Institutional Change and Political Continuity in Post-Soviet Central Asia

Institutional Change and Political Continuity in Post-Soviet Central Asia PDF Author: Pauline Jones Luong
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139432281
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
The establishment of electoral systems in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan presents both a complex set of empirical puzzles and a theoretical challenge. Why did three states with similar cultural, historical, and structural legacies establish such different electoral systems? How did these distinct outcomes result from strikingly similar institutional design processes? Explaining these puzzles requires understanding not only the outcome of institutional design but also the intricacies of the process that led to this outcome. Moreover, the transitional context in which these three states designed new electoral rules necessitates an approach that explicitly links process and outcome in a dynamic setting. This book provides such an approach. Finally, it both builds on the key insights of the dominant approaches to explaining institutional origin and change and transcends these approaches by moving beyond the structure versus agency debate.

Institutional Change and Political Continuity in Post-Soviet Central Asia

Institutional Change and Political Continuity in Post-Soviet Central Asia PDF Author: Pauline Jones Luong
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139432281
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Get Book Here

Book Description
The establishment of electoral systems in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan presents both a complex set of empirical puzzles and a theoretical challenge. Why did three states with similar cultural, historical, and structural legacies establish such different electoral systems? How did these distinct outcomes result from strikingly similar institutional design processes? Explaining these puzzles requires understanding not only the outcome of institutional design but also the intricacies of the process that led to this outcome. Moreover, the transitional context in which these three states designed new electoral rules necessitates an approach that explicitly links process and outcome in a dynamic setting. This book provides such an approach. Finally, it both builds on the key insights of the dominant approaches to explaining institutional origin and change and transcends these approaches by moving beyond the structure versus agency debate.

Central and Eastern Europe After Transition

Central and Eastern Europe After Transition PDF Author: Wojciech Sadurski
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131716900X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
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.

The Europeanization of Cyprus

The Europeanization of Cyprus PDF Author: A. Sepos
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230229824
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Drawing from rationalist and constructivist approaches The Europeanization of Cyprus identifies mechanisms and processes of Europeanization and examines their impact on the following key dimensions of Cyprus: executive, legislative and judicial authorities; political parties and public opinion; economy; agriculture and regional policy; foreign policy; and justice and home affairs. It also assesses how the territorial and temporal dimensions of the country have mediated the impact of these mechanisms and processes, and ultimately shaped the country's Europeanization experience. The book provides a deep understanding of the relations between Cyprus and the EU, while also enhancing our theoretical understanding of the impact of Europeanization on states, whether inside or outside the EU.

Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies

Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies PDF Author: Jon Elster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521479318
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The authors of this book have developed a new and stimulating approach to the analysis of the transitions of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia to democracy and a market economy. They integrate interdisciplinary theoretical work with elaborate empirical data on some of the most challenging events of the twentieth century. Three groups of phenomena and their causal interconnection are explored: the material legacies, constraints, habits and cognitive frameworks inherited from the past; the erratic configuration of new actors, and new spaces for action; and a new institutional order under which agency is institutionalized and the sustainability of institutions is achieved. The book studies the interrelations of national identities, economic interests, and political institutions with the transformation process, concentrating on issues of constitution making, democratic infrastructure, the market economy, and social policy.

Communism's Shadow

Communism's Shadow PDF Author: Grigore Pop-Eleches
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400887828
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
It has long been assumed that the historical legacy of Soviet Communism would have an important effect on post-communist states. However, prior research has focused primarily on the institutional legacy of communism. Communism's Shadow instead turns the focus to the individuals who inhabit post-communist countries, presenting a rigorous assessment of the legacy of communism on political attitudes. Post-communist citizens hold political, economic, and social opinions that consistently differ from individuals in other countries. Grigore Pop-Eleches and Joshua Tucker introduce two distinct frameworks to explain these differences, the first of which focuses on the effects of living in a post-communist country, and the second on living through communism. Drawing on large-scale research encompassing post-communist states and other countries around the globe, the authors demonstrate that living through communism has a clear, consistent influence on why citizens in post-communist countries are, on average, less supportive of democracy and markets and more supportive of state-provided social welfare. The longer citizens have lived through communism, especially as adults, the greater their support for beliefs associated with communist ideology—the one exception being opinions regarding gender equality. A thorough and nuanced examination of communist legacies' lasting influence on public opinion, Communism's Shadow highlights the ways in which political beliefs can outlast institutional regimes.

Institutional Legacies of Communism

Institutional Legacies of Communism PDF Author: Karl Cordell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135036659
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Twenty years after the demise of communist policy, this book evaluates the continuing communist legacies in the current minority protection systems and legislations across a number of states in post-communist Europe. The fall of communism and the process of democratisation across post-communist Europe led to considerable change in minority protection with new systems and national political institutions either developed or copied. In general, the new institutions reflected the practices and experiences of (western) European states and were installed upon advice from European security organisations. Yet many ideas, legislative frameworks, policies and practices remained open to interpretation on the ground. With case studies on a diverse set of post-communist polities including Slovakia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Ukraine, Estonia, Croatia, the Baltic States and Russia, expert contributors consider how the institutional legacies of the communist past impact on policies designed to support minority communities in the new European democracies. Providing unique empirical material and comparative analyses of ethnocultural diversity management during and after communism, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, European politics, political geography, post-communism, ethnic politics, nationalism and national identity.

Handbook of Doing Business in South East Europe

Handbook of Doing Business in South East Europe PDF Author: D. Sternad
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230314147
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 553

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Book Description
A comprehensive insight into a region which is characterized by rapid economic and social changes with a significant rise in foreign direct investments and privatization. Analysis covers political, legal, economic and social trends, and topics such as the influence of informal networks and corruption, as well as cultural diversity.

Crisis in Economics?

Crisis in Economics? PDF Author: László Csaba
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description


Capacity Building in National Environmental Policy

Capacity Building in National Environmental Policy PDF Author: Helmut Weidner
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662047942
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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Book Description
This book is the second collection of systematic case studies describing national environmental policies in 17 countries in terms of capacity building (see Appen dix). The OECD defines environmental capacity building as "a society's ability to identify and solve environmental problems. " While various institutions, including UNEP, FAO, World Bank and OECD, have hitherto used the terms environmental capacity and capacity building almost exclusively with reference to developing countries, we have extended the concepts to industrialized countries, as well. The first collection, edited by Martin Janicke, Helge Joergens (both Free University Berlin) and Helmut Weidner (Social Science Research Center Berlin), was pub lished in 1997 under the title "National Environmental Policies - A Comparative Study of Capacity-Building" (Berlin, etc. : Springer Verlag). It included 13 studies of countries. As in the first volume, chapter I presents the conceptual framework underlying the national case studies. It is a slightly shorter version of the corresponding chap ter in volume I. The design of all case studies in the two volumes is largely con gruent with this conceptual framework. Although the various sections of the stud ies do not always have identical titles and subtitles, the central elements of the capacity-building approach have been applied in all cases.

Governing the Post-communist City

Governing the Post-communist City PDF Author: Martin Horak
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 0802093280
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
When faced with the rapid and disorienting transition from communism to democracy, many eastern European leaders sought simple, immediately rewarding answers to complex policy problems. Undoubtedly, this hurried approach had a significant impact on the quality of democratic government in formerly communist countries. Through an analysis of urban politics in Prague between 1990 and 2000, Governing the Post-Communist City sheds new light on the factors that shaped policy in eastern Europe at the time of its democratic transformation. The first book-length study of post-communist urban politics in a city outside of Russia, Governing the Post-Communist City links the difficulties of democratic government in 1990s Prague to decisions made shortly after the fall of communism. Focusing on the issues of road infrastructure and downtown development, Martin Horak argues that local leadership was more concerned with insulating policy-making processes from public influence than with creating new policies suited to post-communist urban development. This set a precedent for the whole institutional environment of post-communist Prague and entrenched itself in the city's politics throughout the 1990s. Original, engaging, and authoritative, this study has much to say about the political climate in Prague after the downfall of communism, and makes insightful conclusions about the factors that contributed to present political circumstances in the region.