Suchergebnisse

Review of The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s, by Ellen Schrecker.

Patterns of political identification in postcommunist Europe are still weakly formed. The churches, however, command high levels of confidence, in sharp contrast to political parties. Representative surveys in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine in late 1997 and early 1998 indicate high levels of confidence in the churches in three of these nations, but not in the Czech Republic for reasons that appear connected to its forced conversion to Catholicism. The religious, as in other countries, are disproportionately female, but attenders in postcommunist Europe are not more likely to be elderly or resident in the countryside. There was little difference between church attenders and national populations in attitudes to the market, NATO membership, or the current government; there were rather larger differences between the countries, with Bulgarians the most favourable to the market, NATO and pro-market parties, and Ukrainians the least favourable. A multiple regression analysis found that church attendance of itself had little effect on attitudes or party preferences in either the Czech Republic or Slovakia; it did, however, increase support for the market, for joining NATO and for pro-market parties in Bulgaria and Ukraine. The relatively modest effects of overt religiosity are likely to be helpful to the formation of a democratic political culture, although account must also be taken of a strong association between the Muslim minorities in these countries and the political parties that seek to represent their interests.

Patterns of political identification in postcommunist Europe are still weakly formed. The churches, however, command high levels of confidence, in sharp contrast to political parties. Representative surveys in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, & Ukraine in late 1997 & early 1998 indicate high levels of confidence in the churches in three of these nations, but not in the Czech Republic for reasons that appear connected to its forced conversion to Catholicism. The religious, as in other countries, are disproportionately female, but attendees in postcommunist Europe are not more likely to be elderly or resident in the countryside. There was little difference between church attendees & national populations in attitudes to the market, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership, or the current government; there were rather larger differences between the countries, with Bulgarians the most favorable to the market, NATO, & pro-market parties, & Ukrainians the least favorable. A multiple regression analysis found that church attendance of itself had little effect on attitudes or party preferences in either the Czech Republic or Slovakia; it did, however, increase support for the market, for joining NATO & for pro-market parties in Bulgaria & Ukraine. The relatively modest effects of overt religiosity are likely to be helpful to the formation of a democratic political culture, although account must also be taken of a strong association between the Muslim minorities in these countries & the political parties that seek to represent their interests. 9 Tables, 1 Appendix, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.

Using data from a survey of almost 6000 voters in five post-communist countries (Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic) designed by the authors and carried out in November and December 1993, the authors review evidence about citizens' formal commitment to parties compared with other forms of civic activity; about depth of trust in political parties; the effectiveness of action through political parties; desirable forms of party competition; and the depth of party identification in post-communist Europe. They conclude that while the degree of hostility to political parties remains significant, and identification remains low in comparative perspective, in none of the countries is there a desire among mass publics to see an end to party competition, and the place of party is in any event secured by elite consensus.