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151. 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

152. 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

153. Integration Reloaded: Streamlining Moldova's European Course

Author:
Stanislav Secrieru
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
In 2009, against all expectations, Moldova managed to shake off its inertia in an effort to leave behind zigzagging reforms and set itself on course for European integration. Although the European option enjoys overwhelming support in Moldova, the experiences of the eu's latest newcomers have shown that aspirations only materialize if you are prepared to do the necessary homework. Is there enough political will and ability to implement reforms in Moldova? What has the new government done so far, domestically and externally, to bring Moldova closer to the eu? What are the obstacles that could hinder reforms in Moldova? How could the eu help to bring about change, accelerating Moldova's Europeanization?
Topic:
Democratization and Government
Political Geography:
Europe and Moldova

154. Putin's Decline and America's Response

Author:
Anders Åslund
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Russia's regime has gone through a major aggravation during the first year of President Vladimir Putin's second term. The regime suffers from serious overcentralization of power, which has led to a paralysis of policy making. Putin's power base has been shrunk to secret policemen from St. Petersburg. Although his popularity remains high, it is falling. Neither unbiased information nor negative feedback is accepted. As a result, the Putin regime is much more fragile than generally understood. Russia's current abandonment of democracy is an anomaly for such a developed and relatively wealthy country, and it has made Russia's interests part from those of the United States. The United States should not hesitate to promote democracy in Russia, while pragmatically pursuing common interests in nonproliferation and energy.
Topic:
International Relations, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, America, Europe, and Asia

155. Démocratie et Etat de non-droit au Brésil : analyse et témoignage

Author:
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Même dans des moments fondateurs de la démocratisation au Brésil, comme pendant les deux décennies suivant 1985, les vestiges de l'autoritarisme persistent. Je discute ici les questions relatives aux garanties constitutionnelles, en particulier les droits civils, et le fonctionnement du pouvoir judiciaire et de la police, en essayant d'attirer l'attention sur la violence endémique et les violations systématiques des droits humains sous les gouvernements constitutionnels démocratiques, en particulier des années 1990 à nos jours. J'y examine les efforts déployés au Brésil par le gouvernement et la société civile en vue d'un élargissement de la jouissance des droits de la personne à toute la population. Enfin, cet essai comporte également un témoignage sur mon bref passage au gouvernement fédéral du Brésil.
Topic:
Civil Society and Democratization
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Brazil

156. Defence Institutions Building - 2005 Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building - Regional Conference

Author:
Eden Cole and Philipp H. Fluri
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
At their meeting in Istanbul, Allied Heads of State and Government launched the Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building (PAP-DIB). EAPC Heads of State and Government also endorsed this initiative. PAP-DIB reflects Allies' and Partners' common views on modern and democratically responsible defence institutions. It provides an EAPC definition of defence reform and a framework for common reflection and exchange of experience on related problems. It is to help interested Partners to reform and re structure their defence institutions to meet their needs and international commitments.
Topic:
Security, NATO, Democratization, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, and Istanbul

157. Administering information: Eurostat and statistical integration

Author:
Ulf Sverdrup
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
This chapter analyses the processes and dynamics of institution building in the European Union (EU). While most studies of EU institution building have dealt with the birth and evolution of key institutions, such as the legislatives, the executives or the courts, the focus is here on a different aspect of democratic governance: the informational foundation of the EU. The chapter examines developments and changes in the organization of numerical information in the EU, in particular the role of Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Commission. How and to what extent can we observe the emergence of a pan-European informational system? How and to what extent has the European information system in Europe interacted and worked together with national statistical institutes?
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe

158. The Role of Public Discourse in European Social Democratic Reform Projects

Author:
Vivian A. Schmidt
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
Public discourse, understood both as ideas about public action and interactive processes that serve to 'coordinate' the construction of those ideas and to 'communicate' them to the public, has been central to the success (or failure) of the reform projects of social democratic parties. Certain background factors, including countries' policy legacies, problems, preferences, and capacity set the stage for reform while good ideas which are cognitively sound and normatively appropriate as well as relevant, coherent, and consistent contribute to reform success. But institutional context also matters with regard to how ideas are conveyed to whom, with 'simple' polities emphasizing the 'communicative' discourse to the general public and more 'compound' polities the 'coordinative' discourse among policy actors. This is demonstrated with examples from Germany, France, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and Netherlands

159. Party System Institutionalization and Party System Theory After the Third Wave of Democratization

Author:
Scott Mainwaring and Mariano Torcal
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The overarching argument of this paper is that the party systems of less developed countries are less institutionalized than those of the advanced industrial democracies. The paper examines three differences between the party systems of the advanced industrial democracies and party systems of less developed countries. First, we show that most democracies and semi-democracies in less developed countries have much higher electoral volatility than the advanced industrial democracies. Second, much of the literature on parties and party systems assumes the context of institutionalized party systems with strong party roots in society and further presupposes that programmatic or ideological linkages are at the root of the stable linkages between voters and parties. In the party systems of most democracies and semi-democracies in less developed countries, programmatic or ideological linkages between voters and parties are weaker. Third, linkages between voters and candidates are more personalistic in less developed countries than in the advanced industrial democracies.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Government, and Third World
Political Geography:
Europe

160. Liberty above All: Vladimir Ryzhkov and the Republican Party of Russia

Author:
Leon Aron
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Since its disastrous showing in the 2003 Duma elections, Russia's badly splintered and quarrelling democratic opposition has been trying to find ways to forge a common platform that would unite and energize its sizeable but apathetic and disillusioned constituency. The stakes are very high. The liberal (that is, in Russian political parlance, right-of-center, pro-market, pro-reform, and pro-Western) forces view the Putin Kremlin's turn to recentralization of national politics and the economy as a dead-end street, leading to creeping authoritarianism, rampant corruption, political crises, economic slowdown, and even disintegration. In this perspective, forging a united opposition strong enough to contest the Kremlin's control over the Duma in 2007 and the presidency in 2008 acquires particular urgency.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia