Unpacking Party Unity: the Combined Effects of Electoral Systems And
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Fundamental Law of Hungary (As in Force on 29 June 2018) This Document Has Been Produced for Informational Purposes Only
The Fundamental Law of Hungary (as in force on 29 June 2018) This document has been produced for informational purposes only. THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF HUNGARY English translation of the consolidated version of the Fundamental Law of Hungary incorporating: - the First Amendment to the Fundamental Law, - the Second Amendment to the Fundamental Law, - the Third Amendment to the Fundamental Law, - the Fourth Amendment to the Fundamental Law, - the Fifth Amendment to the Fundamental Law, - the Sixth Amendment to the Fundamental Law, - the Seventh Amendment to the Fundamental Law, as in force on 29 June 2018 Ministry of Justice 2017 (contact: [email protected]) 1 The Fundamental Law of Hungary (as in force on 29 June 2018) This document has been produced for informational purposes only. The Fundamental Law of Hungary (25 April 2011) God bless the Hungarians NATIONAL AVOWAL WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE HUNGARIAN NATION, at the beginning of the new millennium, with a sense of responsibility for every Hungarian, hereby proclaim the following: We are proud that our king Saint Stephen built the Hungarian State on solid ground and made our country a part of Christian Europe one thousand years ago. We are proud of our forebears who fought for the survival, freedom and independence of our country. We are proud of the outstanding intellectual achievements of the Hungarian people. We are proud that our nation has over the centuries defended Europe in a series of struggles and enriched Europe’s common values with its talent and diligence. We recognise the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood. -
Activities on the 2017 Elections Commune Sangkat
Committee For Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) #138, Str 122 Teuk Laak 1, Toulkork, Phnom Penh xumE®hVl Box: 1145 COMFREL Tel: 023 884 150 Fax:023 885 745 Email [email protected], [email protected] Website www.comfrel.org Final Assessment and Report on the 2017 Commune Council Elections Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. 7 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Principal Findings .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 What Others Say ........................................................................................................................... 17 2.3 Overall Assessment ...................................................................................................................... 19 3. Political Environment ......................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Unilateral legislative changes contrary -
Download File
Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Human Rights Studies Master of Arts Program Silencing “Breaking the Silence”: The Israeli government’s agenda respecting human rights NGOs activism since 2009 Ido Dembin Thesis Adviser: Prof. Yinon Cohen Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 12 September, 2018 Abstract This research examines a key aspect in the deterioration of Israeli democracy between 2009-2018. Mainly, it looks at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Right-wing governments utilization of legislative procedure to limit the right to free speech. The aspects of the right to free speech discussed here pertain to dissenting and critical activism against these government’s policies. The suppression of said right is manifested in the marginalization, delegitimization and ultimately silencing of its expression in Human Rights NGOs activism. To demonstrate this, the research presents a case study of one such NGO – “Breaking the Silence” – and the legal and political actions designed to cause its eventual ousting from mainstream Israeli discourse. The research focuses on the importance and uniqueness of this NGO, as well as the ways in which the government perceives and acts against it. First, it analyzes the NGO’s history, modus operandi and goals, emphasizing the uniqueness that makes it a particularly fascinating case. Then, it researches the government’s specific interest in crippling and limiting its influence. Finally, it highlights the government’s toolbox and utilization thereof against it. By shining a light on this case, the research seeks to show the process of watering down of a fundamental right within Israeli democracy – which is instrumental to understanding the state’s risk of decline towards illiberal democracy. -
The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics
MORRIS P. FIORINA The Decline of Collective Responsibility inAmerican Politics the founding fathers a Though believed in the necessity of establishing gen to one uinely national government, they took great pains design that could not to lightly do things its citizens; what government might do for its citizens was to be limited to the functions of what we know now as the "watchman state." Thus the Founders composed the constitutional litany familiar to every schoolchild: a they created federal system, they distributed and blended powers within and across the federal levels, and they encouraged the occupants of the various posi tions to check and balance each other by structuring incentives so that one of to ficeholder's ambitions would be likely conflict with others'. The resulting system of institutional arrangements predictably hampers efforts to undertake initiatives and favors maintenance of the status major quo. Given the historical record faced by the Founders, their emphasis on con we a straining government is understandable. But face later historical record, one two that shows hundred years of increasing demands for government to act positively. Moreover, developments unforeseen by the Founders increasingly raise the likelihood that the uncoordinated actions of individuals and groups will inflict serious on the nation as a whole. The of the damage by-products industri not on on al and technological revolutions impose physical risks only us, but future as well. Resource and international cartels raise the generations shortages spectre of economic ruin. And the simple proliferation of special interests with their intense, particularistic demands threatens to render us politically in capable of taking actions that might either advance the state of society or pre vent foreseeable deteriorations in that state. -
The Political Context of Eu Accession in Hungary
European Programme November 2002 THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF EU ACCESSION IN HUNGARY Agnes Batory Introduction For the second time since the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty – seen by many as a watershed in the history of European integration – the European Union (EU) is set to expand. Unlike in 1995, when the group joining the Union consisted of wealthy, established liberal democracies, ten of the current applicants are post-communist countries which recently completed, or are still in various stages of completing, democratic transitions and large-scale economic reconstruction. It is envisaged that the candidates furthest ahead will become members in time for their citizens to participate in the next elections to the European Parliament due in June 2004. The challenge the absorption of the central and east European countries represents for the Union has triggered a need for internal institutional reform and new thinking among the policy-makers of the existing member states. However, despite the imminence of the ‘changeover’ to a considerably larger and more heterogeneous Union, the domestic profiles of the accession countries have remained relatively little known from the west European perspective. In particular, the implications of enlargement in terms of the attitudes and preferences of the new (or soon to be) players are still, to a great extent, unclear. How will they view their rights and obligations as EU members? How committed will they be to the implementation of the acquis communautaire? In what way will they fill formal rules with practical content? BRIEFING PAPER 2 THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF EU ACCESSION IN HUNGARY Naturally, the answers to these questions can only government under the premiership of Miklós Németh be tentative at this stage. -
Download Article
5 Comment & Analysis CE JISS 2008 Czech Presidential Elections: A Commentary Petr Just Again after fi ve years, the attention of the Czech public and politicians was focused on the Presidential elections, one of the most important milestones of 2008 in terms of Czech political developments. The outcome of the last elections in 2003 was a little surprising as the candidate of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Václav Klaus, represented the opposition party without the necessary majority in both houses of Parliament. Instead, the ruling coalition of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), the Christian-Democratic Union – Czecho- slovak Peoples Party (KDU-ČSL), and the Union of Freedom – Democratic Union (US-DEU), accompanied by some independent and small party Senators was able – just mathematically – to elect its own candidate. However, a split in the major coalition party ČSSD, and support given to Klaus by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), brought the Honorary Chairman of the ODS, Václav Klaus, to the Presidential offi ce. In February 2007, on the day of the forth anniversary of his fi rst elec- tion, Klaus announced that he would seek reelection in 2008. His party, the ODS, later formally approved his nomination and fi led his candidacy later in 2007. Klaus succeeded in his reelection attempt, but the way to defending the Presidency was long and complicated. In 2003 members of both houses of Parliament, who – according to the Constitution of the Czech Republic – elect the President at the Joint Session, had to meet three times before they elected the President, and each attempt took three rounds. -
Coalition Formation and the Regime Divide in Central Europe
Program on Central & Eastern Europe Working Paper Series #52, j\Tovember 1999 Coalition Formation and the Regime Divide in Central Europe Anna Grzymala-Busse· Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Harvard University Cambridge, lvlA 02138 Abstract The study examines the formation of coalitions in East Central Europe after the democratic transi tions of 1989. Existing explanations of coalition formations, which focus on either office-seeking and minimum wmning considerations, or on policy-seeking and spatial ideological convergence. However, they fail to account for the coalition patterns in the new democracies of East Central Europe. Instead, these parties' flrst goal is to develop clear and consistent reputations. To that end, they will form coalitions exclusively within the two camps of the regime divide: that is, amongst par ties stemming from the former communist parties, and those with roots in the former opposition to the communist regimes. The two corollaries are that defectors are punished at unusually high rates, and the communist party successors seek, rather than are sought for, coalitions. This model explains 85% of the coalitions that formed in the region after 1989. The study then examines the communist successor parties, and how their efforts illustrate these dynamics . • I would like to thank Grzegorz Ekiert, Gary King, Kenneth Shepsle, Michael Tomz, and the participants ofthe Faculty Workshop at Yale University for their helpful comments. 2 I. Introduction The patterns of coalition fonnation in East Central Europe are as diverse as they are puzzling. Since the ability to fonn stable governing coalitions is a basic precondition of effective democratic governance in multi-party parliamentary systems, several explanations have emerged of how political parties fonn such coalitions. -
On Great Hungary and the Importance of Minor Geopolitical Traditions
On Great Hungary and the importance of minor geopolitical traditions Marco Antonsich Department of Geography Loughborough University Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU United Kingdom EMAIL: [email protected] Kinga Szalkai Corvinus University of Budapest Doctoral School of International Relations 8 F ővám tér Budapest, 1093 Hungary EMAIL: [email protected] It’s a Monday morning of a hot summer day in Budapest. A well-dressed, old lady climbs the stairs of the Trolley Bus 75, in the centre of Pest. She sits besides another woman, also well-dressed, in her early forties. A polite conversation starts about the hot weather and the catastrophes that it causes. When the younger lady observes that Hungary, in general, has very favourable climate conditions, her interlocutor abruptly replies: “Yes, this is why so many nations envy us!” 1 “Why, is it because we recovered from so many tragedies and catastrophes?” “No, I mean Hungary has always been attacked because our forefather Árpád had a perfect choice with this country. This is why Hungary fought through so many centuries, and this is why many people died and Hungary got divided. This beautiful huge country, just imagine how beautiful it was! [and then] Trianon came” “Mmmmm, mmmm” “And this country is a total disaster since then! They took away what they could […]” More than ninety years have passed since the Treaty of Trianon (1920), which left Hungary with less than a third of its original territory and about 3.3 million ethnic Hungarians living in the neighbouring countries of then Romania, Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. -
Far from Stability: the Post-Election Landscape in Bulgaria Dariusz Kałan
No. 50 (503), 15 May 2013 © PISM Editors: Marcin Zaborowski (Editor-in-Chief) . Katarzyna Staniewska (Managing Editor) Jarosław Ćwiek-Karpowicz . Artur Gradziuk . Piotr Kościński Roderick Parkes . Marcin Terlikowski . Beata Wojna Far from Stability: The Post-Election Landscape in Bulgaria Dariusz Kałan Early parliamentary elections not only will not help restore political stability in Bulgaria but also could further deepen the chaos because of the high dispersion of votes and the expected difficulties with creating a coalition. For a country immersed in crisis, maintaining the post-election stalemate is particularly not beneficial because of the deteriorating economic situation and growing public pressure. Regardless of which party will return to power, one should not expect a significant improvement in Bulgaria’s image in the EU or a positive settlement of the most important issues, including the country’s rapid accession to the Schengen area. Although the winner of the early parliamentary elections of 12 May was the centre-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB, 30% of votes), for all four parties that exceeded the 4% electoral threshold, the results can be seen as satisfactory. GERB, the ruling party in 2009–2013, won for the second time in a row during unfavourable economic and social situations. The similar support for the Bulgarian Socialist Party (27%), which received more than 600,000 additional votes than in 2009, is because of the mobilisation of its permanent electorate and generational changes in the party. Also, for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (11%), which represents the Turkish minority, and the nationalist Attack party (7%), the results are a confirmation of their stable positions on the political scene. -
WHY COMPETITION in the POLITICS INDUSTRY IS FAILING AMERICA a Strategy for Reinvigorating Our Democracy
SEPTEMBER 2017 WHY COMPETITION IN THE POLITICS INDUSTRY IS FAILING AMERICA A strategy for reinvigorating our democracy Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter ABOUT THE AUTHORS Katherine M. Gehl, a business leader and former CEO with experience in government, began, in the last decade, to participate actively in politics—first in traditional partisan politics. As she deepened her understanding of how politics actually worked—and didn’t work—for the public interest, she realized that even the best candidates and elected officials were severely limited by a dysfunctional system, and that the political system was the single greatest challenge facing our country. She turned her focus to political system reform and innovation and has made this her mission. Michael E. Porter, an expert on competition and strategy in industries and nations, encountered politics in trying to advise governments and advocate sensible and proven reforms. As co-chair of the multiyear, non-partisan U.S. Competitiveness Project at Harvard Business School over the past five years, it became clear to him that the political system was actually the major constraint in America’s inability to restore economic prosperity and address many of the other problems our nation faces. Working with Katherine to understand the root causes of the failure of political competition, and what to do about it, has become an obsession. DISCLOSURE This work was funded by Harvard Business School, including the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and the Division of Research and Faculty Development. No external funding was received. Katherine and Michael are both involved in supporting the work they advocate in this report. -
Baltic Unity Within European Unity – Why Myth, Not Reality?
1 Baltic Unity within European Unity – why Myth, not Reality? In recent years a debate about development of the European Union (EU) has become hugely important. There are diverse views on the direction of federalism, which the President of the European Commission J. M. D. Barroso is passionately promoting: “Let’s not be afraid of the words: we will need to move towards a federation of nation states. This is what we need. This is our political horizon.”1 As a consequence of such ambitious plans, the question of national identity and independence has become crucial. However, less attention has been paid to the problem of regional cooperation and the effects of already existing European integration on it, which is exactly what this report aims at. In mass media one can often hear about an entity called ‘the Baltic States‘. This union of three states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has cooperated quite a lot in the two last decades of 20th century, however, now the importance of cooperation seems to be in decline. The Baltic unity in the European unity (i.e. EU) is a myth because of two reasons: passive effect of the integration in the EU, when the European unity indirectly and unintentionally influences the cooperation among the Baltic States, and active effect of the policies of the EU, when they have deliberate impact on the Baltic Unity. Baltic Unity before the EU In order to indicate why Baltic unity is impossible in the context of integrated Europe, it is necessary to recall the common aim of Baltic cooperation before the accession to the European Union. -
Opportunism Not Ideology: Fidesz's Campaign Against Sexual Minorities
Opportunism not Ideology: Fidesz’s Campaign Against Sexual Minorities Article by Kata Benedek July 23, 2021 A new law targeting LGBTQI+ people in Hungary is just the latest move in the ruling party’s history of stigmatising sexual minorities and rolling back their rights. While the European Union finally seems willing to send a signal that the Hungarian government’s agenda is in defiance of European values and fundamental rights, its leader Viktor Orbán seems determined to pursue this illiberal course. Kata Benedek looks back at the path which has brought Hungary to this point, and the prospects for a change of direction. “I am defending the rights of the homosexual guys.” This is how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán answered a journalist’s question as he arrived at the European Council as part of a visit to Brussels in late June 2021. The remark came after an hours-long debate had taken place in the European Council about the new Hungarian law discriminating against the LGBTQI+ community. The controversial law – that was passed on 15 June on the grounds of child protection – conflates LGBTQI+ people with the sexual abuse of children. The new bill simultaneously introduces a US-style registry of paedophile sex offenders combined with a Russian-style ban on exposing minors to so-called LGBTQI+ propaganda in the context of sexual education and general representation in education and media. The law was widely criticised both domestically and abroad for undermining equality, fundamental rights, freedom of expression, rights to information, and for treating sexual minorities in a manner similar to criminals, by suggesting that both categories deserve the same social judgement and treatment.