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Article Summaries
Elena Gladun Federalism development in Russia should embark on the principles of equal rights, building the civic society, supreme status of the federal power and laws in the territory of the state, common legislative space, equal constitutional status of the federation subjects, territorial principles, distinguishing between the branches of power, different competencies of the federation and its subjects, and delegation of power to the level of local administration. The efforts of politicians, state servicemen and legislators should be directed at providing the Russian Federation with more features of a classic federation. It is important not only to adopt a Western federalism model on the Russian soil, but to let it develop in a natural way. From the French Enlightenment to Soviet Totalitarism Shalala Mamedova The article argues that the greatest Enlightenment thinkers are not responsible for social and political deviations of the XX century such as fascism and communism. These conceptions were initiated by the decay of ethical principles, loss of cultural traditions and worsening of the living conditions in Europe. Her analysis shows that their works contained respect to human rights and constitutional government, and called for a peaceful conflict-resolution approach. Such philosophers as J. Locke, I. Kant, I. Herder, Voltaire, created the basis for democratic state development. Their ideas should be considered in the process of state construction under modern circumstances. Entrepreneurship In Post-Communist Nations Jerry L. Wall and Larry E. Short Entrepreneurship can exist in many economic and political systems as long as certain essential elements are present. Those elements include private property rights, free market place, objective capital markets, supportive business laws, unbiased law enforcement, and an impartial judicial system. A decrease in the presence of these elements will typically result in a decreased likelihood of success. In a highly socialistic society, it is doubtful that entrepreneurial efforts will succeed because of the cumbersome process of the allocation of resources. However, in most other situations the politicoeconomic system appears to be less important than the existence of elements that support an entrepreneurial environment and improve the movement toward entrepreneurship. Directly from the West: Foreign Patterns of Russian Social Reform Olga Boiko Russia is a unique case among countries with transition economies since it is marked by vast regional differences, low effectiveness of taxation institutions, inability of the local government to pay salaries on time, and, at the same time, significant social aid for some employees. It is salient for the future development of the country not to ignore its uniqueness, but to embark on it in policy making. Data, important from the point of view of integrating Russia into the world political context, should be received not only from foreign sources, but as a result of research provided by national institutions. Sovereignty Lying In Between? The Case of the European Community and the Member States Dimitry Kotchenov The very nature of the European State is changing nowadays. The creation of the European Community and, later, of the European Union, made scholars and politicians rethink essential notions inherited from the past and try to predict the deep change of what used to be thought eternal. Among the contested notions are State, sovereignty, and citizenship. The article focuses on sovereignty, as the first, and most important, step to statehood. Acquiring more and more power, the Community is still too dependent on the member states in order to be called sovereign. European supranationalism broke the rigid dichotomy of national and international law, while forming a new, Community legal order – neither national nor international in nature. In the meantime, sovereignty remains one of the most thoroughly studied and, at the same time, least understood, notions among all the keys able to help us “unlock the mysteries of the new Europe.” Ukraine’s European Integration Through the OSCE Oleksandr Gladkyy Quite often European integration is viewed too narrowly as only an economic phenomenon that takes place mainly in the European Union. However, according to the approach that is suggested here, European integration occurs in a variety of fields and is performed within a wide range of organizations acting in Europe. Frequently, the role of regional organizations is overlooked or disregarded, however, having established a framework for integration, they became a necessary means for the process of integration. Furthermore, the role of these institutions has become much more important in the process of the “return to Europe” of the former Soviet states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In addition, it is also possible to determine a level of integration for each particular state into European region. Copyright ©2002-2004 |