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The article presents economic voting theory and its application to the study of electoral behaviour in four Central European countries. The theoretical part describes the reward-punishment model of economic voting and its predictions for electoral behaviour in countries with coalition governance and in internationally open economies during the global economic crisis. The analytical part investigates the existence and features of economic voting (as a P-function) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Hypotheses about the existence of economic voting in these countries, the higher economic accountability of more responsible coalition partners, and the lower level of economic voting under the perceived influence of the EU on the domestic economy are tested using OLS and binary logistic analysis of European Election Study data (2004 and 2009). As the results show, economic voting was only detected in Hungary (2004 and 2009) and Slovakia (2004). The analysis indicates that, in general, almost all Prime ministers' parties bear a greater degree of economic accountability; meanwhile, perceptions of EU economic responsibility had no influence on the popularity of government parties in 2009. ; The article presents economic voting theory and its application to the study of electoral behaviour in four Central European countries. The theoretical part describes the reward-punishment model of economic voting and its predictions for electoral behaviour in countries with coalition governance and in internationally open economies during the global economic crisis. The analytical part investigates the existence and features of economic voting (as a P-function) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Hypotheses about the existence of economic voting in these countries, the higher economic accountability of more responsible coalition partners, and the lower level of economic voting under the perceived influence of the EU on the domestic economy are tested using OLS and binary logistic analysis of European ...

The project of world trade liberalization undertaken by the WTO is subject to heavy criticism from many different international actors. This paper suggests a way to analyze a problem of many widely differing subjects opposing a complex, ambitious & far-reaching project. First the conflict over the trade liberalization project is introduced, the most relevant subjects of international politics identified & selected subjects' most relevant interests & goals are discussed. The analysis then focuses on the common belief that the main divide over the trade liberalization project lies between WTO officials, developed countries, their pressure groups & multinational corporations on one side, & nongovernmental organizations & developing countries' representatives on the other. This hypothesis is tested according to definitions of stakeholders' interests, & a subsequent prediction of likely coalitions on each key issue. Finally, an alternative division is suggested. Adapted from the source document.

The purpose of this contribution is to: map out the development of the EU's approaches to management of economic migration, to explain causes of slow Europeanization in this policy area & to outline future perspectives. The text describes: (1) the establishment of an asymmetric constitutional framework for EU migration policies, with unfinished communitarization in the field of legal migration, (2) the development of policies for managing economic migration in 1993-2006, & (3) current debates launched by the Commission in 2005. Finally (4), the author outlines the causes of the current situation. Despite the limitations, she predicts the further europeanisation of economic migration policies. The main reasons for this prediction are the continued trend towards a piecemeal adoption of specific measures to regulate economic migration, the links of economic migration policies to more dynamic segments of migration policies & the need for a global approach to migration in the EU's external policies. The likely scenario is subsidiary & selective EU intervention. References. Adapted from the source document.

The first part of the text describes the development of contacts between various pacifist and green initiatives in Western Europe on one side, and part of Czech dissent on the other. It explains the factors that led -- despite early euphoria and the affinity of some West-European and Czech ecological politicians -- to the gradual cooling of relations between European and Czech Greens. The next part is dedicated to the role of some West-European Greens in the "dark-green" revolution in the Czech Green Party from 200203, their eventual disappointment, as well as the influence of intra-party conflict in the Czech Green Party concerning the structure of the European Greens. The subsequent section is a description and explanation of the direct interference by some European green politicians in conflict within the Czech Green Party, involving Milan Horacek, Petr Uhl and Ivan Dejmal on one side and Jakub Patocka and Jan Beranek on the other. The text also deals with the activities of Milan Horacek -- the first Czech deputy from the (German) Greens, as well as relations between the youth sections of the European and Czech Greens. The article concludes with a prediction of future relations between Bursik's Czech Green Party and Patocka's Czech Green Party on one side, and European Greens on the other. Adapted from the source document.

The referendum on the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union was the first -- & thus far the only -- national referendum in the history of both the Czech Republic & Czechoslovakia. Although it was obvious that the majority of the Czech population was in favor of joining the European Union, sociologists could not predict the turnout. The polls had shown that at least 70 percent of the population would vote "Yes." However, as there had been no referendum in the country's history before, there were fears of voter apathy. There was no experience concerning the difference between public opinion polls & the actual results. Regardless of these factors, TNS Factum offered a very accurate prediction of voter turnout & of support for accession. The voting pattern in the actual referendum was firmly correlated with & similar to the voting behavior in the 2002 parliamentary elections. A study on electoral data showed a strong correlation between the support for Koalice (Coalition of liberals & Christian democrats) in the 2002 general election & the pro-EU voles in the 2003 referendum. The Czech referendum was not an exception compared to developments in other post-communist states. Nevertheless, there is a clear difference between east European referenda & past EU referenda in Western Europe. The latter were characterized by higher voter turnout & by relatively less enthusiasm concerning EU accession. In this respect, the post-communist referenda were the inverse. They displayed low voter turnout & high support for accession; hence, they demonstrate the differing perceptions of the east European populations & their western counterparts. 8 Tables, 7 Graphs, 14 References. Adapted from the source document.