We investigate the interdependence among three CEE stock markets and be- tween CEEs vis-à-vis euro area, using daily data from 2001-2011. Initially, we estimate bivariate ADCC models. Then, OLS regressions are employed to understand the evolution of correlations in time and during the recent financial crises. Finally, we examine the relationship between correlations and volatilities using the simple OLS model and the rolling stepwise regression methodology. Our results indicate that 3 out of 4 series exhibit asymmetries in conditional variances, while only 1 pair out of 6 exhibit asymmetries in correlations. We found that correlations are increased over time and during the recent financial crises for both pairs (CEEs-CEEs and CEEs-eurozone). However, the highest increase is observed for CEEs-eurozone. Mainly, we found a positive rela- tionship between correlations and volatilities, even though this relationship is niether constant in time nor strictly positive or negative during all the sample period, but rather time-varying with periods of being higher or lower than zero.

Why are national constitutional courts able to affect the actions of national legislatures? The roles and relationships of both constitutional courts and legislatures are defined in the national constitution. Although there is variance across countries, in general constitutional courts are empowered to ensure that laws conform to the principles and values enshrined in the constitution. National legislatures are, at least to some extent, required to conform legislation to the decisions of the constitutional court. Yet both the constitutional court and legislature could alter or avoid these roles. Constitutional courts can expand or contract their duties by applying the constitution in either a broad or restricted manner. Similarly, national legislatures can expand or contract the influence of the constitutional court by complying with or ignoring past and future constitutional court decisions. This dissertation builds on the works of Fish and Kroenig (2009), Schimmelfinning (2006), Maveety and Grosskopf (2004), Finnemore (2003), and Stone (1990) to explain the balance of power between national constitutional courts and national legislatures in the protection and extension of fundamental rights and democracy. By creating a measure of constitutional court autonomy and using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this dissertation will seek to demonstrate that national constitutional court and legislative autonomy must be viewed from both the national and supranational perspective and that a reduction in national legislative autonomy may increase national diffusion of democratic norms and the protection of human rights.

Analizuojama posocialistinių valstybių partinių sistemų nestabilumo problematika. Svarbiausi Vidurio Rytų Europos partinių sistemų aspektai - pliuralizmo pradžia pereinamuoju laikotarpiu, partinių sistemų fragmentacija, ideologinis pasiskirstymas, partijų ir rinkėjų ryšys - atskleidžiami Lietuvos ir Slovėnijos partinių sistemų lyginamojoje analizėje. / The subject of this paper is the party systems in Central Eastern Europe. The main characteristics of the party systems in the region, such as the emergence of pluralism in tranzition period, party system fragmentation, ideologigal alignments,and party-citizen connection - are used in comparative analysis of Lithuanian and Slovenian party systems.

The national parks in the Carpathian Mountains along the Polish and Slovak border represent encompassing policy agendas that strive to balance biodiversity conservation and social welfare tasks. These countries have, during the last 25 years, undergone rapid transformation from socialist regimes to liberal democracies, and this transformation has affected the political, social and economic spheres. The accession to the European Union (EU) introduced demands for further changes, such as closer integration of conservation and socioeconomic development and inclusive, transparent and accountable decision-making that are based on participatory mechanisms. This thesis explores key challenges and opportunities for nature conservation policy and practice at the local level in a context of post-socialist legacies and Europeanization. Multi-level governance, Europeanization, and post-socialist studies are used as theoretical vehicles for the analysis of four transboundary national parks: Pieninsky national parks (NP) in both Poland and Slovakia and Bieszczady NP [Poland] and Poloniny NP [Slovakia]. The results of this study show that the early designation of the studied parks as protected areas prevented their exploitation and enabled preservation of important landscapes, which currently are highly valued at the European level. These nature conservation regimes have created tangible restrictions on the possible economic uses of these areas. However, rural development alternatives depend on a broader set of local, national and global factors such as the structure of the local economy and employment, the prioritization of nature conservation in national policies, investors’ interest, and increasing urbanization. Europeanization provided opportunities for local actors to benefit from additional funding made available for nature conservation and rural development. At the same time, demands for participatory decision-making posed significant procedural and conceptual challenges to achieving transparent, inclusive and accountable governance. The prevalence of informal practices in local policy-making and the lack of trust in state authorities pose further challenges to formal participatory processes. The opportunities of local actors to reach out across levels to express their interests remain scarce and are not institutionalized, whereas the multi-level characteristics of modern governance indirectly shape local processes by defining common legal and policy frameworks. / Förvaltningen av nationalparkerna in vid gränsen mellan Polen och Slovakien i Karpaterna är framför allt inriktad mot att uppnå balans mellan bevarande av biologisk mångfald och social välfärd. Polen och Slovakien har under de senaste 25 åren genomgått en snabb förändring från socialistiska regimer till liberala demokratier, vilket har inneburit genomgripande politiska, sociala och ekonomiska förändringar. Medlemskapet i EU innebar ytterligare förändringar, som till exempel integrering av naturvårdsarbete och socioekonomisk utveckling, liksom främjande av inkluderande, transparent och deltagarinriktat beslutsfattande. Därmed bygger den moderna beslutsprocessen inte längre på den tidigare hierarkiska strukturen, utan har nu fått en aningen diffus karaktär, innefattande mängd olika aktörer som interagerar i såväl horisontella som vertikala beslutsprocesser. I denna avhandling utforskas nyckelutmaningar och möjligheter för beslutsfattande och implementering av naturvårdsarbete på lokal nivå, relaterade till de post-socialistiska arven och medlemskapet i EU. Multi-level governance (politiskt beslutsfattande på flera nivåer), Europeanization (europeisering) och post-socialistiska studier används som teoretiska verktyg för analysen av fyra gränsöverskridande nationalparker: Pieninsky, som innefattar såväl polska som slovakiska områden, Bieszczady (Polen) och Poloniny (Slovakien). Studien visar att det tidiga inrättandet av naturskydd i nationalparkerna hindrade exploatering och möjliggjorde bevarandet av värdefulla naturområden, vilka idag är högt värderade utifrån ett europeiskt perspektiv. Reglerna för detta naturskydd har dock skapat begränsningar för hur områdena kan användas för, till exempel, agrara verksamheter och turism. De mer övergripande landsbygdsutvecklingsmöjligheterna beror av lokala, nationella och globala faktorer som exempelvis den lokala ekonomins struktur, tillgång på arbetstillfällen, hur naturskydd prioriteras i nationellt beslutsfattande, intresse för investeringar i området och urbaniseringsprocesser. Medlemskapet i EU har medfört utökade möjligheter för finansiering av naturskydd och landsbygdsutveckling. Samtidigt har medlemskapet för dessa länder lett till ökade förväntningar på politiskt deltagande och nya utmaningar vad gäller transparens i beslutsfattande och inkluderande beslutsprocesser. Vidare har informella beslutsvägar i lokalt beslutsfattande och lågt förtroende för statliga myndigheter lett till ytterligare utmaningar i deltagandeprocesser. Möjligheter för lokala aktörer att kunna kommunicera och påverka beslut på högre nivåer har förblivit begränsade och är ännu inte tydligt institutionaliserade, samtidigt som det moderna, interaktiva beslutsfattandet på flera nivåer indirekt formar lokala processer genom att definiera legala och politiska ramverk inom vilka förvaltningsbeslut fattas.

Yes / To identify, describe, and classify the cases of health corruption present in selected Western [the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK)] and Central-Eastern European (Poland and Slovakia) countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid review of the literature was conducted, evaluating data from 11 March 2020 to 15 April 2021. Information sources included MEDLINE via WoS, IBSS via ProQuest, Scopus, and gray literature. Thirteen cases were identified across the four countries. The primary type of health corruption in Western European countries was procurement corruption, while misuse of (high) level positions was the most prevalent in Central-Eastern European countries. Actors from central governments were most involved in cases. The rule of law and anti-corruption watchdogs reported most cases in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, while the media reported cases in Poland and Slovakia. The differences in types of corruption in WE and CEE countries emphasize the need to contextualize the approach to tackle corruption. Thus, further research in preventing and tackling corruption is a vital and necessary undertaking despite the inherent of conducting health corruption research.

Departing from the idea of a slippery ideological surface over which the term &ldquo / Europe&rdquo / is conceptualized, which is continuously susceptible to shifts and redefinitions, this thesis is devoted to the attempt to outline the differences between the two ways of the conceptualization of &ldquo / Europe&rdquo / in Central Eastern Europe in two specific periods and political contexts. The first period mentioned is the early 1980s, or pre-1989 period, punctuated with the Central European intellectuals&rsquo / (the so-called dissidents&rsquo / ) discourse on the &ldquo / European&rdquo / affiliation of the region-especially in cultural terms. The transformation literature is also mentioned in order to pose the counter-factual arguments of this intellectual strand. The second period mentioned is the late 1990s and early 2000s, where the idea of &ldquo / Europe&rdquo / is identified with the EU and the EU accession. In this respect, Poland and Hungary are chosen as the sample countries for the scrutiny of the second period. Euro-discourses of the political parties and the concept of &ldquo / party-based Euroscepticism&rdquo / are scrutinised. The Polish and Hungarian media and the public opinion are also investigated to understand how and with what references &ldquo / Europe&rdquo / is conceptualised in late 1990s and early 2000s in the political space of Central Eastern Europe. Thus, in this study, the basic claim is that the intense debates and the literature on the &ldquo / Europeanness&rdquo / of Central Europe and on the transition that these countries have to realize in order to be &ldquo / European&rdquo / do not have a substantial basis in the conceptualization of &ldquo / Europe&rdquo / in the current political spaces of Poland and Hungary.

"Eastern Europe" in the Mental Map of an English Traveller from the 16th to the 18th Century Abstract The thesis aims to interpret the early modern English/British travel writings about (Central) Eastern Europe. It results in the reconstruction of mental maps of the selected travellers with regard to a typology (merchants, professionals, intellectuals, clergymen, and women). The special attention is paid to the images of marginality, such as inconvenience and danger, ignorance and backwardness, exaggeration and pomp, former splendour and present lamentation, pleasant and unpleasant landscape. The primary sources comprise a selection of fifteen travel writings which are read and interpreted with respect to the development of the genre and to the broader cultural and historical context. The covering concept is a mental map conceived as an imaginary representation of space and as a tool for cultural orientation and self-identification. The reconstruction of the mental maps is performed in four steps. Firstly, by defining the subject (a traveller) within the typology. Secondly, the landmarks (centres) in the mental maps are reconstructed. Thirdly, the images of marginality are presented. Finally, the mental maps are concluded. Methodologically, the thesis is based on the interpretation and language analysis of...

The study investigates the development of counter-terrorism in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia between 1989 and 2017, with a focus on developments of the Criminal Code and changes in the institutional framework. A description of counter-terrorism developments is constructed for each country. Subsequently, general hypotheses about counter-terrorism development derived from existing literature are tested using causal-process tracing tools, resulting in preliminary conclusions about the causes of the identified developments. The results indicate that changes in the Criminal Code were primarily driven by external pressure from international organisations, whereas institutional changes tended to result from country-specific processes, threat perception and inspiration from abroad. Keywords: Counter-terrorism, terrorism, Visegrad, Central Eastern Europe, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia