Download or read book Democratic Politics Or the Implementation of Inevitabilities written by Kristi Raik and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Meandering in Transition written by Ostap Kushnir and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-08-19 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited collection addresses the dynamics of the post-Communist transition in Central Eastern Europe. Its contributors present a detailed analysis of the events unfolding during the last three decades in the region, focusing in particular on identity-building processes and reforms in Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The contributors outline reasons why some of these states accomplished a decisive break with the Communist past and became members of European and transatlantic structures, while some opted for pseudo-transition and fostered hybrid political regimes, jeopardizing their genuine integration with the West. A group of states which decided to preserve their Communist legacy is also explained. The collection describes and scrutinizes the formation of geopolitical affiliations and the evolution of discourses of belonging. It also traces the fluctuating dynamics of national decision-making and institution-building, as many of the post-Communist states reconsider and re-elaborate their initial ideas and visions of Europe today. Finally, the collection brings to light the rapidly changing perceptions of the region by the major global actors—the European Union, People’s Republic of China, Russian Federation, and others.

Download or read book The European Union and the Baltic States written by Bengt Jacobsson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-09-10 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how the Baltic States have adapted to, and been embedded in, a wider European environment and how they have become modern European states. It focuses on changes in the policies, politics and administrative practices that have taken place after 1991 in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and on the influence of rules and ideas in the European Union. The authors investigate the meeting between national traditions, rule-making and practices – on the one hand; and traditions, rule-making and practices connected to the European Union – on the other. Drawing on organization theory, and the image of states as complex and fragmented organizations, this book discusses: The forms of governance that are directed towards states, differentiating between regulative, inquisitive and meditative activities. The logic of appropriateness and the scriptedness of states. To what extent do the states have to follow the rules, and to what extent are they able to do what they want themselves? Adaptation processes in the state organizations. This book examines how European integration prompts and accelerates new forms of governance in Europe; it will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, the European Union and the Baltic states.

Download or read book Promoting Democracy Through Civil Society written by Kristi Raik and published by CEPS. This book was released on 2006 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Handbook of Civil Society and Social Movements in Small States written by Lino Briguglio and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-02-22 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is unique because of its focus on small states. There are many studies on civil society and social movements, but none that specifically deal with this category of countries. As is well known, small states have particular characteristics, including a limited ability to reap the benefits of economies of scale, a high degree of exposure to forces outside their control, and the proximity of politicians to the voters, often leading to clientelistic relationships and patronage networks. The small island developing states have the additional problem of high environmental vulnerability, with some also dealing with disproportionate ecological footprints. These factors have a bearing on the organization and performance of civil society organizations and social movements, as explained in several chapters of this book. The volume is organized in three parts, dealing with aspects of civil society and social moments in small states in the political, social and environmental spheres, respectively. Various definitions of civil society are proposed in the chapters, but most authors associate the term with organized groups, operating in the interest of citizens, independently of government and commercial business, including various forms of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Civil society also encompasses social movements, which are considered to be loosely organized collective campaigns in pursuit of social goals. These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably; however, some authors argue that social movements tend to engage in ‘contentious politics’ including protests, while NGOs engage through more organized and institutional routes.

Download or read book A Politics of Inevitability written by Ross Beveridge and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-11-03 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a detailed analysis of the controversial privatisation of the Berlin Water Company (BWB) in 1999. As with other cases of privatisation around the world, the city’s government argued there was no alternative in a context of public debts and economic restructuring. Drawing on post-structuralist theory, the analysis presented here steps outside the parameters of this neat, straightforward explanation. It problematises the ‘hard facts’ upon which the decision was apparently made, presenting instead an account in which facts can be political constructions shaped by normative assumptions and political strategies. A politics of inevitability in 1990s Berlin is revealed; one characterised by depoliticisation, expert-dominated policy processes and centred upon the perceived necessities of urban governance in the global economy. It is an account in which global and local dynamics mix: where the interplay between the general and the specific, between neoliberalism and politicking, and between globalisation and local actors characterise the discussion.

Download or read book Extraterritorial Citizenship in Postcommunist Europe written by Timofey Agarin and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-09-29 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume reflects on citizenship practices and policies across post-socialist states. Seven original research chapters look at the effects of institution-building on the relationship between citizens residing beyond the borders of “their” state and the political processes taking place both in their countries of residence and in their kin states.

Download or read book The Member States of the European Union written by Simon Bulmer and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive and rounded thematic study of the EU-member states. The text provides detailed coverage of the principal member states and comparative studies of the smaller states, as well as discussing the issue of enlargement and covering empirical themes.

Download or read book European Union and the Making of a Wider Northern Europe written by Pami Aalto and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first comprehensive study of how and why the European Union has enlarged to become northern Europe’s leading power. Pami Aalto presents a new approach to the under-theorized field of EU foreign policy studies, showing how, since 1990, the EU has enlarged to include Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and also incorporated the former East Germany. He also examines how this northern expansion has led the EU to reflect on relations with Russia and its north-western regions. This unique study includes: a fresh approach to the under-theorized field of EU foreign policy key empirical material, including hundreds of documents, interviews and field experiments in-depth case studies of relations between the EU, Nordic states, Baltic states and Russia with its north-western regions. This is essential reading for all students of European politics, Russian studies and international relations.

Download or read book Dissonant Heritages and Memories in Contemporary Europe written by Tuuli Lähdesmäki and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-08-13 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book discusses political, economic, social, and humanitarian challenges that influence both how people deal with their past and how they build their identities in contemporary Europe. Ongoing debates on migration, on local, national, inter- and transnational levels, prove that it is a divisive issue with regards to understanding European integration and identity. At the same time, the European Union increasingly invests in projects related to European heritage, museums, and cultural memory networks, while having to take dissonant heritages into account. These processes in their combination offer an interesting dynamic and form the complex puzzle that poses challenging questions for anyone involved in academic research, heritage practices, and policy debates. With this puzzle at its core, this book explicitly focuses on slippery and transforming notions of Europe and critically discusses ongoing and transforming power structures of heritage and memory in today’s Europe. The book combines theoretical and methodological contributions to the debates on European heritage and memory studies and in-depth analyses of empirical case studies. Its main aim is to bring research fields concerning memory and heritage into a closer dialogue and thus explore the cultural and political dynamics of contemporary Europe.

Download or read book Russia and Europe in the Twenty First Century written by Jackie Gower and published by Anthem Press. This book was released on 2009-02-01 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has never been a more important time to understand Russia's relationship with Europe and it is the subsequent sense of unease both in Russia and Europe which provides the focus for this investigation and which will make it of use to specialist and general readers alike.

Download or read book The European External Action Service and National Foreign Ministries written by Rosa Balfour and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-11 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on extensive empirical work by a cross-European group of researchers, this book assesses the impact of the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the national foreign policy-making processes and institutions of the EU member states. As such, the contributions cover both the involvement of the national diplomatic and foreign policy actors in shaping the outlook of the EEAS and its mission, as well as the changes (or not) it has produced for those actors of the member states. The analysis draws in theoretical frameworks from Europeanization and socialization, but also from intergovernmental frameworks of policy-making within the European Union. An introduction by the editors outlines the issues and trends examined in the book and establishes the theoretical and methodological framework. Split into 2 sections, Part I: EEAS and national diplomacies as part of global and European structures has contributions by Richard Whitman, Rosa Balfour, Christian Lequesne, Caterina Carta and Simon Duke. Part II: National diplomacies shaping and being shaped by the EEAS is covered by Daniel Fiott, Fabien Terpan, Cornelius Adebahr, Andrea Frontini, Ignacio Molina and Alicia Sorroza, Laura C. Ferreira-Pereira, Alena Vysotskaya G. Vieira and Louise van Schaik, Grzegorz Gromadzki, Mark Rhinard, Jakob Lewander and Sara Norrevik, Sabina Kajnc Lange, Ruby Gropas and George Tzogopoulos, Vit Beneš and Kristi Raik. This book is much needed, especially in an era when the EU is trying to pull its weight in the international sphere (e.g. Syria, Iran, the Arab Spring, Chinese relations and emerging powers) but also at a time when the EU is trying to recalibrate its institutional structure in light of the current financial predicaments and questions on the democratic legitimacy of the European project.

Download or read book A Responsible Europe written by H. Mayer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2006-08-04 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Responsible Europe? seeks to understand the EU's global role from a distinct normative perspective. It identifies moral principles that could serve as guidelines for a responsible role of the EU in global affairs, and applies these principles to selected policy areas and regional co-operation frameworks.

Download or read book Civil Society and Governance in Europe written by William A. Maloney and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The research presented in this book based on new primary data demonstrates that in terms of civil society actors adapting to the European political space the Europeanization process has an uneven development. This innovative book integrates top-down approaches for the study of relationships within the developing EU-multilevel system (i.e., the consequences of Europeanization for civil society at the local level) and bottom-up approaches (i.e., the consequences of civil society for the process of European integration and democracy in the EU). The contributors argue that exploration of these recursive linkages requires a rethinking of the relationships between (local, national, and trans-national) civil society on the one hand, and multi-level governance on the other. In analyzing the opportunities for civil society associations to contribute to European integration and decision-making from various perspectives, the following findings are presented, amongst others: engagement with and confidence in the EU (compared to national institutions) is relatively weak among associational members party elites play a key gatekeeper role in the European space the EU and interest groups have had limited success in stimulating the development of citizen engagement, civil society and social capital in various countries. In the rapidly expanding field of research on democratic decision-making in Europe, this book will be welcomed by academics and scholars alike at postgraduate levels and above. Experts working in the field of European decision-making (such as lawyers and lobbyists) who are looking for conclusions based on high-quality empirical research will also find much in this book to engage them.

Download or read book Central and Eastern Europe After Transition written by Wojciech Sadurski and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How have national identities changed, developed and reacted in the wake of transition from communism to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe? Central and Eastern Europe After Transition defines and examines new autonomous differences adopted at the state and the supranational level in the post-transitional phase of the post-Communist area, and considers their impact on constitutions, democracy and legal culture. With representative contributions from older and newer EU members, the book provides a broad set of cultural points for reference. Its comparative and interdisciplinary approach includes a useful selection of bibliographical resources specifically devoted to the Central Eastern European countries' transitions.

Download or read book Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in Russia written by Sinikukka Saari and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-12-04 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses how various international organisations, including the European Union, successfully promoted in Russia common European norms of human rights and democracy, with Russia co-operating fully in the process, but how, more recently, Russia has begun to challenge these norms, moving towards semi-authoritarianism.

Download or read book Media Culture and Society in Putin s Russia written by S. White and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-04-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An international collection of papers focused on media, culture and society in postcommunist Russia. Contributors deploy a wealth of primary data in examining the kinds of issues that are central to our understanding of the kind of system that has been established in the world's largest country after a period of far-reaching change.