Romani electoral politics and behaviour

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht Wahlpolitik und Wahlverhalten von Roma in Osteuropa. Nach wie vor sind die Roma unterrepräsentiert in nationalen und lokalen politischen Bereichen. Der Autor analysiert die Probleme, die die Roma im Zusammenhang mit Wahlen haben, überprüft die Beziehungen zwischen Roma und wichtigen politischen Organisationen und erforscht das Wahlverhalten der Roma. Der politische Wandel vom Sozialismus zur freien Marktwirtschaft gab den Roma die Gelegenheit, ihre politische Marginalisierung zu verringern. Nach einer Dekade der Mobilisierung bleiben sie aber weiterhin unterrepräsentiert in der osteuropäischen Politik. Hierfür gibt es zahlreiche strukturelle Gründe auch innerhalb der Ethnie selbst. (ICD

The Cold Peace: Russo-Western Relations as a Mimetic Cold War

In 1989–1991 the geo-ideological contestation between two blocs was swept away, together with the ideology of civil war and its concomitant Cold War played out on the larger stage. Paradoxically, while the domestic sources of Cold War confrontation have been transcended, its external manifestations remain in the form of a ‘legacy’ geopolitical contest between the dominant hegemonic power (the United States) and a number of potential rising great powers, of which Russia is one. The post-revolutionary era is thus one of a ‘cold peace’. A cold peace is a mimetic cold war. In other words, while a cold war accepts the logic of conflict in the international system and between certain protagonists in particular, a cold peace reproduces the behavioural patterns of a cold war but suppresses acceptance of the logic of behaviour. A cold peace is accompanied by a singular stress on notions of victimhood for some and undigested and bitter victory for others. The perceived victim status of one set of actors provides the seedbed for renewed conflict, while the ‘victory’ of the others cannot be consolidated in some sort of relatively unchallenged post-conflict order. The ‘universalism’ of the victors is now challenged by Russia's neo-revisionist policy, including not so much the defence of Westphalian notions of sovereignty but the espousal of an international system with room for multiple systems (the Schmittean pluriverse)

Pitfalls of Professionalism? Military Academies and Coup Risk

Military academies tend to be strongly linked to the professionalization of the armed forces. This explains why many countries in the world have created such institutions. The following article studies a potential negative externality stemming from military schools: increased coup risk. We argue that military academies may create, inculcate, and strengthen cohesive views that could conflict with incumbent policies, and that these schools establish networks among military officers that may facilitate coordination necessary for plotting a putsch. We also contend and empirically demonstrate that these negative side effects of military academies are in particular pronounced in nondemocracies, that is, military academies have diverse effects across regime types. This work has significant implications for our understanding civil–military relations. Furthermore, we contribute to the literature on military education and professionalization, as we suggest that military academies are important vehicles through which coups can emerge predominantly in authoritarian states

Selective Reconciliation: The Rapprochement Between Israel and the Gulf Monarchies

The September 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain was the culmination of a multi-year process. Later two other Arab monarchies, Morocco, and Jordan jointed them in improving their relations with the Jewish State while the remaining Gulf Cooperation Council members opted not to join the Accords. This article focuses on Gulf Kingdoms and argues that the improvement in Israeli-Arab relations is explained by a growing realization that in Iran, both sides have a common enemy; the failings of America’s Middle East policy; the anticipated economic and security benefits to be gained from improved relations; and the diminished importance of the Palestinian issue for Arab societies and governments.</jats:p

Introduction

This introductory chapter provides two central arguments. The first is that the response of the regime’s regular armed forces to an uprising is critical to the success or failure of that uprising. This is a contention that is by now largely, but not universally, accepted as one of the cardinal tenets of revolutions: they cannot succeed without the support of the regime’s coercive apparatus, most particularly the regular army. The second major argument, one that has not been made before, is that we can make a highly educated guess about—and in some cases even confidently predict—the army’s response to a revolution or popular uprising if we have in-depth knowledge about a particular army, its relationship to state and society, and the external environment.</p