Issue published: 10 December 2023

Download full issue

Equality implies proportionality: Assessing the (dis)proportionality of constituencies created for the 2022 Slovak regional elections

Jakub Bardovič and Jaroslav Mihálik, p. 645–666

Abstract: In a democratic environment, political equality implies proportionality. Achieving this in an electoral setting can be complicated and unrealistic. The aim of this article is to investigate the logic, approach and method of creating constituencies in the elections for Slovak self‑governing regions in 2022. We track the key attributes related to proportionality: the legislation, the actual creation of constituencies, the mechanisms used for the redistribution of mandates and the achievement of proportionality in individual constituencies within particular regions. Our results indicate considerabled is proportionality within the constituencies of particular self‑governing regions, which is mainly caused by the lack of effective legislation, the different approaches of authorities in creating constituencies and the absence of limits to the violation of electoral and thus political equality.

Keywords: (dis)proportionality, malapportionment, regional elections, Slovakia, electoral equality

The Russo-European Gas Trade and the Position of Southeast Europe between the Great Actors: Neo-imperialism, Conflict–Cooperation Perpetuum, and Soft Balancing

Davor Boban, p. 667–694

Abstract: The article analyses the Russian neo‑imperialist strategy in the gas trade in Southeast Europe (SEE) and the reactions of the EU and the region’s countries to this. The first argument in the article is that the existence of favourable political, social and economic preconditions is necessary for the application of a neo‑imperialist strategy. The second argument is that an individual country’s geographical position determines Russian interest in building transit pipelines on its territory. Because the gas trade exists in the framework of the conflict‑cooperation perpetuum between the interested parties, the third argument is that this provokes a reaction from the EU and the affected countries in the form of soft balancing. This approach is intended to curb Russia’s power, but not to completely break a gas trade with this country. As the EU has been making efforts to counteract Russian geo‑economic power by promoting diversification of the gas supply and funding new gas infrastructure projects, Russian influence in the region has been decreasing in recent years.

Keywords: neo‑imperialist strategy, conflict‑cooperation perpetuum, soft balancing, Southeast Europe, Russia, European Union

Opportunities and Limits of Presidential Activism: Czech presidents compared

Lubomír Kopeček, p. 695–724

Abstract: This article analyses the use of powers by Czech presidents Václav Havel (1993–2003), Václav Klaus (2003–2013) and Miloš Zeman (2013–2023). The text is based on the concept of presidential activism, empirically examining mainly their interactions with governments and legislative vetoes. The results show that important incentives for presidential activism are non‑cohesive coalition governments, minority governments, slim government majorities in parliament, the collapse of governments and a chaotic parliament. On the other hand, the internal cohesion of a government acts as a constraint on presidential activism. Popularly elected Zeman interpreted his powers much more widely in appointing and removing governments and ministers than Havel or Klaus, who were elected by parliament. By contrast, Zeman used his legislative powers less than his two predecessors, which was apparently influenced by their low success (with some exceptions) in this area. The president’s political proximity to the government was found to only sometimes limit his agility. Czech presidents have rarely been passive. A specific factor that affected activism, albeit only to a limited extent,was the poor health of Havel and Zeman at certain moments. To reduce systemic risks in the future, it would be useful to define more precisely the rules for appointing and dismissing a government and individual ministers.

Keywords: presidential activism, direct elections, governments, legislative powers, Czechia, systemic risks

Cabinet formation under semi-presidentialism: European countries in comparison

Vitaliy S. Lytvyn and Anatoliy S. Romanyuk, p. 725–765

Abstract: The article demonstrates that the rules and practices of cabinet formation and investitures should be taken into account to better grasp the variety of semi‑presidentialism in Europe. This is extremely important, since semi‑presidentialism as a constitutional system of government (primarily according to a minimalist approach to the definition) is the most common form of inter‑institutional and political relations in European countries. The former is most often understood as a constitutional design of inter‑institutional relations with a president popularly elected for a fixed term, as well as with a cabinet headed by a prime minister who are collectively responsible to parliament. Thus, not only presidents and parliaments, but cabinets too play a crucial role in the constitutional and political practice of semi‑presidentialism, since the latter are collectively responsible to parliaments (or simultaneously to presidents), but are characterised by distinctive parameters of formation. The assumption and hypothesis are that options of cabinet formation and inter‑institutional relations in this regard can structure European semi‑presidentialism, even without affecting the definition ofthis constitutional design, but probably depending on the roles and powers of presidents and parliaments in cabinet formation, as well as types of semi‑presidentialism regarding the consideration of who can dismiss the cabinet. Based on comparison and systematisation of the cases of European semi‑presidentialism, it is justified that cabinet formation (including within various types and consequences of parliamentary votes of investiture in cabinets, as well as their absence) is typically focused on a junction of relations between presidents and parliaments, and are likely to serve as a classification indicator of semi‑presidentialism. This is important for constitutional engineering, since detailing the optionality of semi‑presidentialism as a constitutional design and system of government, particularly regarding cabinet formation, should extend the horizons, as well as systematise the idea of the options and effects of various institutional designs (in addition to presidentialism and parliamentarism) and political regimes (including democratic, autocratic and hybrid).

Keywords: constitutional system of government, semi‑presidentialism, cabinet formation, vote of investiture, parliament, president

The Impact of Electoral Gender Quotas on Women’s Political Participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ajla van Heel Merdanović and Selma Delalić, p. 767–789

Abstract: Although representing half of the world population, women remain largely excluded from political power and government structures. Various strategies have been introduced to increase women’s political representation, including electoral gender quotas. This paper explores the impact of electoral gender quotas on women’s quantitative participation in politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, analysing quota impact in combination with other related factors, such as the quota design, implementation and broader political context. A diversity of techniques has been used to collect a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, including academic resources collection and analysis, desk research, statistical data analysis and online questionnaire. The paper argues that electoral gender quotas have generally had a positive impact on getting women elected in BiH, though their efficacy depends ontheir formulation and other aspects of electoral law. Still, quantitative representation of women is not sufficient to facilitate their agency in politics. Social attitudes also continue to affect the electoral success of women once they secure a spot on the candidate list. Therefore, quotas must be implemented within a broader democratic, accountable and gender‑sensitive political context to deliver qualitative representation of women in politics. Finally, the paper offers concrete recommendations to promote women’s political participation in BiH.

Keywords: women’s political participation, gender equality, electoral gender quotas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, democracy, political culture

Illiberal Neo-Intergovernmentalism: Poland’s Conservative Idea for the European Union?

Piotr Tosiek, p. 791–816

Abstract: The aim of this article is to propose the term ‘illiberal neo‑intergovernmentalism’ (IN) to describe and explain Poland’s EU concept promoted by the government and some scholars after 2015. The methodology, based on decision, factor and comparative analyses, is of qualitative nature. The main idea is the assumption that Polish vision can betreated as a concept contributing to theory building. The research question relates to the positioning of the Polish concept against the background of other approaches: due to its significant distance from the functionalist trend, a connection with the intergovernmentalist theories is assumed. Two hypotheses are presented, and their verification shows that the main weakness of the Polish concept is the lack of paradigmatic rooting.The ‘Eurorealist’ illiberal neo‑intergovernmentalism has not been created as a result of the evolutionary development of well‑founded views typical of the intergovernmental trend and seems to disregard all previous theoretical achievements. Referring to realism alone, without defining the continuity of thought, is not enough to recognise the concept as a realist one. Therefore, this vision does not have explanatory values, while its normative character is the result of the adoption of Eurosceptic and ultraconservative ideology.

Keywords: Integration Theory, intergovernmentalism, Eurorealism, Illiberal Democracy, Poland

International energy trade: The EU’s position and energy security

Milan Vošta, p. 817–833

Abstract: Increasing energy consumption and ensuring the supply of energy resources insufficient quantities and changes in the energy mix of individual countries and regions are a pressing issue today. Besides their economic dimension, energy and energy policy also carry geopolitical and security importance. The ecological and social aspect is increasingly important; issues related to the availability of resources, stability of supply, efficiency and fuel prices are becoming more common and pressing. This study has expanded on the subject of energy dependence to include the concept of interdependence. It has also delved into international trade, incorporating this plane to provide a broad international dimension and emphasise the need to strengthen the energy security of individual states. The aim of this article is to show the gravity of the EU’s unilateral Russian‑dominated import focus and the possibility of reshaping the pattern of energy imports into the EU. The analysis of energy trade has drawn on an interpretation of the outputs of available data, with the cave at that the war in Ukraine has limited momentum in this area. The results of the subject explored here are presented in the form of a discourse on opportunities to redirect trade and strengthen the EU’s energy security.The European Union, as a primary‑energy import region, must revisit the territorial structure of its primary‑energy imports, diversify its suppliers, change the energy mixand interconnect energy infrastructure by deploying new technologies.

Keywords: energy, energy security, interdependence, energy mix, international trade, import dependency

Expert Knowledge on Environmental Peacebuilding: the social context of its diffusion in international politics and what it says about it

Šárka Waisová, p. 835–860

Abstract: In the last two decades, environmental peacebuilding (EPBL) has become a rapidly growing field of research and practice and today, EPBL is embedded in academia, policy making, and education, as well as in practice. The goal here is to learn more about the social complexity and context of the production of expert knowledge on environmental peacebuilding (EPBL) and its diffusion in international politics in the period from 1990s to 2008. It was also discussed what the analysis of social context says about EPBL, and its diffusion. We conclude that as expert knowledge, EPBL emerged inpractice, not in academia, and developed within narrow relations in a very small group of conservationists, scholars, and practitioners. Since the end of the 1990s, EPBL has spread globally, being distributed because it has been collectively enacted through relations and mediated by the intersubjective meanings and artefacts such as guidelines, projects, policies, conferences, reports, and books.

Keywords: environmental peacebuilding, expert knowledge, social context, diffusion in international politics