середина 1960-х - середина 1980-х рр.) та третього (друга половина 1980-х - початок 1990-х рр.) історіографічних періодів. Автор обґрунтовує, що в другий період наукові знання про характер переходу від галузевого принципу керівництва промисловістю до територіальної системи управління нівелювалися сприйняттям перетворення в дусі тогочасних партійних настанов як прояв волюнтаризму. Починаючи з третього періоду, хрущовська новація в народному господарстві була осмислена як цілковито адміністративна. ; Во второй части статьи анализируются попытки научного освоения советскими специалистами гуманитарной области советской народно-хозяйственной реформы, которые осуществлялись в течение второго (середина 1960-х - середина 1980-х гг.) и третьего (вторая половина 1980-х - начало 1990-х гг.) историографических периодов. Автор обосновывает, что во второй период научные знания о характере перехода от отраслевого принципа руководства промышленностью к территориальной системе управления нивелировались восприятием преобразования в духе тогдашних партийных установок как проявление волюнтаризма. Начиная с третьего периода, хрущевская новация в народном хозяйстве была осмыслена как полностью административная. ; At the time of the next period, after M. Khrushchev's demise, the scientific knowledge of the industrial management carried out by the Regional Economic Council was leveled by considering the reform to be a manifestation of voluntarism. Besides, the research was all linked to enumeration of the positive and the negative features of the reform. Among the positive features were promoting the local resources and reserves, finding solutions to a number of issues concerned with integrated development of the economic regions, etc. The negative ones were weakening the role of the centralized government in managing the economy, "craze for meeting one's local interests only", creating obstacles to the process of introducing various technological innovations, an increase in the number of local government officials, etc. Besides, mistakes made in the course of the reform badly affected the quality thereof.At the time of the third historiographical period, at the time of reformation, the scientists underlined its administrative character and incompetence in terms of the main indices of production relations. In considering the reform carried out in the regional industrial management system, the researchers saw M. Khrushchev's desire to obtain the local government's support for the purpose of weakening the ministries' role as well as his desire to find solutions to the economic problems.

Впродовж ХХ ст. політична й ідеологічна ситуація не сприяла розвитку слов'янської філософії. Польський філософ С. Єдинак є одним з небагатьох сучасних філософів, наукове зацікавлення якого лежить у сфері філософії слов'янського світу. Його монографія «Філософія країн Центрально-Східної Європи» присвячена філософії слов'янського космізму, малознаним сторінкам східноєвропейської філософії, зокрема, української, російської, чеської, австрійської тощо. ; Political flexibility, fashion and economization of society,which were dominating in the 20th century and keep onprevailing today, have generated seemingly invincibledominating of traditional Western approach to philosophy.Polish philosopher S. Jedynak is one of the few modernphilosophers, and his scientific interests lie in the sphere of theSlavonic world.The purpose of the research is to provide critical analysisof the Polish philosopher S. Jedynak's views of the Slavonicphilosophy, represented in the monograph «Philosophy of theCentral Eastern Europe countries». The article outlines theauthor's recession to the Slavonic philosophy, points out its mainfeatures, describes the peculiarities of the author's approach tothe Slavonic philosophy.The methodology of the study is based on the historicalphilosophicand critical analysis of the Slavonic philosophy.His monograph «Philosophy of the Central Eastern Europecountries» is dedicated to the philosophy of Slavonic cosmism(K. Tsiolkovsky, N. Fedorov, V. Vernadsky, V. Muravyev et al.),the little known pages of the Eastern European philosophy,including those of Ukraine (D. Chyzhevskyy, M. Shlemkevych,M. Shapoval), Russia (G. Shpet), Czech, Austria, etc.The Slavonic anarchism and cosmism, voluntarism andextreme individualism of the rational being have traditionallybecome an integral part of the modern Western philosophy.Modern discussion about the essence of the human free will,which is vividly flowing in the philosophic environment, is anillustrative example of the importance of the Slavonic philosophy.The book «Philosophy of the Central Eastern Europecountries» reveals many new names, which were forgotten andlost in time. The author uses original methodology of aspectapproach, arranging the important accents. It allows thoughtfulreader to discover unlimited and original world of the Slavonicphilosophy, which is so much unknown. Such approach gives anopportunity to highlight an incredibly wide circle of philosophicproblems in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe ina relatively small volume ; На протяжении ХХ ст. политическая и идеологическаяситуация не способствовала развитию славянскойфилософии. Польский философ С. Едынак является однимиз немногих современных философов, научный интерескоторого лежит в сфере философии славянского мира. Егомонография «Философия стран Центрально-ВосточнойЕвропы» посвящена философии славянского космизма,малоизвестным страницам восточноевропейскойфилософии, в т. ч. украинской, русской, чешской,австрийской и др

This paper is largely historical in that it reflects on the reasons why the British system of industrial relations was transformed from a system rooted in voluntarism or legal abstentionism to one which became increasingly juridified from the 1960s onwards. Juridification can be understood as a combination of judicial intervention in the arena of industrial conflict and the enactment of substantial legislation in areas previously left to employment contracts between employers and their employees and to non-legally enforceable collective agreements between employers and trade unions. The paper also involves critical reflection on Kahn Freund's conception of collective laissez-faire. It is argued that the concept of collective laissez-faire failed fully to take into account the role that judges have played in the British system of industrial relations. Judges have been able to use the common law to intervene in or disengage from involvement with industrial relations in line with the needs of employers and the state to foster responsible trade unionism whilst simultaneously seeking to restrain trade union militancy. To substantiate this contention the paper focuses on the language used by judges, in the past and in more recent times, in judgments concerned with regulating the organisation of industrial action. In Britain, juridification on the part of the judges has been accompanied and implemented by what can be characterised as a process of judicial mystification of industrial relations. The other main contention of the paper is that, whatever the deregulatory preferences and instincts of the current government, it is not possible for governments to turn back the clock by creating a new form of laissez-faire which eliminates employment rights – be they individual or collective – from the workplace. This is partly because the juridification of workplace conflict must remain the State's preferred mechanism for the resolution of employment disputes; and partly because, in contrast with the past, European law provides an important constraint on a government's ability to deregulate the employment relation. The paper concludes by arguing that the key role for progressive employment lawyers today is to demonstrate the negative consequences of restricting employment rights whilst continuing to promote the case for more extensive and effective collective and individual rights in the future.

Partisan activity has been the main and the most important mode of institutionalized political participation (in addition to electoral participation) in the modern democracy. Even though mass party membership is a distinct feature of modern political system (although not necessarily democratic), since 1960-ies the decline of party membership is observed in many democratic countries. Lithuania is a typical example of post-communist region, where party membership is regarded as a specific elitist activity rather than an ordinary practice of political involvement. In the article, the attitudes of Lithuanians towards party membership are analyzed to answer the question if and why people are not keen to join political parties. Public attitudes are explored using the data of a representative public opinion survey carried out in 2005 and qualitative data of in-depth interviews with ordinary people collected in 2008. Using a mixed method research strategy, the article analyses the image of political parties in Lithuania, determines the potential of party membership and investigates the dominant reasons of avoiding partisan activity. In the first part of the article, the theories explaining partisan activity are presented. In addition to Civic voluntarism model and General incentives theory used by Paul Whiteley and Patrick Seyd to explain partisan activity, the broader theories explaining changes of political culture and transformation of party models are discussed. Moreover, the theoretical arguments for the exceptionalism of post-communist societies are presented. In the second part of the article, the analysis of the qualitative data is presented. The exploration of public attitudes reveals that partisan activity can be perceived in several different ways: as a specific occupation, as a civic self-expression, as belonging to power elite, as a privilege, as dependence, and as partiality. Summing up, the analysis of Lithuanian case suggests that low party membership in post-communist countries might be explained by low demand rather than low supply. In other words, we should look for the explanation of low enrolment in the process of recruitment of party members rather than in the attitudes of people. The research do not provide any evidence for a popular theory of "communist legacy" claiming that a "bad" image of parties inherited from communist regime accounts for the low party membership in post-communist societies. On the contrary, the data demonstrate rather positive attitudes towards partisan activity among Lithuanian population.

Partisan activity has been the main and the most important mode of institutionalized political participation (in addition to electoral participation) in the modern democracy. Even though mass party membership is a distinct feature of modern political system (although not necessarily democratic), since 1960-ies the decline of party membership is observed in many democratic countries. Lithuania is a typical example of post-communist region, where party membership is regarded as a specific elitist activity rather than an ordinary practice of political involvement. In the article, the attitudes of Lithuanians towards party membership are analyzed to answer the question if and why people are not keen to join political parties. Public attitudes are explored using the data of a representative public opinion survey carried out in 2005 and qualitative data of in-depth interviews with ordinary people collected in 2008. Using a mixed method research strategy, the article analyses the image of political parties in Lithuania, determines the potential of party membership and investigates the dominant reasons of avoiding partisan activity. In the first part of the article, the theories explaining partisan activity are presented. In addition to Civic voluntarism model and General incentives theory used by Paul Whiteley and Patrick Seyd to explain partisan activity, the broader theories explaining changes of political culture and transformation of party models are discussed. Moreover, the theoretical arguments for the exceptionalism of post-communist societies are presented. In the second part of the article, the analysis of the qualitative data is presented. The exploration of public attitudes reveals that partisan activity can be perceived in several different ways: as a specific occupation, as a civic self-expression, as belonging to power elite, as a privilege, as dependence, and as partiality. Summing up, the analysis of Lithuanian case suggests that low party membership in post-communist countries might be explained by low demand rather than low supply. In other words, we should look for the explanation of low enrolment in the process of recruitment of party members rather than in the attitudes of people. The research do not provide any evidence for a popular theory of "communist legacy" claiming that a "bad" image of parties inherited from communist regime accounts for the low party membership in post-communist societies. On the contrary, the data demonstrate rather positive attitudes towards partisan activity among Lithuanian population.

Partisan activity has been the main and the most important mode of institutionalized political participation (in addition to electoral participation) in the modern democracy. Even though mass party membership is a distinct feature of modern political system (although not necessarily democratic), since 1960-ies the decline of party membership is observed in many democratic countries. Lithuania is a typical example of post-communist region, where party membership is regarded as a specific elitist activity rather than an ordinary practice of political involvement. In the article, the attitudes of Lithuanians towards party membership are analyzed to answer the question if and why people are not keen to join political parties. Public attitudes are explored using the data of a representative public opinion survey carried out in 2005 and qualitative data of in-depth interviews with ordinary people collected in 2008. Using a mixed method research strategy, the article analyses the image of political parties in Lithuania, determines the potential of party membership and investigates the dominant reasons of avoiding partisan activity. In the first part of the article, the theories explaining partisan activity are presented. In addition to Civic voluntarism model and General incentives theory used by Paul Whiteley and Patrick Seyd to explain partisan activity, the broader theories explaining changes of political culture and transformation of party models are discussed. Moreover, the theoretical arguments for the exceptionalism of post-communist societies are presented. In the second part of the article, the analysis of the qualitative data is presented. The exploration of public attitudes reveals that partisan activity can be perceived in several different ways: as a specific occupation, as a civic self-expression, as belonging to power elite, as a privilege, as dependence, and as partiality. Summing up, the analysis of Lithuanian case suggests that low party membership in post-communist countries might be explained by low demand rather than low supply. In other words, we should look for the explanation of low enrolment in the process of recruitment of party members rather than in the attitudes of people. The research do not provide any evidence for a popular theory of "communist legacy" claiming that a "bad" image of parties inherited from communist regime accounts for the low party membership in post-communist societies. On the contrary, the data demonstrate rather positive attitudes towards partisan activity among Lithuanian population.

Partisan activity has been the main and the most important mode of institutionalized political participation (in addition to electoral participation) in the modern democracy. Even though mass party membership is a distinct feature of modern political system (although not necessarily democratic), since 1960-ies the decline of party membership is observed in many democratic countries. Lithuania is a typical example of post-communist region, where party membership is regarded as a specific elitist activity rather than an ordinary practice of political involvement. In the article, the attitudes of Lithuanians towards party membership are analyzed to answer the question if and why people are not keen to join political parties. Public attitudes are explored using the data of a representative public opinion survey carried out in 2005 and qualitative data of in-depth interviews with ordinary people collected in 2008. Using a mixed method research strategy, the article analyses the image of political parties in Lithuania, determines the potential of party membership and investigates the dominant reasons of avoiding partisan activity. In the first part of the article, the theories explaining partisan activity are presented. In addition to Civic voluntarism model and General incentives theory used by Paul Whiteley and Patrick Seyd to explain partisan activity, the broader theories explaining changes of political culture and transformation of party models are discussed. Moreover, the theoretical arguments for the exceptionalism of post-communist societies are presented. In the second part of the article, the analysis of the qualitative data is presented. The exploration of public attitudes reveals that partisan activity can be perceived in several different ways: as a specific occupation, as a civic self-expression, as belonging to power elite, as a privilege, as dependence, and as partiality. Summing up, the analysis of Lithuanian case suggests that low party membership in post-communist countries might be explained by low demand rather than low supply. In other words, we should look for the explanation of low enrolment in the process of recruitment of party members rather than in the attitudes of people. The research do not provide any evidence for a popular theory of "communist legacy" claiming that a "bad" image of parties inherited from communist regime accounts for the low party membership in post-communist societies. On the contrary, the data demonstrate rather positive attitudes towards partisan activity among Lithuanian population.