scholarly journals How Political Parties Use Referendums: An Analytical Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-690
Author(s):  
Sergiu Gherghina
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
European Countries ◽  
East European ◽  
Theoretical Reasoning

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. Extensive research has shown how political parties use referendums to achieve their goals. Most studies use either a policy-oriented or an institution-based approach to explain parties’ actions. In spite of much empirical evidence, to date the analytical dimensions have not been put together to facilitate the study of referendum instrumentalization across countries. This article makes a first step in that direction and proposes a typology that distinguishes between the goals and types of action of political parties. The theoretical reasoning behind such a typology is then backed by empirical evidence from the five East European countries included in the special section of this journal.

A major study on Ottoman architecture in Hungary

1982 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
Géza Fehérvári
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
East European ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
The World ◽  
Ottoman Architecture ◽  
South Eastern Europe ◽  
Art And Architecture

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in Turkish art and architecture, an interest that embraces not only the monuments in Turkey proper but also those which were erected in south-eastern Europe during the Ottoman occupation. Thus a few years ago, when in conjunction with the World of Islam Festival a symposium was held in Edinburgh dedicated to Islam in the Balkans, the participants dealt with Islamic monuments in Bulgaria, Rumania, Greece and Yugoslavia. The Ottoman monuments of Hungary are admittedly not as numerous as those of these south-east European countries; nevertheless,they represent the achievements of a period which is justifiably called the ‘classical’ period in Ottoman art.

scholarly journals Back to the kitchen? Gender role attitudes in 13 East European countries

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Fodor ◽  
Anikó Balogh
Keyword(s):  
Gender Role ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
East European ◽  
Material Conditions

This paper explores the determinants of gender role opinions in 13 post-communist Eastern European societies using survey data from the project EUREQUAL. Our main findings consist of two parts. First, contrary to the expectations of scholars who emphasize the lack of gender/feminist consciousness in Eastern Europe, we argue that gender indeed is an important determinant of gender role opinions in post-communist societies: as elsewhere women express more liberal attitudes than men. Second, we argue that the interaction of other determinants of gender role opinions with gender also follows patterns described in the literature for more developed capitalist countries. In this respect, therefore, East European countries seem to fit the general trends of gender role opinion formation. As explanation we point to a connection between women’s material conditions and their gender role attitudes, not denying the importance of cultural difference – if primarily as exception – to this process. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel untersucht, auf Basis von Umfragedaten des EUREQUAL-Projektes, die Determinanten von Einstellungen zu Geschlechterrollen in 13 postkommunistischen osteuropäischen Gesellschaften. Unsere Hauptergebnisse bestehen aus zwei Teilen. Erstens: Wir legen dar, dass – entgegen den Erwartungen von Wissenschaftler(inne)n, die das Fehlen eines Gender- oder feministischen Bewusstseins betonen – dass Gender in postkommunistischen Gesellschaften tatsächlich eine wichtige Determinante der Meinungen über die Geschlechterrollen ist: Wie auch anderswo bringen Frauen liberalere Einstellungen als Männer zum Ausdruck. Zweitens: Wir argumentieren, dass die Interaktion anderer Determinanten der Meinungen zu den Geschlechterrollen mit Gender gleichfalls den Mustern folgt, die in der Literatur im Bezug auf weiter entwickelte kapitalistische Gesellschaften beschrieben werden. In dieser Hinsicht scheinen die osteuropäischen Gesellschaften sich den allgemeinen Trends der Herausbildung von Meinungen zu den Geschlechterrollen anzugleichen. Zur Erklärung verweisen wir auf den Zusammenhang zwischen den materiellen Lebensbedingungen von Frauen und ihren Einstellungen zu den Geschlechterrollen, ohne jedoch die Bedeutsamkeit kultureller Unterschiede – wenn sie auch eher Ausnahmen sind – abzustreiten.

Discover, Instrumentalize, Monopolize: Fidesz’s Three-Step Blueprint for a Populist Take-over of Referendums

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pepijn van Eeden
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
The Other ◽  
Economic Disparities ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Apathy ◽  
Risky Option

This article assesses the referendums in Hungary in 2004, 2008, and 2016 diachronically. The review is framed by two competing liberal parliamentary approaches to direct democracy: A useful democratic corrective to the distortions of particracy, or a risky option leading to tyranny of the majority? Rather than choosing sides, this article shows how the conundrum conceals another, more interesting question: Which are the constraints under which the liberal parliamentary viewpoint shifts from the one to the other? Theorizing on post-democracy and populism provides a provisional answer: A consensualized, “post-political” parliament is key, as this, in combination with widening social-economic disparities, incentivizes illiberal populist parties to harness referendums, which prompts liberal parliamentarianists to change their minds. The referendums in 2004, 2008, and 2016 in Hungary substantiate this suspicion. Taken together, they offer a step-by-step blueprint for how, in a thoroughly postpolitical situation, a referendum evolves into a perfect catalyst for populists on their road to power, enabling them with (a) agenda-setting; (b) an explosive emphasis on popular legitimacy; (c) arousing voluntarism, while luring opponents into campaigning for boycott and political apathy; (d) combining social equalitarianism with identarian protectionism, and most importantly; (e) bypassing parliament itself. This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina.

scholarly journals Hijacked Direct Democracy: The Instrumental Use of Referendums in Romania

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 778-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergiu Gherghina
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Electoral Strategies ◽  
The Relationship

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. The relationship between political parties and referendums has been receiving increased attention in the literature. While most research has focused on the challenges faced by political parties, little attention is dedicated to the ways in which they can use referendums to serve their purposes. This article analyzes the seven national-level referendums organized in post-communist Romania between 1991 and 2012 and shows how referendums were not used primarily as a means to reflect citizens’ opinions on policy issues. Instead, they were primarily used as electoral strategies for legitimacy purposes or to augment the popularity of the initiators or main supporters. In isolated instances, they were oriented against other competitors.

Campaigning Outside the Campaign: Political Parties and Referendums in Bulgaria

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stoycho P. Stoychev ◽  
Gergana Tomova
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Potential Reason

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. The instrumental use of referendums by political parties has already been acknowledged in earlier studies showing how parties in government used direct democracy tools to promote their policies and to gain legitimacy, while parties in opposition sought to augment their image in the eyes of the public. However, opposition parties may have another potential reason to promote referendums on top of their quest for a better public image: The topic of the referendum could be a legacy of their own government. This article reveals how this mechanism works by focusing on the first referendum at the national level in post-communist Bulgaria in 2013. It shows how the Bulgarian Socialist Party, in opposition at the time of the referendum, pursued a policy initiated when it was in office. We use primary data to investigate the extent to which the rhetoric of the party during the referendum campaign served as the basis for subsequent electoral campaigns.

Born again, or born anew

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Beyens ◽  
Kris Deschouwer ◽  
Emilie van Haute ◽  
Tom Verthé
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
Party Building ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Born Again ◽  
Two Stages

New-Flemish Alliance (N-VA) burst on the scene barely a decade ago and is now Belgium’s largest political party. One explanation for this success is that N-VA is not brand new but rose from the ashes of a dissolved party. How exactly should we differentiate between new and old parties? We use Barnea and Rahat’s (2011) analytical framework to assess dimensions of N-VA’s newness and capture the party at two stages – start-up and more developed. This shows that N-VA is a successor party, building on its predecessor’s ideology and programme, its electorate, activists and organization. However, we also find indicators that the party actively renewed in terms of ideology and party organization. The empirical evidence illustrates that newness of political parties should be conceived of as multi-dimensional, which allows for a more subtle approach to questions about the origin and varying success of new political parties.

scholarly journals Amicus Curiae: Origin, Worldwide Experience and Suggestions for East European Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-39
Author(s):  
Iryna Izarova ◽  
Bartosz Szolc-Nartowski ◽  
Anastasiia Kovtun
Keyword(s):  
Case Management ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
Amicus Curiae ◽  
East European ◽  
Legal Position

Abstract This article describes the meaning of amicus curiae according to modern legislation and doctrine, as well as its origin from Roman law and English law. One part of the article is devoted to the current legal position of international institutions regarding amicus curiae and its place in different legal systems worldwide. Furthermore, the last part of the article related to the analysis of the new amicus curiae concept in Ukraine legislation, combined with the new principles of judicial case management and cooperation of the judge and parties in civil procedure. The article concludes with some thoughts about the need and viability of its implementation in the civil law countries using examples of current reforms of Civil Procedure in Ukraine, and other states of Eastern Europe.

Intraparty democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 652-662
Author(s):  
Benjamin von dem Berge ◽  
Peter Obert
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Vital Part ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression

In the postcommunist period, political parties in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) had to convincingly demonstrate that they are a vital part of a functioning democratic society. Well-developed intraparty democracy (IPD) is one way of accomplishing this. By asking what factors are relevant to an explanation of IPD formation, we present an analytical framework in which the formation of IPD can be investigated and explore the patterns of IPD and their determinants. We draw on a newly constructed data set based on standardized content analysis, including 129 party statutes from 14 major political parties from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia between 1989 and 2011. Relying on unit fixed-effects regression approaches, our analyses suggest that especially imperatives related to party origin and Europeanization have important implications for the formation of IPD within CEE parties.

scholarly journals Turning Point in Christianity: Eastern Europe in the Late 20th Century

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry John Tolmay
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
East European

Ten years before the collapse of communism, there were warning signs that the Soviet Union’s economy was becoming crippled. Soviet authorities controlled and influenced the Russian Orthodox Church and they jailed leaders of the church in all East European countries. The fall of the Berlin wall created a turning point in Christianity in 1989. More than 8 000 Russian Orthodox Churches were reopened between 1990 and 1995. The nineties could be described as a time of hope regarding religious revival in Eastern Europe. In this paradigm shift, freedom of religion became officially recognised as a basic human right and a multitude of denominations became free to compete for followers. In Prague, Cardinal Miroslav VIk had ministered clandestinely to Catholics while officially working as a window-washer during communist rule. He was known by the people as the “generous pastor.” After the Velvet Revolution, he became bishop and later cardinal in the Czech Republic. In many East European countries, religion and national identity are closely entwined. According to the Pew Research Centre report on Christianity, in Eastern Europe there was a sustainable increase in religious activities from the early 1990s until 2017. The fall of the Berlin wall had a significant influence on South Africa. It helped South Africa in its democratic process. The once dominating neo-Calvinistic control of society was replaced by a new paradigm of democratic freedom and an equal religious stance by the new government elected in 1994.

The Tragedies of American Foreign Policy: Further Reflections

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cox ◽  
Caroline Kennedy-Pipe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Basic Problem ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
European Countries ◽  
East European ◽  
Roll Back

Cox and Kennedy-Pipe offer a staunch defense of their article, arguing that the commentators generally missed the point of what the article was supposed to accomplish.Rather than providing an exhaustive account of the early Cold War and all the complications posed by Germany, the article sought to distill the essence of U.S.and Soviet strategies.The basic problem, as highlighted in the article, is that the United States would not accept the extension of Soviet in fluence into Eastern Europe and that, in opposing and seeking to roll back Soviet in fluence, U.S.of ficials sealed the fate of the East European countries.

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