Socialization of CEE Governments in the EU Environment - Who Shapes the Norms?

The paper was preceeded by an international conference organized by the Centre for EU Enlargement Studies of the Central European University. The conference was dedicated to the role of elections in young democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. Central theme of the dialogue were the possible consequences of elections in post-communist republics on the European governance. As demonstrated on the recent elections in Poland or last year's elections in Romania, the consequences reach far beyond the national borders of the member states. 

The paper focuses on the effect of socialization of selected government parties in the CEE region after past elections in the Czech Republic (2013), Poland (2011 and 2015), and Slovakia (2012). After the year 2004 comes the drop in these positive perceptions and a shift toward the model of a daily struggle with European matters. At the same time, a gradual growth (measured in time) of socialization toward party actors in the European political arena is occurring and there exists a presumption that their stances are subsequently reflected in party programs and activities. 

The full text of Michal Vít's paper is accessible via the PDF button next to this article.

More information about the conference and other papers concerning this topic can be found here.