PROSPECTS FOR THE COMMERCIAL OPERATION OF NORD STREAM 2

In early September 2021, the construction of the Northern stream – 2 рroject (NS-2) was completed. Its operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, has submitted documents for certification of the gas pipeline. The Federal Network Agency of Germany (BNetzA) is responsible for this process, which refused to grant the SP-2 operator an independent status. In November 2021, the German regulator agreed with him on the need to create a subsidiary in the Federal Republic of Germany. It must meet the requirements of German legislation and the Third Energy Package of the European Union. Contrary to the optimistic forecasts of experts and the expectations of Gazprom, the start of commercial operation of the project was postponed to 2022. BNetzA’s decision coincided with the adoption of the next US sanctions against the SP-2 participants and the creation of a new government coalition in Germany. Opponents of the project from the Union 90 / Greens party entered the new cabinet of ministers. The SP-2 is not mentioned in the coalition agreement that defines the future relations of Germany with the Russian Federation. The author, based on the analysis of original sources, examines the reasons for the delay in project certification; its role and place in the strategy of the new German cabinet of ministers; assesses the prospects for the start of commercial operation of the NS-2 in the context of continued opposition from Poland and Ukraine, as well as American sanctions mechanisms and confrontation in this matter from the US Congress and the President.

Performance Accountability in Indonesian Local Governments: Does Monitoring Really Work?

This study aims to empirically examine whether the monitoring activities on local government implementation really matter for local government performance accountability. Based on a sample of decentralized Indonesia during 2010-2019, we test this by measuring monitoring activities of local government at district and city levels. Using panel data set of 514 local governments, our results show that the monitoring activities, conducted by external audit and the public, positively affect local government performance accountability. In contrast, legislative monitoring negatively affects performance accountability. These findings suggest that the external audit plays a fundamental role in monitoring activities at the local governments. In addition, direct public monitoring can enhance performance accountability through intensifying human development and a greater democracy. As for legislators, the composition between government coalition and opposition should also be suitable for the effectiveness of monitoring.

Mandate matters: evaluating the effects of electoral mandates in Western Europe

This chapter explores the implications of mandate theories of democracy through the lens of agenda-setting, looking at the impact of priorities emphasized in party manifestos on the legislative agenda. It examines the respective impact of the priorities in the manifesto of the party of the prime minister, the parties in the government coalition (where applicable), and all parliamentary parties (systemic attention). Using panel negative binomial regressions of legislative and electoral priorities, the conclusion is that mandate priorities do affect government policies to a greater extent than scholarship has so far acknowledged. And this does not seem to have changed over time. The agenda-setting impact of mandates is supported by qualitative observations on promises and policy in France and Germany. The only exception to this effect is the UK, which is surprising in view of arguments on institutional capacity, clarity of responsibility, and enhanced accountability in majoritarian systems—a paradox examined in Chapter 7.

Polityka transatlantycka rządów Prawa i Sprawiedliwości (2015-2019): koncepcja (cz. 2)

Law and Justice party was a “Euro-Atlantic” political party in the whole period of its political existence. Three major characteristic features of political thought in the foreign affairs of Law and Justice party were: 1) an Atlantic course; 2) a concept of realism in the European Union; and 3) postulated subjectivity in the Central Europe and towards the Eastern Europe. Law and Justice party created its own concept of the role of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in the security policy of the Republic of Poland. Law and Justice waited until the occurrence of good conditions to bring the wrought concept into reality. It was more than sure that such conditions will occur in the future. There was no doubt that Russia was danger for the Western hemisphere. Such an evaluation was strengthened in the years 2008-2010 as the consequence of the Russian aggression on Georgia and Smolensk catastrophe. Law and Justice waited to: 1) win the parliamentary elections; 2) the end of the policy of reset in Russian-American relations. The theoretical and ideological premises and the type of political competition in Poland justified a negative evaluation by Law and Justice party of the foreign policy of Poland towards NATO in the period of the left–wing – agrarian government coalition and the government coalition of liberal – agrarian parties. Law and Justice party remained critical of the foreign policy of Poland led by Civic Platform in the scope of its theoretical, conceptual and decisive senses.

Russian-Bulgarian relations after the Bulgarian parliamentary elections: outcomes and forecasts

The article examines the results of the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria held on 4 April and 11 July 2021. It compares the results of the leading political parties in the 2017 and 2021 elections, and describes all leading Bulgarian political parties represented in parliament from 2017 to 2021. The results of the government led by GERB party leader Boyko Borisov, formed as a result of the 2017 elections, are analyzed. The reasons for this government's falling rating and its impact on the election campaign are identified. How the coronavirus pandemic and the government's actions to deal with its consequences have affected the course and results of the election campaign. The activities of the country's main opposition parties, the centre-left Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Social Liberal Movement for Rights and Freedoms, are assessed. The course of the election campaign and its main topics are examined, as well as the new political parties that were elected to the parliament: the left-populist coalition "Rise Up! Mafia Get Out!", the right-populist party "There's Such a People!", and the liberal coalition "Democratic Bulgaria". The positions of the leading political parties of the country regarding their possible participation in the new government coalition are shown. The state of Russian-Bulgarian relations is analyzed and forecasts of how the results of the elections will affect the formation of the new government of that country and the relations between Russia and Bulgaria are given.

Euroscepticism between Populism and Technocracy: The Case of Italian Lega and Movimento 5 Stelle

This paper analyses the digital communication of Italian parties Lega and Movimento 5 Stelle during their campaigns for the European Parliament elections (January-May 2019). We focus on the Italian case as it is representative of a generalised shift in European public discourse towards an overt delegitimation of the European project and its re-imagination. In the Italian case, Lega and Movimento 5 Stelle, which were in a Government coalition for fourteen months, have been instrumental in Italy’s shift from a strong Europhile country to one of the most Eurosceptic. However, while Lega has definitely aligned itself with a strong right-wing populist agenda, Movimento 5 Stelle has promoted a populist technocratic vision of democracy. Our analysis shows that the articulation of Eurosceptic discourses from both parties by and large reflects the two stances above with Lega’s messages (primarily produced by its leader Matteo Salvini) characterised by a ‘hyperled’ style of communication and stronger nativist elements (for example the appeal to an ethno-centric and ‘sovereign’ idea of Italy) than those of Movimento 5 Stelle, which instead relied on a ‘horizontal’ communicative style. However, our data also shows that the delegitimation of Europe in both parties occur along a similar domestication of European affairs into the national political agenda and the call for a reformed Europe along nationalistic logics which both parties claimed to champion.

Pembelajaran Kebijakan Masa Pandemi Covid-19: Sebuah Sanggahan Atas Artikel Widaningrum dan Mas'udi (2020)

Widaningrum and Mas'udi (2020) believe that the government's stuttering in handling the COVID-19 pandemic trigger policy conflicts between government officials and at the society level. Widaningrum and Mas'udi (2020) view that strengthening leadership and coördination are important steps to prevent widespread policy conflicts. However, in using the PCF framework, Widaningrum and Mas'udi (2020) forgot to place the policy conflict on what level was the political system, policy subsystem or policy action? We use literature review to explore COVID-19 policy in Indonesia. We offer the ACF framework to look further with existing features and find that there are two core competing beliefs in the COVID-19 policy handling subsystem, namely the drive to safeguard the economy that the central government believes in and insistence on handling the outbreak seriously from a coalition of people, scientists and media. Cross-coalition policy learning did not take place, even though the COVID-19 Task Force had a role as a broker to bring together the core beliefs of each coalition. The government made adjustments to encourage policy changes that were consistent with its core beliefs, despite changes in public opinion and changes in members of the government coalition. Widaningrum dan Mas’udi (2020) meyakini bahwa kegagapan pemerintah dalam menangani pandemi Covid-19 dapat menimbulkan konflik kebijakan di antara aparat pemerintahan dan pada level masyarakat. Widaningrum dan Mas’udi (2020) memandang bahwa penguatan kepemimpinan dan koordinasi menjadi langkah penting untuk mencegah terjadinya konflik kebijakan meluas. Namun dalam menggunakan kerangka kerja PCF, Widaningrum dan Mas’udi (2020) lupa mendudukan konflik kebijakan terjadi pada level yang mana apakah sistem politik, subsitem kebijakan atau tindakan kebijakan? Kami menggunakan studi literatur untuk lebih lanjut mendalami kebijakan penanganan Covid-19 di Indonesia. Kami menawarkan kerangka kerja ACF untuk melihat lebih jauh dengan fitur-fitur yang ada dan menemukan bahwa pada dasarnya ada dua keyakinan inti yang saling bersaing dalam subsistem kebijakan penanganan Covid-19, yakni dorongan untuk menjaga perekonomian yang diyakini pemerintah pusat dan desakan menangani wabah secara serius dari koalisi masyarakat, ilmuwan dan media massa. Pembelajaran kebijakan lintas koalisi tidak terjadi, meskipun telah ada Gugus Tugas Covid-19 yang berperan sebagai broker untuk mempertemukan keyakinan inti tiap koalisi. Pemerintah melakukan penyesuaian untuk mendorong perubahan kebijakan yang sesuai dengan keyakinan intinya, meskipun terdapat perubahan opini publik dan perubahan anggota koalisi pemerintah.

State–society relations in uncertain times: Social movement strategies, ideational contestation and the pandemic in Brazil and Argentina

This article compares how COVID-19 affected state–society relations differently in two relatively similar countries: Brazil and Argentina. Bringing together social movement theories and ideational institutionalism, we argue that variation in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic is explained by the different roles played by social movements inside and outside government and by contrasting ideational disputes. The extreme uncertainty introduced by the pandemic generated intense contestation about the meaning of the crisis and how to resolve it. In Brazil, progressive social movements not only were excluded from the government coalition, but also had to combat a powerful discourse that denied the existence of a crisis altogether. Such denialism did not flourish in the same way in Argentina, where progressive social movements were part of national government processes. The result was that in Argentina, movement–government dynamics revolved around constructing long-term policy proposals, whereas in Brazil movements focused on short-term emergency responses.

Oligarchy in the Jokowi government and its influence on the implementation of legislative function in Indonesia

The weak implementation of the House of Representatives’, or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat’s (DPR), function indicates stagnation in Indonesia’s democracy. This fact is due to the party oligarchy’s stronghold in the Jokowi government, which ignores the nature of public representation that should be carried out. The oligarchy controls the government and DPR’s performance in establishing political compromises for every legislative policy with the government to facilitate the affairs of party oligarchs, who are also the members of the Jokowi government coalition. In addition, they engage in cartel politics to secure their respective power and material interests. This article examines the roles of party oligarchs in influencing the implementation of political functions in the DPR. Ironically, the coalition formed by the party oligarchy has helped the Jokowi government and the DPR to secure government policies and the economic and political interests of the oligarchic group.

Russian-German relations in the context of A. Merkel's visits to Moscow and Kiev

Federal Chancellor A. Merkel, who is leaving her post after the Bundestag elections in September, visited Moscow and Kiev on August 20 and 22. The working visits became part of the consolidation of foreign policy foothold, to be transferred to the future government coalition and its leader. The author analyzes results of the negotiations between Bundescanzlerin and presidents of Russia and Ukraine and their significance for the future of Russian-German relations.