This comparative study examines the challenges faced by countries of post-communist Europe in reforming and professionalizing their armed forces. It explores how the interaction of the common challenges of post-communism and the diverse circumstances of individual countries are shaping professionalization processes in this changing region.

This major comparative study examines the development of military-society relations in central and eastern Europe since the collapse of communism. Soldiers and Societies in Post-Communist Europe explores how the interaction of the common challenges of postcommunism and the diverse circumstances of individual countries are shaping patterns of military-society relations in this changing region. Detailed country case studies, written by international experts to a common analytical framework, compare the experiences of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,...

This major comparative study examines the challenges that the countries of postcommunist Central and Eastern Europe have faced in securing democratic control of their armed forces and establishing civilian control of defence policy. This book explores how the interaction of the common challenges of postcommunism and the diverse circumstances of individual countries shape civil-military relations in this changing region. Detailed country case studies, written by leading experts, compare the experiences of the Central European states (such as Poland and Romania), the Baltic republics, the...

In the post-Cold War period new security threats have arisen in Western Europe. Among these, organized crime and illegal immigration are acknowledged to represent significant security challenges. The EU and Internal Security analyzes the nature of these challenges and investigates how the EU has been evolving to counter them. Written by experts in the fields of political science and law, this book addresses a hitherto neglected area of study.

Making European Citizens examines the forms of transnational citizenship developing in Europe. Active citizenship involves more than simply voting. Achieving mobilization at a transnational level may involve new democratic techniques and skills. The volume explores how far European citizens have acquired the requisite methods and qualities.

Sarah Birch assesses the impact of electoral system design on political change in post-communist Europe. Since the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991, virtually all the states in the region have undertaken significant electoral reform. This study traces the multiple links between the evolution of electoral systems and political change and establishes patterns in the effects of electoral system design on post-communist developments.

A Democratic Audit of the European Union provides a systematic assessment of democracy in the EU against clearly defined criteria. Christopher Lord offers a double challenge to generalizations about a democratic deficit in the EU. On the one hand, it shows that standards of democratic performance in the EU may vary across Union institutions and decision-making processes. On the other hand, it shows that they can vary across key dimensions of democratic governance, including citizenship, rights, participation, representation, responsiveness, transparency and accountability.

Embodying Democracy analyzes the politics of electoral reform in eight postcommunist states including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, and Ukraine. By exploring the multiple factors that shaped the design of electoral institutions during the first ten years of postcommunist transition, it accounts for an important element of the postcommunist reform process and illuminates general features of institutional design in post-transition states.

The European Union is constantly changing, both in the number of countries it embraces and in policy areas where it plays a major role. The new millennium has witnessed two major changes in the EU's scope. On 1 May 2004, it enlarged to include ten new member states; and the new European Constitution defines providing citizens with an 'area of freedom, security and justice' as one of its primary aims. This book is unique in analyzing the interplay of the two spheres.

EU conditionality for membership is widely understood as having been a driving force for Europeanization, providing incentives and sanctions for compliance or noncompliance with EU norms, such as the "Copenhagen Criteria" and the adoption of the acquis communautaire. By taking regional policy and regionalization as a case study, this book provides a comparative analysis of the effects of conditionality on the Central and East European countries and explores the many paradoxes and weaknesses in the use of EU conditionality over time.