Search results

This article studies contacts between interest groups and political parties. Existing research suggests that times of close and formal cooperation between parties and groups in Western Europe are over as the contacts have become more pragmatic and sometimes spontaneous. Studies usually point to ideological proximity and resource exchange as the main factors behind contacts, however, focusing mainly on parties' power and ideological position. Here, by drawing on data from Poland, Slovenia, and Lithuania, we focus on young democracies from Eastern Europe by taking into account interest groups' resources, their typology, and the system of interest groups' representation. The article shows that financial resources are the main factor behind seeking contacts with the large number of political parties.

The article attempts to define and determine the intangible components of cultural heritage related to the spatial structure of land in a comprehensive way using computational methods. The components were quantified and a method of empirical evaluation of landscape durability was proposed for agricultural areas of significant cultural and historical value with an evident mosaic structure of fields, baulks, ponds, meadows, and forests. This method allows us to identify places more resistant to political transformation and those with greater cultural potential. The paper proposed an integrated approach to the measuring of the degree of preservation of spatial arrangements in the landscape based on a set of objects that describe the spatial land structure. The article classifies areas by the degree of preservation of rural spatial arrangements of land. The spatial analysis employed facilitated a synthetic quantification of the multi-criteria process. Three groups of factors were used: spatial assessment of land-cover type persistence (u), agricultural land structure persistence (w), and persistence of settlement buildings (z). The final results pinpointed areas in need of strategic intervention to sufficiently protect the rural cultural heritage, properly consider them in zoning planning, and ensure their sustainable development. The proposed tool can be used to monitor the degree of changes in the landscape layout structure when multiple time points are analysed as well.

In line with expectations EU membership has only a limited impact on party politics in the new Member States of central and eastern Europe (CEE); even the economic crisis has not altered this level of impact. An examination of party positioning, party appeals and party competition indicates the EU plays the role of a boundary keeper, a reference point and a weapon to be invoked in domestic competition, particularly to lambast opponents for their incompetence, especially when it comes to the ability to access and manage EU funds. Underlying parties' stances on European integration are the deep-rooted vulnerabilities which help explain why the CEE states recognize the necessity of co-operation and a pooling of sovereignty at the European level. Adapted from the source document.

In the past three decades, radical right parties had the opportunity to directly influence political developments from the highest public office in many post-communist Central and Eastern European countries. Oliver Kossack provides the first comprehensive study on government formation with radical right parties in these countries. Even after the turn of the millennium, some distinct features of the post-communist context persist, such as coalitions between radical right and centre-left parties. In addition to original empirical insights, the time-sensitive approach of this study also advances the discussion about concepts and methodological approaches within the discipline

In the past three decades, radical right parties had the opportunity to directly influence political developments from the highest public office in many post-communist Central and Eastern European countries. Oliver Kossack provides the first comprehensive study on government formation with radical right parties in this region. Even after the turn of the millennium, some distinct features of the post-communist context persist, such as coalitions between radical right and centre-left parties. In addition to original empirical insights, the time-sensitive approach of this study also advances the discussion about concepts and methodological approaches within the discipline.