Literature regarding the post-Soviet period has commented extensively on the difficulties of post-Soviet governments in extricating themselves from command economies and centralised polities and moving toward market economies and democratic government. For the most part, such writing has emphasised the economic variable. Essentially, the argument has concentrated on a consensus that the post-So...

The Voter Qualifications Clause of Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution makes federal voting rights dependent upon participation in state elections. This Article argues that the right to vote in federal elections, as defined by Article I, incorporates both i) state constitutional law governing the right to vote and ii) the democratic norms that existed within the states at the founding...

The WTO system and democratic rights are unexpected bedfellows. The GATT ⁄WTO requires governments to adopt policies that provide foreign products (read producers) with due process, political participation, and information rights related to trade policymaking. Because these nations also provide these rights to their citizens, a growing number of people are learning how to influence trade-relate...

Many non-democratic countries anchor the word “democracy” in their national constitutions and everyday rhetoric, while ignoring conceptual roots of democracy its scholarly-defined procedural standards. This article argues that governments intentionally “oversell” to people, order exploit legitimizing effect embodies. can, however, only succeed if receiving side is susceptible such claims legiti...

Does the presence of an armed actor change the nature of political participation? Democratic states that experience internal conflict continue to hold elections and debates over policy, as well as effect peaceful transfers of power among successive governments. A reified distinction between “violence” and “politics” in the study of political violence and civil war has prevented scholars from co...

In democratic societies, good governance is the key to assuring the confidence of stakeholders and other citizens in how governments and organizations interact with and relate to them and how decisions are taken. Although defining good governance can be debatable, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) set of principles is commonly used. The reimbursement recommendation processes of the ...

The Polish Growth Miracle: Outcome of Persistent Reform Efforts Since the beginning of transition in 1990 from a centrally planned to a market oriented economy, the performance of Poland’s economy has been outstanding if we take GDP growth as our measure. It is not specific reforms that can explain this performance but the radical (“big bang”) reforms at the beginning of transition in conjuncti...