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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
111

Protest in Postcommunist Democracies / The Legacies of Repression and Mobilization

Joly, Philippe 05 July 2021 (has links)
Viele Studien zeigen, dass die Beteiligung an politischen Protesten in mittel- und osteuropäischen Ländern geringer ausfällt als in Westeuropa. Das Ausmaß und die Ursachen dieser Ost-West-Partizipationslücke werden jedoch immer noch debattiert. Diese Dissertation untersucht die Ursachen dieses europäischen Protestgefälles. Inspiriert von den Theorien politischer Sozialisation wird untersucht, inwiefern ein frühes Erleben von (1) Repression und (2) Mobilisierung während der Transition zur Demokratie das Protestverhalten verschiedener Generationen in Mittel- und Osteuropa geprägt hat. Hierfür werden mehrebenen Alters-Perioden-Kohorten-Modelle mit wiederholten länderübergreifenden Umfragedaten genutzt. Studie 1 zeigt, dass ein frühes Erleben von Repression einen nachhaltigen Effekt auf die Teilnahme an Demonstrationen hat, nicht aber auf Petitionen und Boykotte. Darüber hinaus beeinflusst die Art der erlebten Repression die Richtung des Effekts: Personen, deren Bürgerrechte während ihrer Jugend eingeschränkt wurden, scheinen in ihrem späteren Leben häufiger an Demonstrationen teilzunehmen. Das Gegenteil ist der Fall für Personen, die Verletzungen persönlicher Integrität erlebt haben. Studie 2 zeigt, dass das Erleben der Mobilisierung während der Transition zur Demokratie diese Ost-West-Protestlücke nicht moderiert. Studie 3, eine Analyse des Protestverhaltens von Ostdeutschen, bestätigt, dass die Erfahrung der bottom-up Transition die mit gewaltsamer Repression verbundene Demobilisierung nicht kompensiert. Durch diese neu gewonnen Erkenntnisse zum Verhältnis von Regimewechsel und Zivilgesellschaft, verbindet und bereichert diese Dissertation die Forschungsfelder zu politischem Verhalten, sozialen Bewegungen und Demokratisierung. / Many studies have shown that protest participation is lower in Central and Eastern Europe than in Western Europe. Yet, the extent of and causes underlying the East-West participation gap are still debated in the literature. This thesis sheds new light on the sources of the European protest divide. Inspired by political socialization theories, it examines how early exposure to (1) repression and (2) mobilization during the transition to democracy has shaped the protest behavior of different generations in postcommunist democracies. This projects applies multilevel age-period-cohort models on data from repeated cross-national surveys to measure the effects of these types of exposure. Study 1 reveals that early exposure to repression has a lasting effect on demonstration attendance but not on participation in petitions and boycotts. Furthermore, the direction of this effect depends on the type of repression experienced by citizens: early exposure to civil liberties restrictions increases citizens’ participation in demonstrations while exposure to personal integrity violations depresses their participation. Study 2 demonstrates that exposure to mobilization during the transition to democracy does not moderate the East-West protest gap. Study 3, an analysis of East Germans’ protest behavior, confirms that the experience of a bottom-up transition does not compensate for the demobilization associated with violent repression. By generating new insights into the relation between regime change and civil society, this project bridges and contributes to the fields of political behavior, social movements, and democratization.
112

The anthropological construction of Czech identity : academic and popular discourses of identity in 20th century Bohemia

Vimont, Michael January 2015 (has links)
Through close textual analysis of 20<sup>th</sup> century Czech anthropological texts from the Revivalist and Socialist periods and contemporary social research conducted after the Velvet Revolution, I demonstrate certain prominent discourses of identity developed in early Bohemian anthropology and their continuities in present day popular discourses. In each period, identity is deeply intertwined with teleological theories of history with Czech populations at the apex of cultural evolutionary development. In the Revivalist period this apex was believed to be the democratic nation state, transitioning to a Marxist nation state in the Socialist period, and in the contemporary period is conceived of as a neoliberal nation state. A major function of anthropology in the Revivalist and Socialist periods was to legitimate either period’s respective teleological theory and Czech possession of relevant values as 'objective' and 'natural' fact, a general mode of discourse which continued in the contemporary period in numerous editorials in the 1990s on the advantages of capitalism. The contemporary manifestation has particularly noteworthy consequences for the Roma minority, which I argue has provided Czech discourses with an ethnic category 'anti-thetical' to their own identity, providing a 'repository' for negative Czech self-stereotypes emerging from collaboration in the Socialist period.
113

Civil society assistance in Central and Eastern Europe

Abele, Christine 02 April 2008 (has links)
Die Arbeit stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit es externen Akteuren möglich ist, zivilgesellschaftli-che Strukturen eines in der Transformation befindlichen Staates zu stärken, um damit einen Beitrag zur Konsolidierung nachkommunistischer Gesellschaften zu leisten. Resultiert die externe Förderung tatsächlich in eine „zivilere“ Gesellschaft, welche sich auf mündige und aktive Bürger stützt, oder führt sie zu einem bloßen Transfer von Strukturen in Form von Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen (NRO), welche jedoch keine gesellschaftliche Anbindung haben und bloße Zuarbeiter westlicher Geberorganisationen sind? // Um diese Frage zu beantworten, werden im theoretischen Teil der Arbeit ausgehend vom akteurszentrierten Institutionalismus zwei wesentliche Mechanismen identifiziert, durch wel-che die Aktivitäten der Geber Veränderungen bei den Nehmern erzielen: Ermächtigung und Lernen. Während Ersteres die Einsatzmöglichkeiten und Ressourcen einiger Akteure stärkt und damit vorhandene Akteurskonstellationen ändert, führt Letzteres dazu, dass neue Ideen Eingang in die politische Arena finden. // Die Arbeit stellt die Aktivitäten vier verschiedener Geberländer und –organisationen in Polen und der Slowakei in den 1990er Jahren vor; der Europäischen Union, Deutschlands, der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und dem privaten Netzwerk der Soros Stiftungen; und un-tersucht deren Beitrag zur zivilgesellschaftlichen Entwicklung beider Länder. Hierzu werden lokale NROs in den Blick genommen, welche maßgeblich von westlichen Gebern unterstützt werden und untersucht, inwieweit diese als Träger der Zivilgesellschaft fungieren, welche Legitimität sie bei der Bevölkerung besitzen und ob sie nach Rückzug der Geber weiter exis-tieren. // Die Arbeit kommt zu dem Schluss, dass westliche Zivilgesellschaftsförderung in beiden un-tersuchten Ländern einen positiven Effekt hatte in dem Sinne, dass maßgeblich geförderte NROs tatsächlich als Träger der Zivilgesellschaft fungierten. Sie bemühten sich um die Un-terstützung anderer NROs, erweitern gesellschaftliche Partizipationsmöglichkeiten und sind soweit in nationale Strukturen und in der Gesellschaft verankert, dass auch ein Fortbestand ohne westliche Gelder möglich ist. / With the end of the communist bloc and the transformations taking place in Central and Eastern Europe the promotion and protection of democracy from abroad became a major field of assistance. Especially civil society assistance, understood as direct support granted to non-governmental actors of the target state with the explicit aim to promote the consolida-tion of democracy, became a major pillar of democracy aid. The dissertation analyzes civil society assistance and aims to tackle the question whether it is feasible to promote and strengthen civil society from abroad. Does civil society assistance result in more civil society or does it result in nothing more than the establishment of donor driven NGOs which are nei-ther voluntary nor independent but solely function as puppets of donors? // In order to answer this question and following the insights of actor-centered institutionalism, the dissertation identifies to modes of external intervention labeled „empowerment” and “learning. In the first case, donors may increase the action resources of chosen domestic actors, thus altering domestic actor constellations, by providing finances, technical equip-ment, information and know-how. In the latter case, external actors may impact upon the ori-entations, that is, the perceptions and preferences, of domestic actors. // The dissertation analyses the contribution of the activities of four different donors; the Euro-pean Union, the USA, Germany and the private network of Soros Foundations; to the devel-opment of civil society in Poland and Slovakia. In order to pinpoint outcomes of civil society assistance the dissertation focuses on recipients and their activities. The dissertation thus clarifies to what extent main recipient organizations act as carriers of civil society, whether they transmit the interests of their constituency into politics, whether they fulfill a watch-dog function and democratic functions attributed to civil society. It therefore analyzes main recipi-ents, their sustainability, legitimacy and effectiveness as carriers of civil society. // The dissertation jumps to the conclusion that externally driven civil society assistance had positive effects in both countries under investigation as supported NGOs acted as carriers of civil society.
114

Post-socialist land use change in the Carpathians

Kümmerle, Tobias 11 April 2008 (has links)
Politische und sozioökonomische Rahmenbedingungen haben entscheidenden Einfluss auf Landnutzungswandel; die relative Bedeutung dieser Faktoren untereinander ist jedoch oftmals unklar. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, durch die Untersuchung der Auswirkungen der politischen und sozioökonomischen Transformation auf Landnutzungswandel in Osteuropa zu einem besseren Verständnis solcher übergreifenden Einflussfaktoren beizutragen. Am Beispiel des Dreiländerecks Polen-Slowakei-Ukraine in den Karpaten wurden hierzu grenzüberschreitende Landschaftsvergleiche durchgeführt, da solche Vergleiche die Entkopplung der Faktoren allgemeiner Landnutzungstrends von Faktoren länderspezifischer Veränderungen ermöglichen. Darüber hinaus sind die Auswirkungen postsozialistischen Landschaftswandels auf die Karpaten, einem Gebiet mit einzigartigem ökologischen Wert, bisher weitestgehend unerforscht. Mit Hilfe von Landsat TM/ETM+ Satellitendaten aus dem Jahr 2000 wurden rezente Landschaftsunterschiede zwischen Ländern quantifiziert. Auf der Basis von Bildern von 1986-2000 wurde anschliessend überprüft, ob Länderunterschiede auf sozialistischen oder post-sozialistischen Landschaftswandel zurückführbar sind. Die Ergebnisse dieser Analysen zeigten weit verbreiteten Landnutzungswandel nach 1989 als Folge von sich verschlechternden wirtschaftlichen Bedingungen, geschwächten Institutionen und gesellschaftlichem Wandel. Die Länder unterschieden sich jedoch auch deutlich hinsichtlich Forstveränderungen, Brachfallung und Parzellierung von Ackerland. Diese Unterschiede lassen sich durch verschiedene Besitzverhältnisse, Bewirtschaftungsformen und Landreformen erklären. Während sich Polen und die Slowakei landschaftlich seit 1989 annähern, entfernt sich die Ukraine zunehmend. Diese Arbeit unterstreicht die Bedeutung ökonomischer und institutioneller Veränderungen für Landschaftswandel und zeigt, wie unterschiedliche Besitzstrukturen und Landreformen Landschaftswandel beeinflussen. / Broad-scale political and socio-economic conditions are powerful determinants of land use change. Yet, their relative importance is unclear. The main goal of this thesis was to increase the understanding of such broad-scale drivers of land use change by studying how Eastern Europe’s landscapes were affected by the political and socio-economic transition after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The border triangle of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine in the Carpathians was selected as a study area, because cross-border comparisons of land use change allow for decoupling overall trends in the transition period from country specific changes. Moreover, the Carpathians are of exceptional ecological value, but little is known about land use effects on these ecosystems after 1989. Post-socialist land use change was quantified based on Landsat TM/ETM+ images by (1) comparing contemporary (year 2000) landscapes among countries, and (2) using images from 1986 to 2000 to investigate whether differences originated from socialist or post-socialist land use change. Results indicated that forest change, farmland abandonment, and farmland parcelization were widespread in the transition period, likely due to worsening economic conditions, weakened institutions, and societal change. However, land use trends also differed strongly among the three countries due to dissimilar land ownership patterns, land management practices, and land reforms. Poland and Slovakia converged in the transition period in terms of land cover, while Ukraine clearly diverged. This thesis provided compelling evidence of the importance of economic and institutional change for land use change and underpinned the pivotal role of ownership patterns and land management policies. These factors were important to understand land use change in Eastern Europe, and they are likely equally important elsewhere.
115

Intégration des villes d'Europe centrale et orientale dans l'économie-monde depuis 1989 : une entrée par les réseaux internationaux de commerce, de transport aérien et de firmes / Integration of Central and Eastern European cities into the world-economy since 1989 : in the light of trade, air traffic and firm networks

Zdanowska, Natalia 31 October 2018 (has links)
Plus d’un quart de siècle après la chute du Mur de Berlin, la radicalité des changements politiques et économiques, caractérisés par l’intégration dans l’économie-monde et l’Union européenne, ainsi que par la récente montée du nationalisme, continue à poser des questions quant au devenir de l’espace centre-est européen. Ce contexte amène à appréhender dans ce travail l’effet de ces bouleversements au prisme des villes et de leurs évolutions. Trois forces majeures ayant guidé les transformations en Europe centrale et orientale sont examinées depuis 1989 : l’européanisation, la mondialisation et le changement endogène – relevant des traces du passé. Les dynamiques respectives de ces trois forces sont évaluées au moyen d’une approche interurbaine. Les échanges économiques entre villes centre-est européennes et celles du reste du monde sont examinés au travers de réseaux transnationaux et mondialisés – de transport aérien et de firmes. Ces échanges sont confrontés aux réseaux commerciaux entre pays. Cette thèse contribue à montrer que l’intégration à l’économie-monde s’est accompagnée d’un renforcement des logiques de polarisation divisant l’espace centre-est européen entre le Nord-Ouest et le Sud-Est. Cette intégration en cours, ou plutôt ces différentes « intégrations », ne se sont toutefois pas opérées uniquement au profit des métropoles. En effet, malgré une prédominance de l’européanisation, les liens de l’époque communiste constituent une force économique majeure pour certaines petites et moyennes villes – à l’image de l’entre-deux historique de l’espace centre-est européen. / A quarter of century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, radical political and economic changes, integration into the world economy and the European Union, and the recent reinforcement of nationalism are still persistent subjects of debate with regards to the future of Central and Eastern Europe. This thesis examines three major transformative forces in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989 at city-level: europeanisation, globalization and endogenous changes – related to path dependence effects. The dynamics of these three forces are analyzed by looking at the evolution of economic exchanges of CEE cities with other worldwide cities in the context of transnational and globalized networks – air traffic and firms. They are confronted with trade networks at country level. This dissertation illustrates that integration into the world-economy has deepened polarization in Central and Eastern Europe between the Nord-West and the South-West. This integration process or different types of integration are not only a matter for big cities and metropolises. In spite of the predominance of europeanisation, links from the communist period continue to be a major economic force, especially for small and medium-sized cities, reflecting the historical in-between situation of Central and Eastern Europe. / Ćwierć wieku później, radykalne zmiany polityczne i gospodarcze po upadku Muru Berlińskiego, integracja z gospodarką światową, przystąpienie do Unii Europejskiej oraz nasilające się tendencje nacjonalistyczne są wciąż bieżącymi tematami w dyskusji o przyszłości Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. W tym kontekście, dysertacja proponuje analizę zmian systemowych, które dokonały się w regionie na poziomie miast. Przedmiotem badania są trzy procesy towarzyszące transformacjom po 1989: europeizacja, globalizacja oraz przemiany w regionie uwarunkowane relacjami z przeszłości. Dynamika wymienionych trzech procesów zostanie zbadana w odniesieniu do wymian ekonomicznych między miastami Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej a innymi miastami Europy i świata w sferze międzynarodowych powiązań lotniczych i firmowych, porównanych z siecią handlową ukształtowaną między państwami regionu. Wnioski badawcze wykazują, że w rezultacie integracji z gospodarką światową pogłębia się polaryzacja przestrzeni Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w układzie północny zachód i południowy wschód. Różnorodność typów integracji odnosi się nie tylko do metropolii i dużych miast. Wobec dominującej siły europeizacji, powiązania z miastami z czasów komunistycznych są nadal ważnym aspektem funkcjonowania miast małych i średnich, ilustrując zarazem historyczną sytuację entre-deux Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej.
116

Essays on Fiscal Policy and the Support for Economic Reform in Emerging Europe

Eller, Markus 17 June 2011 (has links) (PDF)
This doctoral thesis addresses in a sequence of five essays the question how fiscal policy and economic output are interrelated in emerging Europe and how this relationship is shaped by the respective politico-economic environment and the individual-level support for economic reforms. Following main findings can be highlighted: (1) Countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) respond to a fiscal expansion in the euro area with fiscal easing at home, while the GDP response is mixed across countries.(2)Automatic fiscal stabilizers are comparatively small and discretionary fiscal policy has been largely pro-cyclical in CESEE. (3) The public spending and revenue structure is more "growth-friendly" in CESEEthan in the EU-15. (4) In transition economies with more democratic institutions and a better quality of governance, individuals with high market-relevant skills show a significantly larger support of the privatization status quo than individuals with low market skills. (5) The society in Russia - triggered by a lack of social capital - chooses to demand more state regulationand tolerate corruption to reduce negative externalities imposed by private business.(author's abstract)
117

Trois partis verts latino-américains en perspective comparée avec les pays européens. Concurrence avec la gauche et stratégies de démarcation / Three Green Parties from Latin America in Comparative Perspective with Europe. Competiton with Left-wing Parties and Demarcation Strategies

Hanry-Knop, Diana 18 December 2015 (has links)
Le Partido Verde brésilien, le Partido Ecologista chilien et le Proyecto Sur argentin sont des partis politiques appartenant à la mouvance des partis verts ou de tendance écologiste. Ils constituent, dans leurs pays respectifs, des forces politiques nouvelles, qui entendent se distinguer par l’affirmation d’une identité particulière, fondée sur la place centrale accordée à la protection de l’environnement et au développement durable ainsi que sur la volonté de « faire de la politique autrement ». Si les membres de ces partis estiment ainsi se démarquer de la gauche, ils s’en rapprochent néanmoins par les idées qu’ils défendent en matière sociétale, mais aussi en matière économique et sociale. Ils participent ainsi au mouvement plus vaste de recomposition de la gauche et se trouvent en concurrence avec les autres forces de gauche, dont ils partagent l’électorat. Ces trois partis ont émergé, dans un contexte de renouvellement démocratique, en lien avec les acteurs de la société civile. Ils continuent à entretenir des liens étroits avec le monde associatif, syndical et artistique. Leur organisation est fondée sur un modèle basé sur des principes démocratiques tels que le pluralisme, la représentativité, la territorialité. Néanmoins, comme leurs homologues d’Europe occidentale et d’Europe centrale et orientale, ils font face à la difficulté de mettre effectivement ces principes en œuvre dans leur fonctionnement quotidien et sont confrontés à un phénomène de concentration du pouvoir à la tête du parti. Si le Partido Eccologista chilien, le Partido Verde brésilien et le Proyecto Sur argentin ont chacun su occuper un espace jusqu’alors vacant sur la scène politique de leur pays respectif, leurs perspectives d’évolution et de développement demeurent incertaines. / The Partido Verde from Brazil, the Partido Ecologista from Chile and the Proyecto Sur from Argentina are political parties belonging to the movement of green or ecologist parties. They represent, in each country, new political forces which aim at differentiating themselves through a particular identity, built on the focus on sustainable development and the strong will to do politics in a new fashion. Members of those three political parties believe they are apart from left-wing activists. Nevertheless, they do share similar ideas, regarding societal issues, as well as economic and social questions. These parties appeared in a particular context, influenced by democratic renewal, in connection with civil society activists. They continue to keep strong ties with associations, unions, and artistic movements. Their organisation is based on democratic principles such as pluralism, representativeness and territoriality. However, like their European counterparts, they have trouble applying these principles in actual fact. They also face the issue of monopolized power by party leaders. The Partido Verde, the Partido Ecologista and the Proyecto Sur were able to fill a political vacuum in their respective countries, yet their prospects in terms of electoral success remain uncertain.
118

Coming in From the Cold: Integration into the European Union and Public Opinion on Democracy and the Market Economy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Zottarelli, Lisa K. 05 1900 (has links)
The political economy transformations of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have received a great deal of attention over the past decade. The focus of much research has been to examine the internal national reorientations of the countries with regard to the changes in political and economic conditions. The importance of the international reorientation of these countries toward Western Europe in general and the European Union in particular has been generally overlooked. This dissertation examines public opinion on the political and economic transformations within the framework of the direction of the international reorientations of the countries. The countries were divided into three categories, those that can be expected to be invited to join the European Union in the next enlargement, those that can be expected to join the European Union in a subsequent enlargement, and the countries not seeking European Union membership. Public opinion on democracy and the market economy and attitudinal factors that influence these opinions are compared in 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The data are from the Central and East European Barometers 3-7 (1992 - 1996). The findings suggest that general opinions regarding satisfaction with democracy are not related to the status of the country seeking membership in the European Union while support from the market economy does differ. When examining attitudinal factors that are related to satisfaction with democracy and support for the market economy, differences emerged between the three categories of countries. These findings suggest that public opinion is in part shaped by the international orientations of the country and that changes in public opinion are important in understanding the political and economic transformation processes.
119

El Banc Europeu de Reconstrucció i Desenvolupament: una institució financera internacional en el marc de la integració europea i la globalització

Armengol Ferrer, Ferran 20 February 2004 (has links)
L'objecte de la present tesi doctoral és l'estudi del Banc Europeu de Reconstrucció i Desenvolupament (BERD), institució financera internacional específicament dedicada a la cooperació a la transició política i econòmica dels estats d'Europa central i oriental. L'estudi és de caràcter essencialment jurídic i analitza la "funció d'adaptació" a la democràcia pluralista i l'economia de mercat dels esmentats estats que desenvolupa el Banc, i els problemes jurídics derivats d'aquesta activitat. La Tesi s'estructura, així, en quatre parts: en la primera s'analitzen els fonaments del marc de cooperació en el qual s'insereix la creació del BERD ; la segona descriu els diversos tipus d'operacions desenvolupades pel banc. La tercera incideix sobre l'estructura institucional del Banc i la quarta, i última, es refereix al règim jurídic del Banc i els mitjans de control polític i judicial de la seva activitat. / El objeto de la presente tesis doctoral es el estudio del Banco Europeo de Reconstrucción y Desarrollo (BERD), institución financiera internacional específicamente dedicada a la cooperación a la transición política y económica de los estados de Europa central y oriental. El estudio es de carácter esencialmente jurídico y analiza la "función de adaptación" a la democracia pluralista y la economía de mercado de dichos estados que desarrolla el Banco, y los problemas jurídicos derivados de dicha actividad. La Tesis se estructura, así, en cuatro partes: en la primera se analizan los fundamentos del marco de cooperación en el que se inserta la creación del BERD; la segunda describe los diversos tipos de operaciones desarrolladas por el Banco. La tercera incide sobre la estructura institucional del Banco y la cuarta, y última, se refiere al régimen jurídico del Banco y los medios de control político y judicial de su actividad. / The object of this Ph D thesis is the study of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), international financial institution specifically devoted to the cooperation to the political and economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe States. The study is from essentially juridical character and analyzes the function of adaptation of the aforementioned States to pluralistic democracy and market economy that develops the Bank , and the juridical problems derived from this activity. The Thesis is structured, thus, in four parts: in Part One, the foundations of the frame of cooperation in which the creation of the EBRD is inserted are analyzed; Part Two portrays the several types of operations developed by the Bank. Part Three falls upon the institutional structure of the Bank. Part Four refers to the juridical regime of the Bank and the means of political and judicial control of its activity.
120

The Law BusinessmanTM : Five Essays on Legal Self-efficacy and Business Risk

Jörgensen, Fredrik January 2013 (has links)
The thesis challenges the notion of effectiveness of law as being based on the formal institutions of courts, law enforcement and written law. It argues that the best way to measure the effectiveness of law is the legal self-efficacy of laymen who are the end users of law.  It presents a new perspective on the effectiveness of law. It turns the traditional perspective of studying the effects of legal institutions around and instead studies the effect of how individuals perceive their own ability to use law. This self-reflexive ability - legal self-efficacy -  is the answer to the question “How comfortable are with communicating with legal terminology?”. The thesis makes several comparisons using the traditional perspective and legal self-efficacy and finds that legal self-efficacy is a better measure of legal effectiveness. This thesis analyzes 246 businesspeople in Russia and their risk behavior  with regards to economic transactions in relation to legal self-efficacy.  The theory behind legal self-efficacy is a combination of Luhmann’s theory of law as communication and Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy.  The first paper applies the traditional approach. It analyzes the effect of legal efficiency on leverage and debt maturity for listed and non-listed companies. The second paper is describes the conceptual foundation of the legal effectiveness based on the individual. The third paper compares the effect of private order (including legal self-efficacy) and public order institutions on the granting of trade credit.  The fourth paper analyzes the impact of legal self-efficacy and formal legal institutions on sanctions against clients in a comparative perspective. The final paper seeks out possible sources of legal self-efficacy. Legal self-efficacy can be used to better understand the interaction of individuals and law including such fields of research as behavioral accounting, behavioral law and finance, legal sociology and legal studies.

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