Author: Florian Bieber Publisher: ISBN: 9783030221508 Category : Democracy Languages : en Pages : 155
Book Description
This book explores the stagnation of democracy in the Western Balkans over the last decade. The author maps regional features of rising authoritarianism that mirror larger global trends and, in doing so, outlines the core mechanisms of authoritarian rule in the Balkans, with a particular focus on Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. These mechanisms include the creation of constant crises, the use of external powers to balance outside influences, as well as state capture. The authoritarian patterns exist alongside formal democratic institutions, resulting in competitive authoritarian regimes that use social polarization to retain power. As the countries of the Western Balkans aspire, at least formally, to join the European Union, authoritarianism is often informal. Florian Bieber is Professor for Southeast European History and Politics and Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. He coordinates the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and has been a visiting professor and fellow at Cornell, NYU, Central European University, and LSE.--
Author: Florian Bieber Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 3030221490 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 169
Book Description
This book explores the stagnation of democracy in the Western Balkans over the last decade. The author maps regional features of rising authoritarianism that mirror larger global trends and, in doing so, outlines the core mechanisms of authoritarian rule in the Balkans, with a particular focus on Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. These mechanisms include the creation of constant crises, the use of external powers to balance outside influences, as well as state capture. The authoritarian patterns exist alongside formal democratic institutions, resulting in competitive authoritarian regimes that use social polarization to retain power. As the countries of the Western Balkans aspire, at least formally, to join the European Union, authoritarianism is often informal.
Author: Jasmin Mujanović Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0190877391 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 243
Book Description
Less than two decades after the Yugoslav Wars ended, the edifice of parliamentary government in the Western Balkans is crumbling. This collapse sets into sharp relief the unreformed authoritarian tendencies of the region's entrenched elites, many of whom have held power since the early 1990s, and the hollowness of the West's "democratization" agenda. There is a widely held assumption that institutional collapse will precipitate a new bout of ethnic conflict, but Mujanovic argues instead that the Balkans are on the cusp of a historic socio-political transformation. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, with a unique focus on local activist accounts, he argues that a period of genuine democratic transition is finally dawning, led by grassroots social movements, from Zagreb to Skopje. Rather than pursuing ethnic strife, these new Balkan revolutionaries are confronting the "ethnic entrepreneurs" cemented in power by the West in its efforts to stabilise the region since the mid-1990s. This compellingly argued book harnesses the explanatory power of the striking graffiti scrawled on the walls of the ransacked Bosnian presidency during violent anti-government protests in 2014: 'if you sow hunger, you will reap fury'.
Author: Damir Kapidžić Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000460746 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 248
Book Description
The world is increasingly becoming less democratic and this trend has not left Southeast Europe untouched. But instead of democratic breakdown what we are witnessing is a gradual decline and the rise of competitive authoritarian regimes. This book aims to give a country-by-country overview of how illiberal politics has led to a decline in democracy and the re-emergence of autocratic governance in Southeast Europe, more specifically in the Western Balkans. It defines illiberal politics as the everyday practices through which ruling parties undermine democratic institutions in order to remain in power. Individual chapters examine recent political developments and identify practices of illiberal politics that target electoral institutions, rule of law, media freedom, judicial independence, and enable political patronage, while several thematic chapters comparatively explore cross-regional patterns. This book addresses academics, policymakers, and practitioners with professional interest in Southeast Europe or democratic decline and is both timely and relevant as the European Union attempts to reengage with the countries of the Western Balkans. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
Author: Florian Bieber Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 0429516495 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 265
Book Description
This book provides a detailed understanding of how different types of engagements impact upon the reform and EU integration of the Western Balkan region. It examines the influence of Russia, China, Turkey and the UAE in the region and analyses the range of existing links. Contributors offer an academic and multifaceted perspective of the role of external and non-Western actors in the region that goes beyond, on the one hand, the tendency of some Western decision makers to perceive all engagement by third powers as a sinister threat and, on the other, the view of regional governments of all external involvement as a boon coming at a time of Western neglect and reduced foreign investments. By looking at the importance of Russia, Turkey, China and the UAE in the Western Balkans, the book sheds light on one key arena of global competition, offers new insights on the strengths and weaknesses of Euro–Atlantic integration and advances our knowledge of foreign policy and its economic, social and security dimensions for small and medium-sized countries. It will be of interest to academics, postgraduate and research students, and think-tankers with research interest in IR and Southeast European Studies. European decision makers will also gain an insight into the extent of non-Western influence in the region.
Author: Steven Levitsky Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1139491482 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of state and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition challenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumbents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized.
Author: Jelena Džankić Publisher: Springer ISBN: 331991412X Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 262
Book Description
This volume casts a fresh look on how the political spaces of the Western Balkan states (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania) are shaped, governed and transformed during the EU accession process. The contributors argue that EU conditionality in the Western Balkans does not work ‘effectively’ in terms of social change because rule transfer remains a ‘contested’ business, due to veto-players on the ground and strong legacies of the past. The volume examines specific policy areas, salient in the enlargement process and to a different degree incorporated in the accession criteria, as well as EU foreign policy in the spheres of post-conflict stabilisation, democratization and the rule of law promotion.
Author: Gary Wiener Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC ISBN: 1534505652 Category : Young Adult Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
Due to factors such as income inequality and multiculturalism, liberal democracies have weakened considerably in the last quarter century. Democratic ideals have retreated in Venezuela, the Philippines, Hungary, Russia, and Poland. Many worry that they're on the decline in such bastions of democracy as western Europe and the United States, where fear and distrust of the status quo has opened the door to authoritarian leaders. Is there any hope of getting back to the prosperity and freedom of the mid-twentieth century? The viewpoints in this enlightening resource tackle this complex topic from a broad range of perspectives.
Author: Marina Lukšič Hacin Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1527527360 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 295
Book Description
This volume addresses the mass arrival of migrants and refugees in Europe in 2015 and 2016, and the crisis of response that unfolded across the continent. The chapters critically discuss this crisis and help the reader to understand why the refugees and migrants fled, what kind of response they faced and what was wrong with the reactions of the states. Despite the fact that all the authors are based in Slovenia, the volume transcends this particular state and covers theoretical and practical aspects of the crisis which are not geographically limited to only one country or region. It addresses a variety of audiences, such as students, researchers, sociologists, political scientists, lawyers, geographers and philosophers, and will appeal to those who seek to understand forced migration and refugee protection, states’ responses to migration and asylum seekers, and the rise of hate speech, racism, xenophobia and authoritarianism in Europe.
Author: Florian Bieber
Author: Florian Bieber
Author: Jasmin Mujanović
Author: Damir Kapidžić
Author: Florian Bieber
Author: Steven Levitsky
Author: Jelena Džankić
Author: Valerie Bunce
Author: Gary Wiener
Author: Marina Lukšič Hacin