Gyárfášová Oľga, Mesežnikov Grigorij
Author
Bútora Martin, Bútorová Zora, Gyárfášová Oľga, Hartl Jan, Krivý Vladimír, Kucharczyk Jacek, Medve−Bálint Gergő, Mesežnikov Grigorij, Nekvapil Václav, Pogátsa Zoltán, Stanley Ben, Szomolányi Soňa, Učeň Peter, Łada Agnieszka
Imprint
IVO, Bratislava, 2011
Language
English
Annotation
The 2010 parliamentary elections in Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia, together with the early presidential vote in Poland present an important milestone not only in the developments of the individual states, but also in the regional and European context. For the Visegrad Four countries these are the elections held on the threshold of the third decade of democratic development after the collapse of communist regimes. However, after two decades of transformation and reforms the societies in Central European countries face a certain democracy fatigue accompanied by populist and nationalist backlash.
The main objective of the publication is to provide reflection on the political, economic and foreign policy implications of the 2010 elections from different angles and perspectives provided by experts from all Visegrad countries.
In July 2010 the Institute for Public Affairs convened an international conference in Bratislava entitled Free Elections 20 Years After: Splendor and Misery of a Central European Dream. Most of the contributions in this volume are revised and updated versions of papers presented at this conference.
The volume begins with a comparative introductory study of two decades of free elections in Central Europe. It also explores what these elections tell us about the quality of democracy. Part One then presents four individual−country case studies offering deep insight into the background and implications of the elections on democratic development in the domestic context (stability of democratic institutions, democratic political culture, guarantee of political and minority rights). Among them above all the Hungarian case raises not only academic but also political attention. Recently Hungary is the only Visegrad country ruled by a cabinet formed by de facto a single party that controls a constitutional majority in parliament, and signals that there are trends threatening liberal democracy are mounting.
Part Two focuses on parliamentary elections in Slovakia and Part Three examines the impact of the Visegrad elections on countries' foreign policies. The authors examine how the new governments and authorities affect the role of Visegrad countries as EU members, how they contribute to the European discussion and EU reforms, their role in EU enlargement and EU neighborhood policy and last but not least how they are shaping Visegrad regional cooperation.
The diversity of professional backgrounds of the book’s authors has resulted in what the editors believe is a useful mix of contributions, ranging from political narratives and commentary to empirical and theoretical analyses. The publication will be accessible to a broad audience of policy makers, diplomats, journalists, academics, and civic activists.
We hope that readers of Visegrad Elections 2010: Domestic Impact and European Consequences find it to be a valuable source of information and analysis on domestic developments in Central Europe and their impact on all of Europe.
Download: Table of Contents [PDF document]
Reviews:
A. Školkay: Recenzia - Visegrad Elections 2010 (Zahraničná politika)
New book analyses the 2010 V4 elections (The Slovak Spectator)
Product details | ||
Number of pages | 278 | |
Format | paperback | |
ISBN | 978-80-89345-28-1 |