Suchergebnisse

ABSTRACT**:  Government policymakers need to be accountable to citizens, but much government policymaking occurs in ministries that are imperfectly monitored and controlled by the popularly elected legislature. There are good reasons for such delegation, grounded in the expertise of officials and the scarce time of legislators, but the affirmative justifications for delegation do not vitiate the need for public officials to consult with the public and with organized civil society advocacy groups. This article argues that the new democracies of Central Europe have underemphasized this consultative aspect of the transition to democracy. To illustrate, it concentrates on the case of environmental policymaking in Hungary, one of the more advanced democracies in the region. A handful of voluntary civil society organizations play an important role, but the relative weakness of the organizational landscape and of the groups' legal rights to participate in policymaking limit their impact. The article proposes ways to strengthen the role of civil society advocacy groups in emerging democracies.

The new European Union member states in Eastern Europe do not have fully consolidated democracies. True, popularly elected legislatures are responsible for lawmaking, and citizens can challenge the case-by-case implementation of the law. But most statutes are not self-implementing. Before they can be put into effect, governments need to issue general regulations and guidelines that add specificity to the statutory scheme. At present, this type of government policy making often is not democratically accountable. Procedures inside government lack transparency and accountability, and organized civil society groups that are engaged in advocacy and oversight are few in number and often weakly institutionalized. The Central European experience has lessons for countries further to the east that are poorer and less democratic. Here, full-fledged public participation in the government rule making may not be feasible, but other aspects of the transition to democracy in Central Europe may provide relevant models—for instance, external pressure, government oversight institutions, and grassroots democracy.

The new European Union member states in Eastern Europe do not have fully consolidated democracies. True, popularly elected legislatures are responsible for lawmaking, & citizens can challenge the case-by-case implementation of the law. But most statutes are not self-implementing. Before they can be put into effect, governments need to issue general regulations & guidelines that add specificity to the statutory scheme. At present, this type of government policy making often is not democratically accountable. Procedures inside government lack transparency & accountability, & organized civil society groups that are engaged in advocacy & oversight are few in number & often weakly institutionalized. The Central European experience has lessons for countries further to the east that are poorer & less democratic. Here, full-fledged public participation in the government rule making may not be feasible, but other aspects of the transition to democracy in Central Europe may provide relevant models -- for instance, external pressure, government oversight institutions, & grassroots democracy. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2007 by the American Council of Learned Societies.]