This article examines the multiple governments of independent Estonia since 1992 referring to
their stability. Confronted with the immense problems of democratic transition, the multi-party
governments of Estonia change comparatively often. Following the elections of March 2003 the
ninth government since 1992 was formed. A detailed examination of government stability and the
example of Estonia is accordingly warranted, given that the country is seen as the most successful
Central Eastern European transition country in spite of its frequent changes of government.
Furthermore, this article questions whether or not internal government stability can exist within a
situation where the government changes frequently. What does stability of government mean and
what are the varying multi-faceted depths of the term? Before analysing the term, it has to be
clarified and defined. It is presumed that government stability is composed of multiple variables
influencing one another. Data about the average tenure of a government is not very conclusive.
Rather, the deeper political causes for governmental change need to be examined.
Therefore, this article discusses the conceptual and theoretical basics of governmental stability
first. Secondly, it discusses the Estonian situation in detail up to the elections of 2003, including a
short review of the 9th government since independence. In the conclusion, the author explains
whether or not the governments of Estonia are stable.
In the appendix, the reader finds all election results and also a list of all previous ministers of
Estonian governments (all data are as of July 2002).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:Potsdam/oai:kobv.de-opus-ubp:361 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Dahlmann, Olaf |
| Publisher | Universität Potsdam, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät. Sozialwissenschaften |
| Source Sets | Potsdam University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/doku/urheberrecht.php |
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