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How Democratic Is a Latvia. Audit of Democracy

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How Democratic Is a Latvia. Audit of Democracy HOW DEMOCRATIC IS LATVIA AUDIT O DEMOCRACY UDK 23(474.3) Ho 930 Translators from Latvian: Biruta reimane (Introduction, chapters 2, 4, 5, 710, 1214, Appendices) Daunis Auers (chapter 6) Ilze Brande-Kehre (chapters 1 and 3) Mâra Sîmane (chapter 11) Scientific editor Juris Rozenvalds Editor Imants Meþaraups Layout Andra Liepiòa Cover design Ieva Tiltiòa © Latvijas Universitâte, 2005 ISBN 9984-770-69-9 Contents INTRODUCTION. Democracy: Problems and Perspectives (Juris Rozenvalds) ................................ 7 I CITIZENSHIP, LAW AND RIGHTS ................................................................................................ 19 1. Nationhood and Identity (Ilze Brande-Kehre and Ilvija Pûce) ............................................................................................ 21 2. The Rule of Law and Access to Justice (Arturs Kuès and Gita eldhûne)................................................................................................. 35 3. Civil and Political Rights (Ilze Brande-Kehre and Ilvija Pûce) ............................................................................................ 45 4. Economic and Social Rights ( eliciana Rajevska and Alfs Vanags) ........................................................................................ 63 II. REPRESENTATIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT .............................................. 79 5. :ree and :air Elections (Jânis Ikstens and Andris Runcis) ............................................................................................... 81 6. The Democratic Role of Political Parties (Daunis Auers and Jânis Ikstens) ................................................................................................ 89 7. Government Effectiveness and Accountability (Marija Golubeva and Iveta Reinholde) ..................................................................................... 99 8. Civilian Control of the Military and Police (Anhelita Kamenska and Ìirts Valdis Kristovskis) ................................................................... 111 9. Minimizing Corruption (Lolita Èigâne and Rasma Kârkliòa)......................................................................................... 125 III. CIVIL SOCIETY AND POPULAR PARTICIPATION .......................................................... 135 10. The Media In a Democratic Society (Sergejs Kruks and Ilze Ðulmane) ............................................................................................ 137 11. Political Participation (Zinta Miezaine and Mâra Sîmane) ......................................................................................... 149 12. Government Responsiveness (Dace Jansone and Inga Vilka) ................................................................................................. 161 13. Decentralization (Dace Jansone and Inga Vilka) ................................................................................................. 171 IV DEMOCRACY BEYOND THE STATE ..................................................................................... 177 14. International Dimensions of Democracy (Þaneta Ozoliòa and Ineta Ziemele) ......................................................................................... 179 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................ 195 Appendix 1. International IDEA Democracy Assessment Questionnaire............................................. 197 Summary Assessment: Direction During the Past :ive Years ......................................... 202 Appendix 2. Questions to Assess the Dynamics of Society Democratization (Baltic Institute of Social Sciences Table Report October, 2004)................................... 205 Appendix 3. Latvia in Numbers .............................................................................................................. 299 Authors ..................................................................................................................................................... 307 Most :requently Used Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... 309 INTRODUCTION Democracy: Problems and Perspectives Juris Rozenvalds In 2004, the Commission of Strategic Analysis under the auspices of the President of Latvia was established upon the initiative of the President of Latvia Vaira Vike-:reiberga. The Commission includes representatives of various fields of science. Its goal is to encourage scholars to discuss and research issues relevant to the development of Latvia. The Assessment of the Democratization Dynamics of Latvias Society was among the first projects carried out under the auspices of the Commission. How democratic is the society of Latvia, how far do our civic institutions and procedures agree with the requirements of democracy, what have the situation dynamics been over the past years and what else should be done in various areas of public life in the name of democracy questions like these defined the basic direction of the project. The answers to these questions also depend on what understanding of democracy one has and what democracy assessment approach is taken as a point of departure. What is Democracy? The 20th century has become the century of democracy. In 2000, the non-profit organization reedom House, founded in 1971 in Washington, conducted a study Democracys Century. A Survey of Global Political Change in the 20th Century1 , which summarizes the data on political regime dynamics in 192 countries of the world between 1950 and 2000. According to the above-mentioned survey, democratic regimes regimes, where leaders are selected through elections based on the principle of competition (multi-party and multi-candidate), where opposition parties have a chance of competing for power or participate in the exercising of this power existed in 120 countries, or 62.5% of the total number of countries surveyed, and 58.2% of the planets population lived in the conditions of democracy (in 1950 14.3% and 31%, respectively).2 In the modern world the acknowledgement of the value of democracy has become a widespread phenomenon, while in the Western world a generally accepted standard. It was established for the first time immediately following the World War II in the UNESCO report Democracy in the World of Tensions.3 However, not always has such an attitude toward democracy been dominant. :or two thousand years, the majority of politicians and political thinkers considered democracy an inferior way of public administration, which sacrificed higher values and the general public good in favour of group (the masses) interests. The distinguished Ancient Greek thinker Plato called democracy the madness of the majority. Even in the first half of the 20th century outspoken opponents of democracy had rather considerable influence remember the denial of democracy during the 20s-30s by the authoritarian and totalitarian regimes in most of Europe, including Latvia. Nowadays, a positive and at times even enthusiastic assessment of democracy dominates the speeches of political leaders and the statements of regular citizens. The victory march of the democracy idea is asserted by the fact that even democracy opponents frequently resort to its rhetoric and try to utilize its procedures in their own interest. However, the consolidation of the democracy idea in the modern world creates a range of previously not encountered problems as well. The collapse of the Socialist camp in late 80s and early 90s meant the end of the bipolar world based on the opposition of two superpowers. Along with it, many arguments that dominated the public political discourse in the West lost their validity. :or example, the notion that despite all its shortcomings the democratic form of administration is better than the autocracy of the Realist Socialism was a relevant argument justifying the legitimacy of Western democracy. This argument has disappeared from the 8 HOW DEMOCRATIC IS LATVIA: AUDIT O: DEMOCRACY. INTRODUCTION agenda since the late 1980s. Western democracy must look for new justifications of its legitimacy also because of the integration processes of the Western world, which Latvia has actively participated in since the restoration of its independence. As the well-known German scholar Claus Offe notes in his book with a significant title Democratization of Democracy, with the collapse of the State Socialism system in Central and Eastern Europe, one can talk both about the victory of democracy (because it does not have any serious rivals left in the modern world) and its crisis (because democracy both in the old and the new democratic regimes has in many ways lost its magic).4 In the modern world, that which was discussed since the age of the Athenian democracy is becoming increasingly clear, i.e., democracy is neither an end in itself, nor a proof of socio-political perfection; the majority rule in itself does not necessarily mean effective public administration; democratic procedures may also facilitate the consolidation of the power of authoritarian rulers. Nowadays, no one questions whether democracy is necessary. Instead, the question is what democracy is needed. The latter is also important because there is no single universal democracy, which is equally applicable to any society. In different societies, depending on the specific character of their historical development, cultural traditions and other factors,
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