Political Criteria Research Articles

PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN NORTH MACEDONIA

North Macedonia’s accession negotiations are conditioned by the country’s progress on fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria. Respect for human rights, defined as one of the founding values of European Union, it is associated with the fundamental political criteria for full membership for every candidate state. In the Progress Report for 2022, European Commission raised the concerns that North Macedonia had made “limited progress in improving the rights of persons with disabilities”. Considering that the country since its independence ratified several international treaties on human rights and assumed obligation not only to guarantee but also to protect the fundamental human rights, in this paper will be analyzed: the national legal framework on the protection of the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities, national strategies on the rights of persons with disabilities, and national policies on the integration of persons with disabilities. The purpose of this study it is to analyze the responsibilities and commitment of the state authorities in providing equal rights and opportunities for persons with disabilities, especially focusing on the access of women with disability to the labor market and access of children and young people with disability to education. The research it is in-depth analysis and guided by two research questions: What are the responsibilities of North Macedonia as a candidate country in promoting and enforcing the rights of persons with disabilities? What have done North Macedonia for social inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade nº 5.779: a preponderância da efetividade do direito à saúde sobre a hierarquia das normas jurídicas

Objective: To reflect on whether the hierarchy of legal norms should be used as an infallible method of solution even when an apparent conflict between legal norms involving health law can be better resolved through a technical decision by the competent regulatory agency. Methodology: data was collected. In particular, Resolução de Diretoria Colegiada nº 52/2011, Law nº 13.454/2017 and Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade nº 5.779-DF. Specialized legal doctrine was sought on the central and peripheral themes. The data collected was analyzed using the critical-narrative review technique. Results: In Brazil, the adoption of regulatory agencies as normative agents and regulators of economic activities has made it possible to make decisions based less on political criteria than on technical criteria. The legislator, anchored in political criteria, according to the judiciary, cannot go beyond technical criteria. Conclusion: the judgment in Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade nº 5.779 shows that today's concept and the legal nature of the right to health impose new legal paradigms that validate the role of regulatory agencies (making technical decisions in favor of maximum effectiveness of the right to health), even to the detriment of politically legitimized decisions by the legislature. The formal paradigm cannot prevent the materialization of the right. Submission: 03/18/24| Review: 08/16/24| Approval: 08/16/24

Composition of the Lithuanian Komsomol in June 1940–June 1941

The Lithuanian Leninist Young Communist League (LLKJS) in Lithuania occupied by the Soviet Union was a political structure of the occupation regime, which provided a reserve and assistance to the ruling Communist Party and actively participated in the Sovietisation of the country and indoctrination of the youth in the spirit of Communism. In October 1940, the league was incorporated into the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (VLKSM) and integrated to the USSR political system. Its aims were to extend the social base of the Communist Party, to exert political influence on youth, and to make the youth serve the occupation policy. With an aim of gaining social support and political influence among the youth, the Communist Party promoted the Komsomol. In summer 1940, fast and uncontrolled growth of its ranks was stimulated. In February 1941, LLKJS raised for itself a goal of making it into a massive organisation capable of embracing and exerting political control over youth. In order to improve the image of the Komsomol and to make its ethnic composition reflect that of Lithuania, joining the LLKJS was particularly promoted among workers, peasants, schoolchildren, Lithuanians, and Poles of Vilnius region. Between November 1940 and May 1941, a campaign of issuing the LLKJS certificates to its members took place, which was a cleansing campaign of the Komsomol on the basis of social and political criteria. This campaign was aimed at integrating the LLKJS into the VLKSM through the process of socio-political validation of its members and exclusion of those members, who were socially and politically hostile or unreliable to the occupation authorities. The campaign helped transform the LLKJS and make its composition similar to that of the VLKSM, and also make LLKJS a political structure, which complied with the needs of the occupation authorities and on which they could rely. Over a period of one year of the Soviet occupation, the ranks of the LLKJS increased 13-fold. Due to the political situation and wish to survive under the occupation, young people of various social groups and nationalities joined the LLKJS. Most of them chose cooperation with the Soviet regime and adaptation to its policies deliberately, others joined the ranks looking for employment or career opportunities, and yet others – seeking better learning conditions or being forced by other circumstances. Cleansing of the ranks of the Komsomol and regulation of its composition changed the social structure of the organisation. The majority of the members of the Komsomol were representatives of working class, peasants and Soviet officials who constituted the social backbone for the Communist Party. People of various nationalities joined the Komsomol. Initially, young people of certain ethnic groups, particularly Jews, actively joined the LLKJS. Later, in order to improve the image of the LLKJS and bring its ethnic composition to that of Lithuania, recruitment of Lithuanians into its ranks was particularly promoted. Although efforts were made for the LLKJS to grow, it did not become a mass organisation and its ranks remained sparse. It was a weak and non-influential political structure, unable to penetrate the youth and win them over. The attempts of the Komsomol to involve young people in the Sovietisation processes and to instil in them the Communist ideology was ineffective. Many young people were opposed to the occupation regime and its political structures. The spirit of opposition to the Soviet occupation was therefore active among the youth and resistance against it was imminent.

Hydrogen corridors in Europe: strategies and countries involved

The European Union and other countries worldwide have identified fossil-free hydrogen as a key resource for implementing the transition to a low-carbon economy. The European Commission, which had already emphasised the importance of the hydrogen economy within the Green Deal Industrial Plan, has recently quantified the import target for 2030, 2024, and 2050. Unlike oil and gas reserves, renewable energy and green hydrogen have numerous potential producing or supplying countries; therefore, identifying trading partners requires several research and policy initiatives and the adoption of both technoeconomic and political criteria. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prospect for the development of future hydrogen energy corridors and how European states are organising their political and transport strategies. These strategies design international transport and logistics chains that include the entire hydrogen value chain (production, export, storage and consumption). A new transport and logistics structure is expected for the energy distribution of this vector. Networks and transport nodes will be substantially involved in anticipation of an increase in demand for this type of energy carrier, both in the vicinity of ports, due to industrial demand, and within ports, for the transport and storage of this resource, assuming the increasingly central role of energy hubs and making their role more and more complex, going beyond the classic connotation of intermodal nodes.

State Resident Handedness, Ideology, and Political Party Preference: U.S. Presidential Election Outcomes Over the Past 60 Years.

Pearson correlation, partial correlation, and multiple regression strategies determined the degree to which estimates of the level of left-handedness in each of the 48 contiguous American states related to citizen political ideology and to Democratic-Republican presidential popular vote over the past 60years. Higher state levels of left-handedness were associated significantly with liberal ideology in each of the presidential election years from 1964 to 2016. Comparable ideology data were not available for 2020. Higher state levels of left-handedness also were associated with a greater degree of Democratic candidate popular vote support in each of the presidential election years from 1964 to 2020 except for 1976. The mean size of these 28 significant Pearson correlations involving the two political criteria was .62 (SD = .12) with a range of .38-.80, indicating handedness alone could account for a mean of 40.1% (SD = 14.9) of the variance in the two political preference variables. Corresponding multiple regressions showed that when state-level Big Five personality, White population percent, urbanization, and income variables were given the opportunity to enter the equations, handedness still emerged with a significant regression coefficient in 26 of the 28 equations. The two exceptions occurred for 1968 with either political preference criterion. It is speculated that such relations are grounded in hypothesized but poorly understood genetic links between handedness, personality, and political beliefs and attitudes, and, that a foundational genetic predisposition to left-handedness in a population may have much greater impact on correlates than overt levels of left-handedness.

"Politicization of Public Administration in Romania and its Consequences for Governance in Turbulent Times"

The article aims to analyze the level of politicization of civil service in Romania, its goals, and consequences. We adopted a rather narrow perspective on politicization and we concentrated mainly on analyzing the recruitment, promotion, and dismissal of civil servants based on political criteria. The research findings were used to discuss the consequences of politicization on the governance of public institutions during turbulent times. In this regard, we conducted an email-based survey of the civil servants. The majority of the sample was composed of graduates of public administration programs at four major universities in Romania, who work in public institutions. We collected the data between May and November 2023 and we obtained 211 valid questionnaires. We found that appointments based on political criteria lower the work motivation of public employees, and increase the level of incompetence and instability of public institutions. The most affected are public employees in management positions, those who have longer work experience in the public sector, and those who work in public institutions that are part of central administration. Therefore, frequent changes based on political criteria lower the capacity of public institutions to respond to disruptive events by generating a loss of expertise, instability, and discontinuity in policy implementation. However, turbulent times require flexibility and adaptation to unexpected and unpredictable events, and political appointees might be more responsive and cooperative.

Measuring civil service politicization with career data: Backstage and frontstage political experience of top civil servants in the German ministerial administration

AbstractBased on an understanding of politicization as an increase in the relevance of political criteria in the selection and deselection of civil servants, this article proposes an innovative approach to measure civil service politicization with individual‐level career data. For this purpose, two core types of political experience in civil servants' careers are distinguished: frontstage political experience as elected politician and backstage political experience in non‐elected offices close to politics. For each core type, two subtypes are defined. The empirical measurement of the four different types of political experience is illustrated by the analysis of an original dataset of more than 2100 top civil service appointments in Germany in the time period 1949–2017. Findings reveal a significant increase in backstage political experience. The approach developed for this article can be applied to explore various facets of politicization not only in longitudinal perspective but also in comparative studies.

Who should be allowed to host sporting mega-events? On the public acceptance of criteria to justify hosting decisions

ABSTRACT Criticism has accompanied some of the most recent decisions of international sports organisations for the staging of Olympic Games or FIFA World Cups. Many hosts – from Russia and China to Qatar – have been heavily criticised in Western countries (e.g. Germany) for political and societal grievances up to and including calls for protests and boycotts. This raises several questions concerning the public acceptance of hosting decisions: What criteria does the public consider to be most important when hosting decisions are made? What role should be given to political vs. sports-related criteria? Which population groups are more likely to prioritise political criteria over sports-related criteria? The paper provides insights into these questions based on a representative survey (N = 1,002) from Germany. Results show that Germans consider political and sustainability criteria as of highest importance for justifying hosting decisions. The findings also reveal a latent conflict between political criteria and sports-related criteria. Support for prioritising political considerations (instead of sporting criteria) when making hosting decisions comes from younger, female, politically engaged and politically left individuals, but much less strongly from the core group of media sports consumers.

Determination of Current Status of The Criteria and Indicators Used in Rural Development Studies: The Case of Isparta Villages

Rural development is the work aimed at improving rural local conditions that bring negative effects to human life. In rural development studies, the problems of rural communities are identified and defined, and suitable solutions are developed according to these problems. The problems encountered in rural development are determined within the framework of rural development indicators and the criteria that these indicators reflect. In this study, criteria and indicators that were used in the past in rural development practices and that should be added today have been determined. The study was carried out based on the villages of Isparta Province. According to the results of the research, it was determined that 4 social criteria and 38 indicators, 7 economic criteria and 32 indicators, 4 political criteria and 16 indicators, 4 environmental criteria and 15 indicators were used in rural development studies in the past. For today's rural development studies, 8 social criteria and 36 indicators, 6 economic criteria and 35 indicators, 6 political criteria and 21 indicators, 6 environmental criteria and 28 indicators have been determined.

Postsocialist Statuary Politics in Romania and Bulgaria: An Ambivalent Socialist Heritage

AbstractUsing an approach situated at the intersection of cultural memory studies and (critical) heritage studies, with a focus on the ambivalent socialist heritage of socialist statues and monuments and their changing role in postsocialist public spaces, this article engages with the postcommunist strategies of reckoning with the past in Romania and Bulgaria in the period 1990–2020. Comparing the kinds of monumental memory of communism that were established in these countries, the author discusses how each dealt with their ambivalent socialist heritage through a public memory policy comprising three combined strategies: removal; preservation; and the replacement of communist heroes with anticommunist counter-monuments. The author concludes that stances toward the socialist heritage manifest various tensions in terms of the types of statues that were removed or, alternately, allowed to remain; of the opposition between local and national decisions as well as between the official approach and citizens’ perspectives; and, finally, of aesthetic versus political criteria.

Model of multi-criterion diagnostics of the competitiveness of electronic trade enterprises

The article is devoted to issues of assessing the competitiveness of e-commerce enterprises. Diagnostics of the competitiveness of enterprises is an urgent problem because in the conditions of a competitive environment enterprises must constantly analyze the results of their activities and determine their own viability. Currently, there is no and cannot be a single methodology for assessing competitiveness. This is due to the complexity of the problem and the peculiarities of enterprises in various spheres of activity. The purpose of the work is to build and test a model for assessing the competitiveness of e-commerce enterprises. The work summarizes the classification of methods for assessing the competitiveness of enterprises, proposes a methodology for assessing the competitiveness of an e-commerce enterprise, which is based on a multi-criteria model for assessing competitiveness. Based on the analysis of factors affecting the competitiveness of e-commerce enterprises, a system of indicators of the competitiveness of an e-commerce enterprise is proposed, which include indicators of the efficiency of the enterprise's functioning, indicators of the enterprise's market share and the dynamics of changes in market share, indicators of the effectiveness of the websites of e-commerce enterprises, in particular their usability, functionality, security. Approbation of the proposed political criteria model for assessing the competitiveness of e-commerce enterprises was carried out on the example of enterprises selling electrical goods and household appliances, an analysis of the financial statements of selected enterprises was carried out, the market share of each enterprise and the dynamics of its change were determined, the websites of enterprises were analyzed, including with the involvement of focus groups, it was determined the value of the integrated indicators of the competitiveness of the studied enterprises, the rating of their competitiveness, which makes it possible to draw a conclusion about the suitability of this model for application.

Democratic Evolution in Albania in the Aftermath of Candidate Country Status

The integration process in the European Union, being the major national goal, is the political action that leads the agenda of every Albanian government since 1992 up today. Being aware on the importance of integration process as the most efficient way towards the path of fast democratization, governments have undertaken concrete steps in the opening of accession negotiations. The integration process is in a very significant momentum which dictates dialogue and partnership. Every country that has set as a goal the EU integration, should respect the integration criteria’s or as known the ‘Copenhagen criteria’s’, on the basis under which the European Commission deliver the opinion in regard of every application. These criteria’s are defined during the European Council of Copenhagen in 1993 and accomplished during the European Council in Madrid in 1995. These are political criteria’s such as : stability of institutions which guarantee democracy, rule of law, human rights and respect and protection of minorities; economic criteria’s such as the existence of an efficient economy, capacity to challenge competition pressure and internal market forces of the EU; the opportunity to take responsibilities which derive by law and policies of the EU ( acquis communitaire). Stability, peace and the integration of the Western Balkan countries en block, play a fundamental role for the present and the future of Europe. Over the years, it has become more evident the necessity to strengthen the EU policies against countries of this region. Considering the geographic position of Albania in the Mediterranean and its importance in oftentimes weak spots within the region, it deserves a special attention by the European institutions. Since the candidate country’s status up to now, Albania has reached a moderate progress in terms of democracy shifting from a hybrid regime to a flawed democracy. Flawed democracy countries reflect a bold weakness in democratic terms, among others an underdeveloped political culture, low participation in political life and issues concerning governance. Civil rights are still problematic especially when it comes at media censorship or in attacks against country opposition.
 
 Received: 05 May 2022 / Accepted: 16 May 2023 / Published: 20 May 2023

The dual challenge of distributive politics in multilevel systems: the local allocation of EU funding in Polish Regional Operational Programmes

ABSTRACT The decentralization of funding management poses a conceptual challenge to the study of political criteria in the allocation of funding in the EU Cohesion Policy, as existing research often assumes unidimensional actor constellations and motivations. Combining insights from distributive politics and multilevel party politics, this article uses a unique data set of beneficiary data at the local level from Polish Regional Operational Programs (2007–2013) to explore the ability of regional authorities to engage in vote-seeking and explores how institutional and political multilevel structures affect these strategies. We demonstrate that the vote-seeking of sub-national authorities is constrained in two ways. Competition between regional and national authorities limits the possibility of regional governments that are politically opposed to the national government targeting their electoral strongholds. In contrast, partisan harmony between different institutional levels incentivizes a vote-seeking strategy that takes into consideration electoral dynamics at both the regional and national level.

Citizens' perceptions of World Heritage values: the case of Cuenca, Ecuador

PurposeThis paper aims to study possible differences between the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) defined in the designation of Cuenca as a World Heritage (WH) site and its inhabitants' perceptions of heritage value. The study is based on research conducted in the historic centre of Cuenca in Ecuador, which was accorded WH status in 1999.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, providing a complementary approach to the research subject. Quantitative research involved a probability survey of 400 informants randomly selected from the population of the canton of Cuenca, while qualitative research included 40 semi-structured interviews with residents and traders in the historic centre and 150 further written consultations with residents of the city.FindingsFollowing the introduction, methodology and description, the paper presents the data gathered from the survey and interviews. These indicate inhabitants' perceptions of the meaning, values, and uses of WH in Cuenca and reveal differences between their perceptions and those of the official OUV.Originality/valueAlthough there are several studies on WH residents' perceptions of UNESCO OUV, few highlight the mismatch between local community views of heritage and those established by UNESCO. This study reflects critically on the concept of OUV, which is based on technical and political criteria rather than social participation. The study employs methodologies that could be applied in other case studies and used to improve heritage management. This is the only study on local perceptions of Cuenca's OUV.

Institutionalization of European Union membership of the Republic of Moldova

Moldova is a parliamentary democracy that has recently embarked on a strong reform agenda despite a series of exogenous crises. The parliamentary nature of the democracy has been confirmed by recent competitive elections at parliamentary and presidential level. The country’s legal and constitutional framework largely corresponds to European and international standards. As regards the political criteria, Moldova has a solid foundation in place to reach the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. As regards the economic criteria, Moldova has pursued reasonably sound macroeconomic policies, significantly strengthened financial sector stability, and improved the business environment. Speaking about capacity to fulfil the obligations of membership, Moldova has worked since 2016 on the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/DFCTA). These agreements already capture significant amount of the EU acquis and Moldova has gradually taken up the alignment process across many sectors and has a satisfactory track record of implementation. Overall, Moldova is a European State committed to respecting and promoting the values on which the European Union is founded.

Professionalism vs. Ideologization in the Hungarian Candidate Dissertations in Educational Science in the 1970s

After World War II, the Soviet model was introduced in the countries of the Eastern Bloc, including Hungary, not only in the political, economic, and social spheres, but also in the field of science, and within it, in the system of qualification. The system introduced – which remained in place until 1993 – was aimed at creating a new intellectual class, so candidates had to meet political as well as professional requirements. In a pilot study on the process of knowledge construction in the next generation of scientists, we analyzed reviewers’ opinions on doctoral dissertations in the 1970s. The theoretical framework was provided by Stichweh and Becker’s notion of discipline and Bourdieu’s field theory on the functioning of scientific disciplines. Qualitative content analysis was used to process 20 reviews. Although the candidates had to meet both professional and political criteria, the referees put more emphasis on professionalism. The analyzed reviewers’ opinions of the show, that those within the scientific field already had more flexibility than those wishing to enter it, but that this meant only relative research freedom.

What aspects influence the prioritization of Primary Health Care by municipal managers in Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil?

Primary Health Care (PHC) is capable of achieving broad coverage and effectiveness. This study evaluated the factors associated with the prioritization that municipal health managers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) give to PHC. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out between August 2017 and May 2019 using an online FormSUS questionnaire, consisting of 44 questions divided into 4 blocks, sent to 497 municipal health managers. Multiple logistic regression was performed to analyze factors associated with PHC prioritization. Out of 404 participants, 66.8% reported a maximum degree of prioritization. Managers with a postgraduate degree showed greater prioritization than those with elementary education (78.5% vs 58.8%, p<0.01). Regarding the postgraduate area, managers with training in public health prioritized PHC more than in other areas, or with no postgraduate studies, respectively with 84%, 77.1% and 61.8% (p<0.01). After adjusting for covariates, having a postgraduate degree in public health or in another area remained associated with greater chances of prioritization. The results may encourage initiatives that consider the level and area of education for this position focusing on technical, and not strictly political criteria.

European Integration and the Western Balkans – What Now?

Is there a real perspective for the full integration of the Western Balkans Six in the European Union, or is the accession process already dead? “Something is rotten in the state of the European integration of the Western Balkans” is not just a poetic way to describe the state of affairs regarding full accession, but a reality. The European Union, and previously the European Economic Community, was quite efficient in previous cycles of European enlargement. Virtually all the accession processes were completed within the mandate of a single European Commission once the negotiation processes had been started with the respective countries. Furthermore, in the pre-accession period the European Union invested heavily in the removal of the “non-acquis political criteria,” which were usually linked to the democratic insufficiencies of the candidate countries. The only notable exceptions to the ‘rule of a single European Commission’ are the Turkish enlargement and the Western Balkans Six (WB6) accession process. Given the fact that most of the WB6 countries already have the necessary legal framework in place for cooperation with the EU and that the single market is by far the largest trading partner of the region, the only logical conclusion is that there is no political will for further enlargement of the European Union, and so the accession process has ground to a halt.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Assessing Social Acceptance of Strategies to Reduce Antimicrobial Use in the French Dairy Industry.

To respond to the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threat, public health entities implement policies aiming to reduce antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock systems, in which policy success and sustainability might be subject to the social acceptability of the novel regulatory environment. Therefore, consistent methods that gather and synthesize preferences of stakeholder groups are needed during the policy design. The objective of this study was to present a methodology for evaluating the acceptability of potential strategies to reduce AMU using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) using French dairy industry as a model. Preference-ranking organization methods for enrichment evaluations were applied to rank stakeholders' acceptance of four different potential AMU reduction strategies: 1. Baseline AMU regulations in France; 2. Total interdiction of AMU; 3. Interdiction of prophylaxis and metaphylaxis AMU; and 4. Subsidies to reduce AMU by 25%. A total of 15 stakeholders (consumers, n = 10; farmers, n = 2; public health representatives, n = 3) representing the French dairy sector and public health administration participated in the acceptance weighting of the strategies in relation with their impact on environmental, economic, social, and political criteria. We established a MCDA methodology and result-interpretation approach that can assist in prioritizing alternatives to cope with AMR in the French dairy industry or in other livestock systems. Our MCDA framework showed that consumers and public health representatives preferred alternatives that consider the restriction of AMU, whereas farmers preferred to maintain baseline policy.

Methodological guide for the design of structures for tourist and community interaction in the Laguna de Colta

This research is based on the social approach of design, through the satisfaction of individual and collective human needs, understanding this approach as the main actor in the mediation of the economic, social, and sustainable development of the community. It is intended to analyze the different theoretical positions that supports the construction of an applied methodological guide, for the generation of sustainable tourism models, from the social dimension of the design and practice of community ethnographic research methods. This methodology is a resource for reflection on the social imaginaries, present in the relationship between the surroundings of Laguna de Colta, an ancestral iconic lagoon in the Ecuadorian Highlands with great tourism potential, and the community that inhabits it. The result was a methodological guide that seeks the viability of the practice of design, in little explored contexts, contemplating historical, community and political criteria, for the construction of interaction structures as a catalyst for sustainable tourism.