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№036: Belarus Before the Elections: The Struggle to Maintain the Status Quo

Author(s): Anna Maria Dyner / Language(s): English

The campaign ahead of the elections to the Belarusian parliament, which are scheduled for September 23, shows the specific nature of its political system. The main factors that distinguish Belarus from democratic countries are the marginal importance of the parliament, concentration of power in the institution of the president, the almost invisible role of the opposition and a defective system of counting votes (such as early voting), which encourages fraud and manipulation of the results. At the same time, the authorities do everything possible to maintain the status quo in the country. Not only does that mean that no single oppositional candidate has a chance to get a mandate in parliament but also that Belarusian authorities will try to avoid implementing necessary reforms, such as liberalisation of the political system or privatisation of state-owned enterprises, because they are afraid of losing power.

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№034: Any Chance for Inclusive Intergovernmentalism? The Prospects for a Franco-Polish Partnership in the European Union

Author(s): Elżbieta Kaca,Krzysztof Soloch / Language(s): English

The uncertainty that is currently surrounding the EU’s political and economic future calls for new, innovative approaches to how European politics is handled. Perhaps crucially, the ongoing crisis has exposed divergences between the two most influential EU member states—France and Germany—thus creating a window of opportunity for cooperation in alignments that are either new, or which previously have not been tested in a meaningful way. The authors suggest than one of the possible avenues of cooperation would be an enhanced Franco-Polish partnership—a mutually beneficial arrangement that could provide much-needed leadership in select EU policy areas and contribute to strengthening the European project on the whole. While not necessarily a universal winning formula for the crisis-stricken EU, a closer, more focused Franco-Polish cooperation on the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the next Multiannual Financial Framework, or the future of European integration in general could serve as a testing ground for a more inclusive intergovernmental approach to EU policymaking.

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Общественото мнение за предоставянето на административни услуги в България, юни 2002 г.

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

The volume of the sample is N = 1170 (planned N = 1200). A random, two-stage, nesting sample of the adult population of Bulgaria was used. The sample was formed on the basis of polling stations and electoral rolls from the last parliamentary elections in June 2001 (total number of sections: 12797). In the first step, 150 sessions were selected with a probability proportional to the size of the polling stations. In the second step, 8 respondents were randomly selected in each nest.

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Aftermath of the Maidan. Ukrainian society two years after the revolution

Author(s): Tadeusz A. Olszański / Language(s): English

Two years after the Revolution of Dignity, it is clear that hopes of a quick reconstruction and modernisation of the Ukrainian state as a political and institutional system have not been fulfilled. The resistance of the bureaucrats, politicians and oligarchs who make up the informal, corrupt systems has proven to be very strong, and the will of part of the political elite and the EU and the United States to implement the procedures they have suggested has proved insufficient. If not for the war and the economic collapse, which forced Kyiv to seek external financial assistance and political support, the modernisation of the state would have proceeded even more slowly and with yet greater difficulty.

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A game played according to Lukashenka’s rules: the political opposition in Belarus

Author(s): Tomasz Bakunowicz / Language(s): English

The Belarusian opposition is currently experiencing its deepest crisis since Alyaksandr Lukashenka took power in 1994. Following many months of negotiations, opposition leaders failed to select a joint candidate for the presidential election scheduled for 11th October. The failure of this latest round of talks has proven that not only is the opposition unlikely to threaten Lukashenka’s rule; it will not even be able to demonstrate to society that it could provide a genuine alternative to the present government.The presidential election in 2010 was a painful landmark for the opposition. The repression that accompanied the election has largely weakened political circles opposed to the government. Against this backdrop, the traditional internal problems of the opposition have worsened, such as its incapacity to reach agreement and develop a common, coherent operational strategy, the excessive ambitions of the leaders of particular groups, the low level of political maturity, mutual distrust and frequent personal conflicts. As a result the opposition has for years been unable to gain confidence in society and reach beyond the limited number (20%) of staunch proponents of democratic transformations. Given the fact that the Belarusian opposition is fragmented and lacks one clear leader, the readiness to support individual leaders does not exceed several per cent, according to independent surveys. Lukashenka’s present political opponents rather resemble a group of dissidents, than constitute a genuine opposition to the government. The crisis and helplessness of opposition circles are more acute given Belarus’s internal situation since for the first time Alyaksandr Lukashenka will run his presidential campaign in the context of the economic crisis and a forecasted fall in GDP.

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Report: V4 Trade and FDI Observer No 2

Author(s): Erich Kříž,Katalin Antaloczy,Magdolna Sass,Patryk Toporowski,Karol Frank / Language(s): English

The Polish Institute of International Affairs recommends you the report: V4 Trade and FDI Observer: Panorama of Automotive Industry prepared under the project: V4 Trade and FDI Observer, financed by the International Visegrad Fund. PISM was represented in this project by Patryk Toporowski, PISM analyst, who was responsible in substance for a section on Poland.The report is the result of work of the small team of experts from the Visegrad Group countries: the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Editor of the whole document is Tamás Szemler (ICEG European Centre). The aim of the report is the analysis of current trade and foreign direct investments in the automotive industry.

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Towards a V4 Position on the Future of Europe

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

On 19 October 2012, representatives from the four Visegrad countries met in Warsaw, at PISM, to discuss national approaches to the current sovereign debt crisis and the EU’s increasing use of differentiated integration. The goal was to explore the potential of a joint response to hazards that might sideline the Four in EU affairs. The present report picks up on the issues discussed there, with contributions from Janusz Gąciarz, Radovan Kavický, David Král, László Sinka, Rafał Trzaskowski. By identifying much potential for future cooperation, the report, edited by Agata Gostyńska and Roderick Parkes, draws recommendations for the Visegrad Group that can ultimately result in their upgraded cooperation on the EU arena.

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Beijing’s mistaken offer: the ‘16+1’ and China’s policy towards the European Union

Author(s): Jakub Jakóbowski,Marcin Kaczmarski / Language(s): English

Despite China’s growing political and economic involvement in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Beijing has not succeeded in making an attractive offer to the region’s EU member states – who make up the majority of the participants in the ‘16+1’ format. The financing model proposed by China, based on loans and favouritism towards Chinese companies, has proved to be unsuitable to local conditions. Therefore, the much-discussed infrastructure cooperation has not even started. Consequently, Beijing has failed to obtain the political tools which could have weakened policy coherence at the European level, or even divided the EU. In this context, the allegations appearing in the public debate that the countries of the ‘16+1’ have been fostering divisions within the EU seem to be substantially incorrect. As long as Central and Eastern Europe remains capable of pursuing its economic and developmental interests within the architecture of the European Union, the political risks coming from China’s capital inflow will remain limited. At the same time, the EU has room to facilitate constructive economic relationships between China and the Central European region. For example, it could reduce Beijing’s political pressure on CEE to use the specific, Chinese model for financing and building infrastructure. Cooperation at the EU level could also help to adapt the Chinese offer to the European business and regulatory environment.

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Ljudska prava i interspolne osobe

Author(s): / Language(s): Bosnian

Binarne klasifikacije spola i roda sveprisutne su u našem društvu i utiču na to kako razumijevamo i organiziramo svijet oko nas. Klasifikacija čovječanstva u dvije kategorije – Ž (žensko) i M (muško) – kao i njihova utemeljenost u identifikacijskim dokumentima izlaže kršenju ljudskih prava osobe koje se ne uklapaju u potpunosti u te dvije kategorije. Među njima su interspolne osobe posebno ranjive. Stereotipi koji se vezuju za navodnu dihotomiju roda, kao i za medicinske norme takozvanih ženskih i muških tijela, omogućili su prakticiranje rutinskih medicinskih i hirurških intervencija na interspolnim osobama, čak i kada su takve intervencije kozmetičke, a ne medicinski potrebne ili u slučajevima kada o njima dotične osobe nisu konsultirane niti informirane.Tajnovitost i stid koji se vezuju za interspolna tijela omogućili su da se te prakse odvijaju decenijama, dok se istovremeno problematika ljudskih prava uglavnom nije ni razmatrala. Evropsko društvo do dana današnjeg ostaje u velikoj mjeri nesvjesno stvarnosti koju žive interspolne osobe. Ipak, kroz pionirski rad sve većeg broja interspolnih grupa i pojedinačnih aktivistkinja i aktivista, ljudskopravaške zajednice i međunarodne organizacije postaju sve više svjesne ove situacije i nastoje se suočiti s tom problematikom pozivajući se na standarde ljudskih prava. U maju 2014. godine, Komesar za ljudska prava objavio je Komentar na ljudska prava pod nazivom “Dječak ili djevojčica ili osoba – interspolne osobe nepriznate u Evropi”, u kojem su naglašeni problemi u vezi sa ljudskim pravima s kojima se suočavaju interspolne osobe. Ova tematska publikacija daje detaljnije upute i sadrži preporuke Komesara u cilju rješavanja ove problematike. Publikacija ima svrhu da informira vlasti i praktičare o trenutnim etičkim razmatranjima i ljudskim pravima u ovom smislu, kao i o najboljim globalnim praksama. Prije izrade ovog dokumenta, obavljene su konsultacije sa aktivistkinjama i aktivistima za interspolna prava i medicinskim stručnjacima i stručnjakinjama. Poduzeto je već nekoliko pozitivnih koraka ka razumijevanju situacije u kojoj se nalaze interspolne osobe i u reagiranju na njihove probleme. Nedavno usvajanje međuresorne izjave Ujedinjenih nacija (UN) o sterilizaciji koja tretira i kršenje tjelesnog integriteta interspolnih osoba predstavlja prekretnicu u kombiniranju medicinskog i ljudskopravaškog pristupa. Objavljivanjem izvještaja o interspolnim osobama koji su pripremila nacionalna vijeća za medicinsku etiku povećana je svijest o problemima sa kojima se te osobe suočavaju. Poduzete su i korisne inicijative za zaštitu interspolnih osoba od diskriminacije kroz reforme zakonodavstva koje se odnosi na jednako postupanje. Postoji urgentna potreba za daljnjim napretkom da bi se poboljšala situacija po pitanju ostvarivanja ljudskih prava interspolnih osoba. Ova tematska publikacija ima cilj da potakne razvoj okvira djelovanja sugerirajući dvotračni pristup. S jedne strane, poziva zemlje članice da ukinu medicinski nepotreban tretman “normalizacije” interspolnih osoba kada se on provodi ili propisuje bez slobodnog i potpuno informiranog pristanka dotične osobe. S druge strane, publikacija predstavlja moguće naredne korake u smislu zaštite interspolnih osoba od diskriminacije, adekvatnog priznavanja njihovog spola u zvaničnim dokumentima i pristupa pravdi.

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