IMPLEMENTING EUROPEAN STANDARD OF DEMOCRACY AMONG EU ACCESSION STATES: SLOVAKIA AND ROMANIA COMPARED

Autor se bavi problemom utjecaja procesa pridruživanja Europskoj uniji na demokratizaciju postkomunističkih zemalja te posebno ispituje je li politika demokratskog uvjetovanja, koju je EU razradila tijekom devedesetih godina 20. stoljeća u odnosu prema postkomunističkim zemljama, primjerena ciljevima koji se hoće postići. Problem se ispituje na primjeru dvaju zemalja kandidata za članstvo u EU, Slovačke i Rumunjske. Pomnija analiza pokazuje da metoda demokratskog uvjetovanja EU nije precizno razrađena te da su politički uvjeti za članstvo u EU evoluirali tijekom devedesetih godina. Predstavnici EU nemaju jasan koncept demokratske konsolidacije. Evolucija demokratskog uvjetovanja rezultirala je premještanjem težišta od puke formalne aplikacije demokratskih institucija i zaštite ljudskih prava – primjerice, usvajanjem određenih zakona ili postupaka – na implementaciju tih institucija u praksi i dugoročnije ciljeve – primjerice, reformu sudstva i javne uprave, borbu protiv korupcije, stvarno poboljšanje položaja nacionalnih manjina. Iskustvo Slovačke za vrijeme Mečiara pokazuje da su pritisci radi ispunjenja političkih uvjeta neučinkoviti ako nacionalna vlada ne smatra pridruživanje EU prioritetnim ciljem. Ipak, ostvaren je posredan utjecaj na promjenu političke većine u biračkom tijelu, što je rezultiralo promjenom vlade 1998. Dzurindina vlada pozitivno je reagirala na demokratsko uvjetovanje i provela je niz reformi, unatoč povremenim poteškoćama u postizanju konsenzusa oko spornih pitanja (zakon o jezicima manjina, reforma uprave). U Rumunjskoj je utjecaj demokratskog uvjetovanja sve do promjene vlade 1996. bio slab, ali ni nakon toga nije rezultirao trajnom demokratskom konsolidacijom zbog nestabilnosti vlada desnoga centra, koje su pokazale veću spremnost na ispunjenje političkih uvjeta: prije svega poboljšanje sustava dječje skrbi i zaštite prava nacionalnih manjina. Povratak socijaldemokrata na vlast 2000. ubrzao je demokratizaciju, no ukupni je napredak Rumunjske u procesu pridruživanja EU bio nedostatan zbog ekonomskih slabosti i neučinkovitosti državne uprave. Autor zaključuje da iskustvo obaju zemalja potvrđuje da postoji opipljiv odnos između dinamike pridruživanja EU i evolucije demokratizacije. Pritisci EU glede političkih uvjeta mogu imati neposrednog učinka, ali su djelotvorniji kad se “batina” uvjetovanja kombinira s “kockom šećera” pridruživanja EU u doglednoj budućnosti.The author deals with the issue of the impact of the process of accession to the European Union on the democratization of postcommunist countries and investigates whether the policy of democratic conditionality, evolved by the EU in the 1990s in relation to the postcommunist countries, is conducive to the desired objectives. The problem is analyzed on the example of two EU candidate countries, Slovakia and Romania. A more detalied analysis shows that the EU’s method of democratic conditionality has not been precisely spelled out and that the political conditions for EU membership have evolved during nineties. EU representatives have no clear concept of democratic consolidation. The evolution of democratic conditionality has resulted in shifting the focus from the mere formal application of democratic institutions and the protection of human rights (for example, by adopting certain laws or procedures) to the implementation of these institutions and to some long-term goals (for example, the reform of the court system and public administration, anti-corruption campaign, genuine improvement of the position of national minorities). The Slovakian experience during Mečiar’s reign shows that the pressures for the implementation of the political conditions are ineffective if a national government does not consider the EU accession as its top priority. Nevertheless, an indirect impact was felt in the form of a change of the political majority within the electoral body which resulted in the change of the government in 1998. Dzurinda’s government reacted positively to the political conditioning and carried out a series of reforms, despite occasional difficulties in achieving consensus on contentious issues (law on minority languages, administrative reform). In Romania the impact of democratic conditionality was rather negligible before the change of government in 1996; even later it has not brought about a permanent democratic consolidation due to the instability of the centre-right governments that have demonstrated a bigger readiness to fulfil political conditions: primarily to improve the institutionalized child-care system and to provide for a better protection of national minorities rights. The return to power of socialdemocrats in 2000 accelerated democratization, but in general the progress of Romania in the EU accession process has been lacking due to its economic hardships and the ineffectiveness of the state administration. The author concludes that the experiences of both countries confirm the fact that there is a palpable link between the dynamics of the EU accession and the evolution of democracy. EU’s pressures regarding the political conditions may have an immediate impact but are much more efficient when the “stick” of the conditionality is combined with the “carrot” of EU accession in the foreseeable future

'Divided they stand, divided they fail': opposition politics in Morocco

The literature on democratization emphasises how authoritarian constraints usually lead genuine opposition parties and movements to form alliances in order to make demands for reform to the authoritarian regime. There is significant empirical evidence to support this theoretical point. While this trend is partly visible in the Middle East and North Africa, such coalitions are usually short-lived and limited to a single issue, never reaching the stage of formal and organic alliances. This article, using the case of Morocco, seeks to explain this puzzle by focusing on ideological and strategic differences that exist between the Islamist and the secular/liberal sectors of civil society, where significant opposition politics occurs. In addition, this article also aims to explain how pro-democracy strategies of the European Union further widen this divide, functioning as a key obstacle to democratic reforms

Political strategies of external support for democratization

Political strategies of external support to democratization are contrasted and critically examined in respect of the United States and European Union. The analysis begins by defining its terms of reference and addresses the question of what it means to have a strategy. The account briefly notes the goals lying behind democratization support and their relationship with the wider foreign policy process, before considering what a successful strategy would look like and how that relates to the selection of candidates. The literature's attempts to identify strategy and its recommendations for better strategies are compared and assessed. Overall, the article argues that the question of political strategies of external support for democratization raises several distinct but related issues including the who?, what?, why?, and how? On one level, strategic choices can be expected to echo the comparative advantage of the "supporter." On a different level, the strategies cannot be divorced from the larger foreign policy framework. While it is correct to say that any sound strategy for support should be grounded in a theoretical understanding of democratization, the literature on strategies reveals something even more fundamental: divergent views about the nature of politics itself. The recommendations there certainly pinpoint weaknesses in the actual strategies of the United States and Europe but they have their own limitations too. In particular, in a world of increasing multi-level governance strategies for supporting democratization should go beyond preoccupation with just an "outside-in" approach

Bi-allelic Loss-of-Function CACNA1B Mutations in Progressive Epilepsy-Dyskinesia.

The occurrence of non-epileptic hyperkinetic movements in the context of developmental epileptic encephalopathies is an increasingly recognized phenomenon. Identification of causative mutations provides an important insight into common pathogenic mechanisms that cause both seizures and abnormal motor control. We report bi-allelic loss-of-function CACNA1B variants in six children from three unrelated families whose affected members present with a complex and progressive neurological syndrome. All affected individuals presented with epileptic encephalopathy, severe neurodevelopmental delay (often with regression), and a hyperkinetic movement disorder. Additional neurological features included postnatal microcephaly and hypotonia. Five children died in childhood or adolescence (mean age of death: 9 years), mainly as a result of secondary respiratory complications. CACNA1B encodes the pore-forming subunit of the pre-synaptic neuronal voltage-gated calcium channel Cav2.2/N-type, crucial for SNARE-mediated neurotransmission, particularly in the early postnatal period. Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in CACNA1B are predicted to cause disruption of Ca2+ influx, leading to impaired synaptic neurotransmission. The resultant effect on neuronal function is likely to be important in the development of involuntary movements and epilepsy. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the key role of Cav2.2 in normal human neurodevelopment.MAK is funded by an NIHR Research Professorship and receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity, and Rosetrees Trust. E.M. received funding from the Rosetrees Trust (CD-A53) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. K.G. received funding from Temple Street Foundation. A.M. is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and Biomedical Research Centre. F.L.R. and D.G. are funded by Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. K.C. and A.S.J. are funded by NIHR Bioresource for Rare Diseases. The DDD Study presents independent research commissioned by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund (grant number HICF-1009-003), a parallel funding partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (grant number WT098051). We acknowledge support from the UK Department of Health via the NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. This research was also supported by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre. J.H.C. is in receipt of an NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The research team acknowledges the support of the NIHR through the Comprehensive Clinical Research Network. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, Department of Health, or Wellcome Trust. E.R.M. acknowledges support from NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, an NIHR Senior Investigator Award, and the University of Cambridge has received salary support in respect of E.R.M. from the NHS in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. I.E.S. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Program Grant and Practitioner Fellowship)

BETWEEN RHETORIC AND ACTION: REFLECTIONS ON ROMANIA’S EUROPEAN UNION ACCESSION AND POLITICAL CONDITIONALITY – THE VIEWS FROM BRUSSELS AND BUCHAREST

The role of political elites is an important theme in the study of EU enlargement; but how this relates to domestic politics is often neglected. This theme is applied to Romania, with a focus on the problems of implementing the EU’s political conditions. Firstly, attention is given to the conditionality policy adopted by Brussels with respect to Romania; and then, secondly, attention turns to Bucharest. The analysis of Romanian responses is based on a distinction between political will and political capacity. While there are some positive elite characteristics relating to the will factor, although complicated by instrumental attitudes towards conditionality, various problems of political capacity help much to explain Romania’s persistent difficulties for much of the accession period in meeting Brussels’ demands