Medvetánc: Oroszország angolszász sajtótükörben

Author(s): Dóra Djamila Mester / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

Dóra Mester’s study entitled Bear danceanalyses the representation of Russia in influential Anglo-Saxon economic weeklies and newspapers with regard to the stock-exchange crises in 1998. The essay utilises a comparative framework (the representation of Brasilia and the Western Self) and argues that a civilisation-discourse created in the period of Enlightenment has recently been revitalised and Russia is more clearly the constitutive other of the West than Brasil.

Európa tobzoskája

Author(s): Iver, B. Neumann / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

The article by Iver B. Neumann is part of his book The Uses of the Other: The East in European Identity Formation. Neumann argues that in the nineties Russia has been represented as a student and a country whose classification has been problematic for Western “taxonomic” practices. This might produce the idea of Russia as a monster and, together with the identity imbalances, this implies serious international political consequences.

Kelet-Nyugat fogságában: Közép-Európa helye szövegek térképén

Author(s): Katalin Dancsi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

Katalin Dancsi’s study entitled Locked between East and West: Locating Central Europe on Map of Concepts explores how the theme of Central Europe is represented in the important articles by Péter Hanák, George Schöpflin and Timothy G. Ash. These three texts were significant contributions to the debate on Central Europe in the mid-eighties, whose main objective was to stabilize an independent position for Central Europe and to overwrite the notion of the divided Europe. The thematic structure of the texts is explored via concept network analysis, with a focus on the location of the topics of Central Europe, East and West. The study concludes that the East–West dichotomy dominates the worldview of all the three texts. This involves two elements: acceptance of an insecure `in-between` position for Central Europe and the construction of Eastern Europe as a counterpoint to the West.

Kelet-Európa a kiábrándulás idején

Author(s): Claude Karnoouh / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

The concluding essay by Claude Karnoouh is also a translation of a chapter of his book. This essay does not focus on the issue of representation, although it definitely rejects the dominant East-West dichotomy as used in present day social and political analysis. As a way out of East-West dichotomy Karnoouh argues that the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe was not due to mismanagement by the elite but it failed in the moralising logic as opposed to the hidden history of „totalizing” capitalism, which knew no such moral and socio-political constraints. This makes Eastern European societies similar to the Third World ”uprooted” much earlier by Western capitalism.

Döntés és indokolása - avagy miért szivárog a szubsztancia a formális jogba az Európai Unió keleti bővítése kapcsán

Author(s): József Böröcz / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

This paper reports the results of a reverse decision analysis applied to the Summary and Conclusion sections of the Opinions published by the European Union’s Commission about the ten „eastern applicant” states in July 1997. It finds much redundancy in the application of the Commission’s own political and economic criteria; arbitrary synecdoche metaphors help the Opinions move from abstract to practical concerns; in itself neither the political nor the economic criterion produces the final distribution of five „frontrunners” and five „laggers-behind”. Meanwhile, the third criterion – the one referring to the transposition and implementation of the EU’s legal output – itself splits the ten cases perfectly. However, a combination of the political criterion with the economic strength of the applicant also produces a solution that is perfectly congruent with the final result. Most remarkable, the two perfect solutions are reached in ways that are logically independent of each other. This puts into question the degree to which it is appropriate to describe the evaluation phase of EU-acession as a process of criteria fulfilment.

Tiltott határátlépés. Bevezető.

Author(s): Attila Melegh / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

The Introduction by Attila Melegh sets up connections between different representation strategies and argues that there are different periphery techniques in handling the representation of Eastern Europe as the twilight zone of the West. The idea of Central Europe is a framework which Easternises certain areas of the former Eastern Europe. This idea contains elements of self-defeat due to the mechanic use of the East-West dichotomy. A somewhat similar dual strategy can be observed in the Latin-America epresentation of Spanish and Portugese encyclopedias, in which the Spanish and Portuguese colonisers are idealised while the natives are rejected. This rejection is remarkable even in comparison with the racist representation of Anglo-Saxon encyclopaedias. The Introduction argues that such a periphery mechanism can also be seen in the cognitive handling of one of the „Roma” scandals in Hungary.

Kettős kötés: Latin-Amerika reprezentációi angol, francia illetve portugál és spanyol enciklopédiákban

Author(s): Vera Várhegyi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 43-44/2001

Vera Várhegyi’s article entitled Double Bonds analyses the techniques of representation of Latin America in encyclopaedias edited in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. There were two reasons for choosing encyclopaedias: they appeared as the collection of canonised notions and they represent a genre created by the Enlightenment, a movement that initiated the construction of regional otherness in Europe. Várhegyi shows that at the end of the sixties a special, double representation of Latin America appeared in the English and French encyclopaedias. This representation consists in two steps: making Latin America alien and, within it, emphasising the alienness of the colonising nations: Spain and Portugal. As a counter-representation, the Spanish and Portuguese encyclopaedias praise the colonisers and further alienate the „natives of Latin-America”.

Ce este... şi ce nu este democraţia

Author(s): Terry Lynn Karl,Phillipe C. Schmitter / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 01/2002

Free elections and majority rule are not enough for a modern democracy to deserve its name. These are just minimal procedural conditions that are necessary but not sufficient. Instead, more substantial operative principles must be observed by the political actors, such as the tacit consensus of politicians to defend the rules of the game while in office, or the limitation of the political uncertainty by keeping “unacceptable” items out of the political agenda. This is a minimal definition of democracy that allows for a lot of local variation in institutional setting and administrative performance.

Tentaţii neopopuliste în Europa de Est

Author(s): Adrian Cioflâncă / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 01/2002

The reinventing of politics in Eastern Europe brought about ambiguous side-effects. The most salient is populism, which surfaced again after an interruption of fifty years. The current East European populism is however more refined than its historical ancestor and relates well to the Western neo-populism of our days. While extremism appears somehow appeased in the style of these new parties the radical core of the doctrine is still there, keeping it a threat to democracy.

Ce anume determină trăinicia democraţiilor?

Author(s): Fernando Limongi,Jose Antonio Cheibub,Adam Przeworsky,Michael Alvarez / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 01/2002

The modernization theory was wrong in arguing that a pro-business dictatorship is the best way towards a modern, affluent democracy in the third world. In fact, the authoritarian regimes are no more likely to generate growth, as the time series analysis shows, nor are they likely to give way to democracies in the long run. On the other hand, the poverty trap does indeed exist the lack of democracy and development tend to sustain each other and the consolidation does not democracies are likely to die at any age. The only institutions and policies associated positively with the survival of democracy are parliamentarism, declining inequality and growth with moderate inflation.

Romania's "End of Transition" Deconstructed

Author(s): Alina Mungiu-Pippidi / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2002

Where does Romania stand on democracy a decade after the fall of the Communist regime? Has it become a consolidated democracy? Did democratic institutions gain the trust of the majority? Political transition is defined as the process of replacing formal institutions of Communist times with new, official and formal institutions, oriented towards free market and democracy. As this process is now largely over, Romania can be considered a consolidated democracy, but not, in every area, a substantial democracy, as the review of recent achievements and setbacks for democracy shows. Previous bad experiences with civil servants turn out as a powerful predictor of mistrust in government and state in general in models of institutional social capital. Residual communism and frustration with the transition are also causes for mistrust in politics. Anti-democratic attitudes are mainly associated with advanced age, low institutional trust, authoritarianism and lower political competence. The argument is made that better governance is the only policy tool available to build trust and consolidate the legitimacy of the political regime.

Al treilea val al democraţiei

Author(s): Samuel P. Huntington / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 01/2002

There were three main waves of democratization across the globe in the last two centuries, each of them followed by a reverse wave. Since the early ‘70s we have witnessed to the rise and spread of the third such wave, which has included parts of Latin America, Southern Europe and the Communist Eastern Europe. Many social, economic and geo-political factors have contributed to this development. However, we can already see in action the factors favoring the third reverse wave.

Ce este consolidarea democratică?

Author(s): Andreas Schedler / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 01/2002

The notion of democratic consolidation is used in many ways, which threatens o confuse democratization policy agenda. By consolidation we mean sometimes simply a better organization of the current democratic institutions; alternatively, we may refer to the step from electoral to liberal democracy; or to the strategic shift from both to advanced, modern democracy. This is wrong, because the policy mechanisms for pursuing these aims are different. By consolidation we should not suggest a process of ‘deepening’, but simply refer to the democratic survival i.e. securing the institutions against authoritarian regression. This is important for practical purposes because a democracy can be secure against reversals even though its institutions are weak; and conversely, another democracy may break down in spite of the its strong institutional elements.

Die Krippe des Franziskus, der Osten und der Westen

Author(s): Friedrich Heer / Language(s): German Issue: 01/1955

Bis zum Botschafter auch der Bundesrepublik

Author(s): Werner Otto von Hentig / Language(s): German Issue: 01/1955

Zweimal Bismarck. Über die Aussichten der Europa-Politik

Author(s): Eugen Kogon / Language(s): German Issue: 01/1955

Perspectivele societăţii civile

Author(s): Magdalena Boiangiu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 492/2002

Magdalena Boiangiu underlines the importance of the Civil Society in a democracy and especially in a young democracy as Romania.

Întoarcerea lui Victor Ciorbea

Author(s): Cristian Teodorescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 28/2001

Cristian Teodorescu comments on the ex-prime ministers' Victor Ciorbea taking-over the leadership of the former the governing coalition party, the PNTCD after the resignation of Andrei Marga. This return considered by some of the party members as vital for to the party's consolidation is strongly opposed by others.

В периферията

Author(s): Ina Zoon / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 13-14/2001

Privind înainte, cu seninătate

Author(s): Barbu Cioculescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 30/2001

Barbu Cioculescu makes a close examination on the PNTCD's evolution in the Romanian post revolution politic stage. He tries to spot the moments and errors that lead to the party's present disastrous situation. However, the author concludes, its' leaders have learned little from this defeat and the chances of regaining its' leading position in a future governmental coalition are far too remote.