Europeanization and Consolidation of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe from an Actor-Centered Perspective

Annotation

This seminar will bring together three major theoretical approaches which, although touching upon each other, have so far remained fairly singular and insolated within their respective disciplinary boundaries. The main topic is consolidation of democracy writ large.

Firstly, we shall discuss different approaches in that respect, shall distinguish between forms of transition and consolidation, and shall try to find out which are likely to be the main institutions, organizations and policy domains that fulfill the criteria requested for a democracy to be fully consolidated. Secondly, we shall evaluate the role of external enforcement agencies

(the European Union in particular) and confront their significance with those domestic constraints and opportunities co-determining the development of politics and society in Central and Eastern Europe. Finally, we shall approach these questions from the theoretical perspective of actor-centered institutionalism (ACI), i.e. we shall focus on the relationship between deliberate design and institutional path-dependency. It is self-evident that the themes addressed by the course are held together by concepts of multilevel governance.

Participants should have an interest in one or more of the topics mentioned and should, in particular, be prepared to contribute actively to discussions and to develop questions and provide answers in a more or less autonomous fashion.