More than three decades after the fall of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the expected triumph of the liberal democracy did not prove to be a straightforward phenomenon. The post-communist states entered the process of democratization with the plan of reuniting with their Western …

A vital element of liberal democracy is the relationship between a government and its citizens, which is often characterised by the concept of political support or its reverse, political alienation. Ideally, this relationship should display political support since this indicates a high level of trust …

Consociationalism is a power-sharing arrangement often recommended to divided societies to avert inter-group conflict and induce stability. The consociational theory has been described by Arend Lijphart following the observation of the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland. Based on the example …

The debate about the world wide web is of vital importance. Will it remain the democratic place of unconditional meeting and community building, or will it become a tool in the hands of governments, trillion dollar companies and the mafia, in order to secretly establish a dictatorship of control and …

Gender equality is one of the European Union’s (EU) core values. However, no EU Member State (MS) has achieved gender equality. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is the EU institute responsible for promoting gender equality. The aim of this dissertation was to find out how effective EIGE …

In the last decade, the Communist ideology has been a key point in international discussions and disputes. 1989 marked the demise of the communism and brought room for transitions. This report provides an analysis of the post-communism at the hand of economic and political transitions, as well as commemoration …

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze whether non-state actors, in the form of international governmental organizations, make states irrelevant within the global political arena. There has been a shift in the division of power in the political sphere as a result of trade openness. Indeed, international …

The urgency of analysing the case of female genital cutting (FGC) increases due to the globalisation of today’s world, enhancing multicultural societies dealing with benefits and challenges with respect to cultural differences. Generally, FGC originates from and is promoted as a highly valued cultural …

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Yet in 2012, it was estimated that around 87 Christian wedding officiants continued to refuse to marry gay couples due to their religious beliefs. Even though municipalities were allowed to hire these so-called …

The aim of this paper is to reflect on Russian-OSCE relations and how this has changed from Russia's constructive engagement to gradual disillusionment. The history of Russia’s engagement in the OSCE is traced back to the founding of the organisation in 1975, while there is particular focus on the Yeltsin …