The quality of democracy in Eastern Europe : public preferences and policy reforms /

The quality of democracy in Eastern Europe : public preferences and policy reforms /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Roberts, Andrew Lawrence, 1970-
Imprint:	Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Description:	xi, 239 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
Language:	English
Subject:	Democracy -- Europe, Eastern. Political participation -- Europe, Eastern. Government accountability -- Europe, Eastern. Democracy. Government accountability. Political participation. Politics and government Europe, Eastern -- Politics and government -- 1989- Europe, Eastern.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/7884674

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780521110334 (hardback) 0521110335 (hardback)
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:	"How does democracy work in the new democracies of Eastern Europe? Do the people actually rule as one would expect in a democracy or do the legacies of communism and the constraints of the transition weaken popular control? This book presents a new framework for conceptualizing and measuring democratic quality and applies this framework to multiple countries and policy areas in the region. It defines democratic quality as the degree to which citizens are able to hold leaders accountable for their performance and keep policy close to their preferences. Its surprising conclusion, drawn from large-N statistical analyses and small-N case studies, is that citizens exercise considerable control over their rulers in Eastern European democracies. Despite facing difficult economic circumstances and an unfavorable inheritance from communism, these countries rapidly constructed relatively high-quality democracies"--Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents:

List of Tables and Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments
I. Introduction
Part I. Conceptual Analysis
2. Assessing the Quality of Democracy
Part II. Statistical Analysis
3. Electoral Accountability
4. Mandate Responsiveness
5. Policy Responsiveness
Part III. Case Study Analysis
6. The Politics of Pension Reforms
7. The Politics of Housing Reforms
Part IV. Implications
8. Explaining Democratic Quality
9. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index