Media Discourse and the Quality of Democracy in Serbia after Milošević

Abstract

The article examines the quality of democracy in Serbia via the quantitative analysis of media discourse. It reveals robust competition, participation and accountability in the first decade after regime change, followed by major recent decline, thus showing that expert assessments from influential indices of democracy underrated democratic quality in the former period and overrated it later. Also revealed are the advantages of complementing expert assessments with those based on media discourse. The content analysis examined 1,921 coded items from print and electronic media coverage of major political conflicts at strategic points in the country’s democratisation.     

Legal constraints for the protection of privacy and personal data in electronic evidence handling1

This paper describes the application of personal data protection rules in the process of e‐evidence handling. It focuses mainly on the application of Directive 95/46/EC rules to the digital environment. It also makes reference to the legal risks derived from the collection and processing of e‐evidence in violation of privacy and personal data protection law.     

Die Zulassung von Eingriffen trotz artenschutzrechtlicher Verbote

Die Eingriffsregelung benötigte nach ihrer gesetzlichen Einführung (1976) ihre Zeit, um in der Praxis der Zulassung betroffener Projekte wirksam zu werden. Die Entwicklung erfuhr eine gravierende Korrektur dadurch, dass das Investitionserleichterungs- und Wohnbaulandgesetz 1993 das Verhältnis der Eingriffsregelung zum Baurecht speziell regelte. Nicht nur auf nationaler, sondern auch—und dies vor allem—auf EG-Ebene prägte und prägt der Schutz von natürlichen Lebensräumen und Habitaten nach der Flora-Fauna-Habitat-Richtlinie (FFH-RL) und der Vogelschutz-Richtlinie (V-RL) die Projektzulassung nachhaltig . Insoweit geht es um einen besonders qualifizierten, gemeinschaftsrechtlich eingeforderten Gebietsschutz. Kaum dass sich die Rechtslage insoweit zu konsolidieren beginnt, sieht sich die Praxis der Projektzulassung zunehmend vor die Aufgabe gestellt, spezifisch artenschutzrechtlichen Anforderungen Rechnung zu tragen. Zur Bewältigung dieser Aufgabe will der nachstehende Artikel einen Beitrag leisten.

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Drug addiction in Poland and criminalistic traces

The authors describe the most popular drugs and their substitutes being used in Poland. The paper also presents the problem of developing and examining criminalistic traces in biological and some non-organic materials.     

Interrupted evolution: the Serbian medieval assembly (Sabor)

This article discusses the origins, evolution, composition and competence of the State Sabor – the assembly of medieval Serbia. Since there are no preserved written documents that prescribe its structure, competence or decision-making procedure, all research regarding the Sabor has to be based on the accounts of individual Sabors held throughout Serbian medieval history. This article also aims to show the power relations between the Sabor and the monarch and to determine the criteria according to which matters were taken before the Sabor. Finally, a short comparison is made of the Sabor to the assemblies of neighbouring countries – Bosnia, Byzantium and Hungary. The article concludes with some final remarks about the nature of the Sabor and its legacy after the conquest of Serbia by the Ottoman Empire.     

Watchdogs in Our Midst: How Presidents Monitor Coalitions in Brazil's Multiparty Presidential Regime

When delegating governing tasks to a coalition partner, the president would like to give a minister ample administrative powers to be able to effectively accomplish the political mission. Due to information asymmetries, the president runs the risk that this discretion might be used to pursue policy outcomes that may harm the president's preferences. This trade‐off between delegation and control is key to understanding governance strategies the president chooses to minimize agency risks and coordinate public policies. With Brazil as a case study, this article demonstrates that presidents have strategically made frequent use of junior ministers as watchdogs of coalition partners, especially when coalition allies are ideologically distant from the president's preferences. Yet neither the portfolio salience nor the president's decision to share powers with coalition partners proportionally seems to interfere in such strategic decisions.     

Union Affiliation,Socialization, and Political Identities: The Case of Mexico

The literature on voting behavior has generally accepted that party identification largely determines voter choice. While many studies have found that party identification is largely transmitted through social learning, less studied are the processes of the construction of party identity by way of group membership. This study seeks to understand how group identity influences party identification among Mexican workers through an analysis of the effects of union affiliation on political behavior. It assesses the utility of corporatist legacies in explaining party identity in Mexico and provides a first assessment of party affinities among independent unionists. The evidence draws from original survey data collected during six demonstrations in Mexico City. The study finds that union membership does condition the party identity of corporatist workers but not that of independent unionists.