This open access book provides in-depth and comparative analyses of how young people in peripheral areas in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania perceive EU citizenship. It also informs the reader about the challenges faced by EU Youth Dialogue projects that aim at promoting active (EU) citizenship in these areas and it offers context-specific recommendations for local, regional, national and European policymakers and people working with young people. The contributions are based on new qualitative data collected within the framework of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Leipzig University. It will be of interest to practitioners and scholars working on Europe and the EU, citizenship and the promotion of an active EU citizenship beyond urban centres.

This open access book provides in-depth and comparative analyses of how young people in peripheral areas in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania perceive EU citizenship. It also informs the reader about the challenges faced by EU Youth Dialogue projects that aim at promoting active (EU) citizenship in these areas and it offers context-specific recommendations for local, regional, national and European policymakers and people working with young people. The contributions are based on new qualitative data collected within the framework of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Leipzig University. It will be of interest to practitioners and scholars working on Europe and the EU, citizenship and the promotion of an active EU citizenship beyond urban centres.

This open access book provides an in-depth look into the background of rule of law problems and the open defiance of EU law in East Central European countries. Current illiberal trends and anti-EU politics have the potential to undermine mutual trust between member states and fundamentally change the EU. It is therefore crucial to understand their domestic causes, context conditions, specific processes and consequences. This volume contributes to empirically informed theory-building and includes contributions from researchers from various disciplines and multiple perspectives on illiberal trends and anti-EU politics in the region. The qualitative case studies, comparative works and quantitative analyses provide a comprehensive picture of current societal, political and institutional developments in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Through studying similarities and differences between East Central European and other EU countries, the chapters also explore whether there are regional patterns of democracy- and EU-related problems.

"Democracy theories and comparative political science have been challenged within the last decade by an unexpected democratic deficit and the rise of populism in the new EU-member states. This volume written by German and Czech scholars gives some food for thought for solving these research problems by means of thorough analyses of the polity, the politics and selected policies of the Czech Republic since 1990."Dieter Segert, retired Professor of Political Science (Area Studies on Eastern Europe), University of Vienna, Austria "Czech Democracy in Crisis is a long-overdue comprehensive study of the Czech political system. Using institutional approaches to change, it explores crucial policy outcomes. A perfect book for academics and practitioners who want to understand the challenges of democratic consolidation in a new democracy."Lenka Bustikova, Associate Professor of Political Science, Arizona State University, USA, and author of Extreme Reactions: Radical Right Mobilization in Eastern Europe The image of the Czechs as a poster child of democratization has changed into a crisis narrative in recent years. This edited volume traces this change and examines the suitability of different theories to explain developments in Czech democracy. The contributors, all renowned experts in their fields, offer well-founded and compact insights into the post-1989 Czech political system. They cover political institutions and parties; civil society; the media; and selected policy areas such as foreign, economic, migration and regional policy. The book takes into account processes of democratization and Europeanization, explaining the political picture at various stages of development. Finding that many of today's problems-fragmented political parties, government instability, inefficient state administration and low quality of governance-have not been new developments but have constantly existed, the authors present a plea for theoretical adjustments that should be read by all academics, students, practitioners and readers with an interest in Czech politics and society.

This open access book provides an in-depth look into the background of rule of law problems and the open defiance of EU law in East Central European countries. Current illiberal trends and anti-EU politics have the potential to undermine mutual trust between member states and fundamentally change the EU. It is therefore crucial to understand their domestic causes, context conditions, specific processes and consequences. This volume contributes to empirically informed theory-building and includes contributions from researchers from various disciplines and multiple perspectives on illiberal trends and anti-EU politics in the region. The qualitative case studies, comparative works and quantitative analyses provide a comprehensive picture of current societal, political and institutional developments in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Through studying similarities and differences between East Central European and other EU countries, the chapters also explore whether there are regional patterns of democracy- and EU-related problems.

Hungary was once a frontrunner of democratization. However, since Viktor Orban came to power in 2010, the country has been the subject of critical media coverage and concerns due to illiberal policies and anti-EU rhetoric. The book helps to analyze and evaluate the developments by providing relevant case knowledge. It provides sound insights into Hungary's system of government, society, parties and media, as well as selected policy areas. It focuses on how different policy areas have been influenced by the EU, traces important lines of development over the past decades, and compares the findings with other states of the region. The authors' professional expertise and broad knowledge of the political systems of Hungary and Europe provide a well-founded analysis of the developments in the region.

Der Band bietet einen umfassenden UEberblick uber das politische System Rumaniens seit 1989. Gegenstand sind seine Entstehung und Struktur, die politischen und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen im europaischen Kontext sowie besonders wichtige Politikfelder. Herausgearbeitet werden nationale Besonderheiten, Anpassungsprozesse, Entwicklungsphasen sowie Probleme und ihre Ursachen.

Seit dem Regierungsantritt von Viktor Orban im Jahr 2010 steht Ungarn aufgrund seiner innenpolitischen Entwicklung und EU-kritischen Haltung im Zentrum kritischer Beobachtung und Berichterstattung. Das Buch hilft durch die Vermittlung von Grundlagenwissen bei der Analyse und Bewertung der Entwicklungen. Es gibt einen fundierten Einblick in das Regierungssystem Ungarns, die Gesellschaft, Parteien und Medien sowie ausgewahlte Politikfelder. Dabei konzentriert es sich auf zentrale Merkmale und ihren Zusammenhang mit der EU, zeichnet wichtige Entwicklungslinien der vergangenen Jahrzehnte nach und ordnet die Befunde im Vergleich mit anderen Staaten ein. Die Autoren bringen ein hohes Mass an fachlicher und regionaler Expertise mit.

"Democracy theories and comparative political science have been challenged within the last decade by an unexpected democratic deficit and the rise of populism in the new EU-member states. This volume written by German and Czech scholars gives some food for thought for solving these research problems by means of thorough analyses of the polity, the politics and selected policies of the Czech Republic since 1990."Dieter Segert, retired Professor of Political Science (Area Studies on Eastern Europe), University of Vienna, Austria "Czech Democracy in Crisis is a long-overdue comprehensive study of the Czech political system. Using institutional approaches to change, it explores crucial policy outcomes. A perfect book for academics and practitioners who want to understand the challenges of democratic consolidation in a new democracy."Lenka Bustikova, Associate Professor of Political Science, Arizona State University, USA, and author of Extreme Reactions: Radical Right Mobilization in Eastern Europe The image of the Czechs as a poster child of democratization has changed into a crisis narrative in recent years. This edited volume traces this change and examines the suitability of different theories to explain developments in Czech democracy. The contributors, all renowned experts in their fields, offer well-founded and compact insights into the post-1989 Czech political system. They cover political institutions and parties; civil society; the media; and selected policy areas such as foreign, economic, migration and regional policy. The book takes into account processes of democratization and Europeanization, explaining the political picture at various stages of development. Finding that many of today's problems-fragmented political parties, government instability, inefficient state administration and low quality of governance-have not been new developments but have constantly existed, the authors present a plea for theoretical adjustments that should be read by all academics, students, practitioners and readers with an interest in Czech politics and society.

Das Buch analysiert, nach welchem Muster eine Demokratisierung durch Parlamente ablauft. Es zeigt, dass die Kompromissbereitschaft der Parteien systematisch nach Themen und Mehrheitsverhaltnissen in den Grundungslegislativen variierte. Trotz ahnlicher Rahmenbedingungen der Demokratisierung kam es daher zu unterschiedlichen Verfahren der Entscheidungsfindung mit und ohne Volksentscheide sowie zu unterschiedlichen Designs der neuen Verfassungen. Ausgewertet wurden umfassende Archiv- und Sekundarquellen, eine Tagung mit zentralen Aushandlungsbeteiligten, die 2008 unter Schirmherrschaft des Bundesratsprasidenten in Berlin stattfand, sowie weitere Zeitzeugeninterviews."

Die Beitrage des Bandes untersuchen den expliziten und impliziten Wandel des Grundgesetzes im Mehrebenensystem der Bundesrepublik Deutschland unter erheblich veranderten politischen Rahmenbedingungen. Die Zahl der fur den Verfassungswandel relevanten Akteure ist in den letzten Jahren ebenso deutlich angestiegen wie sich die traditionellen Kraftekonstellationen zwischen ihnen verschoben haben. Nach konzeptionellen Einfuhrungen in das Regieren im Mehrebenensystem sowie Formen des Verfassungswandels zeigen die Analysen, wie Akteure auf der europaischen, nationalen und subnationalen Ebene den impliziten und expliziten Wandel des Grundgesetzes beeinflussen.

This volume highlights the impact of border controls on migrants' journeys in two major areas of immigration: the European Union and the United States of America. In order to show the linkages between border control policies and migratory practices, the book combines empirical insights from ethnography with approaches from political science. Describing migrants' realities reveals that the impact of border control policies goes beyond the actual border area affecting many lives and states.

Der Band bietet eine Einfuhrung in das politische System des Landes Brandenburg seit 1990. Er stellt die zentralen politischen Institutionen vor und beleuchtet die politische Praxis mit dem Fokus auf Regierung und Parlament. Dabei vergleicht er auch mit anderen Bundeslandern und erlaubt so Aussagen uber Spezifika Brandenburgs. Der "Brandenburger Weg", der auf Konsens und Integration politischer und gesellschaftlicher Gruppen setzt, wird vielfach als Erfolgsmodell des Systemwechsels und Lehre aus der friedlichen Revolution begriffen. Oder handelt es sich hier um einen Mythos?

Das Buch untersucht, ob und wie stark die Politik der inneren Sicherheit jeweils auf nationaler Ebene europaisiert ist. Am Beispiel zweier zentraler Problemfelder, der organisierten Kriminalitat und des Terrorismus wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob die zunehmende politische Integration Europas Auswirkungen auf den Bereich innerer Sicherheit hat, wie integrationsoffen dieser Kernbereich staatlicher Souveranitat ist, ob sich nationale Spezifika, historisch-kulturelle Eigenheiten auf die politische Debatte sowie auf institutionelle Entwicklungen auswirken und ob die Europaisierung, so sie denn in diesem Feld der Politik erkennbar ist, an den Grenzen der Europaischen Union Halt macht.
Als Untersuchungsfalle dienen die EU-Grundungsmitglieder Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Niederlande, die spater beigetretenen Mitglieder Grossbritannien, Spanien und Polen sowie die Nicht-EU-Staaten Norwegen (Schengen-Land), Turkei (EU-Beitrittskandidat) und Russland als "strategischer Partner" der EU."