Central and East European Politics

The section, organised on behalf of the ECPR Standing Group on Central and East European Politics, seeks to examine recent developments in the politics of Central and Eastern Europe. It will address the key issues of governance and representation in the transition states of the region, as the frontier of the European Union moves east. Within this framework, three main sub-themes can be identified: a) Governance in Central and Eastern Europe: Three of the panels deal with questions relating to governance in Central and Eastern Europe. The ‘quality’ of a democracy depends not only on the fairness of its elections but also on the observance of wider liberal values. This is related to questions about a ‘democratic deficit’ and resultant civic disengagement. A fresh perspective on governance is provided by an examination of the contrasting styles of environmental governance in the new Europe. b) Political Parties in Central and Eastern Europe: Three of the panels examine the development of political parties. Amongst other aspects, these examine the broad issues of definition, ideology, institutionalisation and the role of parties in building new democracies. c) The Implications of EU Enlargement for the Politics of Central and Eastern Europe: Four panels in the proposed section examine the implications of EU enlargement on political developments in the area. One examines the nature of relations between two EU accession countries and Germany, while the remaining three examine regional politics in the context of the forthcoming enlargement. These panels fit in well with the Conference theme, ‘Governance in the New Europe’. 3) CALL FOR PAPERS: The following panels, together with the provisional panel chairs, have been identified for the Central and East European Politics section of the Conference. Although a number of papers have been outlined in connection with the individual panels, potential paper-givers who would still be interested in presenting a paper at the conference are hereby invited to send all enquiries to the Section Chairs, Dr Derek Hutcheson (d.hutcheson@socsci.gla.ac.uk) or Dr Elena Korosteleva (e.a.korosteleva@socsci.gla.ac.uk). Any enquires should make mention of the panel to which the applicant wishes to contribute, and the papers should represent a piece of original research.