Structural weaknesses and the role of the dominant political party: democratic backsliding in Croatia since EU accession

ABSTRACT

Croatia is regarded as a success story of the EU’s enlargement policy. However, this narrative conflicts with the situation on the ground and with expert surveys, which depict incremental, yet persistent democratic backsliding in recent years. A shift towards illiberal practices, primarily focused on the liberal part of the liberal-democratic nexus, is taking place. This research aims to explore the prevalence and causes for the re-emergence of illiberal practices in Croatia by employing an interpretive method to evidence gathered from media articles and research reports published 2013–2019. The use of illiberal policies by the governing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in three areas of the political system – the capture of independent agencies, control of the judiciary, and the weakening of independent media – is found to be the driver of democratic backsliding. Causes are found in structural reasons linked to the dominant party. Without either internal power-sharing constraints or external EU conditionality pressure, the HDZ has been able to take advantage of structural weaknesses of the system it built and shaped during the 1990s.     

"第二次转型"的理论向度与原社会主义国家转型的多样性——以普京时代的俄罗斯制度转型为例

对于俄罗斯而言,叶利钦时代与普京时代的转型既是一个延续的过程,但又呈现出截然不同的面貌,体现出一定的断裂性.自上个世纪90年代和本世纪初开始,俄罗斯改革的目标,至少在口头宣示上,与其说是从极权体制向民主制度以及从计划经济向市场经济转型,不如说是要从叶利钦时代转型形成的制度陷阱--非效率制度均衡中脱离开来,试图通过增加国家能力的途径建立新的效率制度均衡.运用"第二次转型"的理论范畴有助于全面认识发生在俄罗斯的由传统体制向现代民主政治和市场经济的转化以及与此相伴的社会转型进程,能够对叶利钦时代俄罗斯之所以败、普京时代俄罗斯之所以兴提供一种新的解释,同时,这也表明原社会主义国家转型具有丰富的多样性.     

The 50th Anniversary of The Civic Culture

This article traces the origins of the concept of political culture within the study of comparative politics. After revisiting the circumstances under which it developed, the article highlights some of the key factors that set it apart from other studies in its era – its theoretical exploration of stable democracy, its systematically comparative focus and its use of sample surveys of public opinion. The article shows how these factors were refined and improved in subsequent work on political equality. Overall, it concludes that the basic formulation of The Civic Culture – of congruence between mass attitudes and the type of political system – will be retained and will continue to make a mark upon the future trajectory of comparative research on public opinion.     

The assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem and The front

Abstract

King prawns bristle at the rim

Of his glass, curled in a show of red

Around fresh lettuce and mayonnaise.

He dabbles the fingerbowl, brushing off

The odd pieces and whiskers. As wine

Is served, a small carp appears

Out of air in a bowl of aspic.     

《源氏物语》与《蜻蛉日记》之间关系探微

《源氏物语》与《蜻蛉日记》两部文学作品之间关系密切,《源氏物语》是《蜻蛉日记》的继承、扬弃与超越。本论从两位女性作家的执笔动机、文论观念、女性意识3个方面推考两部著作的内在联系。两部作品中的若干相同与相似重申了被男性主流文学掠过边缘经典女流文学的价值,正是这一边缘经典文学更为真实记录了当时社会现状、女性思想、男女的情感生活,两位女性作家的叙事才情更是勿容忽视。     

敌视的烦恼--读《美利坚敌人:法国反美主义的来龙去脉》

法美两国从来不曾交战①,而且在所有决定其各自命运的紧要关头 ,它们还是并肩战斗的盟友 ,在美国独立战争 ,第一、二次世界大战 ,以及冷战时期都莫不如此。目前 ,北约框架下的法美同盟关系仍然是其双边关系的实质内容。但法美关系长期不和又是不争的事实 ,甚至于可以说法国始终是一个反美情绪较为强烈的国家。为何如此 ?这个问题由于最近法美两国在伊拉克问题上的严重分歧而激发了人们的浓厚兴趣。一法国国家科学研究中心研究员菲利普·罗杰早在九一一事件前几年就已经开始探讨这个问题 ,他的新著《美利坚敌人 :法国反美主义的来龙去脉》② …     

The Politics of Financial Intransparency: The Case of Swiss Banking Secrecy

In parallel to the growing weight of finance in the global economy, the transparency of financial flows and asset ownership has attracted increasing attention, a process further accelerated by the 2007/8 global financial crisis. Tax‐starved governments want to know the assets their residents own but financial intransparency can make tax collection difficult by obscuring both the ownership of assets as well as their real size. This article reviews three interrelated strands of literature on financial intransparency with a special emphasis given to one of its most prominent examples: Swiss‐style banking secrecy. First, I discuss the challenge of financial intransparency in a globalized economy and document the central role Switzerland plays as an offshore financial centre. I show that while Swiss‐style banking secrecy is an important example of financial intransparency, possible tax evaders also have other instruments at their disposal. Second, a review of the literature on the origins of Swiss banking secrecy shows how struggles for interpretive dominance shape the politics of financial intransparency. Third, I discuss the literature on the first OECD campaign against tax havens and demonstrate that representatives of the Swiss political‐economic system could have anticipated the shift of attention from small island states to OECD member states like Switzerland. Given the writing on the wall, it is surprising that recent developments have caught Swiss banks flat‐footed.     

The spurious success of import substitution: The case of West Africa

Rice in West Africa: Policy and Economics by Scott R. Pearson et al. Stanford University Press, Stanford (California), 1981. xix plus 482 pp. including maps and figures. $38,50.     

The New Dynamic of Blockbuster Exhibitions: The Case of Brazilian Museums

Many European and North American museums have increasingly adapted to the new communication era. They have opened up a new cultural flux and attract millions of visitors each year. In Brazil, we have observed in recent years the acceptance of new temporary and international exhibits. What is the meaning of the new exhibiting strategies, since the most important and traditional national museums still face stagnation? Can they be considered as part of a process of democratisation and reflexivity or accused of capitulating to the consumer society? This article proposes to analyse the production, diffusion and reception of recent Brazilian exhibitions. This analysis will be carried out in relation to the hierarchy of norms, values and practices present in Brazilian society.     

The Impact of Lower Oil Prices on The Economies of Gulf States

The following is the edited text of his remarks to a Brookings Sadat Forum on April 21, 1999, at the Brookings Institution. The cosponsors are the Brookings Foreign Policy Program and the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.     

The Politics of Negotiating with Gangs. The Case of El Salvador

This paper explores the dynamics of negotiations between the Salvadoran government and the street gangs, called maras. The paper argues that state negotiations with criminal groups can occur when organized crime is a significant part of the social and political order. This tacit order allows a great deal of coordination between and within criminal organizations and the focus of negotiations from the state's point of view is limited to the management of violence, not the dismantling of gangs' territorial control. This article draws on seventeen in‐depth interviews with middle‐level gang leaders, government officials, and participants of the truce negotiations from 2012 to 2016; it also relies on public information published by Salvadoran journalists and government sources about the truce.