scholarly journals The strength and weaknesses of the varieties of capitalism approach: the case of Central and Eastern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Jasiecki
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
The Social ◽  
Transition Research

Abstract The purpose of the article is to characterize selected theoretical and methodological advantages, controversies, and limitations of the varieties of capitalism (VoC) approach in application to Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. It indicates the reasons for the usefulness of such an approach for the study of postcommunist capitalism in the region. The application of the VoC is considered as going beyond the dominant approaches to systemic changes in CEE in the 1990s, such as the strategy of neoliberal economic reforms and the “transitology” prevailing among political scientists and sociologists who referred to democratic patterns of change in Southern Europe. After a decade of reforms, due to different trajectories of development in the countries of the region, such interpretations lose their explanatory power. Other ways of analyzing transformations in CEE have become needed. The need for new theoretical inspirations has also been strengthened by the European Union (EU) accession of the same postcommunist countries. The accession has generated a search for a new language of description and analyses of institutional changes in all the countries of the enlarged Union. In this context, the VoC approach seems to fill the theoretical vacuum left by the end of the “transition” debate in the political research on CEE and provides a major post-transition research agenda and has also built a bridge between discourses which were previously separated in the political economy, neo-institutional approaches, economic sociology, and political sciences. The key advantages of the VoC approach are presented, which made these perspectives influential among researchers of institutional changes in postcommunist countries. The theoretical and analytical framework, classifications, typologies, clusters, indexes, indicators, and so on are tested and widely applied as well. Selected weaknesses and limitations of the VoC approach in the application to CEE are also analyzed. Their manifestation is the confusion associated with the use of various classifications of models of capitalism and the functionalistic character of the VoC focusing on explaining the results, but not the causes of the institution’s activities, as well on institutional determinism diminishing the significant role of the social factors of change.

scholarly journals Elusive Migration Systems. Lessons from Europe’s new migratory map

2016 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Daniel Göler
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Regions ◽  
New Era ◽  
Migration System ◽  
Migration History ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Migration Systems ◽  
European Migration

Europe is facing a new era of migration. During the last decades, the European migration system underwent several shifts due to different reasons. A basic observation is that general changes, on the political map for example, do not necessarily have the same consequences in European regions, even in seemingly similar contexts. The major changes started in 1990 accelerated with the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and found its continuation by crisis-driven migration from south European countries into Western European labour markets after 2008. All of these "migration waves" have been topped by a massive inflow of refugees in 2015 creating new migratory map of Europe. Thus, important stages of contemporary and present European migration history are interpreted as indicators for a surplus in diversity, flexibility and spontaneity and will serve for formulating the hypothesis of Elusive Migration Systems as an analytical framework and a kind of hypothesis to study new features of migrants? trajectories, which became more and more variable. Being grounded may be the wish of the majority of Europeans and, in effect, the global population, but being on the move, voluntarily or forced, is reality for a certain number of migrants inside and heading towards Europe.

Mass pressures, elite responses—roots of democratization: the case of the GDR

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detlef Pollack
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Upheaval ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Transition Research ◽  
Agency And Structure

The article tries to explain the social and political upheaval in the former GDR by using a theoretical model worked out by Pierre Bourdieu. Transition research within political science focuses mainly on the functional prerequisites necessary to liberalize and democratize authoritarian regimes. Bourdieu’s model, however, also accounts for the historical events, the political actors and their actions, and the social and political mechanisms through which a rapid change can be realized. By applying this approach on the system’s change in the GDR it is not only possible to determine the structural and functional conditions of the upheaval, but also to describe the concrete historical processes of how the upheaval took place. The approach used here is an attempt to mediate between ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ and thus to integrate historical argumentation into the theoretical framework provided by political science and sociology.

Questioning health security: Insecurity and domination in world politics

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 939-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOÃO NUNES
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social

AbstractIt has become common to speak of health security, but the meaning of the latter is often taken for granted. Existing engagements with this notion have been constrained by an excessive focus on national security and on the securitising efforts of elites. This has led to an increasingly sceptical outlook on the potentialities of security for making sense of, and helping to tackle, health problems. Inspired by the idea of security as emancipation, this article reconsiders the notion of health security. It takes as its starting point the concrete insecurities experienced by individuals, and engages with them by way of an analytical framework centred on the notion of domination. Domination deepens analysis by connecting individual experiences of insecurity, the social interactions through which these are given meaning, and the structures that make them possible. Domination also broadens the remit of analysis, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of insecurity. The analytical benefits of this framework are demonstrated by two examples: HIV/AIDS; and water and sanitation. The lens of domination is also shown to bring benefits for the political engagement with global health problems.

scholarly journals Kontestasi antar orang asli Papua terhadap hak pertuanan di Kaimana

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Cahyo Pamungkas
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The Social ◽  
Customary Rights ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The City

This article is addressed to describe the social relations within the Papuan ethnic groups and between Papua native and migrants concerning some customary rights in Kaimana district. This research describes the struggle of inland and beach tribes in fighting for customary rights of land in Kaimana. Moreover, it captures the respond of migrants in dealing with the customary right. This study shows the recognition of the the eldest ethnic in Kaimana is a strategy and discourse constructed by Papua ethnic groups that have felt marginalized while migrants have taken their resources. This right could be understood as the need for recognition of Papua ethnic groups. The most important issue is not who the native of Kaimana is, but what the proper ways to give recognition to Papua ethnic groups which had been left behind in development are. The relation between the Papua natives and migrants in Kaimana is not complicated as the migrants have no privileges in the political contestation. However, these relationship are affected by the differences in religious affiliations. The Muslim Papua ethnic groups generally have a closer relationship with the Muslim migrants. The analytical framework of this study using the theoretical framework of identity and ethnicity to look at the issue. Does the definition of identity and ethnicity according to sociological theories are still relevant to understanding the issue of claims of ethnic identity in the city of Kaimana.

Social Policy and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Daly
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
The Eu

Social policy has a particular character and set of associated politics in the European Union (EU) context. There is a double contestation involved: the extent of the EU’s agency in the field and the type of social policy model pursued. The former is contested because social policy is typically and traditionally a matter of national competence and the latter because the social policy model is crucial to economic and market development. Hence, social policy has both functional and political significance, and EU engagement risks member states’ capacity to control the social fate of their citizens and the associated resources, authority, and power that come with this capacity. The political contestations are at their core territorially and/or social class based; the former crystalizes how wide and extensive the EU authority should be in social policy and the latter a left/right continuum in regard to how redistributive and socially interventionist EU social policy should be. Both are the subject of a complicated politics at EU level. First, there is a diverse set of agents involved, not just member states and the “political” EU institutions (Parliament and Council) but the Commission is also an important “interested” actor. This renders institutional politics and jockeying for power typical features of social policymaking in the EU. Second, one has to break down the monolith of the EU institutions and recognize that within and among them are actors or units that favor a more left or right position on social policy. Third, actors’ positions do not necessarily align on the two types of contestation (apart perhaps from the social nongovernmental organizations and to a lesser extent employers and business interests). Some actors who favor an extensive role for social policy in general are skeptical about the role of the EU in this regard (e.g., trade unions, some social democratic parties) while others (some sectors of the Commission) wish for a more expansive EU remit in social policy but also support a version of social policy pinned tightly to market and economic functions. In this kind of context, the strongest and most consistent political thrust is toward a type of EU social policy that is most clearly oriented to enabling the Union’s economic and market-related objectives. Given this and the institutional set-up, the default position in EU social policy is for a market-making social policy orientation on the one hand and a circumscribed role for the EU in social policy on the other.

THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM IN THE POST-COVID PERIOD. KEY FEATURES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Boris P. Guseletov ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Partnership Program ◽  
The Eu

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program in the post-COVID period. It considers the main features of that program in modern conditions and further prospects for its de- velopment, taking into account the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the European Union and the countries participating in this program. The author analyzes the EU leadership attitude to the individual participants of the program and identifies priorities in relation to the various countries represen- ted in it. To overcome the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission decided to provide financial assistance to the participating countries, but the amount of the assistance for individual countries depended on the state of relations between the European Union and the leadership of those countries. It is proved in the article that the European Union currently has the most favorable relations with three countries parti- cipating in the program: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which have openly declared a policy of rapprochement with the European Union in the political and economic fields. The author outlines positions of all the countries and their expectations of participating in the program in the nearest future as well as in the longer term.

The productivity gap between East and West Europe: What role for sectoral structures during integration?

2002 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Stephan
Keyword(s):  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Productivity Convergence ◽  
Accession Countries ◽  
National Productivity ◽  
European Economies ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Productivity Gap

Analysis into the sources of lower levels of national productivities between Central and Eastern European economies and the European Union is scarce and lacks comparability. These sources are assessed by analysing the role played by sectoral structures. After providing a brief overview of comparative levels of economy-wide labour productivity between the EU-15 average, selected EU cohesion countries and the EU accession countries of Estonia, Poland, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary and Slovenia, a quantitative account of the sectoral content of the national productivity gap is calculated. The paper develops a method to calculate the explanatory power of patterns of sectoral structures for the size of the productivity gap by hypothetically applying average EU-15 sectoral patterns on Central and Eastern European economies’ sectoral productivities. Subsequently, the respective roles of individual sectors in explaining the national productivity gaps are calculated by assigning weights to sectoral productivity gaps relative to their employment shares. These results are then carefully assessed in terms of potentials and prospects for swift and complete productivity catch-up and in terms of the most efficient policies to assist productivity convergence.

scholarly journals El Sistema de Estados Internacional después del Neoliberalismo: Europa entre la Democracia Nacional y la Centralización Supranacional

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-123
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Streeck
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Karl Polanyi ◽  
The Social ◽  
Small Countries ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
History Of ◽  
Trickle Down

En 1945 Karl Polanyi esbozó una visión de un sistema estatal global en tiempos de paz con una economía política en la que los países pequeños podrían ser soberanos y democráticos. Este ensayo ofrece una perspectiva histórica y comparativa entre el pasado y el presente a la luz del pensamiento polanyiano. Se presta especial atención a la historia de la Unión Europea, que tras el fin del comunismo se convirtió en un pilar del proyecto neoliberal y culminó con la restauración de un patrón oro internacional bajo la Unión Monetaria. Durante la crisis de 2008 el avance del neoliberalismo se enfrentó, no obstante, a la resistencia «populista», a la austeridad y al cambio de gobernanza del nivel nacional al supranacional. El artículo explora las perspectivas de los intentos actuales de reemplazar la «Europa social» y las narrativas economicistas trickle-down, y de la formación de superestados europeos, que han perdido toda credibilidad, por una historia sobre un ejército europeo como condición necesaria para una defensa exitosa del European way of life. In 1945 Karl Polanyi outlined a vision of a peacetime global state system with a political economy in which small countries could be both sovereign and democratic. The present essay reviews developments between then and now in the light of Polanyi’s analytical framework. Particular attention is paid to the history of the European Union, which after the end of Communism turned into a mainstay of the neoliberal project, culminating in its restoration of an international gold standard under Monetary Union. In the crisis of 2008 the advance of neoliberalism got stuck due to «populist» resistance to austerity and the shift of governance from the national to a supranational level. The paper explores the prospects of current attempts to replace the «Social Europe» and «trickle-down» narratives of European superstate formation, which have lost all credit, with a story about a European army as a necessary condition of a successful defense of «the European way of life».

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document