scholarly journals Two faces of internal life of political parties in Western Balkans

Ballot ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova

Subject Russia's contacts with Balkans political parties. Significance For Moscow, connections with Balkan parties are an instrument to exert influence in a region falling within the West's sphere. The declaration the ruling United Russia party signed with parties from Serbia, Bosnia-Hercegovina (BiH), Macedonia and Bulgaria on June 27 called for military neutrality in a Balkan zone of neutral sovereign states within a new pan-European continental security architecture that would exclude NATO membership and hark back to the Yugoslav policy of non-alignment. Impacts Russia will balance NATO expansion into the Western Balkans with initiatives to increase its influence in the region's domestic politics. Moscow will tacitly accept the Balkans' integration into the EU. Russia will seek to diversify alliances, cooperating with both mainstream pragmatists and radicals calling for a turn away from the West.


Author(s):  
Hanna Kharlan

The article covers the specific depiction of Eastern Europe in the programs of the main political forces in parliamentary elections in Germany 2017. Positions of political forces of the Federal Republic of Germany are characterized by the degree of impact to the course of political life. The election programs of the six parties (CDU / CSU, SPD, FDP, “Alliance 90 / The Greens”, “Left”, “Alternative for Germany”) that managed to overcome the barrier were analysed. Almost all political parties that succeeded in breaking the barrier in the parliamentary elections on September 24, 2017, presented their own vision of the European direction of FRG’s foreign policy in their election programs. All parties, except the right-wing populists, spoke in favor of Germany’s active participation in the processes of European integration. Such issues as a strategy for the further development of the EU, overcoming the negative effects of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and the prospects of community enlargement at the expense of Turkey and the Western Balkans were the focus of political forces. The Christian and Democratic Union / Christian and Social Union, led by Federal Chancellor A. Merkel, emphasized the need to strengthen the European Union as a subject of world politics against the background of geopolitical shifts after 2014 and the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Free Democratic Party and the “Alliance 90 / The Greens” spoke in favor of reforming the EU institutions. Instead, the far-right “Alternative for Germany” called for a radical revision of FRG’s foreign policy strategy. All political forces have noted the deterioration of the situation with democracy and human rights in Turkey, which makes it impossible for this country to enter the EU in the near future. As for membership prospects for the Western Balkans, the parties’ positions differ. The conclusions state that the formation of another “grand coalition” led by A. Merkel testified to the stability of the foreign policy and the desire to maintain the leading role of FRG in the processes of deepening and expanding European integration.


Author(s):  
Mark D. Brewer ◽  
Jeffrey M. Stonecash
Keyword(s):  

2016 ◽  
Vol 86 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 242-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genc Burazeri ◽  
Jolanda Hyska ◽  
Iris Mone ◽  
Enver Roshi

Abstract.Aim: To assess the association of breakfast skipping with overweight and obesity among children in Albania, a post-communist country in the Western Balkans, which is undergoing a long and difficult political and socioeconomic transition towards a market-oriented economy. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was carried out in Albania in 2013 including a representative sample of 5810 children aged 7.0 – 9.9 years (49.5% girls aged 8.4 ± 0.6 years and 51.5% boys aged 8.5 ± 0.6 years; overall response rate: 97%). Children were measured for height and weight, and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Cut-off BMI values of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) were used to define overweight and obesity in children. Demographic data were also collected. Results: Upon adjustment for age, sex, and place of residence, breakfast skipping was positively related to obesity (WHO criteria: OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.3–1.9; IOTF criteria: OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.4–2.5), but not overweight (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.9–1.3 and OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.9–1.4, respectively). Furthermore, breakfast skipping was associated with a higher BMI (multivariable-adjusted OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02–1.07). Conclusions: Our findings point to a strong and consistent positive relationship between breakfast skipping and obesity, but not overweight, among children in this transitional southeastern European population. Future studies in Albania and other transitional settings should prospectively examine the causal role of breakfast skipping in the development of overweight and obesity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Schott ◽  
Jule Wolf

Abstract. We examined the effect of presenting unknown policy statements on German parties’ election posters. Study 1 showed that participants inferred the quality of a presented policy from knowledge about the respective political party. Study 2 showed that participants’ own political preferences influenced valence estimates: policy statements presented on campaign posters of liked political parties were rated significantly more positive than those presented on posters of disliked political parties. Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 with an additional measure of participants’ need for cognition. Need for cognition scores were unrelated to the valence transfer from political parties to policy evaluation. Study 4 replicated the findings of Studies 2 and 3 with an additional measure of participants’ voting intentions. Voting intentions were a significant predictor for valence transfer. Participants credited both their individually liked and disliked political parties for supporting the two unknown policies. However, the credit attributed to the liked party was significantly higher than to the disliked one. Study 5 replicated the findings of Studies 2, 3, and 4. Additionally, participants evaluated political clubs that were associated with the same policies previously presented on election posters. Here, a second-degree transfer emerged: from party valence to policy evaluation and from policy evaluation to club evaluation. Implications of the presented studies for policy communications and election campaigning are discussed.


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