Suchergebnisse

PART 1. INTRODUCTION -- Twenty-five years after 1989 : issues in postcommunist Europe / Sharon L. Wolchik and Jane L. Curry -- PART 2. POLICIES AND ISSUES -- The political transition / Valerie Bunce -- Re-creating the market / Sharon Fisher -- Social aspects of transformation / Alfio Cerami -- Ethnicity, nationalism, and the expansion of democracy / Zsuzsa Csergo -- Women's participation in postcommunist politics / Marilyn Rueschemeyer -- Transitional justice in Central and Eastern Europe / Peter Rožič and Brian Grodsky -- EU accession and after / Ronald Linden with Shane Killian -- Security issues : NATO and beyond / Joshua Spero -- PART 3. CASE STUDIES -- Poland : the politics of "god's playground" / Jane L. Curry -- The Czech and Slovak Republics : two paths to the same destination / Sharon L. Wolchik -- Hungary : from postcommunism to populist nationalism / Federigo Argentieri -- The Baltic countries : changes and challenges in the new Europe / Daina S. Eglitis -- Bulgaria : progress and development / Janusz Bugajski -- Romania : old problems and new challenges / Daniel Brett -- Albania : the challenges of transition / Elez Biberaj -- Former Yugoslavia and its successors / Mark Baskin and Paula Pickering -- Ukraine : leaving the crossroads / Taras Kuzio -- PART 4. CONCLUSION -- Twenty-five years after 1989 : a balance sheet / Sharon L. Wolchik and Jane L. Curry

Now in a fully updated edition, this essential text explores the other half of Europe—the new and future members of the European Union along with the problems and potential they bring to the region and to the world stage. Clear and comprehensive, it offers an authoritative and up-to-date analysis of the transformations and realities in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Ukraine. Divided into two parts, the book presents a set of comparative country case studies as well as thematic chapters on key issues, including EU and NATO expansion, the economic transition and its social ramifications, the role of women, persistent problems of ethnicity and nationalism, and political reform. Leading scholars provide the historical context for the current situation of each country in the region. They explain how communism ended and how democratic politics has emerged or is struggling to emerge in its wake, how individual countries have transformed their economies, how their populations have been affected by rapid and wrenching change, and how foreign policy making has evolved. New to this edition are chapters on social issues and transitional justice. For students and specialists alike, this book will be an invaluable resource on the newly democratizing states of Europe. ; https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/faculty_books/1384/thumbnail.jpg

Now in a fully updated edition, this essential text explores the post-communist half of Europe and the problems and potential it brings to the world stage. Clear and comprehensive, the book offers an authoritative and current analysis of the region's transformations and realities—from pre-communist history to the victories and reversals in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Ukraine, including the Euromaidan and its domestic and international ramifications. Divided into two parts, the book presents a set of comparative country case studies as well as thematic chapters on key issues, including EU and NATO expansion, the economic transition and its social ramifications, the role of women, persistent problems of ethnicity and nationalism, legacies of the past, and political reform. Leading scholars provide the crucial historical context necessary to evaluate the challenges facing the region. They explain how communism ended and how democratic politics has developed or is struggling to emerge in its wake, how individual countries have transformed their economies, how their populations have been affected by rapid and wrenching change, and how foreign policy making has evolved. They explore the reversals and conflicts that have emerged even in the most successful transitions and their relevance to our understanding of political transitions and democratic consolidation in general. For students and specialists alike, this book will be an invaluable resource on the politics and economics of Central and Eastern Europe, caught between the EU and a resurgent Russia. ; https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/faculty_books/1055/thumbnail.jpg

What explains electoral stability and change in competitive authoritarian regimes? This article addresses the question by comparing eleven elections-six of which led to continuity in authoritarian rule and five of which led to the victory of the opposition-that took place between 1998 and 2008 in competitive authoritarian regimes countries located in the postcommunist region. Using interviews conducted with participants in all of these elections and other types of data and constructing a research design that allowed the authors to match these two sets of elections on a number of important dimensions, they assess two groups of hypotheses-those that highlight institutional, structural, and historical aspects of regime and opposition strength on the eve of these elections and others that highlight characteristics of the elections themselves. The authors conclude that the key difference was whether the opposition adopted a tool kit of novel and sophisticated electoral strategies that made them more popular and effective challengers to the regime. Adapted from the source document.

What explains electoral stability and change in competitive authoritarian regimes? This article addresses the question by comparing eleven elections—six of which led to continuity in authoritarian rule and five of which led to the victory of the opposition—that took place between 1998 and 2008 in competitive authoritarian regimes countries located in the postcommunist region. Using interviews conducted with participants in all of these elections and other types of data and constructing a research design that allowed the authors to match these two sets of elections on a number of important dimensions, they assess two groups of hypotheses—those that highlight institutional, structural, and historical aspects of regime and opposition strength on the eve of these elections and others that highlight characteristics of the elections themselves. The authors conclude that the key difference was whether the opposition adopted a tool kit of novel and sophisticated electoral strategies that made them more popular and effective challengers to the regime.

Abstract: In the Balkans and the countries of the old Eastern Bloc, the years from 1996 to 2009 saw no fewer than fourteen major attempts to oust semiauthoritarian regimes by means of elections. Eight of these attempts actually toppled authoritarian leaders, bringing to power more-democratic political forces. In the remainder the opposition mounted a strong electoral challenge to dictatorial rule, but failed to secure victory. In order to tease out the relationship between elections and democratic development, we compare various political and economic aspects of the successful and unsuccessful cases. Yet where structural and institutional factors cannot fully explain why some elections brought down dictators and others did not, two variables that may prove more telling: regime vulnerability and the implementation of what we term the electoral model of democratization.

Over the past decade, a number of elections in postcommunist regimes perched between democracy and dictatorship have led to the triumph of liberal oppositions over illiberal incumbents or their anointed successors. The international diffusion of these electoral revolutions reflects the interaction among five factors: the long term development of civil society, expanded opportunities for democratic political change, the rise of collaborative networks among international democracy promoters, regional exporters of democracy and local oppositions, and, finally, careful application of an electoral approach to regime transition. The cross-national diffusion of the electoral model in this region, however, may have run its course, largely because of less supportive local and international conditions.

Since 1998, young people have played important roles in the electoral revolutions that deposed semi-authoritarian leaders in Slovakia, Serbia, & Georgia. This article examines common & disparate elements of young people's roles in these three cases. Youth were involved in an important way in all three. However, the extent of their involvement, the forms it took, & the relationship between youth & other actors in this process differed to some degree in the three cases. Young people became involved in politics in somewhat different ways. The paths young activists have taken after the revolutions have also differed to some degree. Adapted from the source document.

Over the past decade, a number of elections in postcommunist regimes perched between democracy & dictatorship have led to the triumph of liberal oppositions over illiberal incumbents or their anointed successors. The international diffusion of these electoral revolutions reflects the interaction among five factors: the long term development of civil society, expanded opportunities for democratic political change, the rise of collaborative networks among international democracy promoters, regional exporters of democracy & local oppositions, &, finally, careful application of an electoral approach to regime transition. The cross-national diffusion of the electoral model in this region, however, may have run its course, largely because of less supportive local & international conditions. References. [Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California; published by Elsevier Ltd.]