Download or read book Democratisation and Institutional Reform in Albania written by Elvin Gjevori and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-02-28 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Albania’s democratic transition – one of the longest and most arduous of post-communist Europe – has failed to produce consolidated institutions. Therefore, this book undertakes the first comprehensive review of Albania’s military and judicial reform – from 1992 to 2009 – to ascertain why military reform produced substantial institutionalisation and judicial reform did not. The author analyses the different outcomes by outlining how political elites constructed the interests that shaped their subsequent political actions. Overall, this book presents a novel theoretical account for institutionalisation in emerging democracies and sheds light on two of Albania’s most important democratisation reforms. The book will appeal to practitioners working on institutionalisation reforms, institutionalist and democratisation researchers interested in post-authoritarian transitions, and area study scholars focusing on Albania and the Western Balkans.
Download or read book Young People and the Belt and Road Opportunities and Challenges in Central and Eastern Europe written by and published by 三聯書店（香港）有限公司，聯合電子出版有限公司（代理）. This book was released on 2021-01-01 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young People and the Belt and Road is a joint effort by over 40 young people across 20 countries to tell their stories about the future of Central and Eastern Europe, China, and the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative, which envisions a world with better development, better connectivity, and better cooperation was launched in Kazakhstan,. As a global, multi-generational vision, the Belt and Road Initiative will primarily benefit the young people of the world today. To ensure the success of the Initiative, their voices need to be heard. This is particularly urgent as little systematic work has been done to encourage the participation of young people. This publication places the focus on young people and asks them the question: what should the Belt and Road Initiative look like for you? In this book, young authors from 16 Central and Eastern European nations share insights about their countries. For the Belt and Road Initiative, Central and Eastern Europe plays a critical role in linking together Western Europe, Northern Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia. Each chapter focuses on a single country in the region. Based on the complex historical background and present realities of their respective countries, the authors present their cases of the potential obstacles and opportunities related to the Initiative and provide their suggestions for change. 《青年與一帶一路》一書是由超過20個國家、40位年輕人共同努力的成果。他們討論中國及16個中東歐國家在一帶一路倡議的機遇與挑戰。由於這是中文讀本較少涉及的領域，而且都是所屬國家的年輕人執筆，所以彌足珍貴。事實上，這些國家在聯繫歐洲及亞洲方面，都扮演著關鍵的角色。他們大都是上世紀90年代以後，由前蘇聯加盟共和國獨立，之後大部分成為歐盟及北約一員，而每個國家都有著複雜悠久的歷史、獨特的自然及人文資源，以及不同程度的發展。
Download or read book Central and East European Politics written by Zsuzsa Csergo and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-06-22 with total page 643 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in a fully revised and updated edition, this essential text provides a comprehensive introduction to Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltics and Ukraine. Broad but nuanced, it offers a reader-friendly overview of the globally and regionally significant changes and challenges the region faces. Divided into two parts, the book first presents thematic chapters on key issues, including nationalism and challenges to democratic institutions and practices, the contentious politics of memory, debates over demography and migration in a region with a shrinking population, and Russian efforts to retain regional influence through hard and soft power. The case-study chapters that follow highlight key political developments after communism as well as providing a strong foundation for readers on regional history and the political and economic experiences of the communist years. Each covers the foundational topics of political history, political competition, economic development, social problems, relationships with European institutions, and threats to good governance. For students and specialists alike, this book will be an invaluable resource on this dynamic region of Europe.
Download or read book Explaining Religious Party Strength written by Mário Rebelo and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-12-30 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explaining Religious Party Strength explores why religious political parties are electorally successful in some countries but not in others. Drawing on insights from political science and sociology, this book argues that religious parties are typically formed for defensive reasons, reacting against state-builders’ attempts to secularize public services such as education, welfare, and healthcare. Building on these findings, the author argues that the strength of religious parties is determined by the infrastructural power of the state. Weak states that fail to provide adequate public services open up space for religious communities to build a dense network of private schools, hospitals, and charities, which translates into votes for religious political parties. By contrast, strong states that provide efficient public services squeeze out private welfare providers, undermining the electoral strength of religious political parties. The author tests this theory through statistical analysis, using a new dataset on all religious parties which have participated in national parliamentary elections between 1800 and 2015. He includes comparative historical analyses of Roman Catholic political parties in France and Italy and Sunni Islamic political parties in Egypt, Turkey, and Albania. This book will interest students and scholars of religion and politics, specifically those interested in party formation, voting, and political activism, as well as policymakers.
Download or read book Cooperation and Enlargement Two Challenges to be Addressed in the European Projects 2022 written by Ghislaine Pellat and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-12-12 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, the ERECO-PGV[1] network wishes to make an overview of the cooperation implemented by and in the European Union and to describe the concrete forms they have taken. The issue is to analyze the internal European cooperation between economic actors, politicians, and EU citizens at different levels, but also to focus attention on the external cooperation (neighborhood policies, external policies, and collaborations with international institutions: NATO, OECD, WTO, etc.). Carrying uncompromising attention on this issue means rethinking the European project in light of today's challenges. From the very beginning, the EU was based on and called for forms of multinational cooperation, bilateral (internal and external) at different levels, involving economic actors, public actors, local authorities, and civil society. The frameworks for this cooperation as well as for the successive enlargements of the EU were drawn up in the context of European negotiations, in particular during discussions on the European Treaties. European values, standards, and rules are embodied in the texts of agreements, resolutions, and European directives and Treaties signed by all member countries. They establish the functioning of European institutions and the framework of democratic life in Europe. The emergence of current crises (Brexit, COVID-19, migration crisis, non-respect of rule of law rules, refusal of certain member countries to apply the European Charter of Human Rights, etc.) is questioning the project of the European Union and introduced the challenges which should be overcome by the proposal of the new project able to face the internal complexity of the Union and to answer to the pressure of a conflicting international context. What remains of the European ideal affirmed in the treaties of 1957, 1992, and 2007? How to "re-enchant" the common project? Yet, the European Union remains attractive to new candidate countries. How do they read the integration conditions into the EU with regard to their own projects?
Download or read book NATO s Democratic Retrenchment written by Henrik B.L. Larsen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring NATO’s post-Cold War determination to support democracy abroad, this book addresses the alliance’s adaptation to the new illiberal backlashes in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and Afghanistan after the alleged ‘return of history’. The book engages the question of what has driven NATO to pursue democratisation in face of the significant region-specific challenges and what can explain policy expansion or retrenchment over time. Explaining NATO’s adaptation from the perspective of power dynamics that push for international change and historical experience that informs grand strategy allows wider inferences not only about democratisation as a foreign policy strategy but also about the nature of the transatlantic alliance and its relations with a mostly illiberal environment. Larsen offers a theoretical conception of NATO as a patchwork of one hegemonic and several great power interests that converge or diverge in the formulation of common policy, as opposed to NATO as a community of universal values. This volume will appeal to researchers of transatlantic relations, NATO’s functional and geographical expansion, hegemony and great power politics, democracy promotion, lessons of the past, (Neoclassical) Realism, alliance theory, and the crisis of the liberal world order.
Download or read book Democratic Institutions and Authoritarian Rule in Southeast Europe written by Danijela Dolenec and published by ECPR Press. This book was released on 2017-05-19 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Josip Broz Tito's saying that 'one should not hold on to the law like a drunken man holds on to a fence' remains a valid piece of popular wisdom today, encapsulating the problem of weak rule of law in Southeast European societies. This book poses the question of why democratisation in Southeast Europe disappointed initial expectations, and claims that it is caused by the dominance of authoritarian parties over regime change. Their rule established nondemocratic governance practices that continue to subvert rule of law principles, more than twenty years after the collapse of communism. The unique contribution of this book is in providing empirical evidence for the argument that post-socialist transformation proceeded in a double movement, whereby advances to formal democratic institutions were subverted through nondemocratic rule. This misfit helps explain why improvements to formal democratic institutions did not result in expected democratisation advances.
Download or read book Albania Foreign Policy and National Security Yearbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments written by IBP USA and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 1999-10-01 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Democratisation in the European Neighbourhood written by Michael Emerson and published by CEPS. This book was released on 2005 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Approaches democratization of the European neighbourhood from two sides, first exploring developments in the states themselves and then examining what the European Union has been doing to promote the process.
Download or read book The Third Wave written by Samuel P. Huntington and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2012-09-06 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1974 and 1990 more than thirty countries in southern Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe shifted from authoritarian to democratic systems of government. This global democratic revolution is probably the most important political trend in the late twentieth century. In The Third Wave, Samuel P. Huntington analyzes the causes and nature of these democratic transitions, evaluates the prospects for stability of the new democracies, and explores the possibility of more countries becoming democratic. The recent transitions, he argues, are the third major wave of democratization in the modem world. Each of the two previous waves was followed by a reverse wave in which some countries shifted back to authoritarian government. Using concrete examples, empirical evidence, and insightful analysis, Huntington provides neither a theory nor a history of the third wave, but an explanation of why and how it occurred. Factors responsible for the democratic trend include the legitimacy dilemmas of authoritarian regimes; economic and social development; the changed role of the Catholic Church; the impact of the United States, the European Community, and the Soviet Union; and the "snowballing" phenomenon: change in one country stimulating change in others. Five key elite groups within and outside the nondemocratic regime played roles in shaping the various ways democratization occurred. Compromise was key to all democratizations, and elections and nonviolent tactics also were central. New democracies must deal with the "torturer problem" and the "praetorian problem" and attempt to develop democratic values and processes. Disillusionment with democracy, Huntington argues, is necessary to consolidating democracy. He concludes the book with an analysis of the political, economic, and cultural factors that will decide whether or not the third wave continues. Several "Guidelines for Democratizers" offer specific, practical suggestions for initiating and carrying out reform. Huntington's emphasis on practical application makes this book a valuable tool for anyone engaged in the democratization process. At this volatile time in history, Huntington's assessment of the processes of democratization is indispensable to understanding the future of democracy in the world.
Download or read book OECD Development Pathways Multi dimensional Review of the Western Balkans Assessing Opportunities and Constraints written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-10 with total page 654 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Western Balkans region has come a long way over the last two decades in achieving economic and social progress. With a population of 17.6 million, the region today boasts a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of close to EUR 100 billion, an average GDP per capita of about EUR 5 400 and a comprehensive process of integration with the European Union.
Download or read book Between Peace and Conflict in the East and the West written by Anja Mihr and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-08-05 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book features various studies on democratization, transformation, socio-economic development, and security issues in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) geographical region and beyond. Written by experts and scholars working in the field of human dimension, security, transformation and development in Europe and Asia, particularly in post-soviet and communist countries, it examines the connectivity that the OSCE provides between the East and the West. The 2021 edition of this Compilation Series of the OSCE Academy presents studies on peace and conflict as well as political regime development in various member states of the OSCE as well as their economic, security and human rights performance and the challenges countries and society face currently. The OSCE is working in promoting Human Rights and Democratization under the notion of Human Dimension of ODIHR and is enhancing securitization and development policies in Eurasia, Europe, Central Asia and North America since 1991. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary on the tremendous efforts in promoting democracy, security and development. This compilation reviews some of these efforts in light of this anniversary, the achievements and shortcomings.
Download or read book Economics of Institutional Change written by Elodie Douarin and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-10-24 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, a third edition, has been significantly expanded and updated. It revisits the process of institutional change: its characteristics, determinants and implications for economic performance. New chapters address the significance of Post-Communist transition, the differences and importance of initial conditions in institutional building, and, social norms, values, and happiness. Other chapters have been expanded to include, for example, a focus on the Washington consensus, commentary on the 2008 financial crisis, state capacity and corruption, and new findings on redistribution and inequality. With specific focus on Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, this revised edition examines the process of development, and its interdependence with institutions.
Download or read book Democracy in Iran written by Misagh Parsa and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-07 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Green Movement protests that erupted in Iran in 2009 amid allegations of election fraud shook the Islamic Republic to its core. For the first time in decades, the adoption of serious liberal reforms seemed possible. But the opportunity proved short-lived, leaving Iranian activists and intellectuals to debate whether any path to democracy remained open. Offering a new framework for understanding democratization in developing countries governed by authoritarian regimes, Democracy in Iran is a penetrating, historically informed analysis of Iran’s current and future prospects for reform. Beginning with the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Misagh Parsa traces the evolution of Iran’s theocratic regime, examining the challenges the Islamic Republic has overcome as well as those that remain: inequalities in wealth and income, corruption and cronyism, and a “brain drain” of highly educated professionals eager to escape Iran’s repressive confines. The political fortunes of Iranian reformers seeking to address these problems have been uneven over a period that has seen hopes raised during a reformist administration, setbacks under Ahmadinejad, and the birth of the Green Movement. Although pro-democracy activists have made progress by fits and starts, they have few tangible reforms to show for their efforts. In Parsa’s view, the outlook for Iranian democracy is stark. Gradual institutional reforms will not be sufficient for real change, nor can the government be reformed without fundamentally rethinking its commitment to the role of religion in politics and civic life. For Iran to democratize, the options are narrowing to a single path: another revolution.
Download or read book Democratization of Intelligence written by Peter Gill and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comparative analysis of the sometimes fraught process of achieving democratic governance of security intelligence agencies presents material from countries other than those normally featured in the Intelligence Studies literature of North America and Europe. Some of the countries examined are former Communist countries and several in Latin America are former military regimes. Others have been democratic for a long time but still experience widespread political violence. Through a mix of single-country and comparative studies, major aspects of intelligence are considered, including the legacy of, and transition from, authoritarianism; the difficulties of achieving genuine reform; and the apparent inevitability of periodic scandals. Authors consider a range of methodological approaches to the study of intelligence and the challenges of analysing the secret world. Finally, consideration is given to the success – or otherwise – of intelligence reform, and the effectiveness of democratic institutions of control and oversight. This book was originally published as a special issue of Intelligence and National Security.
Download or read book Peremptory International Legal Norms and the Democratic Rule of Law written by Sonja Grover and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peremptory International Legal Norms and the Democratic Rule of Law explores the risks to the democratic State inherent in the attempt to divorce the notion of democratic rule of law from respect for and adherence to peremptory international legal norms which allow for no derogation therefrom such as the prohibition of torture and inhumane treatment or punishment by the State. The chapters address, with specific current case examples, in what ways the democratic rule of law within certain democratic States risks being undermined through those States acquiescing to the erosion of peremptory international law norms in the domestic and international context. The book therefore explores the question of in what ways such democratic State acquiescence in effect may ultimately disrupt the investment within the State in the shared culture of core human rights values that underlies democratic rule of law itself and highlights the fragility of that shared culture. The contributors argue for a renewed commitment in principle and practice to the democratic rule of law and to its human rights international normative underpinnings. Peremptory International Legal Norms and the Democratic Rule of Law will be of great interest to scholars of international law, human rights and democracy. The chapters originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of Human Rights.
Download or read book Competitive Authoritarianism written by Steven Levitsky and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-08-16 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of state and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition challenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumbents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized.
