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1431. Albania's Parliamentary Elections 2001

Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The Socialist Party's decision on 21 August to nominate Ilir Meta for another term as Prime Minister closed out the longest election in Albania's turbulent post-communist history. Voting for the parliament was held, extraordinarily, in four rounds on 24 June 2001, and 8, 22 and 29 July due to accusations of electoral fraud in various forms. It was, nevertheless, peaceful and produced a decisive victory for the ruling Socialist Party (SP). The Socialists, who have held power since 1997, won 73 seats in the 140-member legislature, against 46 for the Union for Victory (UfV) coalition, led by the Democratic Party (DP). The remaining 21 seats were allocated among five small parties, each of which gained the necessary 2.5 per cent of votes, and two independent candidates who won direct mandates. The results gave the Socialists a sufficient majority to form a new government and, crucially, with the aid of likely allies, to elect a new president in 2002 when the term of the incumbent, Rexhep Meidani, expires. Formation of that government, however, was delayed further weeks until the SP's General Steering Committee gave Meta an overwhelming victory in his bitter personal battle with the party chairman, Fatos Nano, who backed his own man for the prime minister's chair.
Topic:
Democratization, Nationalism, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Albania

1432. Planning Pension Reform in Russia (Event Summary)

Author:
Mitchell Orenstein and David Woodruff
Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The "new pension orthodoxy," a new way of thinking about pension reform in Russia, according to Orenstein, is a reflection of global changes. Systems that were set up in the early 1900s are now being partially replaced by fully funded, privately managed, individual savings accounts. The policy of private accounts was first developed in Chile in the early 1970s, at first generating considerable pessimism, but in the decade that followed, inducing a number of other Latin American countries and some Western European nations to begin full or partial privatization of their pension systems.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Democratization, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, America, Europe, and Asia

1433. Democracy Assistance and NGO Strategies in Post-Communist Societies

Author:
Sarah E. Mendelson and John K. Glenn
Publication Date:
02-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Since the end of the Cold War, Eastern Europe and Eurasia have been host to a virtual army of Western non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-from the United States, Britain, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe-all working on various aspects of institutional development, such as helping to establish competitive political parties and elections, independent media, and civic advocacy groups, as well as trying to reduce ethnic conflict. Little is known-although much good and bad is believed-about the impact of this assistance, carried out on a transnational level in cooperation with local political and social activists. This study, based at Columbia University, was designed to address this gap.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, International Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia

1434. The Third Force: The Rise of Transnational Civil Society

Author:
P.J. Simmons and Ann M. Florini
Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
IN LATE 1999, tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Seattle in one of the most visible manifestations of civil society in recent decades. They had gathered to show their opposition to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the broader forces of economic integration that it represents. The WTO, which was meeting to set an agenda for a proposed new round of global trade negotiations, found it- self under scrutiny as never before. For several days, television news shows around the world displayed protesters being gassed and arrested by the hundreds. Although media reports portrayed the protesters as a combination of American labor unionists who wanted to protect their jobs at the expense of Third World workers and hippies left over from the 1960s, in fact the protesters represented a broad and to some degree transnational coalition of concerns. They objected not only to the WTO's ability to override domestic environmental legislation but also to the very nature of the processes by which governments and corporations are fostering economic integration.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Human Welfare, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
America

1435. President Clinton's Visit to Vietnam

Author:
Frederick Z. Brown
Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
On November 17, 2000, President Bill Clinton begins a four-day state visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the first visit ever by an American president to the unified country of Vietnam. He will be accompanied by Mrs. Clinton, daughter Chelsea, and several cabinet secretaries, most likely state, commerce, health and human services, veterans affairs, and the United States Trade Representative (USTR). A congressional delegation is also planned.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, Economics, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, America, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia

1436. Cultural Contradictions of Post-Communism: Why Liberal Reforms Did Not Succeed in Russia

Author:
Nina Khrushcheva
Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
One goal of Russia's economic reforms during the last ten years has been to establish a new class of businessmen and owners of private property—people who could form the foundation for a new model post-Soviet citizen. However, the experience of this post-communist economic “revolution” has turned out to be very different from the original expectations. For as people became disillusioned with communism due to its broken promises, the words “democracy” and “reform” quickly became equally as unbearable to large sectors of the Russian public after 1991. Such disillusion was achieved in less than ten years—a record revolutionary burnout that would be the envy of any anti-Bolshevik.
Topic:
Communism, Democratization, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union

1437. What kind of Democracy, Whose Integration? Construction of democracy and integration into the EU of Estonia

Author:
Kristi Raik
Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Integration into the European Union has for many years been one of the top priorities of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), playing a central role in both their foreign and domestic policies. Preparing for membership in the EU is in many ways connected to the development of democracy in these countries. The Union has declared support to democracy in the applicant countries to be one of the main priorities of eastern enlargement. In addition to concrete support, however, I argue that the relevance of the EU for democracy in the CEECs is even more due to indirect influence – integration is a dominant issue in the domestic politics of these countries and therefore an important part of continuous (re)production of democracy. This paper studies what kind of democracy has been constructed in one of the eastern applicant countries, Estonia, in the course of integration into the EU It analyses firstly the different conceptions of democracy that have been presented and put into practice as part of that process. Secondly, it places integration into the EU in the context of democratic politics of Estonia, asking whether preparations for EU membership have left room for more than a formal democracy to function.
Topic:
Democratization
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Estonia

1438. Civil Society From Abroad: the Role of Foreign Assistance in the Democratization of Poland

Author:
Grzegorz Ekiert and Jan Kubik
Publication Date:
02-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
For a long time, the prevailing modes of conceptualizing regime transformations underplayed the role and importance of external actors, influences, and linkages. "Domestic factors - O'Donnell and Schmitter asserted - play a predominant role in the transition" (1986:19). This statement reflects both the peculiarities of the early cases belonging to the third wave of democratization and the limitations of the analytical outlook predominant at that time. Only recently did students of regime transitions recognized the role of external factors and foreign influences in shaping democratization in Eastern Europe and other regions (Pridham 1995; Pridham, Herring, and Sanford, eds. 1997). Perhaps this is because such factors have become more pronounced in recent years.
Topic:
Democratization and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Poland

1439. Indonesian Democratic Transition: Implications for United States Policy

Author:
James J. Przystup, Ronald N. Montaperto, Gerald W. Faber, and Adam Schwarz
Publication Date:
04-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The onset of the Asian economic crisis in May 1997 assured the end of the tottering "New Order" regime of President Suharto. Economic collapse re-energized social and political grievances long muted by the cumulative effects of steady economic growth and political repression. In May 1998, the discredited Suharto regime collapsed. In June 1999, democratic elections led to the formation of a reform government led by President Abdurrahman Wahid.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Democratization
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

1440. In Focus: Bolivia: Eradicating Democracy

Author:
George Ann Potter and Linda Farthing
Publication Date:
10-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
In September 2000, Bolivia, South America's poorest country, was rocked by a series of civilian protests, including roadblocks throughout the country. Unionists, teachers, peasant coca farmers, and others have demanded that the Bolivian and U.S. governments stop trying to completely eradicate coca growing and cease construction of three new military bases in the Chapare region. Among the other demands, protesters also want the government to improve alternative development programs in the coca growing region. In mid-October, the two sides reached a 19-point “truce”, but protesters vowed to reinstate the roadblocks in 30 days if the government did not adhere to the the agreement.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States, South America, Latin America, and Bolivia