DOCSLIB.ORG

Romanian Journal of Political Science

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Romanian Journal of Political Science Volume 15, number 1, Summer 2015 The Romanian Academic Society (RAS) Romanian Journal of Political Science Editor Alina Mungiu Pippidi International Advisory Board Larry Diamond (Stanford University) Tom Gallagher (University of Bradford) Alena Ledeneva (University College London) Michael McFaul (Stanford University) Philippe Schmitter (European University Institute) Helen Wallace (London School of Economics and Political Science) Editorial Board Gabriel Bădescu (Babeş Boliay University) Olivia Rusu-Toderean (Babeş Boliay University) Bogdan Iancu (Faculty of Political Science, University of Bucharest) Cosmina Tănăsoiu (American University in Bulgaria) Adrian Cioflâncă (A.D. Xenopol Institute) Managing Editors Andrei Panțu Valentina-Andreea Dimulescu © 2015 Romanian Academic Society ISSN 1582-456X 2 Romanian Journal of Political Science TABLE OF CONTENTS POLSCI PAPERS ………………………………………………………………………4 DEMOCRATIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS. A TWO-STEP FUZZY SET QCA OF UNIFIL II……………………………………………...……………….4 Tim Haesebrouck VOTER CHARACTERISTICS AND LEADER EFFECTS IN A POST-COMMUNIST CONTEXT: THE CASE OF THE 2012 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS IN ROMANIA……….……….……………48 Andrei Gheorghiță GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT IN CO-OPERATIVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN ROMANIA: KNOWLEDGE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………...……………………..76 Cristina Stănuș CORRUPTION EXPERIENCE, PERCEPTION AND ANTI-CORRUPTION TRUST: DIFFERENT EFFECTS IN VARIOUS POST-COMMUNIST STATES……………..………………...…...103 Pavel Baboš FACTORS AFFECTING GREEN PARTY DEVELOPMENT: EXPLAINING THE DECLINE OF GREEN PARTIES IN SLOVENIA……………………………………………...…………..125 Danica Fink-Hafner and Matej Knep VOTERS’ PERSONALITIES AND IDEAL PARTY PERSONALITY. EVIDENCE FROM POLAND……………………………………………………………………...………….155 Irena Pilch and Agnieszka Turska-Kawa STABLE OR NOT? PATTERNS OF PARTY SYSTEM DYNAMICS AND THE RISE OF THE NEW POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC……………...…………………………..180 Vlastimil Havlík CALL FOR PAPERS……………………………………………………………………203 3 Romanian Journal of Political Science POLSCI PAPERS Democratic Contributions to UN Peacekeeping Operations. A Two-Step Fuzzy Set QCA of Unifil II Tim Haesebrouck1 ABSTRACT What explains democratic participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations? Although the division of the burden of UN peacekeeping operations has attracted a considerable amount of scholarly attention, neither the impact of domestic variables, nor the interaction between the domestic and international determinants of peacekeeping contributions has been systematically analysed. This article aims to fill this gap in academic research. First, insights from research on peacekeeping burden sharing, democratic peace theory and integrated decision models are combined in a multi-causal framework. Subsequently, two-step fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis is used to assess whether this model explains diverging contributions to the 2006 enhancement of the UNIFIL operation. The results of this analysis show that contributions result from a complex interplay between domestic and international conditions. Two combinations of international level conditions allowed for large contributions. In the absence of significant military engagements, military capable states and states with a high level of prior involvement in UNPOs had an incentive to participate. Actual contributions, however, only materialized if such a conductive international context was combined with favourable domestic conditions: only states governed by a left-leaning government that was not constrained by either proximate general elections or a right-leaning parliament with extensive veto powers participated in the operation. KEY WORDS: burden sharing, UN Peacekeeping, QCA, democratic peace theory Introduction Following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was reinforced significantly. The EU member states carried the 1 Tom Haesebrouck is a PhD candidate in political science at the Department of Political Science, Ghent University, Belgium. His current research interests include QCA, burden sharing, crisis management operations, R2P and UN Peacekeeping. E-mail: [email protected] 4 Romanian Journal of Political Science brunt of the burden of this reinforcement. However, while many member states made sizeable personnel contributions, others did not contribute at all. This article aims to explain the pattern of contributions to UNIFIL II. Hereby, it addresses a substantial gap in the academic literature on peacekeeping burden sharing (e.g. Bobrow and Boyer, 1997; Shimizu and Sandler, 2010). The bulk of the research on the subject consists of empirical tests of collective-action-based models. Scarce studies that do take into account a wider range of conditions almost exclusively focus on international-level determinants. Hereby, the impact of domestic-level conditions remains largely unexamined. A rare exception to this fixation on external explanations consists in the many studies that establish a link between a states’ level of democracy and its propensity to contribute to (UN) peacekeeping operations. Several scholars have posited that democracies are more likely to contribute personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations (UNPOs) than non-democracies (e.g. Andersson, 2002; Lebovic, 2004; Victor, 2010: 226). Explanations for this correlation generally build on the normative model of democratic peace: democracies are more inclined to participate in UNPOs because the latter’s goal of promoting the peaceful resolution of conflict corresponds to their domestic political norms. More recently however, democratic peace research has emphasized the significant variation across democratic political systems, which, in turn, affects their international behaviour (e.g. Prins and Sprecher, 1999; Ireland and Gartner, 2001). Based on this logic, the domestic differences between democracies can be expected to affect their propensity to contribute to UNPOs. Unfortunately, previous studies have not systematically explored the impact of cross- democratic domestic variation on contributions to UNPOs. The lack of attention to domestic conditions not only contrasts sharply with recent democratic peace research, but also with studies that build on integrated models to explain contributions to multilateral operations (e.g. Auerswald, 2004; Bennett et al., 1994). The latter consistently conclude that contributions result from a complex interplay between domestic and international conditions. However, such integrated models have been exclusively used to explain diverging contributions to operations conducted by coalitions of the willing or under the aegis of NATO or the EU. In consequence, a structured analysis that links cross-democratic domestic 5 Romanian Journal of Political Science variation to participation in UNPOs, let alone examines the complex interplay between domestic and international conditions, has not yet been produced. This study aims to fill this gap. It combines international and domestic conditions in an integrated model that aims to explain varying contributions to UNPOs. It focusses on the 2006 reinforcement of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL II) because this is one of the few recent UNPOs to which traditional Western democracies made pivotal troop contributions. In consequence, it constitutes a particularly suited case for testing a model that aims to explain varying democratic contributions to UN-peacekeeping. Two-step fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis is used to examine whether the model can explain the varying contributions to this operation. The results of the analysis reveal that personnel contributions to UNIFIL II indeed depend on a complex interplay between domestic and international conditions. Contributions are only possible if the absence of military stretch is combined with either a high level of prior involvement in UNPOs or sizeable military capabilities. However, for large contributions to materialize, these international level conditions must be combined with favourable domestic conditions, more specifically with a left-leaning executive that is neither constrained by proximate elections or a right-leaning parliament with extensive veto powers. The article proceeds as follows. The first section builds on the comprehensive literature on peacekeeping burden sharing and democratic peace theory to develop an integrated model that aims to explain diverging contributions to UNPOs. The next section justifies the case selection, introduces the methodological approach and discusses the operationalization of the condition and the outcome. The third section presents the results of the analysis, before the conclusions recapitulate the study’s major findings. Explaining democratic participation in UN Peacekeeping I build on three partially overlapping areas of academic research to develop an integrated model for explaining democratic contributions to UNPOs. First, I derive plausible international level explanations from previous research on peacekeeping operations. Subsequently, I draw on democratic peace theory to identify cross- democratic differences that could be relevant for explaining varying contributions to UNPOs. Lastly, I build on integrated decision models to formulate hypotheses on how contribution decisions are produced by specific combinations of international 6 Romanian Journal of Political Science and domestic conditions. Although the resulting framework integrates hypotheses from the prevailing
Recommended publications
  • State of Populism in Europe

    State of Populism in Europe

    2018 State of Populism in Europe The past few years have seen a surge in the public support of populist, Eurosceptical and radical parties throughout almost the entire European Union. In several countries, their popularity matches or even exceeds the level of public support of the centre-left. Even though the centre-left parties, think tanks and researchers are aware of this challenge, there is still more OF POPULISM IN EUROPE – 2018 STATE that could be done in this fi eld. There is occasional research on individual populist parties in some countries, but there is no regular overview – updated every year – how the popularity of populist parties changes in the EU Member States, where new parties appear and old ones disappear. That is the reason why FEPS and Policy Solutions have launched this series of yearbooks, entitled “State of Populism in Europe”. *** FEPS is the fi rst progressive political foundation established at the European level. Created in 2007 and co-fi nanced by the European Parliament, it aims at establishing an intellectual crossroad between social democracy and the European project. Policy Solutions is a progressive political research institute based in Budapest. Among the pre-eminent areas of its research are the investigation of how the quality of democracy evolves, the analysis of factors driving populism, and election research. Contributors : Tamás BOROS, Maria FREITAS, Gergely LAKI, Ernst STETTER STATE OF POPULISM Tamás BOROS IN EUROPE Maria FREITAS • This book is edited by FEPS with the fi nancial support of the European
  • Between Populism and Socialism: Slovenia’S Left Party Alen Toplišek

    Between Populism and Socialism: Slovenia’S Left Party Alen Toplišek

    This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in The Populist Radical Left in Europe on 14 March 2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180823-4 Between populism and socialism: Slovenia’s Left party Alen Toplišek Abstract This chapter offers the first in-depth study of both structural and agential factors behind the emergence and electoral breakthrough of a new radical left party in Slovenia, the Left. It defines the party’s ideological profile and it analyses its tactics of party competition through a selection of concrete examples. It concludes by outlining two possible trajectories for the future electoral and organisational development of the party. Introduction The Left (Levica) is a relative newcomer in the Slovenian party system and the European Populist Radical Left (PRL) party family more widely. Formally established in March 2014 as a coalition party under the name of the United Left, it managed to surpass the 4% electoral threshold in the July 2014 parliamentary elections with 5.97% of the popular vote. The electoral result translated into six seats in a 90-member National Assembly, putting the new party on a par with the traditional party on the Slovenian Left, the Social Democrats, which was their worst electoral result since Slovenia’s independence in 1991. The novelty of the United Left was notable not only in terms of its electoral breakthrough in July 2014, but also regarding its founding organisational structure and its organic ties with new left social movements. The United Left was a coalition of three smaller parties and the ‘fourth bloc,’ which represented social movements and individuals: (1) Initiative for Democratic Socialism (IDS); (2) Democratic Labour Party (DSD); (3) the Party for the Sustainable Development of Slovenia (TRS); and (4) civil society movements and individuals.
  • The Slovenian Greens: from Early Success to Long-Term Failure

    The Slovenian Greens: from Early Success to Long-Term Failure

    0 8 THE SLOVENIAN GREENS: POLITIKA FROM EARLY SUCCESS TO LONG-TERM FAILURE SUCCESS TO LONG-TERM FAILURE LONG-TERM TO SUCCESS EARLY FROM THE GREENS: SLOVENIAN Danica Fink-Hafner POLITIKA Matej Knep Meta Novak 8 ii Published in book series Politika Simona Kustec Lipicer (ed.) Politične vsebine in volilna kampanja Alenka Krašovec (ed.) Volitve v Evropski parlament 2009 Tomaž Deželan Nasproti evropskemu federalizmu? Simona Kustec Lipicer, Samo Kropivnik,Tomaž Deželan in Alem Maksuti Volilni programi in stališča Drago Zajc, Samo Kropivnik, Simona Kustec Lipicer Od volilnih programov do koalicijskih pogodb Janko Prunk in Marjetka Rangus Sto let življenja slovenskih političnih strank: 1890–1990 Danica Fink-Hafner (ed.) The Development of Civil Society in the Countries on the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1980s The Slovenian Greens: From Early Success to Long-Term Failure Danica Fink-Hafner, Matej Knep, Meta Novak POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA POLITIKA Danica Fink-Hafner, Matej Knep, Meta Novak The Slovenian Greens: From Early Success to Long-Term Failure Book series: POLITIKA Editor: Alenka Krašovec Publisher: Faculty of Social Sciences, Ljubljana For the publisher: Hermina Kranjc Copyright © FDV 2015, Ljubljana. Peer review: Professor Bogomil Ferfila and Associate Professor Drago Zajc Language editing by Mark Gough Cover design by Janko Testen Layout by: Leon Beton The book was financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency. Ljubljana, 2015 CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 329(497.4)(0.034.2) FINK-Hafner, Danica FINThe Slovenian Greens [Elektronski vir] : from early success to long-term failure / Danica Fink-Hafner, Matej Knep, Meta Novak.
  • Sarajevo: Hope and Social Rebellion in 2014

    Sarajevo: Hope and Social Rebellion in 2014

    Sarajevo: Hope and Social Rebellion in 2014 Extrait du CADTM http://cadtm.org/Sarajevo-Hope-and-Social-Rebellion Sarajevo: Hope and Social Rebellion in 2014 Date de mise en ligne : Friday 12 December 2014 CADTM Copyleft CADTM Page 1/5 Sarajevo: Hope and Social Rebellion in 2014 Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country ravaged by a war that between 1992 and the beginning of 1996 caused 100,000 deaths (exact figures are unavailable), is certainly looking a lot better but the social situation is dramatic. One statistic says it all: unemployment reaches 45%. This country of 4.5 million inhabitants is divided into two entities between which there exist multiple points of tension: the federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (51% of the territory, 65% of the population, capital Sarajevo) and the Republika Srpska (49% of the territory, 35% of the population, capital Banja Luka). In the whole country there are 48% of Bosniaks (called Muslims between 1970 and 2000), 37% of Serbs (mostly Christian Orthodox) and 14% of Croats (mostly Catholics). |1| Among the 10,000 inhabitants of Sarajevo that were killed during the war, 1,600 were children. The siege of Sarajevo lasted from 5th April 1992 until 29th February 1996. |2| One of the catalysts of the Yugoslavian implosion at the beginning of the 1990s was the weight of the public debt contracted in consequence of the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s. The leaders of the richer republics (Croatia et Slovenia), in pushing for separation, considered that independence would help them repay their part of the Yugoslavian debt (which later had been shared between the six former republics of the ex-Yugoslavian federation) by shedding what appeared to them to be the millstone of the less privileged countries (Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro).
  • From Protest to Party: Horizontality and Verticality on the Slovenian Left Alen Toplišek & Lasse Thomassen Abstract This Ar

    From Protest to Party: Horizontality and Verticality on the Slovenian Left Alen Toplišek & Lasse Thomassen Abstract This Ar

    This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Europe-Asia Studies on 29/11/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09668136.2017.1385727 Accepted version downloaded from SOAS Research Online: http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/31139/ From protest to party: horizontality and verticality on the Slovenian Left Alen Toplišek & Lasse Thomassen Abstract This article analyses the politics of horizontality – a key characteristic of recent forms for protest and activist citizenship – through the case of the 2012-13 protests in Slovenia. The Slovenian case is illustrative because we can trace the emergence of the Initiative for Democratic Socialism and, subsequently, the United Left from protest through movement to party. Since we believe that horizontality and verticality are present in both movements and parties, we argue against a simple opposition between movements and parties. In particular, we focus on the reasons for the move from horizontalist ways of political organising to vertical structures. Keywords Horizontality; Initiative for Democratic Socialism; protest movement; Slovenia; United Left; verticality 1 Introduction: crisis, new forms of politics and horizontality The last two decades have seen a surge in the interest in activist citizenship (Isin 2009) and new forms of protest (Day 2005; della Porta et al. forthcoming 2017; Gilbert 2014; Maeckelbergh 2009; Sitrin and Azzellini 2014; Tormey 2015). This should be understood in light of the crisis of traditional forms of politics and representative institutions, including political parties. Across the world, and also in Europe, activists have opposed the vertical politics of institutions and parties in the name of horizontalist forms of organising.
  • The 70Th Anniversary of the End of WWII in Slovenia

    The 70Th Anniversary of the End of WWII in Slovenia

    Marko Zajc Cultures of History Forum The Tomb of the national heroes, build 1949 Author: Marko Zajc The 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII in Slovenia Marko Zajc Cultures of History Forum, published: 25.10.2015 DOI: 10.25626/0116 In May 1985, Yugoslav Slovenia celebrated Victory Day and the 40th anniversary of liberation. In May 2015, independent Slovenia celebrated the 70th anniversary of the war’s end as if it had been a kind of a natural process that ended, just like summer ends. What happened to the victory celebration? This article argues that the discursive differences between the two state celebrations reflect the deep crisis of official state/national ideology. Recommended Citation Marko Zajc: The 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII in Slovenia. In: Cultures of History Forum (25.10.2015), DOI: 10.25626/0116 Copyright (c) 2015 by Imre Kertész Kolleg, all rights reserved. This work may be copied and redistributed for non-commercial, educational purposes, if permission is granted by the copyright holders. For permission please contact the editors. Page 1 of 13 Copyright (c) 2015 by Imre Kertész Kolleg, all rights reserved. Marko Zajc Cultures of History Forum The 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII in Slovenia In May 1985, Slovenia – one of the six ‘socialist republics’ of Yugoslavia at the time – celebrated Victory Day and the 40th anniversary of liberation. In May 2015, independent Slovenia celebrated the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, as if the war were a kind of a natural process that simply ended, as the summer ends.
  • 4. Interviews on LGBTI Political Participation in the Western Balkans

    4. Interviews on LGBTI Political Participation in the Western Balkans

    LGBTI POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS RESEARCH REPORT March 2018 I This study was commissioned by Labris, the LGBTQ Victory Institute, and Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung Collaborators The content of this material may be reproduced in whole or in part in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopied or other means, provided the source is cited, that the use is non-commercial and does not place additional restrictions on the material. The ideas and opinions expressed in this report are the sole responsibility of the authors and those persons interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Labris, the LGBTQ Victory Institute, or Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung. II LGBTI POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Researcher & Author: Aleksandra Dimovska, MA Contributors: Aleksandra Dimovska, Subversive Front Antonio Mihajlov, Subversive Front Jelena Vasiljević, Labris Luis Abolafia Anguita, LGBTQ Victory Institute Caryn Viverito, LGBTQ Victory Institute Logan Graves, LGBTQ Victory Institute Design & Layout: Daniel Mitkovski ISBN: 978-608-65959-6-8 III Table of contents 1.INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.1. OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................... 3 1.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 4 1.3. RESEARCH PAPER STRUCTURE ....................................................................................................
  • Populist on Facebook? a Comparative Analysis of Electoral Campaigns Research Article

    Populist on Facebook? a Comparative Analysis of Electoral Campaigns Research Article

    Are ‘United Left’ and ‘Human Blockade’ Populist on Facebook? A Comparative Analysis of Electoral Campaigns Research Article Alessandro Albertini PhD Candidate, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Pisa [email protected] Dina Vozab Post-doctoral researcher, Faculty of Political Science Zagreb [email protected] Contemporary Southeastern Europe, 2017, 4(2), 1-19 DOI 10.25364/02.4:2017.2.1 Contemporary Southeastern Europe is an online, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal that publishes original, scholarly, and policy-oriented research on issues relevant to societies in Southeastern Europe. For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.contemporarysee.org Are ‘United Left’ and ‘Human Blockade’ Populist on Facebook? A Comparative Analysis of Electoral Campaigns Alessandro Albertini* Dina Vozab** This paper aims to analyse the extent to which new political parties in Croatia and Slovenia use populist political communication discourse in social media. This paper focuses on two new parties that entered the parliament in the most recent elections: Živi zid (Human Blockade) in Croatia, and Združena levica (United Left) in Slovenia. The paper will analyse these parties’ political communication on Facebook. The main question guiding the analysis is: to what extent are new parties in Croatia and Slovenia populist in their political communication on Facebook? The method used in the paper will be content analysis, with a Facebook post as a unit of analysis. The content analysis will be performed on posts published over a period of two weeks prior to the general elections (electoral campaigns). Keywords: populism, New Parties, Živi zid, Združena levica, electoral campaigns.
  • Response of Parliamentary Parties in the Republic of Slovenia to the Mass Arrivals of Migrants

    Response of Parliamentary Parties in the Republic of Slovenia to the Mass Arrivals of Migrants

    TREATISES AND DOCUMENTS JOURNAL OF ETHNIC STUDIES RAZPRAVE IN GRADIVO REVIJA ZA NARODNOSTNA VPRAŠANJA 79 / 2017, p. 145–163 Matjaž Klemenčič, Maruša Verbič Koprivšek Response of Parliamentary Parties in the Republic of Slovenia to the Mass Arrivals of Migrants The mass arrivals of political and economic migrants in Slovenia started when Hungary closed its border with Croatia. In this article, we analyze the reactions of parliamentary parties in Slovenia, focusing on the media statements of their leaders and members on the significant events since the beginning of mass arrivals of migrants to date: first arrivals of migrants to Slovenia, erection of fences on Slovenian-Croatian border, November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, protests against accommodation of minor migrants unaccompanied by adults in Student dorm in Kranj, proposal for consultative referendum on the acceptance of migrants in Slovenia and Act on amendments to the Aliens Act. We point out some of the most defining statements to show the political opinions of individual parties and compare the responses of these parties in the light of the political division between left-wing and right-wing politics as well as political division based on the urban-rural cleavage. Keywords: migrations, mass arrivals of migrants, Slovenia, political parties, media statements, urban-rural. Odziv parlamentarnih strank v Republiki Sloveniji na množične prihode migrantov? Masovni prihodi političnih in ekonomskih migrantov v Slovenijo so se začeli, ko je Madžarska zaprla svojo mejo s Hrvaško. V tem
  • From Protest to Party: Horizontality and Verticality on the Slovenian Left Introduction: Crisis, New Forms of Politics and Horiz

    From Protest to Party: Horizontality and Verticality on the Slovenian Left Introduction: Crisis, New Forms of Politics and Horiz

    From protest to party: horizontality and verticality on the Slovenian Left Introduction: crisis, new forms of politics and horizontality The last two decades have seen a surge in the interest in activist citizenship (Isin 2009) and new forms of protest (Day 2005; della Porta et al. forthcoming 2017; Gilbert 2014; Maeckelbergh 2009; Sitrin and Azzellini 2014; Tormey 2015). This should be understood in light of the crisis of traditional forms of politics and representative institutions, including political parties. Across the world, and also in Europe, activists have opposed the vertical politics of institutions and parties in the name of horizontalist forms of organising. This was the case in the alter-globalisation movements and, from about 2011 onwards, in movements such as the Spanish and Greek indignados, Occupy, the Gezi protests in Turkey, and many others. Activists claimed that the crisis of representative democracy was a result of the way in which institutions and vertical forms of politics silence the voices of large parts of the population. The solution is then to do politics differently, and, although only one among other concepts and practices, horizontality is a key part of that (Maeckelbergh 2009; Sitrin and Azzellini 2014; Tormey 2015). This debate has a long history – think, for instance, of debates among communists and socialists at the beginning of the 20th century about the roles of movements and parties; or the way new social movements challenged the political system from the 1960s onwards. Echoing earlier debates, the protest movements of the last two decades have often been met with the critique that, without going vertical, the protests will have no lasting effect.
  • Levica), Whereas DSD and the Fourth Group Departed from the Coalition but Retained the Name United Left (Združena Levica)

    Levica), Whereas DSD and the Fourth Group Departed from the Coalition but Retained the Name United Left (Združena Levica)

    Mapping Left Actors: Slovenia Authors: Sašo Furlan, Nejc Slukan, Martin Hergouth 1 1. INTRODUCTION Since the collapse of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation and Slovenia’s declaration of independence in 1991, the political field in Slovenia has been dominated by liberal and conservative forces. Until 1992, The Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (Demokratična opozicija Slovenije-DEMOS), a wide coalition of right wing, left-liberal and social-democratic parties united under the banner of patriotism, was in power. During its short rule, the first steps towards the fundamental reconstruction of the Slovenian economy were made. The reconstruction was launched with a drive to privatize state owned property, a process introduced in a disorganized manner, and often via illicit means. This coincided with a severe economic depression, combined with high inflation and rising unemployment that accompanied the collapse of the Yugoslav markets. In 1992, mass workers’ strikes helped to stop the so called «wild privatization» period and contributed to the fall of the DEMOS government.1 After 1992, a coalition of moderate left parties, along with the party Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (Liberalna demokracija Slovenije-LDS), with Janez Drnovšek at the fore, took power. With the exception of the brief reign of a right-wing conservative government in the year 2000, headed by the Christian-democrat leader Andrej Bajuk, the LDS managed to preserve their dominant role in Slovenian parliamentary politics, and were the most influential force in all government coalitions until 2004. The period from 1992 to 2004 was characterized by a social-democratic development model. This was made possible by a gradual process of transition that avoided the most detrimental social effects witnessed in most of the other Eastern and Southern European post-socialist countries, namely those that undertook a swift «shock-doctrine» approach to transition.
  • Liberal Democracy in Crisis: Redefining Politics and Resistance Through Power

    Liberal Democracy in Crisis: Redefining Politics and Resistance Through Power

    Liberal Democracy in Crisis: Redefining Politics and Resistance through Power Alen Toplišek Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy I, Alen Toplisek, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Date: 17 September 2016 Details of collaboration and publications: / 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my brother Žan, my mother Jana Krajnc, my sister Etien Horvat, the rest of my family, and to the people that I can call my friends. I am extremely grateful to my supervisor Lasse Thomassen for his caring support, patience, readiness to help me with his expertise and advice, for being the best supervisor I could ever wish for.