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Achieving Democracy Through Interest Representation

Interest Groups in Central and Eastern Europe

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  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Patrycja Rozbicka

    1. School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

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  2. Paweł Kamiński

    1. Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Political Studies, Warsaw, Poland

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  3. Meta Novak

    1. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

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  4. Vaida Jankauskaitė

    1. Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania

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  • Makes an important contribution to debates on the performance of young democracies in Central and Eastern Europe
  • Offers a much-needed comprehensive look into formal interest representation in the CEE countries
  • Uses the case of CEE countries to show significant effects of the political and social contexts on interest representation

Part of the book series: Interest Groups, Advocacy and Democracy Series (IGAD)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Achieving Democracy Through Interest Representation: Interest Groups in Central and Eastern Europe in a Comparative Perspective

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 1-23

  3. Interest Organizations in Central and Eastern Europe: Evaluating Population Ecology

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 25-58

  4. Organized Interest in the Policy-Making Process

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 59-90

  5. The Drivers Behind Relations Between Interest Organizations and Political Parties in the CEE Countries

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 91-114

  6. The Organizational Development of Nongovernmental Organizations in Central and Eastern Europe

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 115-136

  7. The Significance of Trade Unions in the CEE Countries: Beyond Corporatism and Pluralism?

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 137-159

  8. Seeking Access to Policy Stakeholders: Business ‘Lobbying’ vs Others

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 161-180

  9. Interest Organizations in CEE Countries and the European Policy Process

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 181-207

  10. Conclusions: The Future of Lobbying in the CEE Countries

    • Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė
    Pages 209-219

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 221-225
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Keywords

About this book

This book assesses the quality of democracy through the study of organized interests in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since the collapse of communism in 1989 up to 2017. It offers a much-needed comprehensive look into formal interest representation in CEE countries and compares this with the model in Western democracies. Drawing on democratic theory and comparative analysis, the authors explore the effects of a legal framework, political as well as social contexts. The volume contributes to debates on the performance of young democracies in CEE, where scholars argue that there is a ‘democratic crisis’ and democratic fatigue while the interest group system is often labelled as weak and, in some cases, underdeveloped. Although great efforts have been made to deepen our understanding of interest organization and lobbying tools, the current literature fails to provide a comprehensive answer on the influence of unsupportive environments on population ecology. The case of CEE countries shows significant effects of political and social contexts on interest representation, stimulating a debate about the quality of democratic institutions following the collapse of communism.

Reviews

​“This book brings added value to the already rich literature on interest groups, representation and democracy. The most important contribution is that the detailed analysis of the growth, role and importance of the interest group system in Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia is put in a comparative perspective. It provides a deep understanding of the similarities and, above all, the differences between the three countries which is furthered by extending the comparative analysis to Western Europe. Last, not least, the book addresses a most pertinent question – the influence of an unsupportive environment on interest group participation in the democratic policy creation process.” (Beate Kohler, Centre for European Social Research (MZES), University of Mannheim, Germany)

“At a time when the prospects for democratic politics are coming under question in some post-communist countries, and interest groups are commonly described as weak, this book provides a very timely explorationof interest group politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on detailed research on three contrasting CEE countries, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia, it provides a more detailed and comprehensive approach than most previous research, locating interest group development in a wider context of the political and ecological factors that affect its strength and character.” (Terry Cox, Emeritus Professor in Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, UK)


Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

    Patrycja Rozbicka

  • Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Political Studies, Warsaw, Poland

    Paweł Kamiński

  • Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Meta Novak

  • Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania

    Vaida Jankauskaitė

About the authors

Patrycja Rozbicka is Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at Aston University, UK. Her main research interests include participation of interest groups in the EU’s political system; coalitions and network studies; and the regulation of the music industry.


Paweł Kamiński is Adjunct Professor in the Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences. His main research interests include political parties and civil society in Central Eastern Europe; and the relationships between political parties and interest groups.


Meta Novak is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a researcher at the Centre for Political Science Research in the same faculty. Her research interests include interest groups; lobbying; civil society; political knowledge and opinion gaps.


Vaida Jankauskaitė is a researcher in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. Her main research interests include interest groups; lobbying; party-interest group relationship; and political financing.





Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Achieving Democracy Through Interest Representation

  • Book Subtitle: Interest Groups in Central and Eastern Europe

  • Authors: Patrycja Rozbicka, Paweł Kamiński, Meta Novak, Vaida Jankauskaitė

  • Series Title: Interest Groups, Advocacy and Democracy Series

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55521-4

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55520-7Published: 25 October 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55523-8Published: 26 October 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55521-4Published: 24 October 2020

  • Series ISSN: 2946-3254

  • Series E-ISSN: 2946-3262

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XX, 225

  • Number of Illustrations: 11 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: European Politics, Comparative Politics, Public Policy

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