UN's Interventions on the Constitution-Making Process in Political Transition States: The Role of the UN in the Rescue of the Democratic Order (Introduction)

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina B. Gouvva
Keyword(s):  
Transition States ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
Constitution Making

Neither here, not there: Bulgaria and Romania in current European politics☆

2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Bojkov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Politics ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
The Eu

The article analyses the process of EU enlargement with reference to the progress that Bulgaria and Romania have made within it. It is argued that leaving them out of the wave of accession finalised in May 2004 for ten of the candidate states, has placed them in a situation of double exclusion. Firstly, their geographical belonging to the region of Southeast Europe has been rendered non-essential by their advanced position within the EU enlargement process. Secondly, their achievement in economic and political transition has been removed from the progress of the ten states, which joined the EU in May 2004 by delaying the time of their accession. As a result, any efforts in regional cooperation and integration between Bulgaria and Romania on one hand, and other Southeast European states on the other, have been effectively cancelled. Moreover, in current European politics, the two countries have come to serve the unenviable role of exemplifying on the part of the European Union how progress is being awarded and hesitation punished.

Impartial mediator or critical watchdog? The role of political journalism in EU constitution-making

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Trenz ◽  
Maximilian Conrad ◽  
Grui Rosén
Keyword(s):  
Political Journalism ◽  
Constitution Making

Protecting the Sāsana through Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 194-212
Author(s):  
Iselin Frydenlund
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Birth Control ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
State Control ◽  
Race And Religion ◽  
Religious Actors

This chapter is about Myanmar’s rapid political and social change, after decades-long isolation under military rule. It raises questions about the role of religious actors in the democratization processes. In 2015, four laws to ‘protect race and religion’ were passed in Myanmar’s Parliament, during a critical time in Myanmar’s political transition to democracy, and in the same year as the country’s first free elections in 25 years. The laws seek to regulate marriages between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men, to prevent forceful conversion through state control of conversion from one religion to another, to abolish polygamy, and to promote birth control and family planning in certain regions of the country. Drawing on empirical data from Myanmar, the chapter argues that the rise of Buddhist nationalism during Myanmar’s democratization process primarily needs to be understood as a form of cultural defence in times of transition, cultural change, and societal insecurity.

From Mistrust to Understanding: Inclusive Constitution-Making Design and Agreement in Tunisia

2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292096710
Author(s):  
Tereza Jermanová
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Constituent Assembly ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Inclusive Processes ◽  
Democratic Constitution ◽  
The Way ◽  
Constitution Making

In 2014, Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly (NCA) almost unanimously approved the country’s first democratic constitution despite significant identity-based divisions. Drawing on the Tunisian case, the article explores the role of an inclusive constitution-making process in fostering constitutional agreement during democratization. Emerging studies that link different process modalities to democracy have so far brought only limited illumination to how inclusive processes matter, nor were these propositions systematically tested. Using process tracing, and building on original interviews gathered in Tunisia between 2014 and 2020, this article traces a causal mechanism whereby an inclusive constitution-making process allowed for a transformation of interpersonal relationships between political rivals. It demonstrates that more than two years of regular interactions allowed NCA deputies to shatter some of the prejudices that initially separated especially Islamist and non-Islamist partisans and develop cross-partisan ties, thus facilitating constitutional negotiations. However, I argue that the way these transformations contributed to constitutional settlement is more subtle than existing theories envisaged, and suggest alternative explanations. The article contributes to the debate about constitution-making processes by unpacking the understudied concept of partisan inclusion and applying it empirically to trace its effects on constitutional agreement, bringing precision and nuance to current assumptions about its benefits.

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