Suchergebnisse

Abstract: East is East and West is West? Comparing Party System Stability in Europe 2008–2019This article compares trends in party system stability in Central/ Eastern Europe (CEE) and Western Europe, to see if recent studies indicating that the two regions have become more similar hold when the results of outcomes of several post-financial-crisis elections are taken into consideration. Further, it enquires into the underlying causes of electoral volatility and whether they differ between the two regions. In all, 82 parliamentary elections in 25 EU countries 2008–2019 are analyzed as regards electoral volatility (Pedersen's Index) and support for new parties ('volatility type A'). The results show that, when the most likely confounding variables are controlled for, a significant difference between the two regions remains, but also that there is a converging trend on both indicators. Moreover, whereas electoral volatility in the West is driven by the level of corruption together with the effective number of parties, unemployment and economic growth as well as the number of effective parties are the main factors explaining the same phenomenon in CEE. There is also evidence that volatility in CEE, unlike in Western Europe, is also driven by a path-dependent logic, where previous volatility scores explain subsequent ones. That finding may have implications for the prospects of future party system stabilization.

Political Culture in the Baltic States: Between National and European Integration är en gedigen studie av demokratins ställning i de baltiska staterna och den kritiska roll som etniska skiljelinjer kan ha i demokratiseringprocesser. Den har mycket att erbjuda både områdesspecialister och läsare med ett mer allmänt intresse för demokrati och politisk kultur.
Political Culture in the Baltic States: Between National and European Integration is a thorough study of the situation of democracy in the Baltic states, and the critical role of ethnic cleavages in processes of democratization. It has much to offer to area specialists as well as to readers more generally interested in democracy and political culture.

Flemming Splidsboel Hansen, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, reviews Putin, by Hans-Wilhelm Steinfeld (Cappelen Damm, 2020).

Susanna Rabow-Edling, from the Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, reviews Glenn Diesen's book, Russian Conservatism: Managing Change under Permanent Revolution (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021).

Abstract: What happened to the 'East'? An introduction and a postscriptIs it still – if it has ever been – relevant to talk about the "East" as a special region? This article introduces, frames, and concludes on the Nordisk Østforum special theme series What happened to the "East"? It provides the theoretical foundation for the four empirical studies included in the special theme series. The article discusses the historical roots and general negative connotations surrounding the notion of "East" in both the "West" and the "East" as well as the recent revival of "Eastern" identities and their relations to the surge of illiberal currents on the global scene. Before outlining the findings of the four empirical studies, the article discusses the notion of region, offering a more dynamic concept than implied by the classical focus on geographical proximity. The article concludes by discussing the continued relevance of the "East" prefix in light of the findings of the four empirical studies. While there are manifest differences between "East" and "West" we need to caution ourselves against stereotypifications that disregard the variance and dynamics within and across the members of the two regions. The demarcation between the two are in no way fixed.

The Russian Path: Ideas, Interests, Institutions, Illusions by Dmitry Travin, Vladimir Gel'man, Otar Marganiya, is reviewed by Ingerid M. Opdahl, associate professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies.

Håvard Bækken, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, reviews Putin's Russia and the Falsification of History: Reasserting Control over the Past, by Anton Weiss-Wendt (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021).

Niels Bo Poulsen, director of the Department of Military History and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College, reviews Industry, War and Stalin's Battle for Resources: The Arctic and the Environment by Lars Rowe.

The Politics of Poverty in Contemporary Russia, by Ann-Mari Sätre, is reviewed by Kirsti Stuvøy, Associate Professor, Faculty of Landscape and Society, International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU).

Bjørn Svenungsen, of the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, reviews Carolina Vendil Pallin's report for the Swedish Defence Research Agency titled The Key Players in Russia's Cyber Strategy: 2000–2020 (Nyckelaktörerna för rysk cyberstrategi: 2000–2020).

Crossing the Border. The Story of Frode Berg and Life Inside the Norwegian Intelligence Services and Russian Prisons, by Morten Jentoft, is reviewed by Jardar Østbø, associate professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies.

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia by Rustram Urinboyev (University of California Press 2021) is reviewed by Anna-Liisa Heusala, of the University of Helsinki, Aleksanteri Institute - Finnish Centre for Russian and East European Studies.

Denne bokomtalen dreier seg om Hilma Salonens studie av overgangen til fornybar energi i Russlands arktiske strøk: Russian Renewable Energy Politics in the Arctic: National Priorities and Local Realities. Hun viser at det er mulig å realisere fornybar-prosjekter i fossilavhengige land som Russland. Selv om aktørene som fremmer slike prosjekter ikke synes å være fremtredende i Russland, viser studien at de har et visst handlingsrom som de lykkes med å utnytte.
In Russian Renewable Energy Politics in the Arctic: National Priorities and Local Realities, Hilma Salonen examines the renewable energy transition in the Russian Arctic. She documents how, even in a heavily fossil-fuel dominated country like Russia, renewable energy players can achieve their goals. Hidden at first glance, these actors exhibit features of agency and can act successfully to develop renewable energy projects.

Martin Kragh, Deputy Director of the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) and Senior Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, reviews Ingerid M. Opdahl's book, The Russian State and Russian Energy Companies, 1992–2018 (Routledge, 2020).