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This comprehensive book focuses on the challenges facing Ukraine as
a newly emerged state after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Like
all countries with no recent history of independence, Ukraine had
to invent or recreate effective political institutions, reintroduce
a market economy, and reorient its foreign policy. These tasks were
impossible to accomplish without resolving the question of national
identity. In this balanced and clear-eyed assessment, a team of
U.S. and Ukrainian specialists explores the external and internal
dimensions of national identity and statehood, providing a wealth
of information previously unavailable to Western scholars. Arguing
that the search for national identity is a multidimensional
process, the authors show that it reflects the realities of the
dawning twenty-first century. Paradoxically, this quest must cope
with the both the weakening of state boundaries caused by
globalization and the strengthening of the national model as new
countries emerge from the disintegration of the Soviet Union and
Yugoslavia. After providing the historical context of Ukraine s
international debut, the book analyzes the complexities of
constructing a national identity. The authors explore questions of
ethnic relations and regionalism, the development of political
values and attitudes, mass-elite relations, the cultural background
of economic strategies, gender issues, and the threat of organized
crime to emergent civil society."
"Women and Democracy" offers a unique look at the political
experiences of women in two regions of the world--Latin America and
Eastern and Central Europe--which have moved from authoritarian to
democratic regimes. At first glance, the roles and attitudes of
these women appear to be similar. This book makes the case that the
differences are notable. In Latin America, the women are much more
politicized and well-organized in their efforts to obtain rights,
recognition, and equity. In contrast, the women of former communist
societies in Eastern and Central Europe, as if disenchanted by
their years under an ideology that promoted equality for women,
prefer instead to seek more traditional women's roles and avoid the
public arena. Examining the various political attitudes and efforts
of women as they learn to participate in the political process, the
contributors offer important new insights into democratic
consolidation in general--and point to the need for greater
attention to the role of women in political processes.
Contributors: Maruja Barrig, Teresa P. R. Caldeira, Maria del
Carmen Feijoo, Jane S. Jaquette, Dobrinka Kostova, Philippe C.
Schmitter, Renata Siemienska, Julia Szalai, Maria Elena Valenzuela,
and Sharon L. Wolchik
From 1998 to 2005, six elections took place in postcommunist Europe
and Eurasia that had the surprising outcome of empowering the
opposition and defeating authoritarian incumbents or their
designated successors. Valerie J. Bunce and Sharon L. Wolchik
compare these unexpected electoral breakthroughs with one another
and with elections that had the more typical result of maintaining
authoritarian rule. They draw three conclusions. First, the
opposition was victorious because of the hard and creative work of
a transnational network composed of local opposition and civil
society groups, members of the international democracy assistance
community, and graduates of successful electoral challenges to
authoritarian rule in other countries. Second, the remarkable run
of these upset elections reflected the ability of this network to
diffuse an ensemble of innovative electoral strategies across state
boundaries. Finally, elections can serve as a powerful mechanism
for democratic change. This is especially the case when civil
society is strong, the transfer of political power is through
constitutional means, and opposition leaders win with small
mandates.
From 1998 to 2005, six elections took place in postcommunist Europe
and Eurasia that had the surprising outcome of empowering the
opposition and defeating authoritarian incumbents or their
designated successors. Valerie J. Bunce and Sharon L. Wolchik
compare these unexpected electoral breakthroughs with one another
and with elections that had the more typical result of maintaining
authoritarian rule. They draw three conclusions. First, the
opposition was victorious because of the hard and creative work of
a transnational network composed of local opposition and civil
society groups, members of the international democracy assistance
community, and graduates of successful electoral challenges to
authoritarian rule in other countries. Second, the remarkable run
of these upset elections reflected the ability of this network to
diffuse an ensemble of innovative electoral strategies across state
boundaries. Finally, elections can serve as a powerful mechanism
for democratic change. This is especially the case when civil
society is strong, the transfer of political power is through
constitutional means, and opposition leaders win with small
mandates.
Work on the transition from communism in Eastern Europe and the
Soviet Union has emphasized the 'polity' and the 'economy'; this
book analyzes the 'society', and thereby helps fill an important
gap in the literature. It endeavors to summarize developments and
impose some coherence on the subject by treating four basic areas:
ethnic issues, deviance and health, social cleavages, and labor and
elitism.
Work on the transition from communism in Eastern Europe and the
Soviet Union has emphasized the 'polity' and the 'economy'; this
book analyzes the 'society', and thereby helps fill an important
gap in the literature. It endeavors to summarize developments and
impose some coherence on the subject by treating four basic areas:
ethnic issues, deviance and health, social cleavages, and labor and
elitism.
Women in Power in Post-Communist Parliaments examines the life
and work of women who have reached positions of political power
after the end of communism in Europe. It explores the roles they
have adopted, the relationships they have cultivated, and the
agendas they have pursued. Much of the literature on women in
post-Communist states has focused on one or two countries. This
volume treats the issues comparatively, in six countries the Czech
Republic, Germany (with a focus on the former GDR), Slovenia,
Bulgaria, Poland, and Russia. It also includes interviews with and
written statements by the very "women in power" discussed in the
first half of the book, giving voice to their common and divergent
experiences as political actors within an environment of stormy
economies and new foreign engagements, particularly with the
European Union."
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