CSD Policy Brief No. 48: Anti-Corruption Measures in Law Enforcement Institutions

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

In countries with endemic corruption, integrity reforms can only be successful if anti-corruption institutions succeed in tackling internal corruption challenges. A sharp decline of corruption in law enforcement would provide society with the necessary tools to pursue tangible change. The experience of established democracies is that a successful transformation depends not simply on individual measures but rather on the introduction of sets of effective anti-corruption measures across the entire public administration. Corruption among lawenforcement officers has been viewed with an increasing concern by the authorities and the public in many European states. As a result, while no common approach has ever been tested with respect to the judiciary, elected politicians or the customs, countering police corruption has become an all-European effort. During the last decade, several European countries developed multi-institutional systems for police integrity. On EU level, platforms like the European Partners against Corruption (EPAC) were introduced, enabling specialised anti-corruption institutions to cooperate and share experience. In addition, Europol, Interpol and the UN developed and shared the blueprints of common standards and good practices in preventing police corruption

CSD Policy Brief No. 60: Media (In)dependence in Bulgaria: Risks and Trends

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

The role of Bulgarian media in public life came under scrutiny after several media outlets were used as an instrument for triggering political crises and for political engineering (2013 – 2014). At that time, the Bulgarian media market was experiencing the impact of two negative trends. On the one hand, the economic crisis of 2009 – 2013 had cut advertising revenues by half. On the other, the old models of media financing were diminished by the use of digital technologies and the explosive growth of social networks and mobile communications. The loss of financial sustainability by the media presented unique opportunities for Bulgarian oligarchic groups. By accumulating a significant share of the media market, they reached an unprecedented level of political influence (including direct influence on the legislative, executive and judicial powers). The media was used as an instrument for state capture that could present severe security and economic risks.

CSD Policy Brief No. 61: Drug Users in Prisons: Norway's Experiences and Bulgaria's Challenges

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

For all criminal offences related to drugs, even for possession of small quantities intended for personal use, the main sanction according to Bulgarian criminal law is imprisonment. Unlike in Norway, non-custodial penalties in Bulgaria such as probation have extremely limited scope of application for drug-related offences. At the same time, other alternatives to imprisonment are virtually non-existent.

CSD Policy Brief No. 64: Hidden Economy in Bulgaria: 2015 – 2016

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

In Bulgaria the high level of hidden economy undermines the economic development of the country and requires serious and persistent political attention. The unprecedented growth in the field of digitization of economic activities, the convergence between some of them, and the emergence of brand new services creates an opportunity for achieving a desirable environment, which may reduce the hidden cash flows and boost the economic development of the country. Comprehensive reforms focused on the functioning of the market mechanisms and administrative effectiveness are needed in order to promote the process of economic convergence within the European Union and limit the harmful effects of the hidden economy in Bulgaria.

ЈАВНОСТ - лист за наукe и политику (1874/28)

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

Рад народне скупштине; Најновије; ДОПИСИ; ОГЛАСИ; Акционарима крагујев. друшт. штампарије; Новим уписницима;

DEMOKRATA, független folyóirat (1986/4)

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

ONE PAGER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO DG NEAR, FACING THE UNCERTAINTY CONCERNING CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN NORTH MACEDONIA AS A PREREQUISITE FOR CONTINUATION OF THE ACCESSION, I.E., NEGOTIATIONS PROCESS

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova / Language(s): English

RESTORING EU’S CREDIBILITY AND THE EUROPEAN CONSENSUS IN THE CIVIL SOCIETY IN N. MACEDONIA

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova / Language(s): English

Студија на појдовната состојба (Baseline): демократски институции или дали и колку европските темелни вредности се вградени во функционирањето на јавниот сектор?

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova,Kalina Lechevska,Viktorija Borovska,Tihomir Topuzovski,Meriton Tusha,Risto Aleksovski / Language(s): Macedonian

Pivot to the east. Russia’s transport policy

Author(s): Iwona Wiśniewska / Language(s): English

As a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2014, and the ensuing Western sanctions, Russia has reoriented its foreign trade towards the East. This is a permanent shift which stems from Russia’s security objectives. Therefore, the Kremlin aims to further reduce Russia’s dependence on economic ties with Europe and to intensify cooperation with Asian countries. The reorientation of trade and the necessity to prioritise deliveries for the military have become serious challenges for the country’s transport sector. From the Kremlin’s perspective, the primary role of freight transport infrastructure is to ensure the diversification of export routes, particularly for energy resources. Consequently, the government has prioritised projects to expand the country’s railway and port networks in the Russian Far East and the border infrastructure with China. Nevertheless, Russia is striving to develop all alternative transport routes leading directly to the countries of the Global South, including the North–South Corridor and the Northern Sea Route.

Between hope and illusion. Germany’s migration policy

Author(s): Kamil Frymark / Language(s): English

The surge in asylum applications in a situation when the state is taking care of more than 800,000 refugees from Ukraine has led to a multi-faceted crisis in Germany. Like the previous migration crisis in 2015, disputes between the federal states and the federation over funding have arisen, and the local authorities responsible for providing shelter and care to asylum seekers do not have enough places for them. However, the much more serious challenge to Germany’s political elite involves the loss of the public’s confidence in the state, combined with a prevailing conviction that the government has lost control of migration policy in its broadest sense. The fact that Germany’s leaders are constantly making demands of their citizens, combined with the immigrants’ insufficient integration into German society, have triggered public resistance. As a consequence, support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) party has been on the rise. At present, the AfD is the second most popular party after the Christian Democrats in polls conducted at the federal level, and it is now the most popular party in the eastern federal states, where its level of support is running at over 30%. The mounting economic crisis may further exacerbate the situation, and if this happens the authorities will face problems regarding the distribution of wealth and resources to citizens and asylum seekers.

Making up for lost time. Germany in the era of the Zeitenwende

Author(s): Anna Kwiatkowska-Drożdż,Kamil Frymark,Michał Kędzierski,Lidia Gibadło,Sebastian Płóciennik,Justyna Gotkowska / Language(s): English

The Zeitenwende, the ‘new era’ in German policy which Chancellor Olaf Scholz proclaimed after Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022, is usually associated with a radical U-turn in the areas of energy and security. However, these connotations are imprecise at least on two levels. Firstly, over time it has turned out that the shift in Germany’s political strategy has not been so decisive, as can be seen in the steps that have been taken with regard to the reform of the Bundeswehr. Secondly, the SPD-Greens-FDP government wants the Zeitenwende to encompass many other key areas of politics and the economy.

Focused on survival. The Belarusian political and business elite post-2020

Author(s): Piotr Żochowski,Kamil Kłysiński / Language(s): English

The marginalisation of the civilian segment of the state apparatus at all levels of government which has been ongoing since 2020 is to the advantage of the state security sector which at present forms the main internal pillar of Lukashenka’s rule. This marginalisation has been the main trend impacting on the situation in the Belarusian ruling camp. It has become a priority for Minsk to maintain the country’s stability through the far-reaching control of citizens. The fact that politics has been dominated by the siloviks has led to an unprecedented increase in the oppressiveness of the regime, and in a decrease in the efficiency of the state apparatus as a whole. At the same time, other areas of government activity, such as the economy, society and culture, have receded into the background. Proponents of liberal or at least more flexible solutions, for their part, choose not to show any initiative, fearing the consequences. Instead, they try to adapt to the current policy of ideological indoctrination and repression and to a restrictive model of a centrally planned economy.

Forward into the past. Russia’s politics of memory in the service of ‘eternal’ authoritarianism

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża,Maria Domańska / Language(s): English

The Kremlin's vision of the past is becoming increasingly ideologised. This applies especially to the notion of victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, which has become a kind of a founding myth of Putinism. The historical narrative is intended to legitimise the authoritarian system of government as being optimal for Russia, and thus to perpetuate the model of state-society relationship that serves the Kremlin’s interests. Its important function is to justify Moscow's aggressive foreign policy in the twenty-first century and its ambitions to influence the international order, including the European security architecture.This report raises a number of questions. How does the regime guard the ‘canonical’ vision of the past? Why is popular culture one of the most effective tools for shaping minds in a militarised and authoritarian manner? Why do Russians view Stalin more and more favourably, and how does it correspond with the fact that more and more young people are eager to research the difficult history of their families, communities and hometowns? How does the Internet help? In search of answers, the authors examine both the activity of the state and the changes in the mentality of Russian citizens.

Cinderella became the Empress. How Merkel has changed Germany

Author(s): Anna Kwiatkowska-Drożdż / Language(s): English

Angela Merkel is the first woman to climb to the top of German politics. Step by step, to the surprise of her male rivals inside the party, she took over the leadership on the political scene of Germany, and then of the European Union. Efficiency was the leitmotif of her four terms. As a technocrat with a social ear, she turned out to be a master in dominating the political centre. Because of her, Germany’s Christian Democrats underwent an ideological evolution. She also greatly contributed to a significant weakening of the SPD and to the creation of the Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany. For an aging and wealthy German society, she was the embodiment of stability and predictability. Her rule, overshadowed by the global economic crisis, provided the citizens of Germany with what is most valuable: prosperity and security. Despite her successes in defending the German status quo, Merkel did not prepare the state and society for the inevitable changes in the international environment. The growing inequalities in the eurozone, the successes of political populism, migrations, the destructive policies of Russia and China, the backlog in the digitisation of education and industry will be described as phenomena and processes with which her governments largely failed.

Opposites put together. Belarus's politics of memory

Author(s): Wojciech Konończuk,Kamil Kłysiński / Language(s): English

The outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2014 became a turning point in Belarus’s historical narrative and forced the regime to emphasise Belarusian distinctiveness from Russia more than before. The activation of the politics of memory, which had previously been conducted in a very conservative manner, became one of the key tools to accomplish this task. In order to strengthen the foundations of an independent Belarus, the government began to highlight the elements of the past that point towards an independent path for national development, and which at the same time allow for Russian dominance to be weakened. Changes have been manifested by reaching beyond the framework of the Soviet tradition to a greater extent and more frequent references to events that had previously been ignored or distorted. The government resorted to the historical narrative of the opposition and independent historians, which it had formerly opposed, yet this shift was carried out very cautiously. The process of shaping the politics of memory is not yet complete and is likely to evolve further in the coming years. Both the direction and the pace of change will depend on the nature of the political regime and its evolution.

Fortress Kaliningrad. Ever closer to Moscow

Author(s): Maria Domańska,Szymon Kardaś,Marek Menkiszak,Jadwiga Rogoża,Andrzej Wilk,Iwona Wiśniewska,Piotr Żochowski / Language(s): English

The purpose of the present paper is to analyse the most important changes that have taken place in the Kaliningrad Oblast since 2016. Part One analyses the dynamics of the political and social situation with special focus on: changes in the relations between the federal centre and the oblast; the situation within the power elite; and the development of civil society activities. Part Two is devoted to analysing the economic situation and looks in particular into social and economic indicators and the evolution of Moscow's policy towards the region, including its transport and energy projects. Part Three delves into the oblast's relations with the external world, including its cross-border contacts and co-operations, the movement of people and economic exchange. Finally, Part Four is devoted to the evolution of the internal security situation and policy, and the expansion of Russia's military potential in the region.Moscow's policy towards the Kaliningrad Oblast has been increasingly consistent in recent years. Its main objective has been to further tighten its grip on the region and its links to mainland Russia in the political, social and economic dimension. As a result, the Kaliningrad Oblast has been made more subordinated to Moscow, which is in line with a general trend in the relations between Russia's central government and the regions.

The Chinese Communist Party and its state. Xi Jinping's conservative turn

Author(s): Jakub Jakóbowski,Michał Bogusz / Language(s): English

The fundamental feature of the Chinese political system is the primacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its control over all areas of the state’s operation as well as a large part of the economy. The CCP regards the state as a tool of governance, and as such it is subject to regular transformations. The representative bodies and state positions are to a large extent simply facades, and the Communist Party still retains its Leninist character. The official image of the Party monolith hides a dynamic, inter-generational and internally complex multilevel organisation, with a total of 90 million members. It is an arena of struggles for power between factions and in­terest groups and, increasingly, family clans. A strong bond which holds the CCP together is the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, which gives the Chinese ruling elite its basic conceptual grid and shapes its aspirations, translating into the operation and evolution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).The description of the PRC’s political system presented in this study focuses on answering the following questions: how does the Party rule China, who manages the Party, and how do they manage it? Part 1 is a guide to the PRC’s political system during the ‘reform and opening up’ period and presents its structure and rules of governance. Part 2 describes the fundamental change of the political regime in the PRC, associat­ed with Xi Jinping’s conservative turn. Part 3 shows how far the corrections to the PRC’s political system and personnel changes implemented by Xi Jinpinghave transformed the governance of sectoral policies: economic and foreign policy, security and social control.

A country with non-existent unemployment. The special characteristics of the Czech labour market

Author(s): Krzysztof Dębiec / Language(s): English

Since 2016, the Czech Republic has had the lowest unemployment rate among EU member states and since 2017 among OECD countries. This is surprising to many observers, especially in Western Europe, as former communist states have for years been associated with high unemployment and structural problems. This situation on the labour market is an effect of several factors, including: the structure of the Czech economy which was undergoing its formation for many decades; the economic policy adopted over the past few years; and the economic revival in the global economy, noticeable especially since 2014. The low unemployment rate and the increasingly visibly rising real wages translate into improving living standards for Czech society. However, this situation adversely affects companies which are looking for ways to deal with a labour shortage. One of the solutions is the automation of production processes but employers are also insisting that the country should become more open to workers from other countries, especially Ukraine. The trade unions are opposed to this because they fear that an influx of immigrant labour will slow down the rate at which wages are rising. At the same time, there is a debate in the Czech Republic about the extent to which the present economic model contributes to the country catching up with the Western economies and what should be done to speed up the convergence.

The free state of Bavaria. The end of the CSU’s sovereign duchy?

Author(s): Kamil Frymark / Language(s): English

On the political map of Germany, the CSU presents itself as the only authentic party with a right-wing profile, treating groups further to its right as extreme and undemocratic. The CSU thus continues the policy of Franz Josef Strauss, whose motto was that “no democratic party may arise to the right of the CSU”. The Bavarian group has so far been the main party of conservative views represented in the Bundestag. However, this status is currently being threatened by the Alternative for Germany, which entered the Bundestag in 2017. The report contains an analysis of the relations between the CSU and the CDU, the significance of the two parties’ joint parliamentary group, alongside the possible consequences of breaking the group’s unity. The text discusses the main elements of the CSU’s political platform and the changes happening within the party itself and among its voters, including in the context of the 2018 Landtag election. Other issues analysed in the report include: the CSU’s impact on how Bavaria’s foreign policy is shaped, the main socio-economic challenges Bavaria is currently facing, and the CSU’s concepts of how to maintain the present pace of the state’s development.