Series:CRPM Кратка Анализа

Analysis of Internal Party Democracy in Macedonia

Author(s): Aleksandar Cekov,Zhidas Daskalovski / Language(s): English

This research study conducted by the Think Tank Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) in cooperation with various Macedonian authors deals with the topic of Internal Party Democracy in the Republic of Macedonia. It examines, describes, and compares the intra-party democracy in some of the bigger political parties in the Republic of Macedonia, in order to provide a basis for the development and consolidation of democratic structures and the possibilities for their members’ participation. (Publisherd in co-operation of CRPM and the Macedonian office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation)

Boosting Energy Efficiency: How can local Communities Contribute?

Author(s): Zlatko Simonovski,Nataša Markovska,Radovan Nikčević / Language(s): English

Campaign Financing under the New Electoral Code of the Republic of Macedonia. A Call for a Macedonian Buckley v. Valeo and beyond

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Government is held accountable when everyone is holding Government accountable

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Hit and Miss - The Dynamics of Undeclared Labor in Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English,Macedonian

Undeclared work, being one of the main manifestations of hidden economy, becomes the bull’s-eye for many countries focusing on reshaping their social and economic policies in order to tackle this issue, especially since the onset of the economic crisis that hit Europe and the World in 2008. The most recent economic indicators coming from Europe show that this crisis has not concluded and European economies are yet to deal with its mid and long-term consequences. Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries are not exempt from this process, with job creation and policies targeting unemployment (28.2% as of Q2 2014) being a major concern and a focal point of political activity. Low growth prospects in the EU and sluggish economic conditions forecasted in 2014 are also limiting Macedonia’s growth prospects, which at this point are still positive at around 4% GDP growth annually (4.3% as of Q2 2014). In the following period, economic growth will dictate the unemployment rate while regulatory reforms targeted at labor policy, taxation, and inspections will dictate the extent of undeclared economy and, consequently, the risk of poverty and social exclusion that undeclared workers will be subjected to.

Internal Party Democracy in Kosovo

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Is Skopje a Child-Friendly City?

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Kufizimi i Mundësisë mjekët të punësuar në Shëndetësinë Publike të bëjnë veprimtari Plotësuese në Entet Shëndetësorë Private

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Albanian

Measuring Success of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union in the Case of Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is one of the most widely discussed and analyzed policy areas of the European Union (EU). The development of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) within the framework of the CFSP took place at the end of the ‘90s, in a process that interacted with the unfolding of the crisis of the Balkan regional order. Given this context, I believe that a study on the development of the CFSP/ESDP has to investigate how the EU Crisis Management instruments have been used. The crisis that occurred in the Republic of Macedonia, in this respect, is a case of critical salience. Macedonia is a specific case in which both the civilian and the military dimension of EU Crisis Management mechanism were applied, and there exists widespread consensus in the EU on the fact that this was done successfully. However, when talking about successes or failures, a number of slippery questions arise: what indicators of success can one refer to? For example, does success refer to the fact that the ESDP mechanism has been activated without major setbacks, or to the way in which it has affected the situation in Macedonia? Is the Macedonian case a success for the CFSP? How is success determined? Which are its standards of measurement?

More Care in Primary Health! More Care Centers in the Municipalities!

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Albanian,English,Macedonian

Open Government Partnership. Calls for Participation

Author(s): Qëndresa Sulejmani / Language(s): English

Perspectives of Women in Rural Areas

Author(s): Erika Kvapilová / Language(s): English

The present study is intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of the status of women in rural areas in the country as compared with the status of their male counterparts in rural areas and with the population of both men and women in urban areas, thus providing a baseline with which to design concrete measures leading to the empowerment of women in rural areas.The study provides an analysis of existing legislative and policy frameworks and explores the extent of the social exclusion of women in rural areas, including their exclusion from the labour market, from local public and social life, and from participation in local decision-making processes. In addition to voicing the needs and challenges of women in rural areas and highlighting the gaps that need to be addressed to improve their status, the study identifies the available opportunities to challenge the barriers these women face.This study thus encourages policy-makers to take stock of the disadvantages and challenges experienced by women in rural areas but also to look beyond these impediments and explore the potential these women have for their own advancement and for the development of their communities. The study offers insights into the needs and concerns of rural women and encourages local as well as national policy-makers and decision-makers to review community development from the perspectives of women in rural areas. It calls for local and national policies to be adapted to the realities faced by these women in order to remove the barriers they face on a daily basis. Last but not least, the study underlines the urgent need to ensure that rural women are included in key decision-making processes.

Saving Democracy in Macedonia: What to do after the Wire-Tapping Scandal?

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English,Macedonian

Sports Betting as a Social Phenomenon in Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The phenomenon of sports betting is characteristic not only for the Republic of Macedonia, but also for all the other post-communist countries or countries in transition, such as Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria. One and a half decade after the fall of the socialist regime and the attempts to implement capitalism, we are witnessing the results of the change of one system with its opposite. On one side, a system of a very low economic efficiency, but with a sense of social security goes in history and on the other side, a system with very high economic efficiency, but with considerable shortcomings in the area of social security takes its place.According to the survey conducted by the Center for Research and Policy Making, 73.5% of the citizens with income lower than the Macedonian average place bets at the bookmakers.

The new Law on the Municipality Boundaries (Law on territorial Organization) and the failed Referendum of 2004

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

This paper will discuss recent political events in Macedonia, concerning the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement in the sphere of development of decentralized government and in particular regarding the events surrounding the referendum on the newly adopted Law on Territorial Organization. On 3rd September 2004 the Macedonian parliament adopted a decision to hold a referendum on 7th November. If successful, the referendum, initiated by the World Macedonian Congress (WMC) in early 2004, would have effectively required a repeal of the newly passed Law on Territorial Organization, City of Skopje and Financing on Units of Local Self-Government, and a return to the status quo ante of 123 municipalities. The new Law has reduced the numbers of municipalities to 84. The calling of the referendum has also forced the postponement of local elections, previously delayed and rescheduled for 21st November, and now required by law to take place by 31st March 2005. A Law on Territorial Organization was part of the indispensable package of laws necessary to ensure the decentralization process, regarded as a crucial component of the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA) of 2001. The international community expressed widespread concern about the potential impact of the referendum on the Ohrid process and on inter-ethnic relations.

The Status of “Incitement of Ethnic, Racial and Religious Hatred” Offense under the Criminal Code of Macedonia after the Vranishkovski Case

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English,Macedonian

Transitional Justice in Macedonia and its Relations with Democracy

Author(s): Elmina Kulasic / Language(s): English

This article focuses on the transitional process in a society which has experienced a violent conflict and needs adequate mechanisms to deal with the legacies of the past in order to prevent future violence and pave the way for reconciliation and democratic consolidation. The disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia) and its legacy has left a number of newly emerged and independent democracies in the Western Balkan region to cope with grave violations of human rights. The bloodshed in Croatia and Serbia, and the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina lead to the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The jurisdiction of ICTY was extended to Macedonia and the 2001 conflict; however, the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA) inclusion of an Amnesty Law raises a number of questions related to the process of reconciliation and transitional justice mechanisms. In The Republic of Macedonia (Macedonia), the need and importance to promote understanding, tolerance and peace for all within the country has been sidelined in the OFA because the main goal was to end the violence, accentuating peace over justice. As a result, OFA focus on political representation and ethnic power-sharing has neglected past grievances and atrocities which are of utmost importance in order for a society to move forward with its democratic consolidation.As such, this paper will look at the mechanisms of transitional justice and its relations with democracy. Its aim is to argue that a long-term approach steaming from the different mechanisms of transitional justice is imperative for democratic consolidation and stable inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia.

Trends in Asylum-Seeking in light of Macedonia’s Accession Processes in the European Union

Author(s): Martina Smilevska / Language(s): English

Western European countries have been at the front line of developing instruments designed to control and restrict flows ever since the 1970s when the problem of unwanted immigration and asylum flows began to emerge. Their policy responses subsequently set a standard or pattern for other, ‘new’ asylum countries or transit countries on Europe’s borders, at the same time influencing towards more restrictive policies in this area. The European Union’s further integration through building the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) influence towards creating common standards on determination and harmonizing the level of human rights among the EU countries. These processes however, on the other side are producing negative impact on the protection regimes in EU, making it more difficult for the forced migrants to reach the “shores” of Europe and benefit from the asylum. The Republic of Macedonia is a candidate country for European Union membership since 2005 and the accession to EU has been defined as one of the highest strategic priorities for the governmenti . The country present the democratic capacities in a light that shows that the State ensures law, procedure, standards and legal understanding through which it will protect those in need and ensures legitimacy in front of the international democratic public, thus following the development and further integration of the European policies through establishing asylum system and policies synchronized with the EU`s ‘acquis’.After the Bosnian crisis and the Kosovo war, Republic of Macedonia faced with significant number of so- called “new asylum seekers”, asylum seekers coming from countries outside the Balkans and Europe. According the UNHCR official statistical data in 2011, 740 asylum applicationsii were submitted in front of the Section for asylum- Ministry of interior. None of these asylum- seekers was granted with convention (refugee) status or complementary protection statusiii . In 2008, the number of asylum applications was 50, following by increases in the numbers in 2009- 90, then 2010 with 180 asylum applications.

What Open Government Partnership (OGP) Does for Transparency?

Author(s): Qëndresa Sulejmani / Language(s): English

This policy brief looks at the National Action Plan for OGP (2012-2014) to analyse the degree to which the commitments for transparency have been implemented and whether the new National Action Plan on OGP 2014-2016 addresses its deficiencies. Since the four pillars of open government – transparency, participation, accountability, and open data –– are interdependent and equivalent in their contribution toward good governance, to clearly define the scope of this policy brief, we will distinguish transparency from the other pillars by defining it as when the “public understands the working of their government” (as defined by Transparency Accountability Initiative). By adapting this definition to the commitments of the action plan, CRPM breaks down the definition in three central elements: * the obligation of public institutions to disclose public information at the request of citizens * the means for citizens to access proactively published information and * the right of citizens to receive information through services as set in the national standards for integrity. The following sections will aim to present a concise situation analysis in the three named aspects of transparency and conclude with a set of recommendations for their improvement. The analysis also uses the results of two public opinion surveys produced by CRPM in the period April 2013- September 2014.

Вето за Македонија победа на грчкиот национализам и како понатаму

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Albanian,English,Macedonian