Referendum processes in the six post-communist countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have been analyzed. Classification of the referenda into categories, such as plebiscites, constitutional referenda, ratification referenda, and that of ratification, of political routine, has been proposed. Separatist referenda organized in the Republic of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria have not been recognized by international community. In the two cases, Azerbaijan and Belarus, referenda were used for a for constitutional amendments consolidating authoritarian regimes. Formal attribution of them to the simply "constitutional" would be inadequate; they rather should be categorized as sub-type of "Asian" referenda. Renewing traditional "transitional" logic, civilization theoretic approach, concept of "bridging civilization spaces" has been utilized in order to more adequate perception of processes within East European space.
Referendum processes in the six post-communist countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have been analyzed. Classification of the referenda into categories, such as plebiscites, constitutional referenda, ratification referenda, and that of ratification, of political routine, has been proposed. Separatist referenda organized in the Republic of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria have not been recognized by international community. In the two cases, Azerbaijan and Belarus, referenda were used for a for constitutional amendments consolidating authoritarian regimes. Formal attribution of them to the simply "constitutional" would be inadequate; they rather should be categorized as sub-type of "Asian" referenda. Renewing traditional "transitional" logic, civilization theoretic approach, concept of "bridging civilization spaces" has been utilized in order to more adequate perception of processes within East European space.
Referendum processes in the six post-communist countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have been analyzed. Classification of the referenda into categories, such as plebiscites, constitutional referenda, ratification referenda, and that of ratification, of political routine, has been proposed. Separatist referenda organized in the Republic of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria have not been recognized by international community. In the two cases, Azerbaijan and Belarus, referenda were used for a for constitutional amendments consolidating authoritarian regimes. Formal attribution of them to the simply "constitutional" would be inadequate; they rather should be categorized as sub-type of "Asian" referenda. Renewing traditional "transitional" logic, civilization theoretic approach, concept of "bridging civilization spaces" has been utilized in order to more adequate perception of processes within East European space.
This article is focused on the analysis of interim (the Iraqi Governing Council, the Iraqi Interim Government and the Interim National Assembly) and transitional Iraqi institutions (the Transitional National Assembly) as well as other previously established institutions (the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the Interim Coalition Government). Much attention is given to the level of democracy within these institutions. They are examined applying the model of autonomous democracy that consists of a coherent chain of the main principles of democracy and its criteria. At the same time some additional attention is devoted to the elections to the Transitional National Assembly and these to the permanent National Assembly as well as the referendum concerning the Iraqi Constitution. Consequently, visible signs of the ethno-confessional polarization have become especially significant. Various reasons for this phenomenon which, in turn, has resulted in the political upheaval and the security crisis in Iraq will be discussed in the context of the process of democratization.
This article is focused on the analysis of interim (the Iraqi Governing Council, the Iraqi Interim Government and the Interim National Assembly) and transitional Iraqi institutions (the Transitional National Assembly) as well as other previously established institutions (the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the Interim Coalition Government). Much attention is given to the level of democracy within these institutions. They are examined applying the model of autonomous democracy that consists of a coherent chain of the main principles of democracy and its criteria. At the same time some additional attention is devoted to the elections to the Transitional National Assembly and these to the permanent National Assembly as well as the referendum concerning the Iraqi Constitution. Consequently, visible signs of the ethno-confessional polarization have become especially significant. Various reasons for this phenomenon which, in turn, has resulted in the political upheaval and the security crisis in Iraq will be discussed in the context of the process of democratization.
This article is focused on the analysis of interim (the Iraqi Governing Council, the Iraqi Interim Government and the Interim National Assembly) and transitional Iraqi institutions (the Transitional National Assembly) as well as other previously established institutions (the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the Interim Coalition Government). Much attention is given to the level of democracy within these institutions. They are examined applying the model of autonomous democracy that consists of a coherent chain of the main principles of democracy and its criteria. At the same time some additional attention is devoted to the elections to the Transitional National Assembly and these to the permanent National Assembly as well as the referendum concerning the Iraqi Constitution. Consequently, visible signs of the ethno-confessional polarization have become especially significant. Various reasons for this phenomenon which, in turn, has resulted in the political upheaval and the security crisis in Iraq will be discussed in the context of the process of democratization.
2009 Lithuanian presidential elections were an important political event. In comparison with previous presidential elections the most visible distinction was one candidate's strong leadership and media domination. At the beginning of the official elections campaign it was clear that D. Grybauskaitė has a sizeable public support and definitely will win. This article argues that the role of the outside factor, particularly mass media, in pre-election campaign was one of the most valuable resources in D. Grybauskaitė's presidential elections communication strategy. Exclusive domination in headlines before the official elections campaign had begun framed permanent mass public support and set up an agenda and priorities which during an official campaign was unbeatable resource – preconceived advantage.
2009 Lithuanian presidential elections were an important political event. In comparison with previous presidential elections the most visible distinction was one candidate's strong leadership and media domination. At the beginning of the official elections campaign it was clear that D. Grybauskaitė has a sizeable public support and definitely will win. This article argues that the role of the outside factor, particularly mass media, in pre-election campaign was one of the most valuable resources in D. Grybauskaitė's presidential elections communication strategy. Exclusive domination in headlines before the official elections campaign had begun framed permanent mass public support and set up an agenda and priorities which during an official campaign was unbeatable resource – preconceived advantage.
2009 Lithuanian presidential elections were an important political event. In comparison with previous presidential elections the most visible distinction was one candidate's strong leadership and media domination. At the beginning of the official elections campaign it was clear that D. Grybauskaitė has a sizeable public support and definitely will win. This article argues that the role of the outside factor, particularly mass media, in pre-election campaign was one of the most valuable resources in D. Grybauskaitė's presidential elections communication strategy. Exclusive domination in headlines before the official elections campaign had begun framed permanent mass public support and set up an agenda and priorities which during an official campaign was unbeatable resource – preconceived advantage.
The ame of this article -nvestigate the nature and results of electoral politics in Serbia during the period of the beginning of violent dissolution of ex-Yugoslavia and the first multiparty elections in 1990. Two levels of elections are taken into consideration: presidential and parliamentary. Oppositely to other Central and East European states, Serbia in the beginning of 1990s has not been involved into the process of political transformation from totalitarian one-party elections controlled system into democratic multi-party free elections model. "Transition without transition" was a formula implied by the ruling party to political life of Serbia during the process of Yugoslavia's dissolution. Political life has seen the adoption of some of the formal attributes of democracy, but without the stable institutional support to that system. The ruling Socialist Party of Serbia imposed its own rules and control over presidential and parliamentary elections in order to discredit the democratic values. As a result, authoritarian political system was thriven to serve the interests of the former ruling nomenclature rather than represent the majority of Serbia's citizens.
The ame of this article -nvestigate the nature and results of electoral politics in Serbia during the period of the beginning of violent dissolution of ex-Yugoslavia and the first multiparty elections in 1990. Two levels of elections are taken into consideration: presidential and parliamentary. Oppositely to other Central and East European states, Serbia in the beginning of 1990s has not been involved into the process of political transformation from totalitarian one-party elections controlled system into democratic multi-party free elections model. "Transition without transition" was a formula implied by the ruling party to political life of Serbia during the process of Yugoslavia's dissolution. Political life has seen the adoption of some of the formal attributes of democracy, but without the stable institutional support to that system. The ruling Socialist Party of Serbia imposed its own rules and control over presidential and parliamentary elections in order to discredit the democratic values. As a result, authoritarian political system was thriven to serve the interests of the former ruling nomenclature rather than represent the majority of Serbia's citizens.
The ame of this article -nvestigate the nature and results of electoral politics in Serbia during the period of the beginning of violent dissolution of ex-Yugoslavia and the first multiparty elections in 1990. Two levels of elections are taken into consideration: presidential and parliamentary. Oppositely to other Central and East European states, Serbia in the beginning of 1990s has not been involved into the process of political transformation from totalitarian one-party elections controlled system into democratic multi-party free elections model. "Transition without transition" was a formula implied by the ruling party to political life of Serbia during the process of Yugoslavia's dissolution. Political life has seen the adoption of some of the formal attributes of democracy, but without the stable institutional support to that system. The ruling Socialist Party of Serbia imposed its own rules and control over presidential and parliamentary elections in order to discredit the democratic values. As a result, authoritarian political system was thriven to serve the interests of the former ruling nomenclature rather than represent the majority of Serbia's citizens.
Magistrsko delo obravnava povezavo med volilno udeležbo in informiranostjo volivcev. Ta je eden od številnih dejavnikov, ki lahko vpliva na to, ali se bo volivec udeležil volitev. Povezavo sem ugotavljala s študijo primera v dveh časovnih točkah: primerjala sem institucionalno kampanjo Evropskega parlamenta pred evropskimi volitvami leta 2014 in institucionalno kampanjo Evropskega parlamenta Tokrat grem volit pred evropskimi volitvami leta 2019 na primeru Slovenije. Za volitve v Evropski parlament je značilno padanje povprečja volilne udeležbe. Od prvih leta 1979 se je v državah članicah Evropske unije z 61,9 % zmanjšalo na 42,6 % v letu 2014, ko je bilo najnižje. Na evropskih volitvah 2019 se je trend padanja povprečja volilne udeležbe v EU prvič zaustavil in se dvignil na 50,6 %. V Sloveniji se je evropskih volitev 2019 udeležilo 28,9 % volilnih upravičencev, kar je v primerjavi z evropskimi volitvami leta 2014 za 4,4 odstotne točke več in hkrati največ od vključitve v EU. Ugotovila sem, da lahko dvig volilne udeležbe pripišemo tudi volilni kampanji Pisarne Evropskega parlamenta v Ljubljani, ki je bila v primerjavi s prejšnjimi prvič jasno določena ; predvsem skupine nagovarjanja volivcev in sporočilo kampanje ; organizirali so tudi bistveno več aktivnosti za volivce in intenzivno sodelovali z raznovrstnimi mediji. Toda glavne hipoteze magistrskega dela, da pomeni večji obseg aktivnosti tudi večjo informiranost volivcev in posledično višjo volilno udeležbo, na podlagi javnomnenjskih anket nisem mogla potrditi. Volilna udeležba je namreč odvisna od množice izjemno kompleksnih in med seboj prepletenih dejavnikov. ; The master's thesis discusses the connection between the turnout of voters and the voters' awareness. The latter is one of the numerous factors which can influence whether the voter will participate in the elections or not. I was ascertaining the connection with the case study in two points of time: I compared the institutional campaign of the European Parliament before European elections in 2014 and the This Time I'm Voting institutional campaign of the European Parliament before the European elections in 2019 on the case of Slovenia. A decline in the average of the turnout of voters is characteristic of the elections in the European Parliament. Since the first elections in 1979, the turnout of voters has reduced in the member states of the European Union from 61.9% to 42.6% in 2014 when it was the lowest. The decline in the average of the turnout of voters was stopped in 2019 and raised it to 50.6%. In Slovenia, 28.9% of eligible voters participated in the European elections in 2019 which is 4.4 percentage points more in comparison to the European elections in 2014 and the most since the joining to the EU at the same time. I ascertained that the raise of the turnout of voters can be attributed also to communication campaign of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ljubljana, which was determined in the comparison with the previous ones for the first time clearly, above all the groups of addressing the voters and the message of the campaign. They also organized essentially more activities for the voters and cooperated intensively with different media. However, I could not confirm the main hypothesis of the master's thesis that a bigger scope of activities means bigger voters' awareness and, consequently, a higher turnout of voters. Namely, the turnout of voters depends on many exceptionally complex and intertwined factors.
The article analyzes the European Union's influence on the political participation of ethnic minorities in first and second European elections held after Lithuania's accession to the EU in 2004 and 2009. The author provides a brief theoretical overview of the EU's influence on Member States regarding ethnic minority policy, representation of ethnic minorities and ethnic minority participation in the politics. Analysis of the programs and strategies to attract voters in European Parliament elections of political parties representing ethnic minorities finds that the European issues and European values hadn't significant effect (with exceptions in 2009) on electoral programs and patterns of political participation. However, Polish and Russian ethnic minority political parties in shaping the strategies of the coalition or joint electoral list in 2004 and 2009 EP elections were not directly intended to win seats in the EP, but testing these strategies for the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2004 and municipal council elections in 2011.
The article analyzes the European Union's influence on the political participation of ethnic minorities in first and second European elections held after Lithuania's accession to the EU in 2004 and 2009. The author provides a brief theoretical overview of the EU's influence on Member States regarding ethnic minority policy, representation of ethnic minorities and ethnic minority participation in the politics. Analysis of the programs and strategies to attract voters in European Parliament elections of political parties representing ethnic minorities finds that the European issues and European values hadn't significant effect (with exceptions in 2009) on electoral programs and patterns of political participation. However, Polish and Russian ethnic minority political parties in shaping the strategies of the coalition or joint electoral list in 2004 and 2009 EP elections were not directly intended to win seats in the EP, but testing these strategies for the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2004 and municipal council elections in 2011.
