Reforming Regional Governance in East Central Europe: Europeanization or Domestic Politics as Usual?

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conor O’Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
East Central European

In recent years, a number of East Central European (ECE) governments have undertaken to radically alter the territorial structures of their public administration. Some have suggested that this development represents the growing Europeanization of ECE politics, in particular the role of the European Union. This article questions that view by examining the crucial role of domestic party politics in the enactment and implementation of regional governance reform. It does so through a close comparison of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Varieties of Capitalist Democracy: What Difference Does East-Central Europe Make?

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAIN McMENAMIN
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central European ◽  
Internal Politics ◽  
Capitalist Democracies ◽  
East Central European

The establishment of capitalist democracies in East-Central Europe raises the question of whether existing accounts of varieties of capitalist democracy need to be revised. This article provides a systematic quantitative comparison of varieties of capitalist democracy in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland with 19 other OECD countries. It finds that the East-Central European cases constitute a distinctive cluster; that they have much in common with Greece, Iberia and Ireland and that they are closer to the continental European than the liberal variety of capitalist democracy. These results have important implications for the internal politics of the European Union, prospects of an East-Central European repeat of the relative success of Ireland and the Mediterranean in the European Union, and debates about the influence of neo-liberalism on public policy.

Considering the Sub-Regional Cooperation in East-Central Europe – Some Conclusions on Integrating and Disintegrating Tendencies in the Sub-Regional Dialogue

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Wieclawski
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
Regional Interests ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
East Central European

This article discusses the problems of the sub-regional cooperation in East-Central Europe. It formulates the general conclusions and examines the specific case of the Visegrad Group as the most advanced example of this cooperation. The article identifies the integrating and disintegrating tendencies that have so far accompanied the sub-regional dialogue in East-Central Europe. Yet it claims that the disintegrating impulses prevail over the integrating impulses. EastCentral Europe remains diversified and it has not developed a single platform of the sub-regional dialogue. The common experience of the communist period gives way to the growing difference of the sub-regional interests and the ability of the East-Central European members to coordinate their positions in the European Union is limited. The Visegrad Group is no exception in this regard despite its rich agenda of social and cultural contacts. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict confirms a deep divergence of interests among the Visegrad states that seems more important for the future of the Visegrad cooperation than the recent attempts to mark the Visegrad unity in the European refugee crisis. Finally, the Ukrainian crisis and the strengthening of the NATO’s “Eastern flank” may contribute to some new ideas of the sub-regional cooperation in East-Central Europe, to include the Polish-Baltic rapprochement or the closer dialogue between Poland and Romania. Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v10i1.251  

Constitutions, EU Law and Judicial Strategies in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARCIN MATCZAK ◽  
MATYAS BENCZE ◽  
ZDENEK KÜHN
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
Institutional Effects ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Rule Approach ◽  
General Principles Of Law

AbstractGiven far-reaching changes in the legal systems of East Central Europe since the mid-1990s, one might expect administrative court judges to have modified the way in which they decide cases, in particular by embracing less formalistic adjudication strategies. Relying on an original dataset of over one thousand business-related cases from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, this article shows that – despite some variation across countries and time – judges have largely failed to respond to the incentives contained in the new constitutional frameworks. They continue to adopt the most-locally-applicable-rule approach and are reluctant to apply general principles of law or to rely on Dworkinian ‘policies’ in deciding hard cases. The analysis links these weak institutional effects to the role of constitutional courts, case overload and educational legacies.

The Geopolitics of Tolerance: Minority Rights Under EU Expansion in East-Central Europe

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn M. Tesser
Keyword(s):  
Minority Rights ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
European Standards

Post-communist states aiming to join European organizations such as the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union felt pressure early on after 1989 to adopt emerging European norms on minority rights. Though scholars have already noted frequent acceptance of these standards, the question remains of how European norms actually affect the political salience of identity. Pressure to adhere to them undoubtedly reigned in potential conflict over the Hungarian minority in Slovakia as well as over Russians in Latvia and Estonia. Yet such beneficial results can be offset, first, when political elites' strategic acceptance of European standards undermines the legitimacy of liberal values, and second, when such norms create friction by unintentionally encouraging ethnic groups such as Moravians in the Czech Republic and Silesians in Poland to transform themselves into “nationalities.”

scholarly journals Examining Illiberal Trends and Anti-EU Politics in East Central Europe from a Domestic Perspective: State of Research and Outline of the Book

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Lisa H. Anders ◽  
Astrid Lorenz
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central European ◽  
The Subject ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
East Central European

Abstract This opening chapter introduces the subject matter and objectives of the book. It first explains central terms and provides an overview of the different illiberal trends in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It then sketches recent conflicts between EU actors and the four East Central European states and explains why these conflicts are of a new quality. Next, it summarises the state of research on illiberal backsliding and on the EU’s tools against it and identifies shortcomings and gaps in the literature. Finally, it outlines the aims as well as the overall structure of the book and provides an overview of the contributions.

scholarly journals Considering the Sub-Regional Cooperation in East-Central Europe – Some Conclusions on Integrating and Disintegrating Tendencies in the Sub-Regional Dialogue

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Wieclawski
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
Regional Interests ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
East Central European

This article discusses the problems of the sub-regional cooperation in East-Central Europe. It formulates the general conclusions and examines the specific case of the Visegrad Group as the most advanced example of this cooperation. The article identifies the integrating and disintegrating tendencies that have so far accompanied the sub-regional dialogue in East-Central Europe. Yet it claims that the disintegrating impulses prevail over the integrating impulses. EastCentral Europe remains diversified and it has not developed a single platform of the sub-regional dialogue. The common experience of the communist period gives way to the growing difference of the sub-regional interests and the ability of the East-Central European members to coordinate their positions in the European Union is limited. The Visegrad Group is no exception in this regard despite its rich agenda of social and cultural contacts. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict confirms a deep divergence of interests among the Visegrad states that seems more important for the future of the Visegrad cooperation than the recent attempts to mark the Visegrad unity in the European refugee crisis. Finally, the Ukrainian crisis and the strengthening of the NATO’s “Eastern flank” may contribute to some new ideas of the sub-regional cooperation in East-Central Europe, to include the Polish-Baltic rapprochement or the closer dialogue between Poland and Romania.

The Corruption Eruption in East-Central Europe: The Increased Salience of Corruption and the Role of Intergovernmental Organizations

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandru Grigorescu
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Economic Developments

This article focuses on the increased salience of corruption in East-Central Europe. It shows that press coverage of the issue is much greater than in the past and also greater than in other regions with comparable or higher levels of corruption. This finding is relevant because anticorruption rhetoric can have an important impact on political and economic developments, one that is partially independent of the actual levels of corruption. The study investigates several domestic and international factors that may have led to this development and finds that the role of intergovernmental organizations has been essential in bringing the issue to the forefront of public debates. Moreover, it shows that the European Union has recently been more effective in raising the salience of corruption in the region than other organizations. The article concludes with a discussion of the effect that EU membership may have on future anticorruption rhetoric and policies.

scholarly journals The Crisis of Democracy: An East-Central European Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-365
Author(s):  
Jerzy J. Wiatr
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Religious Fundamentalism ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central European ◽  
Economic Underdevelopment ◽  
Democratic Transformation ◽  
East Central European ◽  
Better Than

AbstractPost-communist states of East Central Europe face the authoritarian challenge to their young democracies, the sources of which are both historical and contemporary. Economic underdevelopment, the retarded process of nation-building and several decades of communist rul made countries of the region less well prepared for democratic transformation than their Western neighbors, but better than former Soviet Union. Combination of economic and social tensions, nationalism and religious fundamentalism creates conditions conducive tom the crises of democracy, but such crises can be overcome if liberal and socialist forces join hands.

scholarly journals Piotr Piotrowski Awangarda w cieniu Jałty. Sztuka w Europie środkowo-wschodniej w latach 1945–89 (Avant-Garde in the Shadow of Yalta. Art in East-Central Europe, 1945–1989) 2005.

Nordlit ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Piotr Bernatowicz
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Research Field ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Virgin Land ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Polish Art ◽  
East Central European

Mieczysław Porębski, a distinguished Polish art historian of the 20th century, once expressed the demand for Polish art history to be researched simultaneously with foreign studies - as parallel fields. "We entered the research field of the old masters' art as partners in, so to say, a ‘furnished household', whereas in the field of contemporary art we are co-explorers, exploring a ‘virgin land'", as Porębski put it. The book by professor Piotr Piotrowski Awangarda w cieniu Jałty. Sztuka w Europie środkowo-wschodniej w latach 1945-89 (The Avant-Garde in the Shadow of Yalta. The Art in East-Central Europe, 1945-1989) fully accomplishes this demanding postulate which nowadays seems to be rather rarely remembered by Polish art historians. The explored area, the East-Central European countries, which emerged, as a result of the Yalta Conference, between the iron curtain and the border of The Soviet Union (including former Yugoslavia) appears at least as an ‘old maiden' land, where scientific penetration still seems to be necessary.

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