Article
United we stand, divided we rule: how political polarization erodes democracy
Although there is a broad consensus among political scientists that polarization is detrimental to democracy, very few empirically investigate the links between political polarization and democratic erosion. Most studies use diversity measures that fail to capture contemporary polarization, where the society is divided into two large hostile camps. In this article, we address the gap. Theoretically, we argue that polarization increases animosity between “enemy camps,” making voters more willing to accept anti-democratic measures against the rival group. This tacit approval becomes even more pronounced during election periods, where political controversy reigns and the stakes are higher. Focusing on a specific type of electoral manipulation, we hypothesize that ceteris paribus, political polarization is strongly associated with higher levels of government intimidation of the opposition. We expect this relationship to be stronger in democracies than in autocracies. Empirically, we create our own measure of political polarization based on Esteban and Ray’s widely accepted measure, and test our hypotheses on panel data. In addition to the regression analysis, we offer anecdotal evidence from Turkey, Hungary, and the United States.
The chap[ter discusses dynamics of politica development of Russia and waves of political emancipation. It is demonstrated that emancipation processes lead with consolidation of the country that ends up with delagation and/or usurpation of authority by the dominat political actor of autocrat.
The application of «protective reservations» is a fundamental principle of modern codifications of the private international law. The post-graduate student of the Private International Law Department, Faculty of Laws, National Research University «The Higher School of Economics», the advocate E.A. Kruty (e-mail: ekrutij@yandex.ru) minutely analyses provisions about the reservation about the public policy and mandatory rules which are included in the international acts and ten national codifications of XXI centuries (Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Estonia, Mongolia, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Macedonia, Turkey). Despite the apparent prevalence of the negative construction of the reservation about the public policy the lawmaker prefers in some situations its positive variant. An appeal to codifications allows to identify the certain conditions on which protective reservations take effect. Their most detailed description is contained in the Belgian and Bulgarian codes. Not less interesting is a regulation of the legal consequences coming as a result of application of these legal institutions for private legal relations with a foreign element including in the international civil procedure.
The article provides a comparative analysis of models of electricity industry functioning in Russia and in the world by the example of Great Britain, the USA and Scandinavian countries. The author emphasizes basic models and analyzes advantages and disadvantages in the context of the reform processes taking place in the electricity industry. He gives a classification of the industry functioning models.
In the article the analysis of the situation which developed in Russia at the beginning of the XX century and attempts of the imperial power to prevent the approaching catastrophe which were connected with the realization of the idea of representation of the people is given. The attitude of the last Russian emperor to the idea of formation of representation of the people is shown.
n this important new volume we see the great Hungarian writer Antal Szerb at the height of his powers. Widely recognised in his native country as one of Europe's most important critics, and as the author of enduringly fascinating novels, Szerb was a leading figure in Hungarian inter-war literary life. He was to be overwhelmed by the rise of Fascism: in 1942 his ambitious History of Hungarian Literature was banned; in 1944 he was deported to a concentration camp. Three months later he was dead. Though his writings were revived in Communist Hungary and elsewhere, and his major novels have enjoyed great popularity in English in recent years, this is the first collection of his important essays to appear in English.
The Sino-Russian relationship in 2015 may well be recalled by posterity as the year of the parade. On the 70th anniversary of the allied victory, Presidents Putin and Xi placed great importance on attending their counterpart’s respective military tributes to World War II victory-day celebrations, in the notable absence of other prominent global leaders. These memorials were important markers of the past, but perhaps more significantly, they served as indications of how the future Sino-Russian relationship is likely to be symbolized. For now, significant differences continue to define the fledgling partnership. This is not to suggest that the relationship does not hold critical importance to shaping the international order. On the contrary, leaders in both Russia and China have overcome long-standing hostilities and structural barriers to forge a larger shared economic, security, and institutional footprint on the edges of the world’s fastest-growing region. Many questions in this delicate tripartite interaction remain unresolved. However, by beginning to acknowledge and understand the respective Chinese and Russian perspectives presented here, we are better prepared to grasp the complicated foundation on which the uneasy triangle is presently built.
Smoking is a problem, bringing signifi cant social and economic costs to Russiansociety. However, ratifi cation of the World health organization Framework conventionon tobacco control makes it possible to improve Russian legislation accordingto the international standards. So, I describe some measures that should be taken bythe Russian authorities in the nearest future, and I examine their effi ciency. By studyingthe international evidence I analyze the impact of the smoke-free areas, advertisementand sponsorship bans, tax increases, etc. on the prevalence of smoking, cigaretteconsumption and some other indicators. I also investigate the obstacles confrontingthe Russian authorities when they introduce new policy measures and the public attitudetowards these measures. I conclude that there is a number of easy-to-implementanti-smoking activities that need no fi nancial resources but only a political will.
We address the external effects on public sector efficiency measures acquired using Data Envelopment Analysis. We use the health care system in Russian regions in 2011 to evaluate modern approaches to accounting for external effects. We propose a promising method of correcting DEA efficiency measures. Despite the multiple advantages DEA offers, the usage of this approach carries with it a number of methodological difficulties. Accounting for multiple factors of efficiency calls for more complex methods, among which the most promising are DMU clustering and calculating local production possibility frontiers. Using regression models for estimate correction requires further study due to possible systematic errors during estimation. A mixture of data correction and DMU clustering together with multi-stage DEA seems most promising at the moment. Analyzing several stages of transforming society’s resources into social welfare will allow for picking out the weak points in a state agency’s work.