and Balkan Europe
by IECOB & AIS Università di Bologna
This area collects information about a wide range of books, monographies and edited volumes concerning the countries and themes relevant to PECOB
The Quality of Democracy in Eastern Europe
Public Preferences and Policy Reforms
by: Andrew Roberts
published by: Cambridge University Press
pp: 252
ISBN: 9781107417571
price: £18.99 Paperback
How does democracy work in the new democracies of Eastern Europe? Do the people actually rule as one would expect in a democracy or do the legacies of communism and the constraints of the transition weaken popular control? This book presents a framework for conceptualizing and measuring democratic quality and applies this framework to multiple countries and policy areas in the region. It defines democratic quality as the degree to which citizens are able to hold leaders accountable for their performance and keep policy close to their preferences. Its surprising conclusion, drawn from large-N statistical analyses and small-N case studies, is that citizens exercise considerable control over their rulers in Eastern European democracies. Despite facing difficult economic circumstances and an unfavorable inheritance from communism, these countries rapidly constructed relatively high-quality democracies.
Table of contents
Preface
1. Introduction
Part I. Conceptual Analysis:
2. Assessing the quality of democracy
Part II. Statistical Analysis: Introduction to the Statistical Analyses:
3. Electoral accountability
4. Mandate responsiveness
5. Policy responsiveness
Part III. Case Study Analysis: Introduction to the Case Studies:
6. The politics of pension reforms
7. The politics of housing reforms
Part IV. Implications:
8. Explaining democratic quality
9. Conclusions
Bibliography.
Author Bio
Andrew Roberts, Northwestern University, Illinois
Andrew Roberts is currently Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. He is the author of From Good King Wenceslas to the Good Soldier Švejk: A Dictionary of Czech Popular Culture (2005) and has published articles in numerous journals, including Comparative Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Electoral Studies, Party Politics, Slavic Review, the Journal of Public Policy, and East European Politics and Societies.
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PECOB: Portal on Central Eastern and Balkan Europe - University of Bologna - 117, c.so della Repubblica - Italy
