The End of the Crimean Consensus: How Sustainable are the New Trends in Russian Public Opinion?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-374
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Nikolskaya ◽  
Mikhail Dmitriev
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Static State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Agenda ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Ruling Elites ◽  
European Values

Abstract Since Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014 Russian public rallied around the flag and public opinion entered a relatively static state often called the “Crimean consensus”. The presidential elections of 2018 became a turning point in the dynamics of public opinion. Sociological data from that period reveals growing anti-establishment sentiments, demand for change, social justice, a peaceful foreign policy, and civic activism. To analyze these changes the study combines data from four rounds of focus groups with sociological surveys on the maturity of moral values and the perception of institutional injustice, conducted during 2018–2020. All sources of our sociological data demonstrate, that the main changes are associated with post-materialist values: demand for the rule of law, political rights and civic engagement prevails over concerns about basic consumption and material inequality. The data also reveals a value related rift between the ruling elites and the population. Whereas the population increasingly demands the rule of law and/or social contract, the ruling class, as the respondents perceive it, remains guided by interpersonal dealings and conformism. The essential role of post-materialist values in defining the new social agenda implies that the ongoing changes are not temporary and reversible but reflect a more fundamental process of transition to postmaterialist value system. However, given a short period of observations the available evidence is not fully conclusive. Data from the new round of European values study expected to be released before the end of 2020 can help clarify the dynamics of value change in Russia and its possible influence on the recent evolution of public opinion.

Policing in a Penal Colony: Governor Arthur's Police System in Van Diemen's Land, 1826–1836

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Petrow
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Individual Liberty ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Penal Colony ◽  
Police System

In eighteenth-century England the rule of law was “the central legitimizing ideology, displacing the religious authority and sanctions of previous centuries.” Arising out of struggles between the monarchy, Parliament, and the courts, the rule of law sought to protect individual liberty and private property by placing constraints on arbitrary authority. The ruling class used the rule of law ideology to enhance their power, but it also acted as a check on that power. All citizens from the monarch to the poorest citizen became bound by the rule of law and could settle their disputes in the courts presided over by judges, who were independent of manipulation.

Features of Modern Lithuanian Society’s Legal Identity Development: from Closed to Holed Society

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (26) ◽  
pp. 62-99
Author(s):  
Vytautas Šlapkauskas
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Legal Identity ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Western Civilisation

During the last three decades, few essential transformations of Lithuanian society took place – from a closed (according to the terminology of H. Bergman and K. Popper) soviet society during a short period of open society functioning it evolved into a holed (according to P. Aleksandravičius) society. The Republic of Lithuania becoming the rule of law and creation of liberal democracy was a favourable context of the transformations mentioned. These transformations were ensured not only by establishment of free market economy but also by corresponding legislation and implementation of legal norms. The article analyses inter-directional methodological possibilities to reveal a legal identity of Lithuanian society. Creation of such possibilities is based on three ideas of Western civilisation: 1. The idea of compliance with the rules of common or social (now – public) behaviour. 2. The idea of legitimate powers of sovereign to create common (social or public) behaviour rules and to organize and control their implementation. It evolved into the idea of the rule of law. 3. The idea of natural rights and freedom. It evolved into the protection of human rights and freedom. Based on these ideas and analysis of peculiarities of the process of the Republic of Lithuania becoming the rule of law, there are justified five stages of Lithuanian society’s legal identity development.

Appointment With Destiny

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-120
Author(s):  
Mihajlo Mihajlov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Independent Path ◽  
Political Persuasion

Apart from Mukovan Djilas, Mihajlo Mihajlov is considered as the most famous dissident in the Balkans--a former prisoner-of-conscience in Tito's Yugoslavia. This brief but comprehensive, autobiographical retrospective recounts some major hilights in Mihajlov's odyssey ushered in by his intellectual travelogue, Moscow Sunmer 1964, first published in full in The New Leader. Mihajlov became an embarrassment not only to Josip Broz Tito and the Soviet leaders, but also to those in die West who landed Tito's "independent path to socialism." Yet others correctly perceived Mihajlov's quest for freedom of thought, speech, press, association, religious, philosophical and political persuasion as a classic benchmark of basic human rights and freedoms characterizing open, pluralistic, democratic polities. Indeed, the Westem press contributed to the pressure of world public opinion, which helped free Mihajlov, and, as he claims, even kept him alive. In a region divided by inter-ethnic conflict and civil war, Mihajlov's struggle for the rule of law and human dignity epitomizes hopes for a better future.

scholarly journals Ordre du droit et droit de l'ordre

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 699-729
Author(s):  
Jacques Zylberberg
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Civil And Political Rights

This essay undertakes a review of national and international law to demonstrate that law is mainly an ideological and variable instrument of the State and of the United Nations, which is a by-product of the states. In this perspective, the author opposes the pragmatical ideology of resistance against the sovereign state to the juridical legitimation and the behaviour of the States who reluctantly have conceded some civil and political rights. Those rights are endangered by the growing bureaucratization of the state, the inflation of the juridical norms and rules, in addition to the permanent repressive characters of the State. The criticism of the contradiction and the variation of the rule of law when it relates to "human rights" is also extended to international law as well as to the international organizations.

Laurie Salitan: Human Rights under Gorbachev

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Fundamental Issue ◽  
Soviet System ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Entire Process ◽  
Civil And Political Rights

As everybody is well aware, human rights is an extremely broad topic, so what I would like to do is make a few basic points with some illustrations and then sum up with some ideas and discussion. Much of the grand scheme for reforming the Soviet system has touched on issues that fall under the rubric of human rights, broadly construed. Human rights discussions are no longer constrained by the traditional Soviet emphasis on social and economic rights and now encompass a variety of civil and political rights. As I see it, the fundamental issue with respect to human rights is the propping up of the rule of law. The concept of the rule of law has been elevated to previously unknown heights and is extolled as a fundamental underpinning of the entire process of democratization. It lends itself to the reduction of arbitrary actions (or at least it should), it encourages glasnost', and it enhances support for perestroika because it is intrinsic to any process of democratization. This reliance on the rule of law is absolutely essential as a component of any process that is linked to de-Stalinization. The abuses of the Stalin years are routinely excoriated, and the message being conveyed is that constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens will be upheld, constitutional reform will proceed, and legislation will be enacted to protect a host of rights not addressed by the Constitution.

scholarly journals Crime and Public Support for the Rule of Law in Latin America and Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 153-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon I. Smithey ◽  
Mary Fran T. Malone
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Crime poses a formidable obstacle to democratization in many parts of the developing world. New democracies in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa face some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Politicians, citizens, and policy-makers have raised the alarm about the growing tide of criminality. Public insecurity, coupled with inefficient and often corrupt justice systems, makes democratization uncertain. Even if new democracies do not revert to dictatorship, the quality of democracy may suffer if crime continues to rise. One particularly vulnerable component of democracy is the rule of law, as public insecurity may fuel support for extra-legal justice, and a willingness to disregard the law while aggressively pursuing suspected criminals. To test these relationships, we assess the ways in which criminal victimization, as well as fear of crime, affect citizen support for the rule of law. We utilize public opinion data collected in select countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa through two widely used sources – the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) and the Afrobarometer surveys.

scholarly journals The faces of freedom in the concepts of a liberal and non-liberal state

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Justyna Przedańska
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Slight Improvement ◽  
Liberal State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual

The last decade has exposed the recession of freedom throughout the world. It arises from the latest Freedom in the World 2020 report that civil liberties and political rights have deteriorated in 64 countries, while only 37 have seen a slight improvement in these areas. The principles of liberal democracy (the rule of law, free elections, minority rights and freedom of expression) in Europe, historically the best-performing region in terms of freedom in the world, have come under serious pressure in recent years. In the article, starting from an analysis of the categories of freedom presented in many aspects, followed by a discussion of the assumptions and concepts of liberalism, as well as the political project referred to as non-liberal democracy, which has grown out of their criticism, the author identifies the problem of instrumentalization and relativization of freedom, which leads to the restriction of freedom of speech, freedom of minorities, religious freedom and sexual freedom, replacing the individual freedoms of the citizens with the so-called collective freedom.

Public Opinion, Public Order, and Press Policy in the Neoabsolutist State: Bohemia, 1849–52

2004 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 81-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey T. Leigh
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Constitutional Theory ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
State Finance ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Developments ◽  
Missed Opportunity

In the historiography of the Habsburg monarchy, the era of neoabsolutism, 1849–59, has generally been defined as either a period of reaction or one of missed opportunity when domestic policy was subordinated to the dynasty's great power interests. Historians commenting on this era have made important contributions, mostly in the area of foreign policy, state finance, economic developments, and constitutional theory, and have focused on what could or should have happened had the government chosen various reform agendas. None, however, have investigated the substantial developments then taking place in the alteration of state-society relations in the area of public opinion formation. Their interpretations have therefore missed and consequently masked the neoabsolutist state's pioneering efforts to create a wholly new relationship with the monarchy's disparate lands and peoples founded upon the rule of law under the Stadion Constitution, 4 March 1849, and then the Sylvester Patent, 31 December 1851.

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