Political transformations in the CEE post-communist countries: theoretical and metodological approaches

2017 ◽  
pp. 40-49
Author(s):  
Vira Burdjak
Keyword(s):  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Hybrid Regimes ◽  
Illiberal Democracy ◽  
Final Destination ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Political Realities

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of political transformations in the CEE post-communist countries have been analyzed. The author argues that democratic transits do not guarantee transition to democracy and its consolidation. They are just polymorphic conversion processes from one political state to another, where the final destination is not always a democracy. They are influenced by general international factors, which allows us to consider the democratic transits, which may not consolidate into democracy, as integral components of the modern global democratic wave. Their real democratic value is not a definite variable. Political realities indicate that some of the transits proceed to illiberal democracy and hybrid regimes with different (non-) democratic features or often with versions of a new authoritarianism. In electoral democracies, only the external, formal sides of the democracy and democratic procedures are imitated, especially elections, which does not give grounds to relate these regimes to the democratic ones. Keywords: Post-communist countries of CEE, theoretical and methodological approaches, political transformation

125 years since the beginning of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada

2017 ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Vitaliy Makar
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
World War I ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Communist Countries

According to the Canadian Customs records that preserved in the archives on September 9, 1891 well-known Ukrainian Calician Ivan Pylypiv and Wasyl Yelynyak came to Canada. Following them hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians immigrated to the new land, as Canada was called by those who got there. The author investigates the immigration waves of the Ukrainians to Canada: before World War I; between Wars; after World War II; and after collapsing of the Soviet Union. Also, the Cana- dian researches talking about one more wave of the Ukrainian immigration to Canada – from the begining of 80th last century from Poland. According 2011 Canadian census of population and the counts of the last years there are more then one million and three hundred of thousands persons that recognized themselves of Ukrainian descend. The author charaterizes the peligious, cultural, national and political life of Ukrainians in Canada. The main role in this paper is dedicated to Ukrainians role for Canadian political life, their involvement into local, provicial and federal governmental structure. Keywords: Post-communist countries of CEE, theoretical and methodological approaches, political transformation

The Social Paradox of Citizen Denunciation: Informing Practices in Modern Poland

2021 ◽  
pp. 088832542097764
Author(s):  
Jolanta Arcimowicz ◽  
Mariola Bieńko ◽  
Beata Łaciak
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Media Report ◽  
Civic Society ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Communist Countries

Within sociological literature, including that which analyses systemic changes in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, denunciation is one of the least studied issues, both empirically and theoretically. In Poland after the political transformation, as well as in other post-communist countries, the problem of dealing with security service and secret police informers and collaborators has not gone away. News media report a rapidly growing number of denunciations directed to various institutions and administrative offices, and legal regulations regarding denunciations have also appeared. In public discourse, denunciation and whistleblowing are increasingly often equated. Encouragement to inform about aberrations, confronted with the consequences that whistleblowers face, shows the legal and social vacuum around the institution of whistleblowing in Poland. This article, in response to questions about the modern social image of denunciation, is based on analysis of in-depth individual interviews conducted during 2015–2017 with children, adults, and administrative officials in three Polish cities. The results show that both children and adults treat denunciation as a form of harming others, though they do differentiate their moral judgments depending on the delator’s intention, but they rarely attribute any motive other than personal gain to whistleblowers’ actions. Finally, the existing administrative acquiescence and institutional support for denunciation are sometimes interpreted in terms of the weakness of democracy, immaturity of civic society, and the legacy of a totalitarian state.

scholarly journals Conceptualization of post-Soviet regime changes: Some intermediate results

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-393
Author(s):  
Denis Letnyakov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soviet Regime ◽  
Hybrid Regimes ◽  
Regime Changes ◽  
The Third ◽  
The One ◽  
Comparative Political Science ◽  
Near Abroad ◽  
Former Ussr

The aim of the article is to analyze the attempts to conceptualize post-Soviet regime changes that have been undertaken over the past thirty years. For convenience, all concepts are grouped around three main approaches. The first one examines regime transformations in the former USSR from the point of view of a possible transition to democracy (transition paradigm); the second approach emphasizes the continuity between the post-Soviet political regimes and previous ones, overlooking fundamental differences between them; the third approach assumes that the post-Soviet transition did take place, however, it was “autocracyto-autocracy transition” (from one-party communist dictatorship to hybrid regimes or consolidated personalistic autocracies). The author considers regime change as transformation of some basic formal and informal rules of the game that determine the functioning of a given political system (from the way of making key decisions and allocating resources to the main channels for recruiting to the elite). As a result, the author proves that the third approach is the most relevant for understanding post-Soviet politics. Inter alia, its advantage is that it allows us to fit post-Soviet studies into the wider field of comparative political science: the analysis of post-Soviet politics, on the one hand, can significantly enrich our ideas about “how dictatorships work” at large, on the other hand, empirical knowledge about autocracies outside post-Soviet Eurasia and theories built on this basis will help us to understand the nature of authoritarianism in Russia’s “near abroad”.

scholarly journals An outline of the connections among political transformation, the change of the elites and market transformation

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
György Lengyel
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Market Transformation

The study deals with issues related to the types of connections between institutions and elites in the context of political transformations. Its essential message is that the asynchronies produced between elite structures and institutional structures determine whether the transformation will be peaceful or violent, controlled or of a spontaneous character. Subsequently, the paper presents the dimensions of elite circulation, and it discusses the relations between the ways of elite change and institutional changes. It reviews the theories of the connections between political changes and market transformation, concluding with the statement that real political transformation can only occur if it brings along both market and political changes

scholarly journals The Role of ‘Ulama (Arabic Scholars) In The 19th Century Yoruba Nation And Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-74
Author(s):  
A. O. Hashimi
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Historical Materials ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
The People ◽  
Muslim Immigrants ◽  
History Of ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
The 19Th Century

The nineteenth Century was a revolutionary period in the history of societies, kingdoms and empires in Yorubaland. The Century witnessed profound and irreversible social, religious and political transformations in the lives of the people who lived in the region. Both internal and external factors were responsible for these processes of change. The consequential events centred on commerce, politics, religion, warfare, intra-and intergroup relations, and reform and adjustment to new ways of life. This paper describes the activities of the Muslims in the 19th century Yoruba Politics, and the significant roles played by the ‘Ulama in the period under study. Islam was introduced to Yorubaland before the 19th century, and the population was reinforced by the ingress of Muslim immigrants and Hausa slaves who were brought to Oyo Empire. In this diverse group different roles were played by the Muslim community and the ‘Ulama (clerics). The activities of the Muslims had momentous impact on 19th century Yoruba politics in different ways as recorded in Arabic documents and other historical materials. In the course of time, Muslims occupied positions of great authority in royal administration. They used their position to promote Islam. This paper argues that the roles of the ‘Ulama in the political transformation and social change in Yorubaland was so important that its impact is felt till today.

When Left Is Right: Party Ideology and Policy in Post-Communist Europe

2009 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGIT TAVITS ◽  
NATALIA LETKI
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Education Spending ◽  
Partisan Theory ◽  
Party Ideology ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Leftist Parties

According to the classic partisan theory of spending, leftist parties are expected to increase government spending, and rightist parties are expected to decrease it. We argue that this relationship does not hold in post-Communist countries, where in the context of dual transition to democracy and to a market economy, leftist parties have had stronger incentives and better opportunities to enact tighter budgets, whereas rightist parties were compelled to spend more in order to alleviate economic hardships. We illustrate this theoretical argument with case studies from Hungary and Poland. We then test and find support for our theory by considering the influence of cabinet ideology on total, health, and education spending in thirteen post-Communist democracies from 1989 to 2004. We explore various alternative explanations and provide further narratives to support our causal argument.

Major social transformations and social mobility: the case of the transition to and from communism in Eastern Europe

1999 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henryk Domański
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Occupational Mobility ◽  
Relative Mobility ◽  
Social Transformations ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Social Fluidity

This analysis compares the effects on social mobility of the political transformations in Eastern Europe which took place in the 1950s and the 1990s. The author examines absolute and relative mobility rates in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovakia based on data from national random samples taken in 1993 and 1994. Log-linear models are applied to mobility tables for four periods, 1948-52, 1952-63, 1983-88 and 1988-93, to determine change in the strength of association between occupational categories. Searching for the effect of the transition to communism the author compares occupational mobility between 1948 and 1952 with occupational mobility between 1952 and 1963. In order to assess the effect of the transition from communism, mobility between 1983 and 1988 is compared to mobility between 1988 and 1993. It was definitely the transition to communism in the late 1940s that released the more intensive flows between basic segments of the social structure compared to what occurred during the exit from communism in the 1990s. Using both the diagonals and the constant social fluidity models, the author finds no evidence of increasing openness in post-communist countries. Contrariwise, in the 1948-63 period some significant change occurred in relative mobility chances. The conclusion is that the “first transformation” gave rise to a turn in social fluidity on the “genotypical” level.

scholarly journals Innovative Ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Radicalization of Modern Political Transformations

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 74-80
Author(s):  
L. A. Gainutdinova
Keyword(s):  
French Revolution ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
The People ◽  
Revolutionary Movements ◽  
Full Power ◽  
The One

The ideological romanticism of freedom and equality, having its origins in the political philosophy of Zh. J. Russo, does not lose its relevance today. The revolutionary ideas of J.J.Russault, which laid the foundations for a radical democratic paradigm, inspire new reformist and revolutionary movements around the world. The practical implementation of these ideas often leads to a radicalization of the order of political transformation, substantially reducing the line between democracy and dictatorship.This has been repeatedly observed in political history, beginning with the French Revolution and ending with a modern wave of revolutions in different countries, where radical democrats, destroying and capturing power, proclaim freedom in the name of new equality. By neglecting the real limits of historical action, redefining the role and significance of revolutionary violence, the radicals launch a process that can lead to serious danger for society and the state. Indeed, in reality, equality means only a break with the former public asymmetry, which is replaced by new values – privileged access to a new system of hierarchies. In this case, the national fabric is torn apart, all the public cells collapse, the will to establish freedom, leads to terror, destroying this same freedom, and the revolution turns into a counter to what served as its beginning. As soon as it seems to the people that he (the one who «made» this revolution) receives all the full power, this power, well-founded in numerous theories and concepts, in reality slips out of his hands and becomes elusive. The ideas that prevailed in the pre-revolutionary period and played a positive role in the process of preparing revolutionary events are highlighted as completely incapacitated.

scholarly journals MIĘDZY KONIECZNOŚCIĄ A MOŻLIWOŚCIAMI – PRZEKSZTAŁCENIA W RESORCIE SPRAW WEWNĘTRZNYCH W OKRESIE TRANSFORMACJI USTROJOWEJ W POLSCE; ASPEKTY ORGANIZACYJNO-PRAWNE

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Piotr Majer
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Security Service ◽  
State Administration ◽  
Internal Affairs ◽  
State Protection

BETWEEN THE NECESSITY AND CAPABILITIES – TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT DURING THE POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION; THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE ASPECTS Summary The reconstruction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was a very important task in the process of political transformations initiated in Poland in 1989. This postulate, made under the provisions of the statutory law, was materialised in 3 resolutions adopted by the Parliament on 6 April 1990. Pursuant to the provisions of those resolutions , the internal affairs minister was deprived of his law enforcement powers, becoming solely the supreme body of state administration implementing national policies in the area of state protection, security and public order. The above functions were transferred to the respective agencies reporting to the minister. In the successive resolutions adopted on 6 April 1990, the Parliament set forth the powers and organisational principles of two such agencies – the Police and the State Protection Office. The above began operations on 10 May 1990 when the said resolutions came into force. In the final part of the article, the author discusses the controversy surrounding the drafting of the above resolutions, including staff affairs relating to the winding up of the Security Service and the Citizens’ Militia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document