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Begin New Search Political Geography Europe Content Type Journal Article Publication Year within 5 Years

681. Participatory Budgeting in Poland AD 2019: Expectations, Changes and Reality

Author:
Krzysztof Makowski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Discussion whether to formalize participatory budgeting or not has been solved. Again, this time it has happened without scholars’ engagement. Given this situation, can we say that whoever is satisfied? The amendment of the act that introduced legal form of participatory budgeting as a new tool of public consultation does not meet anyone expectations. The reason to think so is that there is no new and compulsory form of public engagement in financial decisions. Moreover, organizational framework and the huge variety of using participatory budgeting have been turned to uniform pattern. Equally, it is hard to agree that implemented solutions, previously though as a way to increase citizens’ involvement in functioning and scrutiny part of public bodies, have been met.
Topic:
Governance, Budget, Local, Participation, and Financial Development
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

682. The “Golden Rule” as a New Financial Management Tool for Local Governments

Author:
Katarzyna Blazuk and Przemysław Czernicki
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The implementation of the so-called “golden rule” regarding the fiscal management of the sub-sector of the local-self-government (LSG) constituted a reaction to the growth of the debt within the sector of public finances and an attempt to curb the LSG deficit. In this manner the Legislator wanted to balance the budget regarding operating revenues and the operating expenditures and to allow for the use of public loans, thus permitting the generation of the debt only in regard to capital expenditures. The authors of the article evaluate the validity of introducing the new regulations, subjecting the “golden rule” to a positive critique and forming requirements for changes and improvements based on solutions to this problem utilized in other countries. An empiric data is presented that shows the consequences of overloading the LSG with the effects of the growing level of public debt in a situation when the responsibility for the majority of the debt (more than 90%) rests with the public governance at the government level. The authors also put forth the thesis that the implementation of the more restrictive rules on the central level is also necessary to optimize the entire system of public finances.
Topic:
Governance, Budget, Local, and Financial Development
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

683. Committing a Crime as a Reason to Limit the Ability to Perform Functions in Local Government Administration

Author:
Janusz Bojarski and Natalia Dasko
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
2018 local self-government elections in Poland were special ones. Brought to light mismatching of provisions of the Electoral Code and Act on Local Self-Government Employees and attempt to use it to obtain an advantage in fight for political power caused political emotions and legal controversies. The aim of this article is presents limits imposed by criminal law on right to be elected in this type of elections and more general, role of criminal law as a tool in politics. The article presents a problem of conflict of legal regulations regarding the right to be elected and perform a public function in a local self-government unit as a problem of conflict between will of voters and attitude of politicians to creation of law and aim they try to obtain.
Topic:
Crime, Governance, Law, Elections, and Local
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

684. The War in Donbas: Realities and Prospects of Settlement

Author:
Hanna Pashkova and Halyna Balanovych
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
The first section looks into some geopolitical aspects of the Russian intervention in Donbas; reviews goals and peculiarities of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine; studies the role and impact of the West in resolving the conflict; and assesses the “Donbas” policy of Ukraine. The second section describes the overall trends and processes in occupied territories in the military, economic, energy, political, information and environmental spheres. The third section provides possible scenarios of developments in the conflict zone and assesses chances and prospects of deploying the UN peacekeeping mission to Donbas. The fourth section offers conclusions, as well as a set of proposals for resolving the conflict in the East of Ukraine. The first
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, United Nations, Territorial Disputes, Geopolitics, Military Intervention, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Donbas

685. Root Causes of the Non-Enforcement of the Domestic Judicial Decisions in Ukraine

Author:
Alla Chernova, Halyna Balanovych, and Hanna Pashkova
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
National Security and Defence
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
The study was carried out based on the “Methodology for international and/or national expert analysis to determine the main reasons for the non-enforcement of decisions rendered by the domestic courts of Ukraine” within the Council of Europe’s project “Supporting Ukraine in the execution of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights”. This study was particularly related to the devastatingly low levels of the enforcement of judgments and, accordingly, the need to improve the situation in this area. The project implementation revealed the root causes of the non-enforcement of three categories of court decisions (social disputes, labour disputes and decisions concerning legal entities falling under the responsibility of the State or the State itself), as well as other problems linked to the statistics and the register of court decisions The first problem was associated with the impossibility of finding necessary cases. The experts identified systemic flaws in record-keeping and data comparability of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions (USRCD) and the Unified State Register of the Enforcement Proceedings with respect to all these categories of judgments. For example, of 2,760 court decisions in “social disputes” selected for analysis, the experts could only find 2,254 judgements in the USRCD under the provided requisites. The analysis revealed systemic violations of the relevant legislation, such as illegal reduction of payments, significant narrowing of the scope of plaintiffs’ rights by bylaws, misapplication of the budget legislation by the authorised government bodies. Speaking of labour disputes, the analysis covered 1,505 unexecuted court decisions. Causes for the non-enforcement in this category of decisions included the lack of necessary state funding (lack of budgetary allocations) at the time of the matter of controversy leading to the state’s failure to fulfil its obligations, improper exercise of powers by government authorities and state-owned enterprises, flaws in normative regulation of labour relationships, repeated reorganisations of one and the same enterprises leading to the interpretation confusion of these procedures and their improper execution. As for the decisions concerning legal entities falling under the responsibility of the State or the State itself, 250 of 14,324 court decisions of this category were subjected to expert analysis. It revealed inefficiency of the State Execution Service in recovering such debts, the improper performance of duties by the public executors, unlawful assistance to the debtor or delays in the enforcement of court decisions, obstruction of the plaintiffs’ right to use the mechanisms stipulated by the Law “On State Guarantees for the Enforcement of Judgements”. The study has also analysed the national legislation governing the system of bodies and the procedure for enforcement of judgments. Therefore, if taken into consideration by the relevant authorities, the project results presented in this publication can contribute to the understanding of current situation with the enforcement of judgements and developing approaches to their better execution.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Courts, Judiciary, and European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

686. What Can Protest Achieve?: The Case of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign

Author:
Carl Death
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Can protest really make a difference? Can social movements change any- thing? Do campaigns like those for fossil fuel divestment rapidly snowballing across campuses, cities, churches, and institutional investors in North America, Europe, and elsewhere have any real impact on global political economies of energy? This article argues that the answer to all of these questions is a qualified “yes.” The fossil fuel divestment campaign is a specific manifestation of environ- mental protest, which, since emerging in 2011, has changed some things and has the potential to change others more profoundly.1 Considering the case of the fossil fuel divestment campaign in detail can illuminate important insights about the role of protest in contemporary global politics. Protest movements can impact the world, as evidenced by both the fossil fuel divestment campaign and longer histories of other divestment movements that have contributed to significant struggles for structural change.
Topic:
Climate Change, Social Movement, Protests, Fossil Fuels, and Divestment
Political Geography:
Europe and North America