Modes of Post-Communism: Successor Parties, Trade Unions, and the State in Russia and East Central Europe

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Pasynkova
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The State ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Post Communism

Introduction: The State of Democracy 20 Years on

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Rupnik ◽  
Jan Zielonka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
The State ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
The Eu

The countries of East-Central Europe (ECE) embarked on a democratic transition in 1989 were proclaimed consolidated democracies when they joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. Today most of the new democracies are experiencing “democratic fatigue” and some seem vulnerable to an authoritarian turn. The EU, seen as the guarantor of the post-1989 democratic changes, is experiencing an unprecedented economic, financial, and democratic crisis with the combined challenges of technocracy and populism. The article explores the different approaches to the study of democracies in ECE, their specific features and vulnerabilities, and tries to provide an interpretation of the premature crisis of democracy in ECE in a broader transeuropean context.

scholarly journals From Neo-Slavism to Internationalism: Interwar Central Europe and the Search for the Lost Mountains

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29
Author(s):  
Carolin F. Roeder
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
State Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Habsburg Empire ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
Political Borders

AbstractThis article highlights the contribution of East Central Europe to interwar internationalism by showing how solutions to regional challenges gave birth to the Union internationale des associations d'alpinisme (UIAA), a permanent international organisation for mountaineering. The territorial fragmentation caused by the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire required alpine clubs to lobby for the softening of new political borders while simultaneously contributing to state building efforts. Successful experiences with bilateral agreements in the Tatras and re-emerging Neo-Slavist ideas led to the founding of the Association of Slavic Tourist Organization in 1924, which in turn motivated the establishment of the UIAA. The leading figures in this process were alpinists with a distinct internationalist profile who navigated seamlessly between their role as agents of the state and private citizens.

The Earthquake, Civil Society, and Political Change in Turkey: Assessment and Comparison with Eastern Europe

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kubicek
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
The State ◽  
Positive Experience ◽  
Political Liberalization ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central

Civil society has been widely celebrated as instrumental in democratization, but in some countries it remains poorly developed. Such was the case in Turkey, but many hoped that the 1999 earthquakes would lead to an invigoration of civil society and subsequent political liberalization. Examining this claim shows that Turkish civil society has not been able to sustain the energy it enjoyed immediately after the earthquake because of factors within civil society itself and the attitude of the state. This relative failure is then contrasted with the more positive experience of civil society in East-Central Europe. The comparisons reveal some limits to the utility of a civil society approach to democratization. I conclude by assessing the ability of other actors and factors to fashion political reform in Turkey today.

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