Rodrigo SoldonJefferson PancierMarcos Hirakawa

 

Assessing the Democratic Divide between Eastern and Western Europe

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Chair
Name: 
Dr. Joshua Dubrow
Country of Residence/Work: 
Poland
Institution: 
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
Discussant 1
Name: 
Prof. Kazimierz Slomczynski

Panelists explore the continuing relevance of the divide between post-1989 Eastern and Western Europe in terms of democratic processes and mass political engagement. Eastern Europe’s move from totalitarianism to democratic regimes produced radical changes to the European political landscape. After 1989, social, economic and political developments within and between countries impacted democratic processes and mass political engagement, where rapidly maturing Eastern Europe and Western Europe share similar democratic outlooks but have, at points, different political outcomes. At the micro-level, political inclusion of women and minorities and mass political engagement vary across countries. At the macro-level, the drive toward European unification continues the relevance of the East-West divide: With European Union and NATO membership as coveted awards for “good” democratic behavior, lack of membership is the new isolation for the historically marginalized post-communist countries of Europe. Papers should explicitly compare points of convergence and divergence of these “halves” of Europe, preferably across time. Panelists are invited to apply lessons learned from analyzing East-West to the North-South divide.

Schedule
Date: 
February 18th, 2011
Time: 
13:30 - 15:10
Venue: 
Poli Civil
Room: 
Room S/06