You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
None
None
The countries of Central Europe in the first round for admission to the European Union have all established constitutional, electoral democracies and market economies. However, much remains to be done to achieve fully consolidated democratic states. This study documents the weaknesses of public oversight and participation in policymaking in Hungary and Poland, two of the most advanced countries in the region. It discusses five alternative routes to accountability including European Union oversight, constitutional institutions such as presidents and courts, devolution to lower-level governments, the use of neo-corporatist bodies, and open-ended participation rights. It urges more emphasis on the fifth option, public participation. Case studies of the environmental movement in Hungary and of student groups in Poland illustrate these general points. The book reviews the United States' experience of open-ended public participation and draws some lessons for the transition countries from the strengths and weaknesses of the American system.
This book discusses the nature of the challenges that have confronted European democracies in recent years. In the past decade, the rule of law in Europe has been put under strain by both external and internal factors. The term “illiberal democracies” is sometimes used to describe the rise of a phenomenon in which the fundamental values of the European legal order, as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, are called into question. The preservation of the independence of the judiciary, of the freedom of expression and the protection of journalists are among the values under threat. But these challenges are also...
The aim of this book is to present the most relevant legal constraints resulting from the implementation of the Third Energy Liberalisation Package. The research investigates legal shortfalls of new EU legislation from the day-to-day business perspective. By comparing and contrasting former and present EU rules and their implementation, it shows how the general aim of spurring on the liberalisation of the EU energy market is achievable. The book suggests de lege ferenda stipulations which may be included in the next energy market liberalisation legislation.
A new examination of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from a political science and international relations perspective. It describes the main features of the court and discusses the political negotiations and the on-going clashes between those states who oppose the court, particularly the United States, and those who defend it. It also makes these issues accessible to non-lawyers and presents effective advocacy strategies for non-governmental organizations. It also delivers essential background to the place of the US in international relations and makes a major contribution to thinking about the ICC’s future. While global civil society does not deliver global democracy, it does contribute to more transparent, more deliberative and more ethical international decision-making which is ultimately preferable to a world of isolated sovereign states with no accountability outside their borders, or exclusive and secretive state-to-state diplomacy. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, international law, globalization and global governance.
None
The aim of each volume of this series Guides to Information Sources is to reduce the time which needs to be spent on patient searching and to recommend the best starting point and sources most likely to yield the desired information. The criteria for selection provide a way into a subject to those new to the field and assists in identifying major new or possibly unexplored sources to those who already have some acquaintance with it. The series attempts to achieve evaluation through a careful selection of sources and through the comments provided on those sources.