Clientelism, Elites, and the Media in Central and Eastern Europe

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Örnebring

This article argues that the traditional political science definition of clientelism is insufficient for explaining how the media fit in with clientelistic systems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It is suggested that a broader understanding of clientelism, looking in particular at how media are used as elite-to-elite communication tools as well as elite-to-mass communication tools, better explains the place of the media in the clientelistic systems of the CEE nations. Empirically, it is based on a set of 272 elite and expert interviews conducted across ten CEE countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) in 2010 and 2011. The article presents some general findings on the nature and character of the linkages between political elites and the media, and the extent to which such linkages can be considered clientelistic. Then follows a discussion of specific practices of media instrumentalization, charting the many ways in which the media can function as a resource in conflicts and negotiations between clientelistic elite networks, directly as well as indirectly. Particular attention is given to the phenomena of advertorials and kompromat.

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
R. I. Mawby ◽  
I. Brabcová ◽  
E. Koubová

Police structures and everyday practices in Central and Eastern Europe have changed dramatically in recent years, but changes have varied both in terms of the countries involved and in terms of the particular feature of the police system under review. This paper focuses on one city, Prague, and considers the ways in which the police deal with crime victims, specifically victims of burglary. The findings are compared with an earlier study in Poland, Hungary, Germany and England. The police are the main agency with which burglary victims are involved, and the service they provide is important, not least because clear-up rates are low. It was, therefore, reassuring to find that victims were generally positive about the way the police dealt with their cases. This is very different from the situation in Poland, where victims were far more critical. However, those victims who were most affected or worried about crime were least positive, suggesting that there is a link between perceptions of police work and perceptions of the crime situation. A comparison between the Czech Republic and Poland also suggests that relatively minor changes to police practices may improve victims' experiences and thereby their evaluation of police work.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Kubala ◽  
Marcin Stanuch

One of the key markets of the European Union is the poultry meat market. The situation on this market is of significant importance to both producers and consumers. The main aim of the article is to study the level of self-sufficiency of selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe in the production of poultry meat. Eleven countries were selected as the research area: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. In the conducted research, simplified indices of self-sufficiency were used: the balance of foreign trade in terms of volume and value, average annual consumption per capita and production volume in relation to consumption. The study was conducted for the years 2009-2018. The statistical sources used come from FAOSTAT and International Trade Centre databases. Research has shown that the analyzed countries are characterized by a significant diversification of the self-sufficiency level of poultry meat production. Only 6 analyzed countries can meet the domestic consumption demand from their own production, the remaining countries supplement the deficit from imported goods. The highest level of self-sufficiency of poultry meat production was observed in Poland, Slovenia, Lithuania and Hungary. On the other hand, the lowest level is found in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia and Latvia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Bertossi Urzua ◽  
Milagros A Ruiz ◽  
Andrzej Pajak ◽  
Magdalena Kozela ◽  
Ruzena Kubinova ◽  
...  

BackgroundSocial cohesion has a potential protective effect against depression, but evidence for Central and Eastern Europe is lacking. We investigated the prospective association between social cohesion and elevated depressive symptoms in the Czech Republic, Russia and Poland, and assessed whether alcohol drinking and smoking mediated this association.MethodsCohort data from 15 438 older urban participants from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe project were analysed. Baseline social cohesion was measured by five questions, and depressive symptoms were measured 3 years later by the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Depression (CES-D) Scale. Nested logistic regression models estimated ORs of elevated depressive symptoms (CES-D 10 score ≥4) by z-scores and tertiles of social cohesion.ResultsPer 1 SD decrease in social cohesion score, adjusted ORs of elevated depressive symptoms were 1.13 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.23) and 1.05 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.13) in men and women, respectively. Further adjustment for smoking and drinking did not attenuate these associations in either men (OR=1.13, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.22) or women (OR=1.05, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.13). Similarly, the fully adjusted ORs comparing the lowest versus highest social cohesion tertile were 1.33 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.62) in men and 1.18 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.39) in women.ConclusionsLower levels of social cohesion was associated with heightened depressive symptoms after a 3-year follow-up among older Czech, Russian and Polish adults. These effects appeared stronger in men, and alcohol and smoking played no appreciable role in this association.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
E. Mathijs

The aim of this paper is to summarize the results of the EU Phare ACE research project P97-8158-R, “Micro-economic analysis of farm restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe”, that tries to fill the gap of theoretical as well as empirical research into the implications of continuing and evolving farm restructuring in CEECs on the efficiency of the agricultural production sector and the development of rural areas by focusing on the economic decisions and perspectives of farm operators, asset owners and rural households. For this purpose, surveys among family farms and farm enterprises were carried out in 2000 in Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 66-83
Author(s):  
Tomasz Grabia

The article discusses key problems of fiscal policy in four selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) in years 2001—2014. The analysis covers, among others, indicators of public debt and its determinants, as well as indicators of budget revenues and expenditures. The article points out that public debt increased in all the studied countries in the analysed period. Both structural and cyclical deficits were responsible for its build-up. The country with the best state of public finances was the Czech Republic. Although the situation improved from 2011 Hungary had the highest level of debt in relation to GDP. That country was also characterized by a degree of fiscalism, measured by both budget revenues and expenditures in relations to GDP, much higher than those for other countries.


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