Content Type: Journal Article / Political Geography: Eastern Europe / Journal: Romanian Journal of Political Science

Author:: Gül M. Kurtoglu-Eskisar
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Romanian Journal of Political Science
Institution:: Romanian Academic Society
Abstract:: Almost a decade before the end of the 20th century, most parts of Eastern Europe were still under the communist rule and, with a few exceptions, the Middle East was checker squared with varying degrees of authoritarianism. Almost a decade into the 21st century and many East European countries are now regarded as democracies. The Middle East, however, continues to be dominated by authoritarian regimes. This study outlines some of the factors that can help to explain this contrasting outcome in a comparative framework.
Topic:: Democratization, Islam, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: Middle East and Eastern Europe

Author:: Maximilian Spinner
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Romanian Journal of Political Science
Institution:: Romanian Academic Society
Abstract:: Almost two decades after their transition to democracy it is no longer questioned whether the new EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are democratic in the minimalist, procedural sense. Academic attention has turned to analysing various pathways of democratic development in the region and the consolidation of democracy (CoD). CoD in the broadest sense investigates the stability and survival of democratic regimes. In opposition to transitologists (which focuses on the regime question), CoD addresses the question of what kind of democracy is actually developing in various countries. Next to institutional and behavioural factors cultural or attitudinal variables are increasingly considered in this context. Elite commitment to the existing democratic system is seen as a crucial component of CoD.
Topic:: Democratization
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe

Author:: Alina Mungiu Pippidi
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Romanian Journal of Political Science
Institution:: Romanian Academic Society
Abstract:: Denying the huge influence of 'new' media over politics in our times would be foolish: and since politicians are no fools the development of the new media seems to be accompanied by the development of new strategies to control media contents and influence. While it remains undeniable that the social control patterns of a given society have a considerable influence over how the media system is shaped, I believe that globalization has opened the door to outside influences on a scale undreamed at the times of Four Theories of the Press.
Topic:: Civil Society and Democratization
Political Geography:: Europe and Eastern Europe

Author:: Milena Marin
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Romanian Journal of Political Science
Institution:: Romanian Academic Society
Abstract:: After almost 10 years since the Romanian revolution of December 1989, both the academic community and public opinion of Romania, have still many doubts regarding the nature and the exact unfolding of those events. Peter Siani- Davies, one of the few western researchers involved in the study of the Romanian society, through his excellent work “The Romanian Revolution of December 1989”, offers a detailed account of the Romanian revolutionary upheaval and of the difficult birth of democracy in Romania, giving at the same time an important contribution on the elucidation of the myths and realities of the Romanian revolution.
Topic:: Civil Society
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Romania, and Sydney

Author:: Suzana Dobre, Dragoş Bogdan, and Sorin Ioniţă
Publication Date:: 12-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Romanian Journal of Political Science
Institution:: Romanian Academic Society
Abstract:: Real estate speculations are the source of fortune for many of the Top 300 richest people and this national sport continues; those paying the price are former owners deprived of their properties by the Communist regime. Leaving aside the judicial details of the restitution program, two traits distinguish Romania in Central and Eastern Europe: the indecision regarding the restitution process and , in nature or compensation, the successive adoption of several laws in more than a decade caused confusion and overlapping rights; and large scale abuse at both local and central levels, sustained by ambiguous laws and discrete judicial practices, can be seen in the questionable discrepancies of the restitution process from one county to the other.
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe and Romania

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