Category Archives: Democracy

Uncorking democracy

Posted on 10 July 2012 by

Like a good wine or an old cheese, comparative research on democratisation is often described as a ‘mature’ academic literature and, as such, one that can lay claim to have accumulated some real knowledge about one of the central trends … Continue reading →

Posted in Book review, Democracy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Reykjavík diary

Posted on 29 August 2011 by

The  decision of the European Consortium for Political Research to stage its biennial (soon to annual) General Conference in Reykjavík has resulted in one of the biggest such events ever, with some 2000 political scientists temporarily boosting the Icelandic capital’s … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Democracy, economic crisis, Iceland, political parties, political science | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Czech dictator in the wings? Well, you’re the expert

Posted on 9 August 2011 by

Today’s daily Final Word commentary from Prague-based Fleet Sheet English news briefing service for the Czech Republic offers  a vision of the political future, which is either darkly paranoid or very tongue-in-cheek: ” For at least 40years, the West has … Continue reading →

Posted in Czech Republic, Democracy | Leave a comment

>The quality of governance is not strained

Posted on 24 March 2011 by

> Prof. Bo Rothstein of Gothenburg’s University’s Quality of Government Institute  is a supporter of the Glorious Blues. Not Chelsea, but sixteen times Swedish champions FF Malmo. His presentation to SSEES’s politics centred on Anti-Corruption Indirect Big Bang Approach  was, … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Democracy, institutions, political science, ssees, Sweden | Leave a comment

>The EU: Viable or friable?

Posted on 22 August 2010 by

> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} I should know better. I should only, only read books that generate … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Democracy, EU politics, political science, US politics | Leave a comment

>Post-communist democratization: Is your name.. Rumpelputin?

Posted on 15 August 2010 by

> Late at night I’ve been sitting up reading: reading Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Postcommunist World (Cambridge University Press) edited high-powered US specialists on communism and post-communism. McFaul is now a senior advisor to the Obama presidency at the … Continue reading →

Posted in communism and post-communism, Democracy, political science | Leave a comment

>CEE: A democracy of no qualities?

Posted on 1 March 2010 by

> Notions of ‘democratic quality’ have become increasingly widespread over the past decade in the study of both new and established democracies. However, Andrew Roberts notes in his excellent new book The Quality of Democracy in Eastern Europe (Cambridge University … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, political parties, political science | 1 Comment

>Political consequences of the economic crisis in Eastern Europe

Posted on 23 April 2009 by

> And for those who can face more writing by me, there’s a short piece in Chatham House’s World Today magazine on the possible political consequences of the global economic crisis in Central and Eastern Europe. Journalists and economists were … Continue reading →

Posted in communism and post-communism, Democracy, economic crisis, political science | Leave a comment

>Too many cooks don’t spoil political broth, say Israeli leaders

Posted on 27 December 2008 by

> Another interesting article in the Jerusalem Post, this time about arguments from the country’s politicians, that, contrary to received opinion, the proliferation of small, short-lived, single-issue/interested based parties in Israel is good for democracy

Posted in Democracy, Israel, political parties | Leave a comment

>Lithuania: I’m a celebrity, get me into there (parliament, that is)

Posted on 13 October 2008 by

> Early results from Lithuania’s parliamentary election provide further, and rather depressing, confirmation of my SSEES colleague Allan Sikk’s work about the the emergence of some party systems in in Baltic and beyond, as a whirlygig of loosely populist parties … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Lithuania | Leave a comment