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Begin New Search Political Geography Eastern Europe

301. Moldova's Uncertain Future

Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
With Romania's expected entry into the European Union in 2007, the EU will share a border with Moldova, a weak state divided by conflict and plagued by corruption and organised crime. Moldova's leadership has declared its desire to join the EU, but its commitment to European values is suspect, and efforts to resolve its dispute with the breakaway region of Transdniestria have failed to end a damaging stalemate that has persisted for fifteen years. Young people have little confidence in the country's future and are leaving at an alarming rate. If Moldova is to become a stable part of the EU's neighbourhood, there will need to be much greater international engagement, not only in conflict resolution but in spurring domestic reforms to help make the country more attractive to its citizens.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Europe, Moldova, Eastern Europe, and Romania

302. Preventing Turkey's Popular Slide away from the West

Author:
Soner Cagaptay
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Iran's nuclear program presents one more issue on which Washington sees Middle East developments in a different light than does the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey. Since coming to power in November 2002, AKP leaders have pursued rapprochement with Damascus and enhanced dialogue with Iran. In March 2006, the AKP welcomed Hamas leaders in Ankara. It is surprising that Turkey, a traditional bastion of Western policies in the Middle East, is promoting close ties with anti-Western actors that have hurt Turkey for decades—Syria provided safe haven to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Iran supported the PKK and radical Islamist terrorists. Why do the Turkish people not resent such policies? The Iraq war and the U.S. agenda for political transformation in the Middle East have clashed with the Turkish people's desire to preserve the Middle Eastern political landscape. What is more, U.S. inaction against the PKK's Qandil enclave in Northern Iraq is angering most Turks in the way Syrian and Iranian support for the PKK upset them in the 1990s. Turkish confusion and anger toward the United States stands in sharp contrast with the improved image of Syria and Iran in Turkey. Meanwhile, with AKP discussing Middle Eastern politics in terms of Islamic codes, some Turks now identify with the region through Islam and not their national identity. The challenge for Washington is to find a way to prevent Turkey's popular slide away from the United States.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Iran, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Syria

303. The Evolution of Personal Wealth in the Former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe

Author:
Andrei Rachinsky and Sergei Guriev
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This study discusses the evolution of personal wealth in transition economies. While data availability is still a problem, the available indirect evidence suggests privatization has resulted in an increase in personal wealth but also in personal wealth inequality, especially in the countries that lagged behind in building effective institutions. Another source of wealth inequality is the high income inequality due to wage decompression coupled with the low saving rates among the poor. We pay a special attention to one of the most noticeable implications of this rise in personal wealth and wealth inequality— the emergence of so called 'oligarchs'. Using the comprehensive dataset of Muscovites' incomes we show that surveys that do not take into account the first- and second-tier rich (billionaires and millionaires) may drastically underestimate inequality.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Soviet Union

304. The Political Economy of Taxation and Tax Reform in Developing Countries

Author:
Jonathan Di John
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Taxation provides one of the principal lenses in measuring state capacity, state formation and power relations in a society. This paper critically examines three main approaches (economic, administrative and political economy) to understanding taxation. It also examines differences in tax composition across middle-income developing regions and finds that Latin American economies tax upper income groups much less than in East Asia and Eastern Europe, and explores the political economy and policy implications of these differences. The paper also examines issues of tax reform in low income/post-war economies and explores the problem that capital flight poses for less developed countries.
Topic:
Development, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Third World
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, East Asia, and Latin America

305. Health Improvements and Health Inequality during the Last 40 Years

Author:
Giovanni Andrea Cornia and Leonardo Menchini
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper juxtaposes changes over the last forty years in income growth and distribution with the mortality changes recorded at the aggregate level in about 170 countries and at the individual level in 26 countries with at least two demographic and health surveys covering the last twenty years. Over the 1980s and 1990s, the infant mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, and life expectancy at birth mostly continued the favourable trends that characterized the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, especially in the 1990s, the pace of health improvement was slower than that recorded during the prior decades. In addition, the distribution between countries of aggregate health improvements became markedly more skewed. These trends are in part explained by the negative changes recorded in sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, but are robust to the removal of the two regions from the sample. This tendency is observed also at the intraregional level, with the exception of Western Europe. Thirdly, demographic and health survey data for 26 developing countries point to a frequent divergence over time in the within-country distribution of gains in the infant mortality and under-5 mortality rates among children living in urban versus rural areas and belonging to families part of different quantiles of the asset distribution. The paper concludes by underscoring the similarities and linkages between changes in income inequality and health inequality and suggests some tentative explanations of these trends without, however, formally testing them.
Topic:
Development, Health, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe

306. No Stable Kosovo Without a Solution for Mitrovica

Author:
Yll Bajraktari and Christina Parajon
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Seven years after the Yugoslav/NATO war, the northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica remains divided along the Ibar River, which splits the city between the northern side, a predominantly Serb populated area, and the southern side, an Albanian populated area. Due to a lack of support from the international community, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has been unable to reintegrate the city or exert its authority in the north, which is governed by Belgrade. Although partition of Kosovo has been ruled out by the international community, the reality of ethnic division at Mitrovica casts a shadow on the Kosovo final status talks currently under way.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, NATO, and War
Political Geography:
America, Eastern Europe, and Kosovo

307. Explaining the Yugoslav Catastrophe: The Quest for a Common Narrative

Author:
Daniel Serwer and Yll Bajraktari
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
More than a decade after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, people of the region remain deeply divided by contradictory accounts of what happened. Redefinition of historical perspectives along ethno-nationalist lines makes mutual understanding more difficult and hinders reconciliation. Controversies that emerged from the decade of wars continue to hamper the region's prospects.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Nationalism
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe

308. Containing the Dangers of Democratization: A Record of Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author:
Thorsten Gomes
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Abstract:
Peacebuilding aims at creating structures and capabilities within the affected society which will avoid the relapse into armed conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, democratization has been chosen as the standard strategy of peacebuilding. Democracy provides an alternative to armed conflict. Governments can be removed without bloodshed, and other political intra-state disputes may be settled or solved non-violently as well. Democracy deserves a prominent place in theories of civil peace. Nevertheless, some dangers for civil peace and the democratic order itself have roots in the elements of democracy. Democratic liberties can just as well be (ab)used by anti-democrats as by extremists, and thus democratic systems bear the risk of their own overthrow. A second danger results from the political contestation that characterizes democracy. Competition offers incentives for candidates and political parties to inflame hatred and fear in order to win the support of as many people as possible. A third peril is the use of majority rule to exclude whole conflict parties from political decision-making or to ignore their needs and interests completely. Under the specific conditions of post-war societies the destructive potential of democracy and democratization is more easily activated. That is due to the fact that war has pushed back democratic attitudes and actors, while extremist and criminal actors have risen into high social and political positions. Compared to well-established democracies, it is less likely that democratic rules will be obeyed. Conflict parties abide less by democratic norms and distrust each other more than in consolidated democracies. Democratic contestation means “organized uncertainty” (Adam Przeworski). In post-war societies, however, there is so much at stake that uncertainty seems to be more threatening than in established and consolidated democracies.
Topic:
Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Europe, Herzegovina, Eastern Europe, and Balkans

309. Diversity, Conflict, and State Failure: Chances and Challenges for Democratic Consolidation in Georgia after the after the "Rose Revolution"

Author:
Pamela Jawad
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Abstract:
The events of November 2003, taking place against the backdrop of extensive election fraud and mass demonstrations in Georgia, resulted in the non-violent change of government known as the Rose Revolution. It brought a young administration under Mikheil Saakashvili into power and gave rise to hopes for an advance in the democratic consolidation that has been stalled since 2001, thus unfolding a political dynamic of unexpected chances and challenges.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Georgia

310. From Dayton to Brussels: Constitutional Preparations for Bosnia's EU Accession

Author:
Jason Crosby and Don Hays
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The citizens of Bosnia are united in wanting EU accession and its benefits. However, the constitution as it stands will greatly inhibit Bosnia's ability to move toward accession. Under the current constitution, ethnically based political parties still can thwart the state and prevent Bosnia from entering the EU. The constitution vests power in two entities, the Federation and the Republika Srpska, granting most governmental functions to them and only the most limited powers to the central government. Despite numerous state-building reforms, it is questionable whether the state can implement the broad range of measures the EU requires for accession. With the high representative's departure scheduled for June 2007, the state's capacity to implement the accession requirements becomes critical. A recent report by the Venice Commission outlines the reforms necessary to prepare the state for the accession process. Only Bosnia's politicians can undertake the fundamental changes required for accession. In response to this challenge the leaders of the major political parties undertook a consensus-driven process facilitated by representatives of the Institute, the Public International Law and Policy Group, and the Dayton Project. The goal was to produce a package of constitutional amendments by October 2005 to strengthen the state. Over twelve months, representatives developed amendments clarifying group rights, individual and minority rights, and mechanisms for protecting the “vital national interests” of Bosnia's constituent peoples. They also included reforms to strengthen the government and the powers of the prime minister, reduce the president's duties, and streamline parliamentary procedures. The parties presented their agreement to parliament, and on April 26, 2006, the package failed by two votes to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. To answer the question of where Bosnia-Herzogovina (BiH) goes from here, the parties decided to wait until after elections in October 2006 to resubmit the package to parliament, in hopes that its political alignment will change enough to ensure passage.
Topic:
Development and Politics
Political Geography:
Bosnia and Eastern Europe