The welfare systems of the Baltic states following the recent financial crisis of 2008–2010: expansion or retrenchment?

ABSTRACT

This article aims to uncover major social security system reforms that were implemented following the recent financial and economic crisis of 2008–2010 and the post crisis period. Additionally, it explores the dynamics of the socioeconomic situation during the last 10 years, looking at how Baltic states compare with each other and how they compare with other central and eastern European countries in the EU. The findings show that retrenchment is difficult even during times of crisis. Although the Baltic states were affected by the crisis, especially Latvia and Lithuania, their social security institutions did not experience any structural shift.     

South Africa and Eastern Europe: The challenge of multi‐ethnic societies in transition to democracy

This article explores similarities between the South African transition and the advent of liberal‐democratic government in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Challenges these societies have in common are the accommodation of ethnic and racial diversity and whether democracy can protect minorities. The article surveys the process of constitution‐making among the states of Eastern Europe, examining their efforts to reconcile sectional ethnic/cultural rights and universal human rights. These provisions are compared with the mechanisms employed in South Africa's interim constitution with this purpose. In conclusion, it is argued that successful multiethnic democracies develop where some of a number of identifiable characteristics are present.     

Great powers,civil society and authoritarian diffusion in Central Asia

ABSTRACT

This article draws on the authoritarian promotion literature to assess contending pressures for democratization and authoritarianism in Central Asia. Domestic actors ultimately determine receptivity to democracy promotion, but external pressures for democratic transformation or authoritarian persistence exist in Central Asia. A brief overview of authoritarian trends in Central Asia is followed by the theoretical arguments for authoritarian persistence, with special attention to the civil society dimension in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Western programmes supporting liberal democracy and civil society have encountered resistance from authoritarian leaders in Central Asia, though the evidence for direct influence from authoritarian external actors is limited. A process of indirect authoritarian diffusion, in combination with the region’s illiberal societies and Western democracy promotion fatigue, undermines the development of civil society and makes authoritarian persistence in Central Asia likely.     

Comparing colonial differences: Baltic literary cultures as agencies of Europe’s internal others

ABSTRACT

The article discusses the Baltic colonial experience in historical and comparative perspective. It sketches the ways in which Baltic societies are best linked to theoretical discussions on postcolonial issues, and whether they might be looked upon in a more global context. The main question posed by the article is in what ways Baltic identity has been determined by processes of foreign settlement, occupation and colonization of the territory of each respective country and whether we can see Baltic societies as potential agencies of Europe’s internal others.     

The Making of Democratic Citizens: How Regime‐Specific Socialization Shapes Europeans’ Expectations of Democracy

When analysing support for democracy, researchers tend to assume that ‘democracy’ is a concept that travels across countries. This paper argues that democracy is not the same thing for every citizen, because collective and individual socialization experiences strongly shape the criteria citizens expect a democracy to fulfil. Based on the literature on varieties of democracy, I suppose that individual expectations of democracy are influenced by regime‐specific socialization, and depend on the democratic history, authoritarian legacies, and the prevalent democratic model. Due to socialization and democratic learning, individuals acquire democratic preferences and value those dimensions more which they experience in their own democracy. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Democracy Barometer, I test how the national democratic context in 26 European democracies influences these individual democratic ideals. I find evidence for both socialization and participation effects of the democratic context on citizens’ democratic expectations.     

The Baltic states,Finland, and British economic expectations in the early 1920s

Abstract

After the First World War, the Baltic states — not Finland — attracted the British as a bridge to Russian markets. The article deals with the rank of these states in British economic expectations. It is shown that whereas the Baltic states were highly prioritized, in 1920, by 1926 the British preferred Finland as a more trusworthy trading partner than Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The article thus shows how the rank of the Baltic states and Finland changed in British expectations when all of these states were seen as markets in and of themselves.     

The development of chemical science in Estonia from 1945 to the present

Summary

This study shows that the Baltic peoples acted with much patience in achieving independence and free and democratic states. Their road to independence and international recognition was paved by perestroika and glasnost. Without these developments in the Soviet Union, the attempts to break away would have been crushed as happened in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Later on Gorbachev became a major obstacle to the Baltic cause. The Balts had to pursue their goals in spite of resistance from the Soviet leadership.

After independence and international recognition, Estonia and Latvia began to play an active role within the framework of the CSCE. Although the current situation in the very northeastern part of Europe seems to be quiet, one has to reckon with new cleavages and confrontations between the Baltic States and particularly Russia, due to several unresolved problems such as minority policy and Russian military power. The rise of ultranationalist forces in Russia, such as Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democrats, may add to the tense atmosphere in the Baltic region. Further tension could complicate the position of the CSCE regarding the countries concerned. Since the CSCE failed to restore peace and stability in the former Yugoslavia, it might fail in such an explosive area as the Baltic as well. Nevertheless, the CSCE facilitates a forum for peaceful settlement of disputes and therefore provides the chance to use diplomatic measures to prevent the outbreak of a military conflict.     

Rule of law and democracy in the Western Balkans: addressing the gap between policies and practice

ABSTRACT

Three decades since the beginning of democratization processes, the Western Balkan countries have built a democratic façade by holding elections, by promulgating legal acts guaranteeing freedom of expression, or by constitutionally declaring a strict system of checks and balances. In reality, however, political elites rely on informal structures, clientelism, and control of the media to undermine democracy. Given that formal democratic freedoms are effective only to the extent that political elites are bound by the effective rule of law, the core argument of this study is that the structural weaknesses of democratic institutions are purposefully exploited by domestic regimes, which are able to misuse these fragile institutions to their advantage.     

The European sea: Lessons from the Baltic Sea region for security and cooperation in the European neighborhood

Abstract

This study aims to assess the development of regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea area through an analysis of regional security interdependence, and to develop the lessons of this regional experience for application to the wider European framework of security and cooperation. The analysis of Baltic Sea regional security and cooperation is divided into three phases: the first looks at 1989 to the early 1990s; the second covers the period from the early 1990s to the enlargements in 2004; and the third lays out a scenario for the post-enlargement period. Subsequently, I discuss what this regional experience might be able to offer to Europe. Here, attention is given to the EU's relations with its neighbors, with particular reference to Russia.     

The elephant in the room: illiberal politics in Montenegro

ABSTRACT

Montenegro is at the same time considered both a success story as the leader of European integration in South-Eastern Europe and a country with severe democratic deficiencies. This paper builds upon the theory of democratic backsliding and uses theory-building process tracing to detect and analyse systematic patterns in the illiberal policies that the governing party uses to maintain its position in power. The three typical cases examined here reveal that assuring external control and maintaining the pretence of legality seem to be important elements of illiberal policies and that independent institutions and European standards are often used to assert and maintain control.     

Baltic Studies in North America: A Survey of Academic Dissertations 1911–2006

ABSTRACT

The article argues for an extended delineation of increasing Western cultural hegemony in the reconstituted Baltic states. An initial idiom of postcolonial studies is revisited in order to complement their dominant scope in the Baltics, focused primarily on a retrospective cultural study of Baltic/Soviet relationships. The argument elaborates on the urgency of the expanding research agenda regarding the Baltic/European research framework. By pointing out the frequent occurrence of the superiority or inferiority value scale in cross-cultural references sampled from press releases of the Art Museum of Estonia, the article concludes that mainstream cultural self-reflection in Estonia is nowadays subjected to the supremacy of the imagined West European viewpoint.     

Consolidation as hegemonization: The case of Estonia

Abstract

The shift from the Soviet system to market economies has induced a wide range of changes in the forest sectors of the three Baltic states. The majority of these changes are the result of compromises made between stakeholders participating in forest policymaking and implementation. In this article it is argued that the relative success of the increasingly complex and dynamic environment of forest policy action arenas is ensured by interconnecting policy networks instead of hierarchical governance by the state. We map and characterize forest policy networks in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, while identifying the actors participating in forest policy formation and implementation. The forest policy networks of the Baltic states are compared against each other and with the situation during the last years of the Soviet system.     

Economic crisis,families, and family policy in the Baltic states, 2009–2014

ABSTRACT

The three Baltic countries experienced the most rapid population decline throughout the 1990s and 2000s in Europe. The resulting critical demographic situation motivated the governments of the Baltic states to pay more political attention to family policy issues than in the rest of Europe. The aim of the paper is to analyze the development of family policy in Baltic countries and factors that influenced it during the 2009 economic crisis. Also, the outcomes in terms of child poverty and fertility are highlighted. Results show that the economic resources and fertility level had an essential impact on family policy in the Baltic states. Economic support to families, in turn, directly alleviate the poverty level of families and indirectly influence fertility.     

La presse ‘constitutionnelle’ pendant la révolution napolitaine de 1820–1821

SUMMARY

The two pioneers in introducing direct democratic instruments in modern Europe were France and Switzerland from the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After the First World War different kinds of referendums and popular initiatives were also adopted by other countries. The Weimar Republic and the Republic of Estonia had the most noteworthy practice with direct democracy. This article examines the regulation and practice of popular rights in these two countries focusing on their function in the political system and on the relation of direct democracy and representative state organs. It seeks an answer to the question of how Parliaments were challenged by popular initiatives and how representative power reacted to direct democratic events.     

Transitions to democracy,institutional choices and party system stability: lessons from small African islands

ABSTRACT

It is not easy to understand why some African party systems manage to stabilise while others remain fluid. This article argues that institutional choices made during democratic transition impact the likelihood of party system stabilisation. The experiences of Cabo Verde, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe and Seychelles are compared; despite sharing many similarities (insularity, smallness, low ethnic diversity, authoritarian past, economic vulnerability and competitive elections), they differ substantively in terms of the patterns of interparty competition. It is shown that stabilisation is likely if party elites are able to control the rules of the game during the transition to democracy. A strategic choice of the party law, electoral system and executive system helps structure interactions over time and reduce uncertainty in electoral competition. The findings highlight the need to further explore the ‘black box’ of democratic transitions, and the role of agency in political outcomes in Africa.     

In the Eye of the Storm: The Italian Economy and the Eurozone Crisis

Abstract

The eurozone crisis had a more significant and longer-lasting impact on Italy than on virtually any other member state, with the effects still visible a decade after. The extent of the shock was surprising in view of progress Italy had apparently made in the 1990s in terms of enhancing its capacity to meet the demands of European Monetary Union. The explanation for this traumatic economic experience lies in Italy’s deep, long-term, structural tensions which were placed under severe pressure during the 1990s and which were cracked open by the 2011 sovereign debt crisis. These have had long-standing economic effects as well as political ramifications in terms of a significant change in the Italy–EU relationship.     

The Election in Iraq

Although election of the Iraqi Interim National Assembly on 30 January 2005 was a step on the path toward democracy, it is too soon to judge it a resounding success. Further, it 7is important to keep in mind that the election is significant not only regarding the democratic process for the people of Iraq but also for the US and the future of US policy toward the Middle East.

Many Iraqis strongly desired democracy and some steps toward democratization showed resemblance to the democracy movement in Europe. However, the exclusion of popular political movements and the emergence of mistrust failed the political process.

At last, with the involvement of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the election was realized. However, the Iraqi elections do not merit unreserved acclaim. This election allows, for the first time in Iraq's history, competition among ethnic and religious factions. Different attitudes among these groups toward the election and its results may further widen the gap separating them. In fact, the most important consideration regarding the election is what happens from now on.     

The Baltic miracle? The economic crisis and its consequences for young people in the labor market of the Baltic states, 2007–2017

ABSTRACT

The financial crisis (2008–2009) resulted in significant deterioration of the youth labor market in the Baltic states. In 2017, however, the Baltic states were among the countries with the highest employment-to-population ratio in Europe (the ‘Baltic Miracle’). This article shows that the observed progress is mostly due to the demographic changes in the three countries. Isolating the demographic effect demonstrated that it played crucial role in mitigating the negative effects of the crisis, especially in Latvia and Lithuania. The results of the study show that in 2017 only in Estonia had the youth labor market returned to its precrisis conditions.     

On Baltic and Hungarian prehistoric contacts

Abstract

The article assumes that in the beginning of development of a newly independent state the rationale of language legislation is closely related to nation-state building. Later, depending on minority-majority relations, ethnic containment may become more important. As democratization and globalization advance, the management of linguistic diversity might emerge as a principal issue. The article tests this general assumption on the language legislation of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1989–2001. It appears that while nation building, nation-state building and ethnic containment can be easily identified, the management of language diversity is not yet prominent in this legislation.     

Explaining Support for Democracy in East Asia

This paper aims to explain public support for democracy in six East Asian societies using the 2006 AsiaBarometer data. The project investigates whether East Asians?? support for democracy is primarily based on perceived political performance, such as satisfaction with human rights, or perceived economic performance. The work also examines whether East Asians?? support for democracy is constrained by traditional values or the postmodern value of post-materialism. The analysis shows that for three democracies, satisfaction with human rights, i.e. perceived political performance and an intrinsic value embodied in democracy, counts more in shaping public support for democracy than perceived economic performance. Because support based on perceived economic performance is more volatile than support based on firm commitment to human rights, this finding sheds positive light on the prospects for democratic stability for the three East Asian democracies. For three East Asian autocratic societies, democratic support is based more on perceived economic rather than political performance, casting a pall on the future prospects for democratization of them. That said, these dim prospects are balanced by the finding of very weak and negative effects of some traditional Asian values on democratic support.