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Justice commissioner visits Bucharest to drive home serious concerns over government’s steps to blur the separation of powers.
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Justice commissioner visits Bucharest to drive home serious concerns over government’s steps to blur the separation of powers.
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The US presidential election results (2016) threw dust into the eyes of the intellectual superstructure of the political sphere (political analysts, specialized observatories). The most frequent questions were: “Who would have believed it?” and “How was this possible?” Those who could “believe” it were the open-minded thinkers, who evaded from the dominant ideological referential, imposed in the last decades, and who could foresee the evolution trends of the public consciousness in the US. As regards the second question, we shall try to provide an answer in two phases: 1) by analyzing the consequences of the end of the Cold War; 2) by assessing the actuality of the Enlightenment project of human emancipation. As such, we discover several causality links between Donald Trump’s victory, Brexit and the ascension of the national parties in the West. These events have a common cause: the change of the social evolution mechanisms and of the legitimation ideologies.
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Democracy is beneficial to people provided the democratic rule is adopted while democracy cannot be achieved unless there are periodic elections. Elections, though, considered as pre-requite for good governance, however, mere elections without ensuring credibility is also tantamount to despotism. An election cannot be judged as credible, free and fair unless the following agents of democracy - security, media and civil society organizations – perform their constitutional roles. This paper focuses on the evaluation and dynamics of role of security, media and civil society organization in Nigerian democracy. It explores the pertinent roles of the security, media and civil society organizations to the conduct of credible elections which in turn may beget true democracy. The existing literatures have drawn the linkage between security democracy and elections. However, this paper does not only argues that security men, press men and civil society organizations have not done well in the conduct of elections in Nigeria but also highlights some other core issues that have dominated the discourse and explores the challenges on democratization process in Nigeria. Finally, a recommendation is made that all stakeholders should be honest and moral in discharging their duties.
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Taking the position of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Croatia that constitutionality of apportionment in Croatian parliamentary elections depends on whether such an apportionment affects electoral results as a starting point, the author discusses the methodological strategies by which the effects could be scientifically verified and measured. Discarding methodological suggestion of the Constitutional Court itself as a demanding and "non-economic" in terms of research, the article offers an alternative methodological strategy, also based on simulation as the only appropriate method for resolving such a research puzzle. Simulation of electoral results of parliamentary elections in Croatia from 2000 to 2016, under conditions of electoral units of different magnitude that assure real equality of voting rights, shows significant differences to actual electoral results at the level of electoral districts and personal level. Effects on distribution of seats among parties at the level of entire parliament as well as on the chances of parties to form government are either minimal or non-existent. There are no juristic obstacles for the research finding to be used in the praxis of the Constitutional Court.
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This article discusses the political effects of two different conceptions of democracy in ethnically deeply divided societies. It considers the conflicts with clear historical roots by analysing the case of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina which involves two irreconcilable ideas of democracy expressed by the political elites of two communities, the Bosniaks and the Croats. The first part explains the conflict between Bosniak and Croat political elites, which have respectively, been trying to impose either the majoritarian or the consociational system since the 1990s. The second part discusses the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on electoral rules. It is argued that the imposition of integrationist-like rules and the suspension of consociational arrangements in the Election Law has increased divisions between the two ethnic communities. Finally, the article analyses the proposed amendments to election rules submitted to both state and entity parliaments, which confirm the existence of clearly irreconcilable visions of democracy within the Bosniak-Croat Federation.
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In this paper we analyze the influence of populist ideas on the emergence and organization of new political parties in Serbia after the elections in 2007 and 2008. These elections represent the turning point in the development of the party system because only after the pro-European consensus among Democrats and Socialists was formed, the division within Serbian Radical Party occurred and the ideological space occupied by the relevant parties has narrowed. On the other hand, high level of distrust in politics among the citizens and lowering of the state of democracy facilitate the emergence of new actors who are, almost by rule, under the influence of the growing wave of populism in the world. In this paper, we apply the ideational approach to populism and, using the new actors as example, we aim to identify ideological and organizational variations which can develop under the influence of populism, as well as differences which emerge from the interpretation of populism in Serbia compared to some other countries.
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Presidential elections in March 2012 have been followed with interest by international community. Vladimir Putin won and returned to the Kremlin. Under Putin’s first two presidential mandates (2000-2008) Russia has returned to the international arena as an important player. Now, Russia is different, international situation is, also, different and very challenging. Putin’s return might be followed by the Russia’s stronger affirmation as an important international player. The study analyzes the first two presidential mandates, context, perspectives of the future internal and external evolutions and significance of Putin’s return, impact, perspectives and challenges he might face.
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The political relations of Austria with the developing countries, or with so-called 'third world’ countries, are characterized by a marked rapprochement and closer cooperation in the past decade. This occurs within the United Nations system, and can be substantiated by quantitative indicators — Austria’s voting record on various issues. This does not mean, however, that there are no departures from general programmatic stances in voting on particular problems, e. g, on the international economic order and similar matters. Another important form of rapprochement are bilateral relations of the Austrian Government with the governments of developing countries. Factors of political relevance are also the problems of foreign workers and the admission of refugees from 'third world’ countries to Austria. In economic relations, there has been a substantial increase of the share of ’third world' countries in Austrian foreign trade, both exports and imports. This increase applies, however, primarily to trade with particular regions and groups of developing countries — e. g. Austrian export has recorded the highest growth in Africa and the Middle East, as well as in the OPEC countries. Among the export items, capital and arms occupy a special place. One of the central problems in the relations between Austria and the developing countries still remains an unsatisfactory quantitative and qualitative level of Austrian state aid to those countries With regard to quantity. Austria belongs among the so-called 'tight-fisted Europe’, and with regard to quality she is one of the states which offer relatively unfavourable terms of assistance (financial terms, conditional aid. budget adjustment, etc.).
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The results are discussed of a survey conducted In the course of two electoral processes: in 1978 and in 1982. The differences are analyzed in the respondents' answers in relation to a series of dependent variables: knowledge, motivation, interest, willingness to accept the function of delegate, activity In electoral processes, perception of influence, perception of democracy, opinion on »closed lists«. The results show systematic differences in two groups of variables. With regard to the activity variable, the 1982 election involves a substantially greater participation of citizens and a greater readiness to accept the functions of delegate. In the perception and opinion variables, the year 1982 demonstrates a considerably higher degree of criticism, frustration and demand for the democratization of procedures. These differences are explained by higher political culture, on the one hand, and by the disproportion between Initial expectations when the system was inaugurated and its practical realisation, on the other, as well as by a generally stronger critical attitude and dissatisfaction caused by difficulties in socio-economic relations.
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An enquiry into the election of delegates to the assemblies of socio-political communities and of self-managing communities of interest was conducted by means of questionnaires. It covered 410 subjects. The nomination processes were defined as the crucial democratic element in the election of delegates. The main subjects of the enquiry were: the time of nomination of candidates, the actual initiators of nominations, the explanations given for proposing candidates, and some activities and assessments of delegates The results reveal differences in certain aspects of electoral activity depending on the type of electorate. Socio-political organizations exercise a greater influence on the election of delegates to communal assemblies than those delegated to the assemblies of self-managing communities of Interest. Delegations and the electorate propose most candidates for the chambers of local communities and for the chambers of the assemblies of self-managing communities of interest. Data on the delegates' activities indicate slighter interest and participation in electoral activities of delegates to the self-managing communities of interest. Comparative figures for the 1978 and 1982 elections reveal that delegates are less willing to undertake delegational functions and greater pessimism on their part in estimating the possibilities for effective work in the assemblies.
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Author deals with the problem of constructing national identity based on work of Jasna Čapo about researching of ethnic identity. He trays to speculate about ethnic and national values through three elements: constitution law, values in elections and value research in Belgium and Croatia.
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Declining trust is one of the central problems in modem politics. Trust declines in collective action arrangements. Trust is one of the "big questions," and "one of the normal obligations of political life." Embedded within it are fundamental issues of politics and democratic theory. In this article, I want to discuss which different conceptions of trust (and relations to democracy). The paper proceeds as follows. In the first part, the conceptual and theoretical definition of trust is given. In the second part it points to one of the basic division of trust which is present in the literature. Finally, in the third part, the relationship between trust and democracy is pointed out and appropriate argumentation is offered.
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The ideological reorientation and political reorganisation of the PKK has been a subject of debate. While some authors recognise that significant changes occurred within the PKK, others have dismissed the PKK’s transformation as a communication strategy and window-dressing. Based on interviews with key informants, this article reconstructs debates and developments within the party at the beginning of the 2000s. A main conclusion is that the transformation of the PKK was more than a reorientation involving organisational adjustment; it was no less than the development of a new mindset, one that involved the questioning of historically entrenched gender hierarchies and deeply held political axioms. In the process of this major change, the PKK lost a substantial number of long-time activists and cadres. Although at times it looked as if the movement might fall apart, the result was a transformation that gave the PKK a new impetus.
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This article analyses the information garboil caused by the politicization of disinformation and the term ‘fake news’, and interruptions in the flow of information during the 14th General Elections in Malaysia. It pays particular attention to the distortion of the information environment by politicians and political parties, the control of the media (traditional and new), and the mobilization of cyber troops and bots by political agents. The Anti-Fake News Act is central to the discussion as a law passed before and submitted for repeal after the elections. The article also looks into the subsidiary debate on foreign intervention and the supporting measures, such as cyber attacks and legal actions, that interrupted the information flow. An examination of these activities suggests a need for reform in the conduct of politicians and political parties, and of the media, as well as a closer look at other measures employed to disturb the information sphere. An evaluation of the problem and the introduction of a new approach are very timely, given the political changes the country is currently experiencing.
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This paper presents the results of a study on socio-economic and demographic factors that affect the intensity of right-wing radicals’ activity in the framework of the Russian-based social network VKontakte. Right-wing radical ideas expressed within the VKontakte network are most actively supported by the population of the regional centres (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Krai) and areas around these centres, which are defined as the semi-periphery in the core-periphery model. The intensity of the online activity of right-wing radicals is mostly influenced by demographic factors, including the average age of the population, the net migration rate coefficient; however, it is not affected by the indicators of economic well-being. The authors hypothesise that support for right-wing radical ideology on social media is determined not by the objective characteristics of the social and economic well-being of the population, but by subjective emotional factors (irritation, feelings of social injustice).
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The political reform movements materialized with the promulgation of the Republic were required to be passed on to a multi-party life on behalf of democracy but the fact that social and political environment was not ready for the current movements led to postpone this situation. The loss of importance of authoritarian regimes under the influence of the Second World War and the strengthening of the democracy discourse have led to the tendency of Turkish politics, which has experienced multi-party life twice, to take new steps on this phase. The third multiparty political life attempt took place by the establishment of National Development Party in 1945. However, this party, which was not well organized and stayed behind the scenes, has not been able to act like an opposition party. The lack of opposition party in Turkish politics in those years ended with the establishment of the Democrat Party, which was one of the important opposition parties that contribute to multi-party politics and democracy, and the raise of its power with the 1950 elections by taking consideration the political background of that period.
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The author deals with the peasant curia of the Gorizia Provincial Assembly in the period of parliamentarism in Austria (1861-1914). During this period eleven general elections were carried out. In the county of Gorizia the Slovenes were the majority population, while they were in minority in the Provincial Assembly. Up to 1907 the Slovenes had 10 delegates (6 in the peasant curia, 3 among the great landowners and 1 in the municipal curia), since 1907 however 14 delegates (3 in the common curia, 7 in peasant, 3 in the great landowners’ and 1 in the municipal curia). The delegates elected in the peasant curia are represented by name, their age, duration of their mandates, professional qualifications.
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In democratic states, scholars often attribute geographic divisions in elections to voter identity cleavages, such as ethnicity. A sizable literature examining the Ukrainian electoral geography in the same scheme has also reached the consensus that Ukrainian voters tend to cast their ballots based on their identities demarcated by a variety of factors, such as language, ethnicity, regionalism, etc. Yet much less scholarly attention has been devoted to the difference between elections in democracy and in autocracy. In autocracy, local elites disturb electoral processes with administrative resources, so ordinary people hardly vote on the basis of their own preferences due to threats posed by local elites. Therefore, unlike in democratic countries, local dynamics, proving coercive and capable of voter mobilization, have a strong influence on electoral results under authoritarian regimes. In such a context, rather than reporting the associations between electoral results and indicators measuring identities, it is necessary to take into account how regional political machines work to investigate the electoral geography.
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Cyber intervention, like its physical counterpart, could take various forms and reach varying degrees of intensity. It could be used to break into sensitive governmental and other critical websites with the purpose of interfering with governmental communications, manipulating key economic and financial activities, or planting malware designed to degrade or shut down essential governmental and other key services at a moment of the intervening State’s choosing.
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In March 2018, the presidential elections in Russia ended with an unchallenged victory of Vladimir Putin with 76.69% of votes and 67% of voter turnout. The main propaganda instrument that helped to increase his popularity was television, which had to show Putin as the only possible candidate and at the same time, decrease the percent of opposition`s support. To achieve these goals there were used interviews and presidential election debates, which were organized in a way to minimalize any voice of opposition in Russia. The work is based on qualitative analysis of TV content in two TV channels from November 2017 to March 2018. The aim is to show the mechanism of mass media, which was formed to use these elections in a favor of the current regime: from tidily selected candidates, who had to increase the magnetism of such an event, format of debates itself, to instruments of black PR which are present in every election campaign in Russia. The result of this article is the extension of knowledge about the functioning of the media system in the Russian Federation and the opening a discussion about the political-media relationship on the example of a chosen country.
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