The quality of democracy in Eastern Europe : public preferences and policy reforms / Andrew Roberts.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roberts, Andrew Lawrence, 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Europe, Eastern.

Democracy.

Government accountability.

Political participation.

Eastern Europe.

Political participation--Europe, Eastern.

Government accountability--Europe, Eastern.

Europe, Eastern--Politics and government--1989-.

Europe, Eastern.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xi, 239 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Summary:

"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 new 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"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Conceptual analysis

Assessing the quality of democracy

Statistical analysis

Electoral accountability

Mandate responsiveness

Policy responsiveness

Case study analysis

The politics of pension reforms

The politics of housing reforms

Implications

Explaining democratic quality

Conclusions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521110334

0521110335

OCLC:

351329770

Online:

Cover image