Many recently democratized countries in Central and Eastern Europe, having escaped from communist rule and planned economies, face pressing problems related to the notions of tax evasion, trust and state capacities. Tax morale in changing political and economic contexts is of crucial importance. This raises a series of questions: What are the conditions under which people agree to pay taxes? Why do people avoid taxes? To what extent do the reasons for tax evasion vary from one region to another? The authors of this volume address these questions and try to assess the progress which has been made in Central and Eastern Europe with regard to improving tax morale through tax reforms and strengthening of extractive state capacities. A main insight is the complex causal relationship between the quality of fiscal institutions and tax morale. In addition, huge differences between countries of the former Soviet Union and central European countries, which are now members of the EU, can be observed not only at the level of democratic governance, of state capacities and the structures of trust, but also with regard to tax morale.

This new volume presents a wealth of fresh data documenting and analyzing the different positions taken by governments in the development of the European Constitution. It examines how such decisions have substantial effects on the sovereignty of nation states and on the lives of citizens, independent of the ratification of a constitution. Few efforts have been made to document constitution building in a systematic and comparative manner, including the different steps and stages of this process. This book examines European Constitution-building by tracing the two-level policy formation process from the draft proposal of the European Convention until the Intergovernmental Conference, which finally adopted the document on the Constitution in June 2004. Following a tight comparative framework, it sheds light on reactions to the proposed constitution in the domestic arena of all the actors involved. It includes a chapter on each of the original ten member states and the fifteen accession states, plus key chapters on the European Commission and European Parliament. This book will be of strong interest to scholars and researchers of European Union politics, comparative politics, and policy-making.

Does power sharing bring peace? Policymakers around the world seem to think so. Yet, while there are many successful examples of power sharing in multi-ethnic states, such as Switzerland, South Africa and Indonesia, other instances show that such arrangements offer no guarantee against violent conflict, including Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe and South Sudan. Given this mixed record, it is not surprising that scholars disagree as to whether power sharing actually reduces conflict. Based on systematic data and innovative methods, this book comes to a mostly positive conclusion by focusing on practices rather than merely formal institutions, studying power sharing's preventive effect, analyzing how power sharing is invoked in anticipation of conflict, and by showing that territorial power sharing can be effective if combined with inclusion at the center. The authors' findings demonstrate that power sharing is usually the best option to reduce and prevent civil conflict in divided states.

Values form fundamental principles that help orient individuals in their daily life, and as such are rather stable across time. Changes in the political, economic, and social environment, as those experienced by Switzerland in the last two decades, may affect these value priorities through generational change and individual reorientations. The present book documents how values have changed over the last twenty years in Switzerland as it navigated in the rough waters of an increasingly globalized environment and a changing international political context. The contributions show how Swiss citizens position themselves in their social relations, including the large share of foreigners among the residents in the Alpine republic. In particular, the book highlights how religious values have changed in their meanings. Contributions to this volume also show the consequences of value change in the social and political sphere. Values influence the citizens' views on European integration, their disposition to provide volunteer work, their electoral choices, etc. The volume thus offers a detailed view on how values have changed in Switzerland and how these changes affected the social and political sphere.

This new book presents a wealth of new data documenting and analyzing the different positions taken by European governments in the development of the European Constitution.
Understanding how constitutional decisions are taken in the EU is of great societal and scientific relevance. This volume examines how these decisions have substantial effects on the sovereignty of nation states and on the lives of citizens, independent of the ratification of a constitution. Few efforts have been made to document constitution building in a systematic and comparative manner, including the different steps and stages of this process. This book examines European Constitution-building by tracing the two-level policy formation process from the draft proposal of the European Convention until the Intergovernmental Conference, which finally adopted the document on the Constitution in June 2004. Following a tight comparative framework, it sheds light on reactions to the proposed constitution in the domestic arena of all the actors involved. The volume includes a chapter on each of the original ten member states and the fifteen accession states, plus chapters on the European Commission and European Parliament.
Building a clear understanding of the affects of constitutional decisions, this book will be of strong interest to scholars and researchers of European Union politics, comparative politics, and policy-making.

Does power sharing bring peace? Policymakers around the world seem to think so. Yet, while there are many successful examples of power sharing in multi-ethnic states, such as Switzerland, South Africa and Indonesia, other instances show that such arrangements offer no guarantee against violent conflict, including Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe and South Sudan. Given this mixed record, it is not surprising that scholars disagree as to whether power sharing actually reduces conflict. Based on systematic data and innovative methods, this book comes to a mostly positive conclusion by focusing on practices rather than merely formal institutions, studying power sharing's preventive effect, analyzing how power sharing is invoked in anticipation of conflict, and by showing that territorial power sharing can be effective if combined with inclusion at the center. The authors' findings demonstrate that power sharing is usually the best option to reduce and prevent civil conflict in divided states.

Referendums are playing an increasingly influential role in the process of European integration. Starting with the entry of a first wave of new European Community members in the 1970s, this instrument of popular decision making has grown ever more important. Later stages in the enlargement process of the European Union have led to even more referendums. Indeed, European integration was seriously jeopardized when Danish voters first rejected the Maastricht Treaty and France's citizens almost joined them. Yet we know very little about how referendums affect the integration process. This landmark study bridges this gap in two ways. First, it offers a thorough comparative analysis of referendums that have occurred so far in the process of European integration. Utilizing a detailed study of voting behavior by citizens in these referendum campaigns, Simon Hug argues that understanding this behavior is of crucial importance if we want to accurately assess the impact of referendums on European integration. The author then draws on his comparative data to analyze the likely consequences of referendums based on those that have taken place and proposals for new initiatives. With its detailed empirical analysis and theoretical foundation, this book makes an important contribution both to the study of referendums and to our understanding of institutional reform and integration within the EU.