Eastern European States Research Articles

Toward the Comparative Analysis of Transitions from State Socialism: Structure, Agency and Contingency

The comparative study of the transition from state socialism has much to gain from broadening its canvas from the good work that has already been done comparing the USSR/Russia with China and the comparisons among the former Central and Eastern European state socialisms. It can take as its starting point the well developed “transitology” from authoritarianism to democracy. But there are fundamental differences too, especially in that the transitions from state socialism will probably require much more attention to structural explanans, which were deemphasized in favor of agency and contingency in the work on transitions from authoritarianism. That said, virtu and fortuna will remain crucial as the open-ended transitions from state socialism continue to play themselves out.

An analysis of the cost of disability across Europe using the standard of living approach

This article presents for the first time a comparative study of the cost of disability for households in 31 European countries. In order to do so, we exploit the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, its special module on housing conditions for 2007 and 2012 and employ two alternative methodologies, one based on how difficult it is for households to make ends meet and the other related to the access of households to a set of services and assets. The comparative nature of the present analysis shows these national estimates of the cost disability from a broader perspective than previous research. One important finding of this study is that there is a significant diversity in the cost of disability across European countries, with Scandinavian countries at the top of the ranking and Eastern European states at the bottom. We discuss some possible explanatory reasons for the pattern of costs across countries found in our analysis.

Trends in Mortality From Ischemic Heart Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease in Europe: 1980 to 2009.

Trends in cardiovascular mortality across Europe demonstrate significant geographical variation, and an understanding of these trends has a central role in global public health. Ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease age-standardized death rates (as per International Classification of Diseases, ninth and tenth revisions) were collated from the World Health Organization mortality database for member states of the European Union. Trends were characterized by using Joinpoint regression analysis. An overall trend for reduction in ischemic heart disease mortality was observed, most pronounced in Western Europe (>60% for the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Ireland) for both sexes from 1980 to 2009. Eastern European states, Romania, Croatia, and Slovakia, had modest mortality reductions. Most recently (2009), Lithuania had the highest mortality for males and females (318.1/100 000 and 166.1/100 000, respectively), followed by Latvia and Slovakia. France had the lowest mortality: 39.8/100 000 for males and 14.7/100 000 for females. Analysis of cerebrovascular disease mortality revealed that Austria had the largest reduction for both sexes (76.8% males, 76.5% females) from 1980 to 2009. The smallest improvement over this period was seen in Lithuania, Poland, and Cyprus (-5% to +20% approximately). France has the lowest present-day cerebrovascular disease mortality for both males and females (23.9/100 000 and 17.3/100 000, respectively). There is a growing disparity in cardiovascular mortality between Western and Eastern Europe, for which diverse explanations are discussed. The need for population-wide health promotion and primary prevention policies is emphasized.

Sharing the Burden? NATO and Its Second-Tier Powers Toronto by Benjamin Zyla

Reviewed by: Dominika Kunertova, Universite de MontrealFrom collective action dilemmas to the literature on international crises, scholars have addressed the casse-tete of how to determine an equitable distribution of collective defence costs in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In his new book, Benjamin Zyla offers comprehensive account of the burden-sharing practices of NATO's second-tier powers, such as Canada, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands, during the first post-Cold War decade (1989-2001). Set in the framework of the changing regional order in Europe, the book evaluates existing burden-sharing measures and contextualizes the burden-sharing behaviour of second-tier power with an emphasis on Canada.Zyla advances two central findings. First, contrary to the expectations of collective action theory, NATO second-tier powers generally shouldered a proportionate share of the Atlantic (8). And second, rather than relying solely on material cost-benefit calculations, Canada acted according to Wolfers' norm of external responsibility, which points to a felt obligation to promote international economic, social, or political conditions to uphold the values of human rights and security, democracy, freedom, and the rule of law (10).[1] To demonstrate his arguments, Zyla broadens burden-sharing criteria to include both military and civilian indicators, and studies domestic preference formation toward NATO and European security governance in Canada. Rooted in liberal international relations (IR) theory, the author conducts an analysis based on explanatory understanding (10) and combines the methods of case study, qualitative content analysis, and semi-structured interviews.Sharing the Burden? is divided into three parts. The first presents the author's theoretical (chapter 2) and conceptual (chapter 3) frameworks for analyzing burden-sharing. Although these two chapters are rich on scholarly debates, Zyla does not always strike reasonable balance. After providing lengthy criticism of realism, followed by defence of liberal IR theory, he dismisses constructivism in single paragraph. Surprisingly, the author does not comment on neoclassical realism, which has recently made contribution to the allied burden-sharing problem in NATO. Furthermore, Zyla squeezes the main neorealist explanation for the absence of free-riding--the abandonment hypothesis--into one footnote (25). Nor is it clear why he omits studies that focus on domestic factors in explaining the contribution dilemma. Taken together, it is odd that at time when IR scholars have been striving to develop more eclectic research, Zyla glorifies liberal IR theory while making straw man out of realism.The second part of the book compares countries' shares of the military burden. Zyla examines NATO member states' participation in the Persian Gulf 1990-1991 and Balkan wars throughout the 1990s (chapters 4 and 5), and introduces the book's most original idea: relative force share index (117). The author claims that instead of comparing absolute allied force contributions, the comparison should be made in relation to national force strength. Finally, in the third part Zyla develops criteria for sharing the civilian burden among NATO's allies. He starts with less quantifiable aspects such as the construction of NATO institutional tools to provide consultation and expertise for Central and Eastern European states, and Canadian support for NATO enlargement policy (chapter 6). Zyla then broadens the burden-sharing discussion by introducing two sets of civilian power indicators, soft military and hard civilian, including national contributions to NATO common budgets and UN peacekeeping operations, or foreign aid (chapter 7).The author could have better explained his choice of military and civilian burden indicators. …

Living history: Russian press and online media images of Poland in the 2000s. Implications for Russia's identity as a foreign politics actor

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the national identities of the Eastern and Central European states are finding themselves in a process of transformation and the results are having an impact on international relations in the region. National and foreign political identities of states are constituted by means of everyday discursive practices, not least in the media. In the present study, through an analysis of Russian press and Internet text materials emanating from 2003 to 2008, Russia's foreign political identity in relation to Poland, or the ‘Polish Issue’, will be examined. Based on three different discourses, namely a ‘westerniser’, a ‘statist’ and a ‘civilisationist’ discourse, the research question is posed: How is Russia's identity as a foreign political actor constructed in the text materials with regard to these three discourses? The article suggests that discursive developments during the period paved the way for a return of cold war discourses that today characterise relations between Russia and Poland.

ДОСВІД І ПРАКТИКА НАЦІОНАЛЬНОГО ПРИМИРЕННЯ В ІСПАНІЇ

The contemporary political theory envisages the Spanish transition from authoritarianism to a modern multiparty political system as an important landmark and one of the most successful examples of the ‘third wave’ of the process of global democratization. Commenced in Southern Europe, the transition towards the democratic rule has affected Latin America, South Africa and a number of Asian countries and then went further to the majority of Central and Eastern European states. The political reforms and regime change became possible due to the ‘national reconciliation’, a series of compromises negotiated between the government and the leaders of the top political parties. This mechanism ensured a gradual peaceful process of political changes and their successful constitutional legitimization, as well as their implementation in the legislature. However, the transition towards a competitive multiparty democracy won’t cover the reconciliation of ideologies, neither did it consider a common moral and political assessment of the past. Both veterans of the Civil War of 1936 – 1939 and victims of the Franco’s dictatorship were completely rehabilitated only 30 years after the political transformation have been launched.

Territorial divisions in Europe

The study of territorial divisions is expected to fall within the remit of political geography, as it implies an analysis of relations between power and territories as political constructs. However, given the multi-faceted nature of the « territorial paradigm », we should also look at other approaches to territoriality (M. Vanier, 2010). The articles compiled in this issue tackle territorial divisions from two angles, drawing comparisons between Western and Eastern European states, including...

Do Migrants Think Differently? Evidence from Eastern European and Post-Soviet States

This research investigates the effect of cultural traits on migration, by analyzing differences in norms, attitudes and beliefs between individuals who intend to emigrate and those who do not. The results show that cultural traits affect emigration decisions. Significant self-selection patterns are detected in some dimensions, such as evaluation of home country governance and institutions, political participation, trust in other people and justification of cheating, while they are absent in other dimensions, such as views on economic liberalism and democracy. Results also indicate that the relationship between cultural traits and migration are heterogeneous across regions with different institutions and culture. This analysis aims to improve our understanding of the determinants of emigration, as well as of its possible consequences on the dynamics of governance and institutions.

Rule of Law and Institutional Legitimacy: Challenges of Transition, Challenges of Europe

Recent European events have revealed that some eu Member States, including some South Eastern European (see) States, still struggle with the rule of law. While certain rule of law challenges may be due to past legacies and insufficient (or insufficiently successful) transitions, others may be the result of the transition itself and of contemporary socio-economic problems that are experienced across Europe. This article will address the state of the rule of law in see, reflecting first on some pre-, mid-, and post-transition problems relevant for the rule of law in these countries. Next, it will address the legal and socio-psychological impact of the challenges posed by the mentioned problems, connecting the (mis)trust that can be observed on several levels (internally and externally) with the rule of law, thus demonstrating that mistrust as such has social as well as legal consequences. If trust (e.g. in the effectiveness of the rule of law safeguards or in those who are entrusted with safeguarding it) is lacking, this represents a problem not only for the Member State (e.g. for the functioning and perceived legitimacy of its judicial system) in question, but also for the eu (e.g. for the judicial cooperation in criminal matters). Lastly, the article will examine the eu’s perspective on rule of law, drawing on the recent eu Framework to Strengthen the Rule of Law, which aims to ensure an effective and coherent protection of the rule of law in all Member States, as well as on some other eu documents that may, in our view, help address the current challenges in European rule of law.

The Personalisation of Politics at the Local Level in Poland and Selected Central and Eastern European States: A Contribution to the Research

Abstract Images about politics take a specific form in the imagination of the electorate, eliciting specific associations and thus becoming a source of attitudes and influencing election preferences. At the same time, the increasing importance of politicians’ perceived personality traits and images has been observed. Empirical studies of politicians’ personalities provide one of the more effective tools for studying the basic features of the personalisation of politics, including at a local level. Such studies involve the measurement of citizens’ perceptions of politicians’ personality traits. This article seeks to systematise key concepts and provide an introduction to conducting advanced empirical research in this area.

Constructions of ‘the Polish’ in Northern England: Findings From a Qualitative Interview Study

The enlargement of the European Union in 2004 gave rise to moral panics concerning the likelihood of mass migration from the new eastern European member states to established member states in the west. A great deal of social and political science research has examined the ongoing impact of the enlargement, but there remains a gap in the literature regarding the ways in which members of ‘receiving’ populations reacted to these changes. The present paper reports findings from a qualitative interview study of 14-16 year-olds conducted in northern England. It focuses on how migrants from one particular country – Poland – were constructed by participants. Drawing on previous analyses of immigration and racist discourse, the study points to some ways in which Polish migrants and migration were constructed, and how complaints against ‘the Polish’ were formulated. The analysis focusses on four key issues: employment and the economy; language and culture; threat and intimidation; and physical stereotyping. It is suggested that constructions of ‘the Polish’ draw on the tropes of both ‘old’ and ‘new’ racism, and that attention to the use of deixical ingroup referents (‘us’, ‘we’, ‘our’) in contrast to the explicit labelling of the outgroup (‘the Polish’) can be understood in terms of the requirement to present complaints concerning migrant groups via appeals to assumed universal standards of behaviour and civility.

Compliance with EU biofuel targets in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe: Do interest groups matter?

The European Union requires its member states to establish national targets for the biofuel content of all diesel and petrol supplies for transport placed on the market. This study explores the adoption of this European Union policy across South-Eastern and Eastern Europe between 2003 and 2012. In theoretical terms, we are specifically interested in examining the role of interest groups for policy adoption. We argue that the oil industry in general and the producers of biofuels in particular will support the establishment of national biofuel targets because they expect economic gains. By contrast, we expect environmental groups with international and regional ties to oppose such targets because biofuels have come under attack for their potential environmental impact including deforestation, a loss in biodiversity, and food insecurity. Empirically, we concentrate on policy adoptions in 21 South-Eastern and Eastern European states with varied relations to the European Union and the Energy Community. Our analysis supports our main arguments in suggesting that a stronger presence of environmental groups decreases the chances of adopting national biofuel targets across our country sample while producer interests tend to increase adoptions. This finding holds true also when controlling for a country’s European Union membership and accession perspective, membership in the Energy Community, and additional domestic-level factors. These results add more generally to our understanding about compliance with European Union policies and environmental governance.

Conceptualizing Party Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe

The political representation of ethnic minorities in the party systems of Central and Eastern European states remains understudied despite the consolidation of democracy in these countries following their accession to the EU. This paper asks what institutional factors influence the way ethnic minorities are represented in the party systems of Central and Eastern European states. It does so based on a comparison of ethnic minorities in two paired cases (Slovakia/Romania and Estonia/Latvia), each of which shows similarities in some regards but have different outcomes in terms of party representation. The paper specifically examines explanations for the diverse forms through which minorities are represented in these four countries with a focus on three distinct types: ethnic particularist minority parties, integrationist minority parties, and accommodative majority parties. We examine two institutional/political factors that influence specific minority party types: (1) electoral systems and (2) political strategies of the dominant ethnic elite. We argue that while electoral systems do play a role in explaining differences in the party representation of minorities, they become particularly important in the broader political institutional context that emerged in the first decade following the collapse of communism. The manner in which dominant ethnic political-elites approached minority representation in the early years of democratization is critical in explaining different types of party representation that ensued.

Motivational factors for the adoption of ISO 9001 standards in Eastern Europe: the case of Bulgaria

Purpose: This study analyzes the motivational factors for ISO 9001 certification in Bulgaria from the internal/external motivations perspective, or the so-called dual model. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a mixed method research approach, which employed two interviews with experts in the field of quality management at the exploratory stage, and a survey involving 127 companies at the descriptive stage. Findings: This study claims that enhanced company image and competitiveness – an external motivation - is the leading motivational factor for ISO 9001 certification in Bulgaria. At the same time, our primary investigation reveals that Bulgarian firms are not predominantly externally driven, for internal motivations including process improvement and product quality improvement seem to be an important driver for ISO 9001 certification. Last but not least, this research asserts that enhanced company image and competitiveness has a stronger impact on the motivations for ISO 9001 certification than customer and supplier pressure, which is in line with previous research works on developing economy economies such as Bulgaria. Finally, our study indicates a moderate, yet positive correlation between motivations for and benefits of ISO 9001 certification. Social implications: This research work casts some light on the evolution of quality management in Bulgaria since the end of communism, which can serve as an important foundation for the better understanding of quality management in former communist economies in general and Eastern European states in particular. Originality/value: Derived from the acute gap between ISO studies in Western and former communist economies, this research work presents one of the first official, international studies in the field of ISO certification in Bulgaria, and more precisely, a paper describing the motives for ISO 9001 certification among Bulgarian businesses.

Negotiating desirability and material resources: changing expectations on men in post-Soviet Havana

In post-Soviet Havana, material resources emerge as a factor in terms of which women assess a man’s desirability as a potential partner. These tendencies in current gender relations relate to the larger transformations in Cuba’s political and economic context. The fall of Eastern European and Soviet state socialisms seriously diminished the Cuban state’s ability to provide social services. Remittances generated through transnational kin ties and recent liberalistic changes in labour politics intensify the disparities of wealth. Moreover, Cuba’s dependence on tourism as a source of national income has brought about changes to the possibilities for social mobility available through the promises of migration and affluence that relationships with foreigners can offer. This article focuses on the gendered consequences of these large-scale transformations, experienced as the increasing intertwining of material resources and desirability, especially when it comes to men’s attractiveness. Coping with increasing demands from women, men draw on local notions of masculinity that include elements both of machismo and responsible manhood. Men thereby at times comply and at times resist women’s expectations on them.

Conclusion: How to Rule the Void? Policy Responses to a ‘Hollowing Out’ of Democracy

type="graphical" xml:id="gpol12235-abs-0001"> Democracy requires the critical engagement of practitioners and experts alike.

The Battle for the Rule of Law: The Case of the Western Balkans and the EU

Since the successful integration of the Central and Eastern European states into the European Union in the early to late 90’s, the EU wanted to try to replicate the same success in the poorer South Eastern (Balkans) states. However the long standing ethnic disputes, wide-spread corruption, little history with democracy, weak civil societies and the failure of the integration of Bulgaria and Romania, have created many barriers for the policy’s achievement. I aim to explore why the European Union’s enlargement policy integration in Western Balkans has not been nearly as successful in the Central and Eastern European states. At the heart of the enlargement policy is the establishment of democratic institution of rule of law. I will argue that the countries of the Western Balkans that have better infrastructure, cooperation with political elites and clear political incentives have the greatest rule of law acceptance. By looking at four Western Balkans states, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, this paper will determine and access the various rule of law institutions, such as protection of minorities, the independence and efficiency of the judicial system, the fight against organized crime, the weakening of corruption, the acceptance of international laws and norms, the control of private violence, and impunity. With a combination of new data provided by the Watchdog organizations like Freedom House, European Commission reports, and various scholars’ works, I will provide a complete picture on why the enlargement policy has been half-heartedly implemented.

A Microsimulation Model to Assess the Impact of Prevention Efforts to Combat Sex Trafficking out of Five Eastern European States

Former Eastern bloc countries are major sources for sex trafficking. Estimates of the extent of trafficking out of these countries vary widely, and little knowledge exists on the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts. The objective of this work was to adapt microsimulation modeling to assess the impact of intervention efforts to combat sex trafficking out of Eastern Europe. We estimated trends of sex trafficking and compared interventions in terms of their reduction in sex trafficking. The overall incidence of sex trafficking out of Eastern Europe is projected to decrease, from about 140,000 women and children in 2007 to about 50,000 in 2017. However, the incidence rate increased in 2009 and 2012, consistent with the global recession. The most effective interventions are economic growth, followed closely by increased access to secondary education and restrictions on migration. Minimal reduction is achieved by raising awareness of the phenomenon and increasing TV usage. Yet, the primary mechanism currently being used to prevent sex trafficking out of Eastern Europe is public awareness campaigns. Efforts should focus more on boosting the economy, increasing access to secondary education, and facilitating dialogue about how to promote legal immigration avenues.

Variation of X-chromosomal microsatellites in Belarus within the context of their genetic diversity in Europe

More and more X-STR data are becoming available for worldwide human populations for forensic and anthropological investigations, but the European datasets analysed so far represent mainly the central, northern, western and southern part of the continent with populations of Eastern Europe being practically uninvestigated. In the present study, we assessed genetic variation and linkage disequilibrium of 19 X-chromosomal STR markers (DXS7132, DXS7133, DXS7423, DXS7424, DXS8377, DXS8378, DXS9895, DXS10074, DXS10075, DXS10079, DXS10101, DXS10103, DXS10134, DXS10135, DXS10146, DXS10147, DXS10148, GATA172D05, HPRTB) in four regional populations of an Eastern European state of Belarus, including 12 loci incorporated in the Argus X-12 kit. Our results revealed cumulative power of discrimination of the tested X-STR loci to amount to 0.999999999999996 and 0.999999997 in females and males, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance demonstrated regional stratification within the country, excluding the use of a common X-STR database for Belarus in forensic casework. However, development of a separate X-STR database for the northwestern part of the country or exclusion of four loci displaying regional differences from the dataset were shown to eliminate the observed geographic substructure among Belarusians. Comparison of the Belarusian genotypes with X-STR data from other European populations disclosed a geography-driven northeast-southwest gradient extending from Belarus and Finland to Iberia and Italy. This study is the first extensive report on variation of X-STR markers in populations from Eastern Europe and the first comprehensive analysis of diversity of X-chromosomal microsatellites in Europe.

Траектории нациестроительства в странах Восточной Европы

The article investigates nation-building trajectories and civic identity formation in Eastern Europe. The indicated processes in Eastern European states are notably different from those in the Western part of Europe. They are hindered by the specific historical development of these countries and by a set of local characteristics in particular. Quite often, there are such obstacles as unresolved ethnic conflicts and non-involvement of minorities in the building of common political and public practices within the state. The paper aims at assessing the current situation, evaluating international and interethnic regulation practices in the region and their efficiency, working out criteria of a civic nation formation in Eastern European countries. This is, first of all, a question of sociocultural and political consolidation. Social activism and civic participation are also significant factors. Finally, the very nature of nationalism and the use of the “alien image” in relation to other ethnic groups within the state are important. On this basis, the article proposes a typology of the countries according to the stage of a civic identity formation, and assesses possible future developments. Acknowledgements. This article was prepared with financial support of the Russian Science Foundation [grant № 15-18-00021 “Regulating interethnic relations and managing ethnic and social conflicts in the contemporary world: the resource potential of civic identity (a comparative political analysis)”]. The research was conducted at the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO).