DOCSLIB.ORG

The Impact of Semi-Presidentialism on Democratic Consolidation: Cases of Poland and Ukraine

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Impact of Semi-Presidentialism on Democratic Consolidation: Cases of Poland and Ukraine THE IMPACT OF SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM ON DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION: CASES OF POLAND AND UKRAINE Oleksii Sydorchuk Analyst of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation [ ] 2 ABSTRACT This paper aims at distinguishing features of Polish semi-presidentialism which could be applied to Ukraine in order to make its institutional system more favorable for democratic consolidation. In order to reach this aim, this paper compares relative influence of semi-presidential form of government on democratic consolidation of the two countries, evaluating both general impact of this model of power distribution and separate roles of its main institutions – president, parliament, and cabinet. Conclusions from the conducted comparative analysis are used to find possible institutional options for Ukraine, which are then considered from position of their expected influence on democratic consolidation process. After choosing the best possible option in each category, they are discussed in more details. The paper finishes with summary of the main findings and concluding remarks on prospects of implementation of the mentioned institutional recommendations. INTRODUCTION Since 2010, Ukraine has started formidable slide towards authoritarianism, quickly losing its status of the most talented student of democracy among former Soviet Union republics and coming dangerously close to authoritarian Belarus. Moreover, recent political developments in Ukraine urged some observers to think whether they have overestimated the importance of the 2005-2009 period. After all, the visible political liberalization during that time did not prevent Ukraine’s institutional system from reversing its trend of development in just few months. However, the question remains: what were the main reasons behind such vulnerability of Ukrainian political institutions to authoritarian tendencies of popularly elected president? One of the possible explaining could be traced back to the previous periods of democratic development of Ukraine. Indeed, Ukraine has struggled with consolidating its democratic gains throughout 1990s and 2000s, never reaching the Western standards of democracy as “the only game in town”. At the same time, interaction of main political actors in Ukraine was constantly taking place under the framework of semi-presidential form of government (with the brief exception of the 1995-1996 period), albeit in two different incarnations. Therefore, is it possible to say that semi-presidential was responsible for the failures of democratic consolidation in Ukraine during its independence period? Was it one of the main factors that could explain such outcome of Ukraine’s political development? Alternatively, was it designed not well enough to prevent Ukraine from getting stuck somewhere along the road from authoritarianism to democracy? All of these questions could be even more ambiguous if to take into consideration the experience of Ukraine’s Western neighbor – Poland. Both countries had some remarkable similarities at the outset of their post-communist transition; however, after 20 years of political development, they are now on very different levels of democratic development. What could be even more surprising is that the two countries have adopted quite similar model of power distribution: both institutional systems fall into the semi-presidential framework. While the constitutional variations of Polish and Ukrainian semi-presidentialism were different, both countries have retained this form of government, at least formally, until now. 3 Having said that, it is quite naturally to proceed to another question: why did semi- presidentialism in Poland and Ukraine lead to different outcomes in their democratic consolidation? Was it different institutional features of this form of government that influenced the democratic development of the two countries differently? If this is true, is it possible for Ukraine to adopt some Polish features of semi-presidentialism in order to make its institutional system more favorable for democratic development? Or, maybe, the situation is much simpler: what if semi-presidentialism was just an irrelevant variable that was not responsible for the democratic successes and failures of Poland and Ukraine? Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to understand how institutional framework of semi- presidentialism influenced the process of democratic consolidation of the two countries. The main question which inevitable arises in relation to the stated aim is why semi-presidential institutional model contributed to – or, at lest, did not hampered – establishment of liberal democracy of Western type in Poland, while similar form of government, albeit with some remarkable differences in distribution of power between main political institutions, in Ukraine did not lead to the consolidation of its democratic gains. The second key issue which will be addressed in this paper will touch upon possible recommendations on how to use the experience of Polish semi-presidentialism in the case of Ukraine, i.e. what features of Poland’s institutional system could be successfully applied to that of Ukraine in order to make it more favorable for the process of democratic consolidation. The paper will be based both on scholarly research and on expert interviews, thus combining theoretical and empirical components. The paper will use two main middle-range theories. First – theory of semi-presidentialism as a distinct form of government (different from parliamentary and presidential systems), introduced by Maurice Duverger and since then developed by numerous scholars. According to their views, Poland and Ukraine fall into category of semi-presidential countries, since both have popularly elected fixed-term president which coexists with cabinet responsible to parliament (Elgie 1999, 13). However, in order to evade dangers of formal legal approach, the real interaction of political actors embodied in corresponding institutions would also be taken into consideration. In other words, the form of government would be analyzed not as a hardened display of constitutional provisions but as ever-changing and fluctuating process of cooperation and conflict between president, parliament and cabinet. Second – theory of democratization, which distinguishes processes of democratic transition and democratic consolidation. The main focus will be made on the latter, since the real differences in development of Poland and Ukraine manifested itself exactly during the period of consolidation of newly established democracy. Expert opinion will be used as a main basis for the development of recommendations, which could be applied to Ukrainian case. Therefore, the interviews will mainly touch upon Polish experience as an example of history of success, comparing to Ukraine. The paper will be structured as follows. In the first section, a brief historical overview of institutional development of independent Poland and Ukraine will be given, followed by comparative analysis of influence of semi-presidential form of government on democratic 4 consolidation of the two countries. In order to make it more digestible, this section will be divided into several more sections, based on different periods of institutional development of Poland and Ukraine. The second section will contain recommendations for the Ukrainian institutional system on how to make it more favorable for democratic development using the Polish experience. Finally, main conclusions of the paper will be presented, as well as several insights about possible connected issues which could be examined in the future. SEMI-PRESIDENTILIASM AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN POLAND AND UKRAINE Turbulent years of early post-communist period The first thing about different paths towards democracy in Poland and Ukraine which catches one’s eye is that Poland started its democratic transition two years earlier. In February 1989, members of communist establishment and oppositional Solidarity trade union started negotiations on further political development of the state. While the economic situation in the country was deteriorating and the legitimacy of ruling Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) was waning, the government of communist Poland realized the necessity to make concessions to Solidarity movement which represented the united opposition. The negotiations resulted in the recognition of Solidarity, introduction of presidential office, and elections to both lower and upper chamber of Polish parliament (Sejm and Senate, respectively). However, only elections to Senate were totally free, while 65% of Sejm mandates were guaranteed to the members of PZPR and its allies. As a result, Solidarity won all freely contested seats in Sejm and 99 of 100 seats in Senate. According to another agreement reached during the round table talks, both chambers of parliament elected communist leader Wojciech Jaruzelski as the first president. However, communists were unable to secure enough votes to appoint their own prime minister, so a lot of them joined Solidarity deputies in voting for the first non-communist prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki. With the diminishing support of PZPR, Jaruzelski decided to resign, and first general election of president took place in December 1990. Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa triumphed in the second round, becoming the first directly elected president of Poland. First totally free elections in Poland quickly created a precedent which, complemented by growing popularity of Solidarity and general dissatisfaction with
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PUBLICZNE Strony-Tytulowe-ENG.Qxp 2020 18/03/21 01:04 Page 1
    POLITYKI-PUBLICZNE_strony-tytulowe-ENG.qxp_2020 18/03/21 01:04 Page 1 PUBLIC POLICIES POLITYKI-PUBLICZNE_strony-tytulowe-ENG.qxp_2020 18/03/21 01:04 Page 2 SOCIAL DICTIONARIES Series edited by Wit Pasierbek and Bogdan Szlachta PUBLIC POLICIES Edited by Artur Wołek Other volumes: RELIGIOUS PEDAGOGY, Edited by Zbigniew Marek and Anna Walulik POLITYKI-PUBLICZNE_strony-tytulowe-ENG.qxp_2020 18/03/21 01:04 Page 3 SOCIAL DICTIONARIES PUBLIC POLICIES EDITED BY Artur Wołek IGNATIANUM UNIVERSITY PRESS KRAKOW 2021 © Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow, 2021 Publication financed within the “DIALOG” programme of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for the years 2019-2021 Reviewers dr hab. Piotr Broda-Wysocki; dr Michał Dulak; dr hab. Maciej Drzonek; dr hab. Michał Federowicz; dr hab. Kaja Gadowska, prof. UJ; dr hab. Bożena Gierat-Bieroń; prof. dr hab. Jolanta Itrich-Drabarek; dr Hubert Kotarski; dr hab. Rafał Prostak, prof. UEK; prof. dr hab. Paweł Ruszkowski; mgr Paweł Śliwowski; dr Michał Zabdyr-Jamróz; dr Radosław Zyzik Translated into English by Ewa Pałka Proofreading Michael Timberlake Editing and proofreading Anna Grochowska-Piróg Cover design Studio Photo Design – Lesław Sławiński Layout and typesetting Jacek Zaryczny ISBN 978-83-7614-496-2 Ignatianum University Press ul. Kopernika 26 • 31–501 Krakow, PL tel. +48 12 39 99 620 [email protected] http://wydawnictwo.ignatianum.edu.pl Printing and binding Kowalcze Małgorzata Zakład Poligraficzny “SINDRUK” Contents Foreword 7 Introduction 9 Artur Wołek Politics, public policy, and the public policy sciences: in search of an identity 11 AleksAnder surdej Rationality of public policies: fundamentals and constraints 27 rAfAł MAtyjA Decision making in public policies 43 MArcin Zawicki Public policy implementation 65 seWeryn krupnik Evaluating public policies 89 norbert lAurisZ Social policy 105 MAciej frącZek Labour market policy 129 MAciej jAkuboWski Educational policy 149 6 CONTENTS jAcek klich Health policy: key determinants and challenges 171 Paweł MusiAłek Energy policy 187 kAZiMierZ M.
    [Show full text]
  • Bożena Dziemidok-Olszewska1 the Specificity of The
    Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego -----ISSN 2082-1212----- DOI 10.15804/ppk.2020.06.08 -----No. 6 (58)/2020----- Bożena Dziemidok-Olszewska1 The Specificity of the Constitutionalization Process of Systemic Changes in Poland During the Period of Transformations Keywords: Poland, constitutionalization, constitution, systemic changes Słowa kluczowe: Polska, konstytucjonalizacja, konstytucja, zmiany ustrojowe Abstract The aim of the article is to indicate the prevalent features of the Polish process of con- stitutional and systemic changes in Poland in 1989–1997. It was assumed that the Pol- ish process of constitutionalization was characterized by a number of specific features which were interrelated and dependent on each another. The aim of the paper is to rec- ognize the phased character of the changes as the first feature of the political transfor- mation process in Poland, whereas compromise should be regarded as its basic attribute. Other specific features (presented in the subsequent parts of the article) include: evolu- tionary, temporary, and pragmatic nature of the process. Streszczenie Specyfika procesu konstytucjonalizacji zmian ustrojowych w Polsce w okresie transformacji Celem artykułu jest wskazanie głównych, dominujących cech polskiego procesu zmian konstytucyjno-ustrojowych w Polsce w latach 1989–1997. Przyjęto założenie, że polski 1 ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2944-5073, Professor, Department of Political Systems and Human Rights, Institute of Political Sciences and Administration, Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. E-mail: bozena. [email protected]. 116 PRZEGLĄD PRAWA KONSTYTUCYJNEGO 2020/6 proces konstytucjonalizacji posiadał szereg cech specyficznych, które były ze sobą po- wiązane i od siebie zależne. Hipotezą artykułu jest uznanie etapowości zmian za pierw- szą, a kompromisu za podstawową cechę procesu transformacji ustrojowej w Polsce.
    [Show full text]
  • World Bank Document
    POLIcy RESEARCH WORKI-ING PAPER 128 6 Public Disclosure Authorized Economic Transformation The fiscal crisisin central Europe in the early 1990s is and the Fiscal Crisis attributable mainly to increased social spending Public Disclosure Authorized A Critical Look at the ratherthan to the collapsein Central European Experience profitabilityof state-owned of the 1990s enterprises. Luca Barbone Domenico jr. Marchetti Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized The Wofld Bank Europe and Central Asia Country Department H Country Operations Division April 1994 Poi( -YR?t. Ak(iH WORKIM; PAPI'FA12 86 Su,mmaryfindings iAI10ot1 1nMid NaIrLitCrti argue that tradition,il the nrCnill1)n I I sahIouCltl )11 IiLiIttd tII thiII exphi si iI explantations it the fiscal crisis in retornling cx-sociahst spendoig (especially social spending) ratheLr than to the LCo:iiii0e1 oicrlItokve rilcial icitonnctjions betrwee key crisis in revcLn1e. comiipolientsof the deficit - partICUlarlyhbtween MNa.nVot tilh social costs (Otadj litSitiWI teeW rT I!! -A redcuctioinsin spending and declines in reve noes. hidden wlithi the stat-t-owned enterprises sestew. 'I Alt0o4t all stLIdiesot the tiscal aspects ot the transition Social costs inClude UICIneiJplkmennt heCneits a1d thil Stressthe impact oni the fiscal budget ot the pertormtance of supportinig - tht(oiugh pensil is or s cial assi3 lk e cIriSiS itl state-owVned e nrerplises. Barboiteanid Miarchetti the people displaced troni tWe vi irk ior.e t.s the conitenldthat this aspect ot the fiscal crisis haSbeen
    [Show full text]
  • Looking Back: Leszek Gilejko Speaks on His Lifeas a Researcher in Post
    Warsaw Forum of Economic Sociolog y 4:2(8) Autumn 2013 © Warsaw School of Economics; Collegium of Socio-Economics; Department of Economic Sociolog y Looking Back. Leszek Giljeko Speaks on His Life as a Researcher in Post-war Poland Leszek Gilejko* The Issues of Research Trade Unions My stay in France in !"#$ had undoubtedly impact on my interest in the issues of trade unions. I encountered there many people who were social activists, or trade union leaders. In France, I pursued my interest mainly in the issues of trade unions. I wrote my professorial dissertation on the basis of the French research of the time that was a period of wide discussion and changes in the labour movement. % e French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) was created at that time; discussions were held in General Confederation of Labour (CGT); numerous sociological researches were undertaken; important books were written. Most of all, * Professor Leszek Gilejko (!"&'–'+!&) was a prominent Polish humanist with consistent socialist political views. He was a very active scholar, a witness to and a participant in key academic, political and social events in Poland for more than half a century. For many years he presided over the Department of Sociology at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH). % is article is based on a conversation between professor Gilejko and his former student, professor Juliusz Gardawski in '++&. % e transcript of the conversation was edited by Czesława Kliszko. 10 Leszek Giljeko I had an opportunity to co-operate with professor Alain Touraine who was in charge of the Laboratory of Industrial Sociology.
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Paper No. 1 Labour Market Developments in Eastern and Central Europe
    POLICY PAPER NO. 1 LABOUR MARKET DEVELOPMENTS IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE by Guy Standing* 39464 Note: *Director, Central and Eastern European Team, International Labour Organisation. Budapest H-1066, Mozsar u. 14, Hungary January 1993 LABOUR MARKET DEVELOPMENTS m EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE 1. Introduction While the human suffering and deprivation in many parts of the so-called developing world defies sensible comparison with developments in other parts of the world, it is understandable that recent economic and social upheavals in the countries of eastern and central Europe should have attracted global attention. Nurturing and sustaining a climate of democracy and equitable growth in this region will be vital for the future global economy. The economic reality in the ECE region since the late 1980s has been calamitous. One may quibble about the exact magnitude, yet nobody disputes that the economic decline has been tragic and frightening. And as of late 1992, it was continuing, bringing social discord, wars, ethnic and religious tensions and unhappy memories of things past. This paper reviews the main labour market developments that have emerged from the economic chaos and the pursuit of "structural adjustment" strategies in the countries of the region, drawing in part on ILO studies in seven of the main countries. A basic premise is that without effective micro-level institutional restructuring, including adequate attention to the full range of human development policies, macro-economic stabilisation and adjustment strategies will fail by any decent yardstick. The notion of eastern and central Europe is an expanding concept, in two senses. The number of countries that have moved into a process of "transition" has been growing, and the number of independent countries has been growing.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender Quotas in the Post-Communist World: Voice of the Parliamentarians by Joshua Dubrow and Adrianna Zabrzewska (Eds.) Was Reviewed by Julia Kubisa (D.Sc
    1 Voice of the Parliamentarians Voice of the Parliamentarians IFiS PAN Publishers Warszawa 2020 This book was funded by the National Science Centre, Poland (project number //B/HS/). The monograph Gender Quotas in the Post-Communist World: Voice of the Parliamentarians by Joshua Dubrow and Adrianna Zabrzewska (eds.) was reviewed by Julia Kubisa (d.sc. Institute of Sociology, University of Warsaw). Cover design Joshua Dubrow, Adrianna Zabrzewska, Andrzej Łubniewski The cover art is by Zamir Dubrow. Proofreading Active Communication & Transaltion Burzyński Golubiewski s.c. Copyright © by Authors and Wydawnictwo IFiS PAN ISBN ---- IFiS PAN Publishers - Warsaw, Nowy Świat e-mail: publish@ifi span.edu.pl www.ifi span.waw.pl Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................. About the Contributors ................................................................... Introduction: Voice, Inequality, and Representation ................... Joshua K. Dubrow and Adrianna Zabrzewska Chapter One: An Introduction to Gender Quotas in Europe ....... Joshua K. Dubrow and Adrianna Zabrzewska Chapter Two: Women in the Parliaments of the Communist and Post-Communist World, – ............................................. Joshua K. Dubrow Chapter Three: Electoral Gender Quotas in Post-Communist Countries as of ........................................................................ Anna Sedysheva, with Joshua K. Dubrow Chapter Four: Polish Parliamentarian Arguments on Gender Descriptive
    [Show full text]
  • The Limits of the German Minority Project in Post- Communist Poland: Scale, Space and Democratic Deliberation
    The Limits of the German Minority Project in Post- Communist Poland: Scale, Space and Democratic Deliberation. Michael Fleming, University of Oxford Abstract This paper explores the development of the German minority community in post- communist Poland, focusing specifically upon the Opole Silesia voivodship. I argue that the minority’s successful engagement within democratic fora at all spatial scales allowed the minority to voice its concerns and secure funds to develop its community infrastructure. However, the transformation of the region into a reservoir of cheap labour for Germany has had a negative effect on the minority project, undermining democratic deliberation within the minority, and promoting subjectivities at odds with the project fostered by the minority’s leadership. Introduction Since 1989 the German minority in Poland has achieved representation at all levels of government. It has attracted over 250m DM of German government investment to its region of Opole Silesia, and has used these funds to promote its culture, language and the infrastructure of the region. However, despite this success, the minority has experienced a marked and continued decline in support from its constituency. This decline, most readily seen at parliamentary elections, exposes the fundamental limits of politics of identity, and the immense difficulty in constructing more inclusive and relevant politics for the region’s population. In addition, the experience of the German minority demonstrates the tension between the representation of space and the actual social existences which that space produces.1 This paper traces the development of the German minority in Opole Silesia and explores the limits of its political project.
    [Show full text]
  • Macedonian Lustration (1999 - 2012) Events, Statements, and Newspaper Articles Application of Lustration Laws
    A Closer Look at the Application of the Laws 1 MACEDONIAN LUSTRATION (1999 - 2012) Events, Statements, and Newspaper Articles Application of Lustration Laws 2 MACEDONIAN LUSTRATION (1999 - 2012) – EVENTS, STATEMENTS, AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES Series: A Closer Look at the Application of the Laws MACEDONIAN LUSTRATION (1999 - 2012) Events, Statements, and Newspaper Articles Application of Lustration Laws Publisher: Foundation Open Society – Macedonia For the publisher: Vladimir Milcin, Executive Director Authors: Foundation Open Society – Macedonia In cooperation with: Zarko Trajanovski, M.A. contribution: Macedonian Lustration (1999-2012) Events, Statements, and Newspaper Articles Frosina Tasevska Remenski, Ph.D. Vladimir Pivovarov, Ph.D. contribution: Application of Lustration Laws Editors: Dance Danilovska – Bajdevska Nada Naumovska Proofreading and translation into English: Abakus Design and layout: Koma Print: Propoint Circulation: 600 Free/noncommercial circulation A Closer Look at the Application of the Laws 3 Skopje, November 2012 4 MACEDONIAN LUSTRATION (1999 - 2012) – EVENTS, STATEMENTS, AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES CIP – Каталогизација во публикација Национална и универзитетска библиотека „Св. Климент Охридски“, Скопје 35.082.5(497.7)»1999/2012» 321.728-021.341(497.7)»1999/2012» МАКЕДОНСКАТА лустрација : (1999-2012) : настани, изјави, наслови : примена на лустрациските прописи / [уредници Данче Даниловска- Бајдевска, Нада Наумовска]. - Скопје : Фондација Отворено општество - Македонија = Skopje : Foundation Open Society-Macedonia, 2012 (Скопје : Пропоинт). - 240, 228 стр. ; 24 см. - (Едиција Примената на законите под лупа = A Closer look at the application of the laws) Насл. стр. на припечатениот текст: Macedonian lustration : (1999-2012) : events, statements and newspaper articles : application of lustration laws. - Обата текста меѓусебно печатени во спротивни насоки. - Текст на мак. и англ. јазик. - Фусноти кон текстот.
    [Show full text]
  • Generate PDF of This Page
    Institute of National Remembrance https://ipn.gov.pl/en/digital-resources/articles/7834,A-ground-breaking-visit-or-a-visit-of-ground-breaki ng-times.html 2021-10-02, 08:18 15.03.2021 A ground-breaking visit, or a visit of ground- breaking times? On the late evening of July 9th 1989, Air Force One with president George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara on board landed at the Okęcie airport in Warsaw. An official visit of the fourth American president on Polish lands began, lasting two days. Previously, Poland was visited by Richard Nixon (in 1972), Gerald Ford (in 1975) and Jimmy Carter (in 1977). Each of these visits gathered a lot of attention in the country over the Vistula river. Here were the leaders of one of the most powerful countries in the world, an oasis of freedom, for many years portrayed by the communist propaganda as the “rotten west”, visiting from behind the iron curtain. As Reagan’s vice president… Although George Bush visited Poland as the president of the USA, it was not his first visit in the country. Two years prior, in September 1987, he made a four-day trip to Poland as the deputy of Ronald Reagan. The visit in 1987 was quite peculiar for those times, since, apart from the scheduled, official meetings with the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic, Bush had a lot of private meetings with opposition activists (Lech Wałęsa, Bronisław Geremek, Zbigniew Bujak, Leszek Moczulski). Vice president Bush laid wreaths at the grave of priest Jerzy Popiełuszko and made a speech in the Polish television, where he mentioned his meeting with Wałęsa.
    [Show full text]
  • The United Nations University Is an Organ of the United Nations
    The United Nations University is an organ of the United Nations established by the General Assembly in 1972 to be an international community of scholars engaged in research, advanced training, and the dissemination of knowledge related to the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare. Its activities focus mainly on peace and conflict resolution, development in a changing world, and science and technology in relation to human welfare. The University operates through a worldwide network of research and postgraduate training centres, with its planning and coordinating headquarters in Tokyo. The United Nations University Press, the publishing division of the UNU, publishes scholarly books and periodicals in the social sciences, humanities, and pure and applied natural sciences related to the University’s research. The changing nature of democracy The changing nature of democracy Edited by Takashi Inoguchi, Edward Newman, and John Keane United Nations a University Press TOKYO u NEW YORK u PARIS ( The United Nations University, 1998 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations University. United Nations University Press The United Nations University, 53-70, Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan Tel: (03) 3499-2811 Fax: (03) 3406-7345 E-mail: [email protected] UNU Office in North America 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-1462-70, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 963-6387 Fax: (212) 371-9454 Telex: 422311 UN UI United Nations University Press is the publishing division of the United Nations University. Cover design by Joyce C.
    [Show full text]
  • The Economic Crisis
    A WORLD BANK COUNTRY STUDY 1 8G,3 Public Disclosure Authorized Belarus A, 7i,-,., .1I,fai tk.s,t/sli(II, tlto' p/r.s'c R(,I}0/ Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized A WORLD BANK COUNTRY STUDY Belarus Prices,Markets, and EnterpriseReform The World Bank Washington,D.C. Copyright X 1997 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing July 1997 World Bank Country Studies are among the many reports originally prepared for internal use as part of the continuing analysis by the Bank of the economic and related conditions of its developing member countries and of its dialogues with the governments. Some of the reports are published in this series with the least possible delay for the use of governments and the academic, business and financial, and develop- ment communities. The typescript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. Some sources cited in this paper may be informal documents that are not readily available. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Health and the Environment
    Volume 6 Number 5, Winter 2000/2001 eurohealth Health and the Environment The challenges of enlargement for public health Improving the quality of healthcare The developing role of nursing The Commission’s Health Strategy: view from the Committee of the Regions eurohealth Public health policy in the EU is being shaped by several political and structural forces. At the political level, the increased emphasis on public health issues that has taken place LSE Health, London School of Economics p in recent years is highlighting the centrality of health issues and Political Science, Houghton Street, across the public policy spectrum. Quite apart from the overt London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom requirement for public health to be recognised in policy Tel: +44 (0)20 7955 6840 design across directorates, the intrinsic presence of public Fax: +44 (0)20 7955 6803 health issues in various areas of policy requires in itself that Web Site: www.lse.ac.uk\Depts\lse–health there is a health focus in setting the policy agenda. This is per- haps nowhere more true than in environment policy where EDITORIAL r EDITOR: issues such as pollution are in essence public health issues. Mike Sedgley: +44 (0)20 7955 6194 Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström here sets out email: [email protected] the importance of health concerns in environmental policy SENIOR EDITORIAL ADVISER: making and describes the initiatives and polices being pursued Paul Belcher: +44 (0)20 7955 6377 email: [email protected] e in order to address the serious environmental health concerns EDITORIAL TEAM: that face the European Union as a modern industrial society.
    [Show full text]