{"title":"Party Cues and Pre-Campaign Attitudes: Voting Choice in Referendums in Eastern Europe","authors":"Sergiu Gherghina, Nanuli Silagadze","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1963780","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1963780","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Political parties provide cues that influence how people vote in referendums. We know little about how this works against the attitudes held by voters before campaigns. This article analyzes under what circumstances voters in referendums consider their choice to be the result of party cues or of their opinions prior to a campaign. It focuses on seven referendums organized in Eastern Europe between 2015 and 2019. The results show that party cues may shape voting behavior when political parties are trusted, cues are clear, and citizens are media users. Political activity, information and interest in politics make pre-campaign attitudes important.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45002313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Instrumentalization of the Fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Politics of Moldova","authors":"Agnieszka Miarka","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1943448","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1943448","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The aim of the article is to explain how the political forces in Moldova used the issue of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve their particular goals. The instrumentalization of the fight against the pandemic was particularly visible as an element of the political rivalry preceding the presidential election. The analysis of social data confirms that the pandemic situation has become another field of competition in the internal policy of the state, as is customary in Moldova during crises.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"69 1","pages":"115 - 120"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1943448","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47474281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Delegated Rebellions as an Unwanted Byproduct of Subnational Elites’ Miscalculation: A Case Study of the Donbas","authors":"Martin Laryš, E. Souleimanov","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1943449","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1943449","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The literature on delegated rebellion has treated principals (external states) and their agents (rebel groups) as the main factors in the inception of rebellion. Intriguingly, no attention has been paid to subnational elites as a separate, third actor. This article takes a novel perspective on delegated rebellion by ascribing agency to subnational elites. It introduces the theoretical concept of strategic entrapment, which shows that even subnational elites unwilling to follow the path of rebel violence may be trapped between the incipient rebel groups and a principal. As a result, subnational elites are sidelined and replaced by the principal’s rebel proxies.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"69 1","pages":"155 - 165"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1943449","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42261773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Constitutional Conventions in Central Europe: Presidents in Government Formation Process","authors":"Miloš Brunclík, M. Kubát","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1942067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1942067","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article is focused on constitutional conventions pertaining to government formation in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. Using the concept of informal institutions, building on Anglo-Saxon scholarship complemented with Central European literature, the article approaches constitutional conventions as a special type of informal institution. Taking perspectives of political science and constitutional theory, and employing both formal analysis of constitutional articles as well as analysis of actual political-constitutional practice, the article has identified two or three constitutional conventions that have emerged in each country since 1990.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"70 1","pages":"42 - 54"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1942067","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47773229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Where the Personal is (Geo)Political: Performing Queer Visibility in Georgia in the Context of EU Association","authors":"Laura Luciani","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1937228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1937228","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article examines the interplay between the European Union’s (EU) interventions fostering LGBT+ rights in Georgia, and the visibility-raising strategies of local queer activists. The growing antagonism between the EU and Russia over their “shared neighborhood” crystallizes the idea of a value-based divide between the West/EUrope and the East/Russia on LGBT+ issues—with Georgia occupying a liminal position therein. The paper puts forward the concept of geopoliticization to unpack how the discursive construction of LGBT+ equality as a geopolitical issue shapes Georgian queer activists’ visibility strategies, and to interrogate the outcomes these processes produce.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"70 1","pages":"197 - 208"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1937228","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47186378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media Coverage of Labor Migrants in Russia during the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Vanessa Ruget, Burul Usmanalieva","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1940207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1940207","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study explores media coverage of migration in Russia during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed and coded articles published in six mainstream Russian newspapers and on one popular news site between March 1 and June 30 of 2020. Our results confirm key findings of the literature on media and migrants in Russia over the last decade, including the frequent portrayal of migrants as a security threat, a focus on legality and illegality, and the absence of a migrant voice. However, contrary to our expectations, not all sources significantly covered the topic of COVID-19 infections among migrants. Overall, our paper contributes to a growing literature examining the securitization of migrants in non-Western contexts and initiates a discussion of how a pandemic might exacerbate this phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"69 1","pages":"48 - 57"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1940207","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46556444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anti-Establishment Parties and Voters’ Responses in Post-Communist Europe","authors":"Sergiu Gherghina, Joakim Ekman, Olena Podolian","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1928831","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1928831","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Starting with the third decade of post-communism, the emergence of many anti-establishment parties in Central and Eastern Europe reshaped the political landscape. Political parties remain key actors through their functions of representation, but it is unclear how they are responding and adapting to recent challenges and developments. At the same time, the behavior of voters in such agitated times remains a puzzle. This special issue aims to outline several theoretical models of party and voter adaptation to political realities, and to identify and explain various ways in which anti-establishment parties promote their discourse and how voters respond to it.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"68 1","pages":"261 - 263"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1928831","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43473876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"COVID-19 and Azerbaijan: Is the System Resilient Enough to Withstand the Perfect Storm?","authors":"Anar Valiyev, Fikrat Valehli","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1920840","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1920840","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT COVID-19 has significantly impacted many countries of post-Soviet Eurasia, affecting both political and economic realms. Azerbaijan is not alone in suffering from the pandemic and paying a high price. All the problems the country inherited are being exacerbated, forcing the government to seek different modes of development and the managing of governmental affairs. The following article will examine the possible impact of COVID-19 on the political and economic situation in Azerbaijan, and try to predict the future implications of the government’s actions for the system.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"69 1","pages":"103 - 114"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1920840","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41882417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Antigovernment Protests and Commitment to Democratic Principles","authors":"N. Abbasov","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1931339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1931339","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT While antigovernment protests have been widespread across the world in recent years, it is still not well understood why people protest their governments. This study addresses this question and asks why some individuals participate in antigovernment protests, while others don’t. I argue that commitment to democratic values is essential to understanding participation in antigovernment protest: individuals who are committed to democratic values are more likely to participate in an antigovernment protest. With broader implications for political protests in political regimes other than consolidated democracies, this research explores recent widespread protests in Georgia and finds evidence consistent with its primary argument.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"70 1","pages":"209 - 223"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1931339","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42550807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"I Don’t Like It Unless It’s for Me: Voters’ Perceptions of Pork-Barrel Politics in Central and Eastern Europe","authors":"Michal Tóth, Miroslav Nemčok, Peter Spáč","doi":"10.1080/10758216.2021.1914111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1914111","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Public resources are often allocated neither effectively nor equitably, and they serve as a tool for securing re-election. Despite compelling evidence for pork-barrel politics, little is known about voters’ perceptions of this practice. Moreover, limited findings from Western countries are also contradictory – voters perceive such a strategy both positively and negatively. To contribute with findings from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), we conducted two survey experiments – in Czechia and Slovakia – which randomized people’s exposure to fairness of the distribution and profit for the respondent’s country. Our results suggest that once voters realize their profit from pork-barrel politics, they are less critical of unfair distributions of resources and the responsible decision-maker.","PeriodicalId":46824,"journal":{"name":"Problems of Post-Communism","volume":"69 1","pages":"473 - 485"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2021-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10758216.2021.1914111","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44039987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}