Building Good (Enough) Governance in Postconflict Societies & Areas of Limited Statehood: The European Union & the Western Balkans

In this essay, we assess how the European Union supports the development of postconflict Western Balkan societies toward stable peace, economic prosperity, and consolidated democracy, moving them along the path to Denmark. Our analysis reveals that the EU has contributed to effective and democratic governance in its southeastern neighborhood. At the same time, its effectiveness as an external good governance–builder varies. Structural postconflict conditions that are not conducive to democratization, conflicting policy objectives, the dynamic interplay between the EU and Western Balkan governments, and the involvement of domestic third-party actors in the reform process explain this variation. To make EU good governance–building more effective, we recommend acknowledging conflicting objectives and using governance-building instruments consistently and credibly to reconceptualize external good governance–building as a dynamic process between external and domestic actors and to take domestic actors and their preferences seriously.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL FOR THE PARK AND RIDE SYSTEM IN THE MAJOR LITHUANIAN CITIES / SISTEMOS „STATYK IR VAŽIUOK“ PLĖTROS DIDŽIUOSIUOSE LIETUVOS MIESTUOSE MODELIS

Park and Ride (P&R) is the original transport system of public passengers, acting as a traditional supplement of public transport. The system is becoming widely popular in European cities. The central core of this system is composed of parking facilities in the specified parking areas at the approaches to the city with connections to public transport or special buses that allow people reach the city centre. The P&R system is based on a reduction in car density in the city centre as well as on a decrease in traffic noise, air and visual pollution. Furthermore, the P&R system is an economical and time-saving way to travel. This article has been prepared according to structural support provided by the European Union (EU) for the purpose of developing the P&R system in five major Lithuanian cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Siauliai and Panevezys. Therefore, this paper is aimed at the development and application of the theoretical model of the P&R system to Lithuanian cities according to external good and bad practice. „Statyk ir važiuok“ (toliau – SV) yra originali viešoji keleivių susisiekimo sistema, veikianti kaip tradicinio viešojo transporto (toliau – VT) papildinys. Ši sistema plačiai populiarėja Europos miestuose. Jos esmę sudaro tai, kad lengvasis automobilis paliekamas specialioje automobilių stovėjimo aikštelėje miesto prieigose ir tolesnė kelionė tęsiama VT arba specialiu autobusu. SV sistema orientuota į miesto centro apkrovos lengvaisiais automobiliais mažinimą, ji padeda sumažinti transporto priemonių keliamą triukšmą, oro ir vizualinę taršą mieste, taupo keleivių laiką ir pinigus. Šis straipsnis rengiamas atsižvelgiant į Europos Sąjungos (toliau – ES) struktūrinės paramos periodu numatytą finansavimą, skirtą SV sistemos plėtrai penkiuose didžiausiuose Lietuvos miestuose (Vilniuje, Kaune, Klaipėdoje, Šiauliuose ir Panevėžyje). Todėl šio straipsnio tikslas – sukurti ir pritaikyti SV sistemos teorinį modelį Lietuvos miestams, remiantis gerąja ir blogąja užsienio praktika.

Problems of globalization in modern Catholic thought

The growth of the scale and pace of globalization of the planet in virtually all spheres of development of world societies is quite natural to discuss and study this process, its nature, trends and future Earth. In the processes of globalization, according to many scholars, politicians, theologians, and journalists, there are not only continuous positive changes, but also a sufficient amount of negativity. In particular, when the external good intentions of expanding contacts between people and states, raising prosperity, the level of individual and collective security is concealed the doctrine, which implies in the final result complete destruction of the difference of individuals, the desire of anyone and everyone to a single set of all material and spiritual values , and, perhaps, suppression of intellectuality under the slogan of struggle for the ideals of democracy and individual freedom.