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441. Some Aspects of Defence Sector Development in Lithuania

Author:
Robertas Sapronas
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
During the first half of the 1990s all Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, including the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, were struggling through the difficult process of transition toward a democratic system and market economy. The transformations of the post Cold War era had profound effects on practically every sector of the respective societies, which had to find their new role and place in the new world.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Cold War, Democratization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia

442. Democratic Control of the Police and Police Reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia

Author:
Marina Caparini and Graham Day
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
DCAF's approach to police reform emphasises democratic control of policing as a priority before improving police efficiency and modernisation. This report builds on the analyses and recommendations offered by the Monk and Slater reports for police reform in FRY and Serbia, concentrating on those measures that may help restore professional integrity, democratic values and public confidence in the policing institution, such as accountability mechanisms, anti-corruption measures, and public consultation procedures. Only by embedding such mechanisms within police reform from the earliest stages will democratic policing develop in Serbia and Yugoslavia.
Topic:
Security and Migration
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, and Serbia

443. The Estonian Border Guard

Author:
Colonel Aare Evisalu
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Following its formation, which lasted ten years, a modern, uniformed and fairly effective professional organisation, the Estonian Border Guard, was created. This organisation has in essence, decreased criminal activity at the border as well as illegal immigration. Furthermore, the Estonian Border Guard possesses a good potential for maritime rescue. According to various enquiries, the Border Guard has achieved the reputation of being the most trustworthy state institution, sharing first place with the President of the Republic.
Topic:
Security and Migration
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe

444. The Social Sciences in Transition: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe

Author:
Elzbieta Matynia
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The biggest challenge in trying to make sense of the social sciences in Central and Eastern Europe today is that the very condition of the societies in question is "transitional." From the moment the Poles negotiated the beginning of their own transition in April have been dealing with a part of the world in which all aspects of social, political and economic life are in constant motion. Some elements of the reports we commissioned on the status of the social sciences in various countries of the region are already obsolete; by the time the overview presented in this volume goes to press, it too will have become a case study in what Timothy Garton Ash calls the "history of the present."
Topic:
Education
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe

445. Political Parties in Tajikistan

Author:
Saodat Olimova and Anthony Bowyer
Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The main events that took place in Tajikistan in the first few years after independence was attained were characterized by the two diverse processes: the crises in the old political system and its consequent collapse, and the development of a new political system.The political development of sovereign Tajikistan was strongly influenced by Soviet political traditions and the stereotypes of political conduct that formed during the Soviet Union. The bipolarization of political forces at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s in the USSR did not stimulate the formation of democratic alternatives in political behavior, and in fact limited political choices to the rigid dichotomy of “democracy – anti-democracy,” both for the electorate and the political elites, which eventually led to the breakout of civil war in Tajikistan. The complexity of the situation in Tajikistan was that the elites were just as divided and diverse as the Tajik demographic composition itself, consisting of various ethno-cultural sub-ethnic and ethno-regional groups. Immediately after independence was attained, regional elites of diverse ideological and foreign policy orientations began scrambling for power in the new sovereign state. In 1992-1993 the conflict exploded into a civil war led by two main conflicting camps – the National Front and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) (a coalition of opposition parties).During the conflict a significant shift of elites took place, as the previously governing elite of Soviet times from Soghd (formerly Leninabad) Oblast in northern Tajikistan was removed from power. The Kulyab regional elite ascended to power, and played the main role during the war in pushing out other regional elites to the periphery of power.Â
Topic:
Democratization and Government
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe

446. Election Law Compendium of Central and Eastern Europe

Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive collection of the election laws of developing democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. The editor is all too conscious of the difficulty in keeping abreast of the dynamic and vast changes in democratic processes taking place in this area of the world, as reflected in the ever-changing bodies of law governing the conduct of elections.
Topic:
Democratization and Government
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe

447. Democratizing a Post-Conflict State and Society

Author:
Mumukshu Patel
Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration
Abstract:
I try to evaluate the role that major International Organization (IOs) have played in the process of democratization in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). By using the case study of BiH, I try to show that it is vital to create democratic institutions in the state and cultivate democratic politics in society simultaneously, for the process of democratization to succeed. I also explore the evolution of IO mandates in BiH to assess whether IOs have learned from past experiences to make their future programs/projects m o re effective.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Eastern Europe

448. Germany, Multilateralism,and the Eastern Enlargement of the EU

Author:
Claus Hofhansel
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
Since World War II, the most distinctive characteristic of German foreign policy has been its commitment to multilateralism. This commitment has served German material interests, but it has a normative basis as well. This paper analyzes German domestic support for multilateralist policies, defined in terms of the principles of indivisibility, generalized principles of conduct, and diffuse reciprocity, in the context of negotiations on the EU's eastern enlargement. Empirically, the paper focuses on the policy areas of freedom of movement for workers and agriculture. The main theoretical argument is that domestic support for multilateralist policies depends on the distributional consequences of such policies and the ability of political institutions to manage distributional conflicts. Distributional conflict undermines support for multilateralist policies. In the case of Germany, distributional conflicts among different sectors and regions of the German economy have become more severe partly, but not exclusively, due to German unification. Furthermore, German political institutions are less able to resolve such conflicts than in the past. The evidence presented here shows more intense domestic distributional conflicts on the free movement of labor issue than over agriculture, and, as expected, we see more explicitly bilateral and less multilateralist demands by unions and employers.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Government
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Germany

449. CERI: Les relations civilo-militaires en Croatie, 1990-2001

Author:
Jean-François Morel and Renéo Lukic
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
In contrast to most of Eastern and Central European countries that underwent their post-communist transition peacefully, Croatia had to undergo its transition during wartime. The outbreak of the Serbo-Croatian war in Spring 1991 forced Croatia to build rapidly an army to protect its territory. However, at this time, Croatia was an emerging democracy and after the European Community recognised its independence on January 15, 1992, the parliamentary institutions were unable to exert their authority over the Croatian army (Hrvatska vojska, HV). The Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman, and the political party he presided, the HDZ, dominated the HV by way of political penetration. Tudjman, who led Croatia to independence, benefited from a triple legitimacy (political, constitutional and charismatic) that allowed him to exert his power over the HV, much the same as the legitimacy Josip Broz-Tito enjoyed over the Yugoslav National Army in Communist Yugoslavia. The result is that the civil-military regime in Croatia after 1990 suffered from a democratic deficit. After the death of President Franjo Tudjman in December 1999 and the change of majority in the January-February 2000 elections, the new Croatian leadership, particularly President Stjepan Mesic, tried to establish democratic control over the armed forces. However, this aim clashed with the opposition of the Ministry of Defense and of numerous officers still committed to the HDZ. For these reasons, a democratic civil-military regime in Croatia is not yet a reality. However, Croatia has made some progress toward the establishment of a democratic civil-military regime. By trying to join some international organizations (NATO), or by being compelled to cooperate with others (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY), Croatia is now in the process of interiorizing the norms concerning the civilian and democratic control of the armed forces upon which these organizations are based. Being a member of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), and wishing to join as soon as possible NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP), Croatia is obliged to move in this direction.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and War
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, and Croatia

450. Ukraine and the West: Policies for Progress

Author:
Oleksandr Pavliuk and John E. Tedstrom
Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
A limited window of opportunity has opened to advance democratization, the rule of law, and market economics in Ukraine. This unique situation is the result of economic growth since 2000, strong voter support for reformers in the March 2002 parliamentary elections, and a rearrangement of the strategic landscape since September 11, including positive shifts in Western relations with Russia. How Ukrainian leaders make use of this opportunity will have serious implications for Ukraine's integration with European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. To achieve success, Ukraine will have to deliver on substantive domestic reforms and demonstrate a genuine openness to integration. Leadership from the West is equally imperative; clear indications of the West's desire to see Ukraine succeed at home and in European integration will have a strong positive influence at the grassroots, which will in turn be decisive in the 2004 presidential elections. By contrast, if the West disengages now or fails to formulate a clear concept of its relations with Ukraine, voters will be less likely to support presidential candidates who advocate a European choice and the domestic change it requires. As a result, the likelihood that non-reformers will prevail in the 2004 presidential elections would increase, thereby jeopardizing Ukraine's long-term stability and its contributions to regional and global security.
Topic:
NATO, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
Ukraine and Eastern Europe