Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the political history of Central and Eastern Europe has been mainly the story of arise, consolidation, transformation and struggles of new democratic regimes and societies. The handbook offers an instructive approach to that history focusing on the relevance of practices and institutions of direct democracy. It collects 20 political analyses of direct democracy in 20 Central and Eastern European countries after 1989.
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. Exploring the referendum practices of eight European states, this book unpacks the intricacies of the institutional and procedural settings of referendum authorization to reach an equilibrium between the exercise of popular sovereignty and the protection of rule of law. The book also examines how, by authorizing certain issues and refusing others, state institutions can exercise considerable control over the whole referendum process.
The expansion of the European Union (EU) has put an end to the East-West division of Europe. At the same time it has increased the cultural heterogeneity, social disparities and economic imbalances within the EU, exemplified in the lower living standards and higher unemployment rates in some of the new member states. This important new reference work describes the education systems, labour markets and welfare production regimes in the 10 new Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. In three comparative chapters, discussing each of these domains in turn, the editors provide a set of theory-driven, comprehensive and informative indicators that allow comparisons and rankings within the new EU member states. Ten country-specific chapters follow, each written by experts from those countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. These chapters provide detailed information on each country's education and training systems, labour market structure and regulations, and its provision of formal and informal welfare support. An important component of each country chapter is the explanation of the historical background and the specific national conditions for the institutional choices in the transitional years. The handbook provides policy makers with the tools to assess the institutional changes in CEE countries, and scholars with ways to apply the proposed indicators to their analytic research. It will be a vital resource that no major research library should be without.
This edited volume discusses digital democracy at the local level in Europe. Contrasting the political discourse surrounding participatory digital democracy with actual experiences of implementation, the book provides a wholistic view of digital democracy across Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. The book is divided into three parts. Chapters in Part I analyze discourses about participatory democracy in Europe. Chapters in Part II provide case studies of digital democracy practices at the local level in the EU. Chapters in Part III discuss the risks and challenges associated with digital democracy. Written by a panel of international, interdisciplinary experts, this volume will be of interest to researchers, students, and practitioners across public administration, political science, economics, management, and sociology.
In den letzten Jahren hat die Rivalität zwischen den USA und China zugenommen und ein Konflikt um die globale politische Vorherrschaft zeichnet sich ab. Aufgrund der starken ökonomischen Vernetzung der beiden Staaten hätte ein offen geführter Konflikt jedoch hohe wirtschaftliche Verluste für beide Seiten zur Folge. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht das Buch wie hoch die Anreize für beide Seiten sind, aufgrund wirtschaftlicher Überlegungen einen Konflikt zu vermeiden und auch zukünftig auf Kooperation zu setzen.
Lateinamerika gilt als der ungleichste Kontinent der Welt. Paradoxerweise hat die Entwicklung ressourcenintensiver Sozialsysteme wenig dazu beigetragen, das soziale Ungleichgewicht zu verändern. Der Autor zeichnet dieses Paradox am Beispiel Argentiniens nach, deckt die zugrundeliegenden Macht- und Interessenskonflikte auf und stellt erfolgreiche Strategien zur Umsetzung einer integrativen Politik vor. Als erste Studie dieser Art untersucht sie systematisch die langfristige Entwicklung der sozialen Absicherung von Geringverdienern in Argentinien und analysiert die entscheidenden politischen, sozialen und ökonomischen Einflussfaktoren.
This book examines deliberative democracy and its practical forms and applications in local government public policy. Author Joanna Podgórska-Rykała explores the topic of democracy, leaning in particular on the origins of its representative variant. Analyzing the elite dimension of the concept of representation, she considers what historical and political events have influenced the contemporary shape of democracy and its understanding. How were democratic ideals shaped, and why are we currently experiencing a democratic recession? Why is the debate that should be integral to the functioning of collegiate bodies disappearing? Why aren't decisions based on evidence, and why don't decision-makers take into account expert opinions and stakeholder positions? Drawing on empirical research - interviews with city-level decision-makers - the author considers whether and how deliberative innovation can support the renewal of decision-making in representative institutions. Deliberative Democracy, Public Policy, and Local Government will be of enormous interest to doctoral students and researchers as well as to practitioners of local government administration, civic leaders, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, and people interested in public affairs. It can also be used as an important supplement in courses on public administration, political science, international relations, law, economics, and related studies at both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
The Oxford Handbook of Populism presents the state of the art of research on populism from the perspective of Political Science. The book features work from the leading experts in the field, and synthesizes the main strands of research in four compact sections: concepts, issues, regions, and normative debates. Due to its breath, The Oxford Handbook of Populism is an invaluable resource for those interested in the study of populism, but also forexperts in each of the topics discussed, who will benefit from accounts of current discussions and research gaps, as well as a map of new directions in the study of populism.
Until recently, referendums were little used. After the Scottish independence and Brexit referendums, they have come to the fore as a mechanism with the potential to disrupt the status quo and radically change political direction. This book looks at the historical development of the referendum, its use in different jurisdictions, and the types of constitutional questions it seeks to address. Written in an engaging style, the book offers a clear, objective overview of this important political and constitutional tool.
The impact of Communism on the twentieth century was massive, equal to that of the two world wars. Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, historians knew relatively little about the secretive world of communist states and parties. Since then, the opening of state, party, and diplomatic archives of the former Eastern Bloc has released a flood of new documentation. The thirty-five essays in this Handbook, written by an international team of scholars, draw on this new material to offer a global history of communism in the twentieth century. In contrast to many histories that concentrate on the Soviet Union, The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism is genuinely global in its coverage, paying particular attention to the Chinese Revolution. It is 'global', too, in the sense that the essays seek to integrate history 'from above' and 'from below', to trace the complex mediations between state and society, and to explore the social and cultural as well as the political and economic realities that shaped the lives of citizens fated to live under communist rule. The essays reflect on the similarities and differences between communist states in order to situate them in their socio-political and cultural contexts and to capture their changing nature over time. Where appropriate, they also reflect on how the fortunes of international communism were shaped by the wider economic, political, and cultural forces of the capitalist world. The Handbook provides an informative introduction for those new to the field and a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship for those seeking to deepen their understanding.
