Building a Trustworthy State in Post-Socialist Transition PDF Download

Author: J. Kornai
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1403981108
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Building a Trustworthy State in Post-Socialist Transition considers the problems and prospects for creating trustworthy and reliable public institutions in the aftermath of the transition from socialism in Central and Eastern Europe. The volume draws on the experience of those who have lived through and studied the transition and contrasts their insights with those of generalist scholars who study government accountability and democracy. The contributions originated in the Collegium Budapest project on Honesty and Trust: Theory and Experience in the Light of the Post-Socialist Transition, organized by János Kornai and Susan Rose-Ackerman. A second volume entitled, Creating Social Trust in Post-Socialist Transition , is being published simultaneously.

Author: J. Kornai
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1403980667
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Beneficial social and economic exchange relies on a certain level of trust. But trust is a delicate matter, not least in the former socialist countries where illegitimate behaviour by governments made distrust a habit. The chapters in this volume analyze the causes and the effects of the lack of social trust in post-socialist countries. The contributions originated in the Collegium Budapest project on Honesty and Trust: Theory and Experience in the Light of the Post-Socialist Transition. A second volume entitled, Building a Trustworthy State in Post-Socialist Transition , is being published simultaneously.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781403935991
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Author: Matthew Hoddie
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226351254
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Among the more frequent and most devastating of conflicts, civil wars—from Yugoslavia to Congo—frequently reignite and even spill over into the international sphere. Given the inherent fragility of civil war peace agreements, innovative approaches must be taken to ensure the successful resolution of these conflicts. Strengthening Peace in Post–Civil War States provides both analytical frameworks and a series of critical case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of a range of strategies for keeping the peace. Coeditors Matthew Hoddie and Caroline A. Hartzell here contend that lasting peace relies on aligning the self-interest of individuals and communities with the society-wide goal of ending war; if citizens and groups have a stake in peace, they will seek to maintain and defend it. The rest of the contributors explore two complementary approaches toward achieving this goal: restructuring domestic institutions and soft intervention. Some essays examine the first tactic, which involves reforming governments that failed to prevent war, while others discuss the second, an umbrella term for a number of non-military strategies for outside actors to assist in keeping the peace.

Author: Elaine Byrne
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1847798020
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
This book empirically maps the decline in standards since the inauguration of Irish independence in 1922, to the loss of Irish economic sovereignty in 2010. It argues that the definition of corruption is an evolving one. As the nature of the state changes, so too does the type of corruption. New evidence is presented on the early institutional development of the state. Irish public life was motivated by an ethos which rejected patronage. Original research provides fresh insights into how the policies of economic protectionalism and discretionary decision making led to eight Tribunal inquires. The emergence of state capture within political decision making is examined by analysing political favouritism towards the beef industry. The degree to which unorthodox links between political donations impacted on policy choices which exacerbated the depth of Ireland’s economic collapse is considered. This book will appeal to students and scholars of Irish politics, corruption theory, governance, public policy and political financing.

Author: Valerie Møller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402085699
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The new millennium is widely considered to be the age of globalisation, democratisation, and human rights. We live in a knowledge society and in a time of risk and uncertainty. World society is rapidly urbanising and ageing and exhausting its natural resources. It is the interplay of such key trends of the era that calls for a fresh approach to measuring quality of life. This collection of papers presents an innovative approach to evaluating living standards and wellbeing under the new circumstances facing individuals and societies in twenty-first century. Contributions cover a wide range of issues that impact positively and negatively on wellbeing in our age. While stability, trust, equal access to resources and the social integration of disadvantaged members of society enhance well-being, poverty, social exclusion, congestion in cities, HIV/AIDS and global warming pose threats to both modern and traditional lifestyles. Methodological refinements of conventional measurement tools are presented that take into consideration the rich diversity of lifestyles and values among different populations and regions of the world. This book will be essential reading for social scientists and ordinary citizens who are concerned about the future of human well-being on our planet.

Author: Alina Mungiu-Pippidi
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1786439158
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Why have so few countries managed to leave systematic corruption behind, while in many others modernization is still a mere façade? How do we escape the trap of corruption, to reach a governance system based on ethical universalism? In this unique book, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi and Michael Johnston lead a team of eminent researchers on an illuminating path towards deconstructing the few virtuous circles in contemporary governance. The book combines a solid theoretical framework with quantitative evidence and case studies from around the world. While extracting lessons to be learned from the success cases covered, Transitions to Good Governance avoids being prescriptive and successfully contributes to the understanding of virtuous circles in contemporary good governance.

Author: Louise Shelley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134206895
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Georgia is one of the most corrupt and crime-ridden nations of the former Soviet Union. In the Soviet period, Georgians played a major role in organized crime groups and the shadow economy operating throughout the Soviet Union, and in the post-Soviet period, Georgia continues to be important source of international crime and corruption. Important changes have been made since the Rose Revolution in Georgia to address the organized crime and pervasive corruption. This book, based on extensive original research, surveys the most enduring aspects of organized crime and corruption in Georgia and the most important reforms since the Rose Revolution. Endemic crime and corruption had a devastating effect on government and everyday life in Georgia, spurring widespread popular discontent that culminated with the Rose Revolution in 2003. Some of the hopes of the Rose Revolution have been realized, though major challenges lie ahead as Georgia confronts deep-seated crime and corruption issues that will remain central to political, economic, and social life in the years to come.

Author: Eva-Clarita Pettai
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317979702
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Memories, both in individual and collective form, still have a significant impact on how people relate to political processes in Europe today. While much has been written about top-down attempts by states and political actors to mould people’s memories of the past through public commemoration, textbooks or monuments, this volume takes a view from below by focusing on different types of societal actors and the ways in which they interact with the political world in order to influence collective memory. Presented within a comprehensive conceptual framework, the empirical cases focus on three countries of the former Soviet Union: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They show that different or even antagonistic perceptions of the recent past not only appear between different ethnic groups, but also between socio-economic groups, different age groups or generations as well as between women and men. Moreover, they give an impressive account on the multiple ways in which these perceptions empower individuals and groups to seek greater influence in the construction of collective memory. The volume, therefore, not only provides a valuable and fresh perspective on the relationship between social memory and democratic politics, but also contributes to post-Communist regional studies in the enlarged European Union. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Baltic Studies.

Author: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857735861
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description
Georgia emerged from the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991 with the promise of swift economic and democratic reform. But that promise remains unfulfilled. Economic collapse, secessionist challenges, civil war and the failure to escape the legacy of Soviet rule - culminating in the 2008 war with Russia - made the transition to democratic institutions and consolidated statehood a difficult struggle that has lasted over two decades. In 1991, fifteen new states emerged from the disintegrating Soviet Union. To Western observers, Georgia was one of the most promising republics for achieving swift economic and democratic reform. Instead, the country descended into civil war and a period of populist authoritarianism. Within a year of its declaration of independence, Georgia was a 'failed state' on the verge of dissolution. Former Soviet foreign minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, returned as the president of the newly independent state in order to restore and rebuild, but over the next decade the country slipped into a period of political stagnation and corruption. Enraged by the country's decline, a group of rebellious young politicians, subsequently dubbed the 'Rose Revolutionaries', ousted Shevardnadze in 2003, promising clean government, democracy and effective institutions. However, the Georgian opposition claims that, in seven years of power, the Rose Revolutionaries have failed to deliver their domestic promises. Jones' examination of more than two decades of Georgian political struggle for independence and democracy is a chronicle and analysis of the hopes and disappointments of Georgia's aspiring democracy builders. Focusing on the domestic challenges to democracy and state-building faced by an impoverished and complex multinational state, his book examines the workings of government, popular interaction with the state, and the emergence of new social groups. As the war with Russia in August 2008 merely highlighted Georgia's continuing vulnerability to external forces and geopolitical rivalries, Jones also examines the events of the war and its implications for international law and Russia's relations with Europe and the US. An authoritative and commanding exploration of Georgia since independence, Stephen Jones' critical analysis of Georgia's political and economic development is essential for those interested in the post-Soviet world.