Suchergebnisse

Der Verfasser kennzeichnet das gegenwärtige politische System Russlands als "Erdöl-Staat", dessen Strategie darauf gerichtet ist, soziale Dynamiken einzuschränken. Dieser Staat basiert auf einer sozialen Polarisierung, bei der eine Minderheit über die natürlichen Ressourcen des Landes verfügt, während die große Mehrheit der Bevölkerung ums Überleben zu kämpfen hat. Dieser Staat und die ihm entsprechende Sozialstruktur lassen sich mit jenen in den Ländern Lateinamerikas vergleichen. Sein maßgebendes Ziel besteht darin, eine Stabilität zu gewährleisten und die Stellung der herrschenden Elite zu schützen. In diesem Kontext sind demokratische Institutionen kontraproduktiv, da sie eine Bedrohung für die bestehende Machtstruktur darstellen. Es wird die These vertreten, dass ein Modernisierungsprojekt in Russland lediglich nach der Abschaffung des existierenden politischen Systems als realistisch angesehen werden könnte. (ICF).

The aim of this article is to empirically assess the impact of female decision-making autonomy, educational attainment, and wealth on risks of having low-parity births and fertility preferences in the Republic of Moldova. The empirical analysis uses data from the 2005 Moldova Demographic and Health Survey. Hazard modeling is applied to study the transition to first, second, and third birth, while logistic regression is used to model desire for children. Considered for the first time are female decision-making autonomy measures, indicators that are essential in evaluating premises of gender equity theory. The main focus of the analysis is to assess the relative importance of female decision-making autonomy, education, and wealth for the timing of fertility, odds of having low-parity births, and desired fertility in Moldova.

The academic achievement of immigrant children has been a focus of social research for decades. Yet little attention has been paid to peer social capital and its importance as a school context factor for the academic success of immigrant youths. Using multilevel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Waves 1 and 3), this article draws upon social capital theory and assimilation theory to examine the effects of peer social capital on the academic achievement and attainment of immigrant and native youths. The effects of three measures of peer social capital are studied, controlled for many important variables, for example, sociodemographic background variables, school characteristics, and family social capital. Results indicate that only the average GPA (grade point average) of peers had a consistent and significant effect on children's achievement and attainment, whereas the density and the homogeneity of the peer network did not. Furthermore, all three measures of peer social capital have stronger effects for immigrant youths than for native youths.

The article is devoted to the analysis of introduction of a common currency in the Union of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The article discusses costs and benefits of the currency union and the existence of an optimal currency area between Russia and Belarus. Possible directions of the process of institutional integration are considered, description of state-of-the-art is presented, future prospects and current handicaps are analyzed.

Though the transition of political regime in Russia to a system that specified separation of powers between the executive & legislative branches was marked by much conflict, including armed conflict in Oct 1993, it was achieved & has stabilized & improved the relationship between the two branches. Most national policies have been the product of cooperation between both houses of parliament & the president. The history of this transition is traced from late 1991, when Boris Yeltsin received a political mandate to reconstitute the rules of president-parliament relations. However, relations between the Duma (the lower house of parliament) & the Federation Council (upper house) & the executive branch, both of which have greater power than the Duma, have not been so smooth. If a policy draws public criticism, the more party-oriented, popularly elected Duma will turn against the president & the Federation Council. Problems with the Duma & with the government's regional branches may lead to change in the executive/legislative branches' balanced relations. For this not to happen, they must pursue two objectives: find ways to attach political responsibility to executive power; & balance the distribution of authority between the two branches. J. Stanton

Independent media constitute a crucial component of a liberal democracy, especially for the critical role they can play in advancing the pace of democratization. In the late Soviet era, after Gorbachev lifted state control of the media as part of his glasnost policy, they helped release the hold of communist ideology on society & then went on in the 1990s to mobilize public support for democratic development. Essentially the media constituted the "engine for democratization." More recently, however, the media have become less influential. This chapter focuses on why this has happened & what its implications are for the future of democracy in Russia. J. Stanton