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12. Violence Against Women in Post-communist Societies: Benefits and Changes
- Author:
- Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic
- Publication Date:
- 05-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- Social changes, which recently occurred in post-communist countries, brought new opportunities for positive developments and offered the possibility of choice. In most countries, the social transition brought an opening of borders, enabling an influx of positive as well as negative influences. However, even the general positive impact of social changes is typically followed by more negative consequences in the everyday life of the people. The most dramatic consequences of social transition, manifested in a significant rise of unemployment and the loss of many social benefits. These developments are directly related to the replacement of planned, centralized economies by the market and the privatization of state property. Most people lost their previous social security benefits and, despite the fact that the general character of communism was “equality in poverty,” the social transition was a source of serious stress and numerous existential problems. This was further intensified by the fact that, at the same time, the growing import of both material goods and the American way of thinking, i.e. consumerism spirit of the West, urged people to achieve their “American dreams” at any cost.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Civil Society, Human Welfare, and Privatization
- Political Geography:
- America and Europe
13. Decentralization and Regionalization after Communism: Lessons from Administrative and Territorial Reform in Poland and the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Jennifer Yoder
- Publication Date:
- 04-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- While the regional level of authority has gained much attention in recent years in Western Europe, Eastern Europe is still emerging from decades of centralization and homogenization under communism. Several post-communist countries, however, have taken steps toward administrative decentralization and territorial regionalization. This article explores possible reasons for taking these steps and traces the progress of administrative and territorial reform in two post-communist cases: Poland and the Czech Republic. The conclusion considers several implications of these reforms for domestic politics and foreign relations.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
14. The Limits of Conditionality: Nuclear Reactor Safety in Central and Eastern Europe, 1991 - 2001
- Author:
- John Van Oudenaren
- Publication Date:
- 03-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- Conditionality has become an increasingly prominent feature of international politics in recent years.1 Once mainly associated with the macroeconomic stabilization programs of the IMF, since the collapse of communism it has been used by the EU, NATO, the OECD, and the Council of Europe to promote a variety of political, economic, and social objectives – everything from abolishing the death penalty to privatizing national monopolies. With increased use has come increased controversy. Critics of conditionality argue that it is often applied in ways that ride roughshod over national sovereignty, ignore local circumstances, and impose economic hardship. Others note the frequent inability of recipients of conditional aid to fulfill commitments to international donors. Even when measured by its own narrow objectives, they argue, conditionality often fails.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
15. MAP Reading: NATO's and Russia's Pathways to European Military Integration
- Author:
- Stephen Blank
- Publication Date:
- 02-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- As part of NATO's and Europe's continuing and open-ended processes of enlargement and military-political integration, in 1999, NATO presented aspiring members with a Membership Action Plan (MAP) to guide them in their activities preparing their governments and armed forces for membership in NATO. The MAP, if fulfilled according to NATO's requirements and approbation, allegedly would make the aspiring members' military forces more nearly congruent or interoperable with NATO forces. With this document, NATO has arguably created its own version of the EU's acquis communautaire “against which the Alliance can assess the technical preparations and capacities of the nine MAP partners and judge their readiness for membership.”
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
16. Commentary: Trade and the Environment After Seattle–Perspectives From The Wilson Center
- Author:
- William M. Daley, Andrea Durbin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Martin Albrow, Stacy D. Vandeever, Anju Sharma, Stephen Clarkson, Kent Hughes, and Tamar Gutner
- Publication Date:
- 06-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- Free trade, seen by many as the engine of world economic growth, has once again become the subject of bitter dispute. Nowhere was this more evident than at the meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle at the end of 1999. There, environmentalists joined with trade unionists and advocates for developing countries in staging mass protests. These diverse groups claimed the WTO is unrepresentative and undemocratic, overlooking environmental interests and those of the world's poor in favor of big business. Inside the negotiating halls, the United States and the European Union clashed over agricultural subsidies and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Developing country representatives complained that they remained marginalized in the official talks.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Environment, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe