Suchergebnisse

The private vs public sources utilized in financing electoral campaigns & political parties in various countries are compared, focusing on the situation in Croatia & major Western democracies. A table showing the introduction of public financing of political parties in individual countries in the second half of the 20th century is produced, & the enactment of laws & regulations limiting the amount of donations by individuals & corporations, controlling the raising & spending of funds, & ensuring a transparency in the finances allocated for electoral campaigns is discussed. In the US, political parties & elections are financed largely from private funds, although public matching programs are available & legal mechanisms are in place imposing limits on private donations & regulating their use. Similar processes are at work in Canada, Australia, & some European countries, eg, the Netherlands. In Austria, Italy, Germany, & Sweden, political parties rely mostly on subsidies from the state budget. In the UK, the Labour Party is financed by labor unions, while the Conservative Party by big business. Unlike in the West, the financing of political parties in Croatia remains unregulated. The absence of proper laws & regulations removes the funding of the parties & their electoral campaigns & the ways in which they raise & distribute donations from public scrutiny. 1 Table, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.

By applying the analytical model derived by Deegan-Krause, the paper analyzes social cleavages underpinning the party preferences in the elections for the Croatian Parliament in 2003. The results of the research carried out on a sample of 2,000 adult Croatian citizens by phone interviews two days before the elections indicate that this model has identified relatively shallow social cleavages underlying the voting behavior in the analyzed elections. Namely, out of thirteen analyzed attitudes only three significantly explain a part of the variance in party preferences, the most significant being the attitude concerning the cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague & the attitude concerning abortion. The results also show there is a significant link among certain socio-demographic characteristics, the attitudes about the political issues in question & the party preferences. This means that there might be a social cleavage at work here. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

There are prima facie reasons why political parties should be recognized as public law persons of the Croatian legal system: Political parties play a leading role in the creation & implementation of the state's will. Continental European legal systems distinguish between public & private law: the Croatian Constitution prescribes that political parties are associations with the features typical of public law persons. What requires analysis is the nature & consequences of the public law personality of political parties. Aristotle's theory of justice is still a useful starting point for distinguishing between public & private law, & between public & private law persons. The theory demonstrates that both the political community & the economic market presuppose standards of conduct that regulate interaction of their members. The standards include two essential types of legal acts, namely, statutes, which are fundamental acts of public law, & contracts, which are fundamental acts of private law. The dichotomy of legal acts implies virtually all the criteria that Roman & Continental lawyers have found important for distinguishing public & private law (source, bindingness, hierarchy, interest, subjects, etc). The division of a legal system into private & public law can be positivized in several ways. However, a liberal, democratic, & social legal system ought to meet the following principles, which guarantee the public law status of political parties: explicit recognition of the public law personality; justiciability; constitutionality; transparency; democracy; solidarity. The principles are followed by the Draft Bill on Political Parties, which was prepared by the Croatian Law Center in May 2002 & was adopted, with some changes, by the Committee on Constitution, Rules of Order, & Political System of the Croatian Parliament in July 2002. 90 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author is of the opinion that Croatia has a singular tradition of Christian democracy represented by the political program of the Croatian Party of Rights after 1894, by the populist politics & policies of the Croatian Peasants' Party. The European experience in posttotalitarian societies shows that Christian democracy is a sine qua non for the renewal of the legal system & the system of values & should be taken into account in Croatia. Following the 1989 collapse of communism in Croatia, only a national-populist party could have gained political clout. That was why the Croatian Christian Democratic Party of Ivan Cesar was envisaged as a long-term political project. By bringing together all Christian democratic & populist parties within the Croatian Christian democratic union, a genuine political power could sprout that might be a force to reckon with when outlining Croatia's future political identity. Adapted from the source document.

The author looks into the relationship between political parties & the public good. He begins by asking whether it is legally possible to compel parties to work for the public good. It seems it is not, since in democracy there are no criteria that might a priori be established as the binding norms. The public good, namely, depends on the fundamental constitutional solutions & the general political culture. In line with this, the author goes on to depict the model of the monarchical state. According to this model, the public interest may be derived "from above" ie, the public interest is a result of the emanations of the "exalted" state authority. In modern democracy, however, it is not possible to shape the general will without parties, organizations more committed to their own interests than those of their political community on the whole. In a way, parties represent a danger for this democracy & the entire political community. The author asks how, if at all, we can resolve this dilemma. Referring to Scheuner, Hesse, Emke, Habermas, & Haberle, the author finds the answer in the postulate that the promotion of the public interest cannot be left solely to the state, but that all members of a political community should get involved. Parties in the contemporary pluralist culture ought to become aware that their primary task is the public good that is not in the function of party life. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.

The text presents the genesis of the concept of Christian democracy in Croatia, which developed under the influence of corresponding ideas from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, & particularly Slovenia. A major role in this genesis was played by a bishop from Krk, Antun Mahnic, of Slovenian descent. The author divides the development of Christian democracy in Croatia into the pre-party period (up to WWI) & the party organization following the creation of a Yugoslav state in the form of the Croatian Populist Party. This party's program is compared to the program of Radic's Croatian Peasants' Party. 7 References. Adapted from the source document.

By applying the analytical model derived by Deegan-Krause, the paper analyzes social cleavages underpinning the party preferences in the elections for the Croatian Parliament in 2003. The results of the research carried out on a sample of 2,000 adult Croatian citizens by phone interviews two days before the elections indicate that this model has identified relatively shallow social cleavages underlying the voting behavior in the analyzed elections. Namely, out of thirteen analyzed attitudes only three significantly explain a part of the variance in party preferences, the most significant being the attitude concerning the cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague & the attitude concerning abortion. The results also show there is a significant link among certain socio-demographic characteristics, the attitudes about the political issues in question & the party preferences. This means that there might be a social cleavage at work here. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

The article looks into the changes in the parties & the social structure of the first House of the Croatian parliament (the Sabor) in the transitional period. A total of 26 political parties have had seats in the parliament -- 16 of them securing their place through prior support of the electoral body, & 10 solely through individual lists. The author shows that this party fragmentation has occurred due to the process of parliamentary parties' factioning & the transfer of delegates from parliamentary to nonparliamentary parties. The degree of party fragmentation in the Sabor is considered moderate & not disruptive for the functioning of the parliament. This is due to the continued mandated dominance of the majority party & to the fact that the party fragmentation has primarily involved the opposition parties. An analysis of the social-demographic characteristics of the representatives shows that the Sabor is dominated by male, college-educated, 48-year-old Croats with a bit more than four years of parliamentary experience. The educational structure of the Sabor does not differ much from other European parliaments, but the number of senior representatives is somewhat higher than in other European countries, while the share of women is lamentable under all democratic standards. It has been suggested that the most effective strategy that the Croatian parliamentary political parties could employ regarding gender & age representation are internally determined quotas for women & young people on their candidates' lists for elections. This would indirectly influence the social structure & the level of democracy of the Croatian parliament. 7 Tables, 1 Appendix, 38 References. Adapted from the source document.

This essay comparatively analyzes post-Yugoslav ethnic nationalist movements in Croatia and Serbia focusing on political uses of ethnic diasporas. The author examines the role of ethnic diasporas in the reconstruction of nationhood and legitimating new regimes; in new political discourses and also in the new political competition including internal competition within political arenas of the new nations, but also in the context of the rivalry between Serb and Croat nationalisms which did not end with the ending of the wars of Yugoslav succession. In addition, the author provides a brief genealogy of the Diaspora myth and concludes that, like all myths utilized in politics, this myth also entails contradictions that produce effects and outcomes which the initial political benefactors from this myth could not incalculate or fully control and eventually had to face certain undesirable consequences. Twenty years after the collapse of Yugoslavia, the political uses of ethnic diasporas still can be observed in the discourses and politics of ethnic nationalistic parties, although it is also clear that the appeal of the myth is diminishing. Adapted from the source document.

In stable democracies, radical electoral changes necessitating the alteration of the type of electoral system are very rare. That is why the typological electoral reforms in New Zealand, Italy, & Japan in the 1990s generated huge scientific & public interest. In all three cases, the reforms were brought about by profound political crises, primarily by the electoral system crises. The reforms were carried out according to different patterns. The New Zealand electoral reform was an expression of a highly sophisticated intellectual design of political institutions legitimized by a referendum. The Italian reform was exacted through the initiatives & actions of the political & the civilian actors & was also confirmed by a referendum. The Japanese reform was a result of a contingently exacted party arrangement. In all three cases -- to the biggest extent in Italy, & to the smallest extent in Japan -- the reforms were implemented regardless of the will of the main political parties & most politicians. 3 Tables, 56 References. Adapted from the source document.

Considering the rise of euroscepticism in France, especially in the eve of key events for the EU integration process, the article identifies the key actors promoting euroscepticism & the motivation behind their political action. The article tries to show that the main eurosceptical actors are opposition & marginal political parties with either left or right political orientation, & that the main motives for their political behavior are not to be found in their ideology, nor in a rational political competition, & not even in the French political tradition (and that is the reason why euroscepticism is considered only as a phenomenon). The motives for euroscepticism are found in the actors' drive towards short-term political goals with a help of populist rhetoric in order to discredit the EU project, but without an intention to offer counter proposals & long term political projects. The article analyses the results of the EU Parliament elections, the referendum for the EU Constitutional contract & discusses the electoral attitudes of certain political parties regarding their ideological orientation. The concluding remarks offer & explanation of the political parties motives for euroscepticism, an explanation of the social context where euroscepticism is accepted & a general analysis of the phenomenon. Adapted from the source document.

The circumstances of the emergence & evolution of Christian democratic parties in Europe are outlined, & the principles of Christian social & political creed (on which they are based) are analyzed. The most salient among these principles are respect for the dignity of men as individuals, solidarity, subsidiarity, participation, general allotment of goods, & the duty of public authorities to look after the common good. A review of major programmatic documents of the international association of Christian democratic parties, as well as those of the two German Christian democratic parties, is offered. In closing, the author looks into the policies of the two Croatian parties that aspire to be Christian democratic -- the Croatian Christian Democratic Union & the Croatian Democratic Union -- & concludes that in Croatia, there are no social & political prerequisites for a true articulation of Christian democratic parties. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes the deterioration of the professional standards in journalism both globally & nationally (in Croatia) in relation to the problem of the freedom of the media. It seems there is a vicious circle at work here: journalists often commit blunders & these mistakes are then used by the parties in power -- as well as by the media owners, often in collusion with these parties -- to restrict the freedom of the media. The author argues that due to the power wielded by the media today, their ownership should be transparent. Besides, the relations between the journalists & the media owners should be properly regulated, which might result in more responsible journalism. 8 References. Adapted from the source document.