The Weakness of Post-Communist Civil Society Reassessed. CES Papers - Open Forum #11, 2012

During the last two decades, scholars from a variety of disciplines have argued that civil society is structurally deficient in post-communist countries. Yet why have the seemingly strong, active and mobilized civic movements of the transition period become so weak after democracy was established? And why have there been diverging political trajectories across the post-communist space if civil society structures were universally weak? This paper uses a wide range of data from various available sources to show that civil societies in Central and Eastern European countries are not as feeble as is commonly assumed. Some post-communist countries possess vigorous public spheres, and active civil society organizations strongly connected to transnational civic networks able to shape domestic policies. Following the calls by Anheier (2004) and Bernhard and Karakoç (2007) we adopt a multidimensional approach to the measurement of civil society. In a series of cross-section timeseries models, we show that our broader measures of civic and social institutions are able to predict the diverging transition paths among post-communist regimes, and in particular the growing gap between democratic East Central Europe and the increasingly authoritarian post-Soviet space.

Financial regulation in the European Union: A research agenda. CES Papers - Open Forum #10, 2012

Over the past two decades, the European Union (EU) has become a central actor in financial regulation and developed complex institutions to fulfill its roles. Pre-financial crisis scholarship has provided key insights into the functioning of this institutional cobweb and its evolution over time. However, the financial crisis has highlighted four facets of EU financial regulation (EUFR) that deserve more scholarly attention than they have received so far: (1) the permissive pre-crisis consensus on the merits of financial liberalization and integration, (2) the embeddedness of financial regulation in the political economy of EU integration at large, (3) preference formation of public and private stakeholders in EUFR, and (4) the global economic and regulatory context of EUFR. This paper presents the key scholarly challenges across these four areas. Addressing them promises not only academic insights but also promotes the relevance of EUFR research for real-world policy dilemmas.

Saving the Banks: The Political Economy of Bailouts. CES Papers - Open Forum #8, 2012

How much leeway did governments have in designing bank bailouts and deciding on the height of intervention during the 2007-2009 financial crisis? This paper analyzes comparatively what explains government responses to banking crises. Why does the type of intervention during financial crises vary to such a great extent across countries? By analyzing the variety of bailouts in Europe and North America, we will show that the strategies governments use to cope with the instability of financial markets does not depend on economic conditions alone. Rather, they take root in the institutional and political setting of each country and vary in particular according to the different types of business-government relations banks were able to entertain with public decision-makers. Still, “crony capitalism” accounts overstate the role of bank lobbying. With four case studies of the Irish, Danish, British and French bank bailout, we show that countries with close one-on-one relationships between policy-makers and bank management tended to develop unbalanced bailout packages, while countries where banks have strong interbank ties and collective negotiation capacity were able to develop solutions with a greater burden sharing from private institutions.

Forum.

Description based on: Vol. 8, no. 1 (Feb./Mar. 1985); title from caption.

Abstract proceedings : Second Forum on Innovative Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies, Domestic and International : Philadelphia, PA, May 15-17, 1990.

Mode of access: Internet.

Second Forum on Innovative Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies, Domestic and International : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 15-17, 1990 : technical papers.

Mode of access: Internet.

Technical papers : Third Forum on Innovative Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies, Domestic and International : Dallas, TX, June 11-13, 1991.

Mode of access: Internet.

Abstract proceedings : Fourth Forum on Innovative Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies, Domestic and International : San Francisco, CA, November 17-19, 1992.

Mode of access: Internet.

Reactor safety conference, jointly sponsored by American Nuclear Society, Atomic Industrial Forum [and] United States Atomic Energy Commission, New York City, October 31, 1957.

Cover title.

Federal forum : report 1991-93 /

Mode of access: Internet.

Proceedings of the second Open Forum on Management of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater /

Mode of access: Internet.

NIH health research with and for Hispanics : NIH report from the NIH-ADAMHA forum commemorating the Hispanic Heritage Week of 1978 /

Mode of access: Internet.

International forum on traffic records systems. Twelfth. Proceedings.

Mode of access: Internet.

Transcript of first ASTM Forum on Nuclear Problems, Atlantic City, N. J., June 25, 1959.

Caption title.

Civil rights forum /

Description based on: Vol. 9, no. 2 (summer 1995); title from caption.