scholarly journals The role of Ukrainian think tanks in shaping of public opinion on the European integration (on the example of Razumkov Centre and Gorshenin Institute)

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Olena Shkrobanets
Author(s):  
Catherine E. De Vries

The European Union (EU) is facing one of the rockiest periods in its existence. At no time in its history has it looked so economically fragile, so insecure about how to protect its borders, so divided over how to tackle the crisis of legitimacy facing its institutions, and so under assault by Eurosceptic parties. The unprecedented levels of integration in recent decades have led to increased public contestation, yet at the same the EU is more reliant on public support for its continued legitimacy than ever before. This book examines the role of public opinion in the European integration process. It develops a novel theory of public opinion that stresses the deep interconnectedness between people’s views about European and national politics. It suggests that public opinion cannot simply be characterized as either Eurosceptic or not, but rather that it consists of different types. This is important because these types coincide with fundamentally different views about the way the EU should be reformed and which policy priorities should be pursued. These types also have very different consequences for behaviour in elections and referendums. Euroscepticism is such a diverse phenomenon because the Eurozone crisis has exacerbated the structural imbalances within the EU. As the economic and political fates of member states have diverged, people’s experiences with and evaluations of the EU and national political systems have also grown further apart. The heterogeneity in public preferences that this book has uncovered makes a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing Euroscepticism unlikely to be successful.


2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
Jan Kovář

The European Union (EU) is facing one of the rockiest periods in its existence. At no time in its history has it looked so economically fragile, so insecure about how to protect its borders, so divided over how to tackle the crisis of legitimacy facing its institutions, and so under assault by Eurosceptic parties. The unprecedented levels of integration in recent decades have led to increased public contestation, yet at the same the EU is more reliant on public support for its continued legitimacy than ever before. This book examines the role of public opinion in the European integration process. It develops a novel theory of public opinion that stresses the deep interconnectedness between people’s views about European and national politics. It suggests that public opinion cannot simply be characterized as either Eurosceptic or not, but rather that it consists of different types. This is important because these types coincide with fundamentally different views about the way the EU should be reformed and which policy priorities should be pursued. These types also have very different consequences for behaviour in elections and referendums. Euroscepticism is such a diverse phenomenon because the Eurozone crisis has exacerbated the structural imbalances within the EU. As the economic and political fates of member states have diverged, people’s experiences with and evaluations of the EU and national political systems have also grown further apart. The heterogeneity in public preferences that this book has uncovered makes a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing Euroscepticism unlikely to be successful.


Author(s):  
Valerii Borisovich Ryzhov

This research is dedicated to the prospects for consolidation of the Ukrainians as a civil nation based on such resource as the European Integration. The author describes the theoretical aspects of national and state identity. Methodology leans on the parallel use of descriptive, comparative, and structural forms of analysis. The conclusion is made that European Integration currently manifests as one of the potential steps, which would allow eliminating the “retrospective orientation” of national and state identity of the Ukrainians, regulating the existing memorial conflicts, and forming a positive image of the future by alleviation of tension in the relations between the representatives of different ethnoses, regions and political orientations. Deepening of European Integration would contribute to not only consolidation of the European citizens as a nation, but also improve relationships of the official Kiev with the neighboring countries. Attention is focused on the analysis of attractiveness of European Integration for the Ukrainian citizens. A thought is advanced that one of the ways for enhancing integration processes with regards to Ukraine and the European Union is the creation of effective institutional mediation instruments on the national level. The author discusses the role of propaganda upon Ukrainian population against enhancement of the processes of European Integration. The article analyzes public opinion on political and socioeconomic policy of modern Ukraine.


Author(s):  
Donald E. Abelson

This chapter explores the role of think tanks in Canada, and their efforts to contribute to the formulation and implementation of public policy. As the Canadian think tank population continues to grow, more questions about how and under what conditions they are able to shape public opinion and the policy preferences and choices of elected and appointed officials are being asked. This chapter highlights the diverse and eclectic nature of Canadian think tanks, and the various ways they have been able to offer their insights and analysis of domestic and foreign policy issues. In doing so, consideration is given to the methodological hurdles scholars must overcome to evaluate more accurately the extent to which think tanks are able to influence both the content and outcome of major policy initiatives.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Moland

A large literature investigates support for European integration. However, only recently have public opinion scholars turned their focus to public perceptions of differentiated modes of integration. This article contributes to this growing literature by investigating whether exclusively national identities lead to a demand for more differentiated integration at the EU level, regardless of individual views of the question of EU membership. Using survey data from 2020, I show that solely identifying with one’s nation-state does not increase support for temporally or functionally differentiated European integration in any substantive way. However, it appears to be a key motivator of support for differentiation among those opposing EU membership. This suggests that those most concerned with sovereignty are no more likely than others to support a more differentiated EU. It also suggests that a more differentiated future EU may not be enough to stem constraining dissensus at the popular level.


Author(s):  
Natalia Rudenko ◽  
◽  
Tatiana Tuchak ◽  

The article analyzes the fiscal role of the excise tax on excisable goods (products) produced in Ukraine in the context of permanent changes in the tax legislative framework and within the framework of the global crisis through the coronavirus disease COVID-19. The concept of excise tax has been substantiated, a list of excisable products (goods) has been provided in accordance with legislative acts, the payers of this tax have been specified. The most important events and transactions that influenced the amount of tax revenues from excise tax are investigated. The authors believe that the main reason for the changes in the administration process and the receipt of the excise tax are the European integration transformations and the conditions of the global socio-economic crisis. Based on the difficult economic situation in the state, some legislative acts regulating the collection of excise tax from excisable products produced in the country were considered. It was revealed that a moratorium on the payment of excise tax was imposed on the territory of the studied state for a certain period. This event made its own adjustments to the proceeds from the payment of excise tax on excisable products (goods) produced domestically, and also allowed domestic producers to move from the place of economic stagnation. In Ukraine, they began to actively manufacture and sell antiseptic and disinfectants of their own production to protect citizens. According to the data of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, the authors analyzed the indicators of tax revenues for each type of excisable products (goods) of domestic production. It was revealed from which products more tax was received during the study period. The main factors that influenced the receipts of excise tax from excisable goods produced on the territory of Ukraine in the period of 2019, as well as for 9 months of 2020, have been determined.


Author(s):  
Haidar Moukdad

Sample contributions by Arab contributors to a discussion forum were analyzed to study the role of the Web in promoting free speech and demystifying long held views of Arab public opinion. The findings of the study highlight the importance of the role played by the Web in promoting free speech among traditionally repressed populations, and provide insights that will help in correcting misconceptions about Arab public opinion.Un échantillonnage d’interventions par des participants arabes à un forum de discussion a été analysé afin d’étudier le rôle du Web dans le développement de la liberté de parole et la démystification des préjugés concernant l’opinion publique arabe. Les résultats de l’étude mettent en lumière l’importance du rôle joué par le Web dans le développement de la liberté de parole parmi les populations traditionnellement réprimées et offrent des idées qui aideront à corriger les idées préconçues concernant l’opinion publique arabe. 


Author(s):  
V. I. Denysenko

The failure to sign the Association Agreement with the EU in autumn 2013 has been investigated. The role of the Russian factor, which became decisive in the foreign policy reversal of the Yanukovych regime, has been revealed. The importance of Viktor Yanukovych’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 27, 2013, in the dramatic change of Ukraine’s international vector has been emphasized. On the basis of diplomats’ memoirs, the assumption about intimidation of the Ukrainian President by the Russian side has been substantiated. The timeline of the preparation of the 2013 Vilnius Summit, the position of EU structures and the attempts of the fourth President of Ukraine to win time to trade with the Russians have been reproduced. The thesis about the Donetsk clan’s attempts to prepare public opinion for a 180 degree turn in late October - early November 2013 has been presented. For this purpose, demonstration meetings were organized with representatives of Ukrainian business and trade unions, who called for revision of plans for European integration on their own initiative. The main role in manipulating public opinion rested on the government of Mykola Azarov and the Verkhovna Rada, which had a majority coalition led by the Party of Regions. Instead, Viktor Yanukovych continued his European integration rhetoric and reiterated to Western partners his own willingness to sign the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. On November 21, the real position of the ruling elite was made available to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. According to it, the process of preparation for the signing of the Association Agreement was suspended, the proposal was made for the trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russia negotiations, and the ministries were tasked with developing measures to maintain economic ties with the CIS countries. The decision was rejected by European partners and led to Yanukovych’s attempts to find other ways to thwart the signing of the Agreement. It has been proved that this role was played by Yanukovych’s requirements for financial assistance from the EU amounting to about 160 billion euros, which aimed to prevent the signing of the Association Agreement. Key words: Viktor Yanukovych, association of Ukraine with the EU, эYulia Tymoshenko, European integration, Pat Cox, Alexander Kwasniewski, Vladimir Putin.


Author(s):  
G. M. Ditchfield

Explanations of the abolition of the slave trade have been the subject of intense historical debate. Earlier accounts tended to play up the role of individual, heroic abolitionists and their religious, particularly evangelical, motivation. Eric Williams argued that the decline in profitability of the ‘Triangular trade’ was important in persuading people that the slave trade hindered, rather than helped, economic progress. More recent work has rehabilitated the role of some abolitionists but has set this alongside the importance of campaigning and petitioning in shifting public opinion. The role that the slaves themselves played in bringing attention to their plight is also now recognized. Consequently, the importance of abolitionism for a sense of Dissenting self-identity and as part of broader attempts to influence social reform needs to be reconsidered.


Author(s):  
Ewan Ferlie ◽  
Sue Dopson ◽  
Chris Bennett ◽  
Michael D. Fischer ◽  
Jean Ledger ◽  
...  

This chapter analyses the role of think tanks in generating a distinctive mode of policy knowledge, pragmatically orientated to inform and shape issues of importance to civil society. Drawing on political science literature, we argue that think tanks exploit niche areas of expertise and influence to actively mobilize policy analyses and recommendations across diverse stakeholders. Through our exploratory mapping of think tanks, geographically concentrated within London, we characterize their influence as significantly boosting knowledge intensity across the regional ecosystem. In particular, we study the empirical case of one London-based think tank which powerfully mobilized policy knowledge through its formal and informal networks to build influential expert consensus amongst key stakeholders. We conclude that such organizations act as key knowledge producers and mobilizers, with significant potential to influence policy discourses and implementation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document