Suchergebnisse

The eastward enlargement of the Euro area entails significant implications for the accession candidates in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the existing Euro system and the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). The present analysis assesses the challenges and critical aspects in monetary policy modeling with special emphasis to enlargement. The focus is on the difficulty of implementing a unique currency policy in view or growing heterogeneity within the enlarged monetary union, and secondly - the issue of the voting mechanism within the ECB. When analyzing those two issues, it is conclusive that the difficulties for the ECB and the current Euro zone members will increase. For the enlarged Euro zone, which is becoming more divergent, it will be very hard to find adequate recipes to meet the needs and requirements of all. The big question is: whether centralization of monetary policy is a sustainable and superior solution?.

AbstractThe Rule of Law is a necessary condition for economic, social and political development in countries undergoing transition from authoritarianism to democracy. The Rule of Law requires an independent judiciary, one that is impartial and insular. In Eastern Europe democratic transition has produced two models of judicial administration: judicial self‐management and the executive model. Romania is a case of the former, the Czech Republic an instance of the latter. Comparison of the two cases suggests that while political developments are important to the preservation of judicial independence, the consolidation of democracy and the organisation of the judiciary are in a reciprocal relationship. The organisation of the judiciary is necessary for the legislative transparency and oversight of the executive branch which in turn guards against the politicisation of judicial management, with its adverse consequences for the independence of the judiciary and ultimately the Rule of Law. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article examines whether commercial openness has affected environmental policy in the postcommunist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. During the Cold War, these countries had closed trade regimes combined with little environmental regulation and poor environmental quality. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union, many postcommunist countries have engaged in extensive trade liberalization. Some countries, however, have been slower to open their markets, and others have maintained highly protectionist trade policies. Have countries that opened up to global markets improved their environmental policies, or has increasing exposure to the international trading system undermined efforts to improve environmental policy? The results indicate that trade openness undermined a key element of environmental policy in the region by reducing governments' ability to collect environmental taxes and support environmental investments.

We examine the impact of minority governments on the choice of exchange rate regime in advanced OECD democracies after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. We demonstrate that leaders of minority governments had a lower political discount factor in office than majority governments across advanced OECD democracies and use that finding to motivate a model. The model predicts that leaders of minority governments had strong incentives to switch from a fixed to a floating exchange rate because of a lower discount factor in office. Results from Markov transition models estimated on de facto exchange rates adopted by OECD and West European OECD countries between 1975 and 1999 provide robust statistical support for the model's prediction. We also briefly discuss how the findings presented in this paper have important implications for understanding the likelihood of expansion of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) to new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe in the near future.

This work sheds light on British official and unofficial responses to the 'Djilas affair' in its early stages. The analysis is centred around two letters written in April 1956 - by Milovan Djilas to Morgan Phillips, the Labour Party Secretary, and a letter Phillips wrote to the Yugoslav President Tito, expressing his concern for Djilas' predicament. The article contributes to a better understanding of the Djilas affair in several ways. Djilas' letter offers a good insight into both his character and the predicament in which he found himself 2 years after the conflict with the Yugoslav leadership began and only 7 months before he was first arrested. Phillips' action reveals that some leading members of the Labour Party were prepared to act on Djilas' behalf. The governing Conservative Party, on the other hand, was more concerned with keeping good relations with Belgrade than with the destiny of the first significant dissident in Eastern Europe

This paper aims at diagnosing change in policy culture in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Lithuania, focusing on the field of environmental policy. The article analyzes public participation in the Soviet period, the years of break down of the Soviet system, and contrasts it with social change during the years of transition to a market economy and democratization of society. Based on interviews with relevant actors, secondary data analysis, and discourse analysis, this paper illuminates the shift of public involvement in environmental science and technology policy to a different mode. This shift, or dialectics of policy culture, is epitomized by a changing mode of citizen participation – from latent forms and "double faced" culture in the Soviet times towards euphoria about civic democratic governance and direct participation during the years of "Singing revolution", and towards another round of colonization of public policy by the bureaucratic domain and the private sector during the 1990s.

This paper studies the dynamics of public policies in Eastern Europe after 1989 and questions the validity of the notions of Europeanization and institutional transfer. It highlights the importance of taking different approaches according to economic sectors and the need to take domestic situations into account. ; Este artículo estudia la dinámica de las políticas públicas de los países de Europa del Este después de 1989 y se pregunta sobre la validez de los conceptos de europeización y transferencia institucional. Destaca la importancia de un enfoque diferenciado por sectores económicos así como la necesidad de tener en cuenta las situaciones en el contexto nacional. ; Cet article étudie la dynamique des politiques publiques des pays de l'Europe de l'Est après 1989 et s'interroge sur la validité des notions d'européanisation et de transfert institutionnel. Il souligne l'importance d'une approche différenciée par secteurs économiques ainsi que la nécessité de prendre en compte les situations domestiques.

"This chapter examines the effects of the EU accession process on privatization in the steel sector of the four largest producers in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia. While the outcome to date in these countries is relatively uniform in that their largest steelworks have been integrated into global production chains, becoming subsidiaries of some of the largest multinational steel producers, the pressures, which led to this outcome were far from uniform. The chapter argues that the EU pressures are complemented by globalization pressures, both bottom-up/ market and top-down/ institutional, in bringing about convergence in the type of ownership. Dominant external pressure, however, is mediated by existing state capacity and domestic politics. Thus, the chapter attempts to bridge the gap between the transition and Europeanization literatures, showing how domestic considerations mediate EU influence while also noting the effects of external coercion on domestic context." (author's abstract)

This article analyzes patterns of economic coordination in Estonia and Slovenia, two postsocialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, by using the varieties of capitalism (VOC) framework. The article argues that Estonia and Slovenia are very good examples of liberal and coordinated market economies. Market-based coordination of economic relations predominates in Estonia, whereas Slovenia has highly institutionalized coordination. Industrial relations and wage bargaining arrangements are the main focus, but other areas studied by the VOC literature are briefly considered as well. The article also accounts for the origins of these arrangements by examining the interaction of two sets of factors: economic organization and industrial relations under the old system, on one hand, and strategic policy choices, especially the effects of privatization and monetary policy on formalizing coordination, on the other. The article considers some general implications of this analysis for studying successful postsocialist transition and comparative capitalism.

The paper analyzes the religiosity in Croatia from the point of significant differences among its regions demonstrating an array of theoretical and methodological difficulties in interpreting religious changes in post-communism, particularly the revitalization of religion in some countries and contradict social role of religion in most countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Differences in religiosity of Croatian regions are connected to borders with countries of different religions, nations and/or languages and with the historical as well as recent social processes. Apart from the dominant paradigms of explanation (differences in historical processes and the trend of politicization of religion and " religization" of politics in the transitional period) the paper suggests that the possible influence of politicization must be regarded in much longer historical period, that different patterns of socio-religious development have long-lasting consequences and that the role of religion as cultural resource for individuals and social groups must not be neglected.

This paper studies the dynamics of public policies in Eastern Europe after 1989 and questions the validity of the notions of Europeanization and institutional transfer. It highlights the importance of taking different approaches according to economic sectors and the need to take domestic situations into account. ; Este artículo estudia la dinámica de las políticas públicas de los países de Europa del Este después de 1989 y se pregunta sobre la validez de los conceptos de europeización y transferencia institucional. Destaca la importancia de un enfoque diferenciado por sectores económicos así como la necesidad de tener en cuenta las situaciones en el contexto nacional. ; Cet article étudie la dynamique des politiques publiques des pays de l'Europe de l'Est après 1989 et s'interroge sur la validité des notions d'européanisation et de transfert institutionnel. Il souligne l'importance d'une approche différenciée par secteurs économiques ainsi que la nécessité de prendre en compte les situations domestiques.

The Turkish economy has traditionally been characterized by high volatility with periods of significant growth followed inevitably by deep recessions. This volatility has been essentially due to a problem of political governance. The last crisis of 2001 provided the necessary impetus for reforming governance structures. The economy responded positively & Turkey has entered a period of sustained growth. In the long term, economic growth in Turkey will be fueled by the openness of the economy, positive demographic factors & productivity levels which compare favorably with the countries of Central & Eastern Europe. The main challenge will, however, be one of structural transformation addressing the dual structure of the economy & reducing the weight of agriculture. The role of the EU will be essential as an anchor helping to consolidate the reforms & to pave the way for a sustainable & high growth pattern. The EU will also benefit from a Turkey that has become a regional engine of growth. Adapted from the source document.

This paper describes the development of opposition groups in Eritrea in recent years. In January 2002, the EPLF Democratic Party was formed as a result of a purge the previous year by President Isaias Afeworki who arrested eleven of his closet advisors & closed all independent newspapers. Since then the party has changed its name to the Eritrean Democratic Party. Although the opposition remains fragmented, meetings have been held in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, & the US. In January 2005 a meeting was held in Khartoum. It was decided at this meeting to form a united opposition grouping called the Eritrean Democratic Alliance. A second meeting was held in February 2005 in which a nine-strong leadership group was elected. A central issue for the opposition party is relations with the government in Ethiopia. In December 2004, however, members of the Eritrean National Alliance met with the Ethiopian prime minister. The paper concludes with a list of the Eritrean opposition groups. References. R. Prince