The transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe is not complete. The process by which governments make policy is often closed and difficult to penetrate. Frequently, only a few insiders are consulted, and even when the process is more oprn, short time limits and bureaucratic resistance make the process opaque to ordinary citizens. Drawing on interviews with key officials and private sector activists, this book documents existing problems with the policymaking processes in Hungary and Poland and argues for reforms that will enhance the accountability of all democracies in the region.
Contents
1. Policymaking accountability and democratic consolidation; 2. Alternative routes to policymaking accountability; 3. The legacy of the past; 4. External accountability and the European Union; 5. Oversight; 6. Decentralized political accountability; 7. Public participation in policymaking: government procedures; 8. Civil society groups: overview; 9. Environmental advocacy organizations in Hungary; 10. Student and youth organizations in Poland; 11. Democratic consolidation and policymaking accountability.
Reviews
"Susan Rose-Ackerman's latest book is the clearest statement yet of the inadequacy of mechanistsic indicators of democracy...a beautifully clear, meticulous work of scholarship that is as concerned with analyzing the shortcomings of post-communist democracy as it is focused on providing potential solutions." - Political Science Quarterly, Anna Gryzmala-Busse, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
"...this book provides a unique, carefully researched, well-written, and highly compelling account of a serious problem in European democracy..." -Mitchell Orenstein, Governance
"This elegant and informatative volume can be used as an undergraduate text, but it is particularly valuable or students of (comparative) democratizations. Policy experts and politicians would also gain in wisdom should they decide to immerse themselves in its contents." - Jane Kubik, Rutgers University, Slavic Review
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