Bücher von Elzbieta Szumanska

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2,0, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), course: CSFP-Northern and Eastern Dimensions of the EU, language: English, abstract: Belarus became a dictatorship shortly after the young democracy there failed. Among different reasons of it not to be underestimated is the economic crisis that time and the lack of the national consciousness of Belarusians. Both made it easier to introduce violence, force order and stability mainly due to the fact that democracy was associated first of all with anarchy and empty shelves in shops. The intense relationship with Russia, mainly due to economic dependence and the Soviet tradition, caused an exclusion Belarus¿ in Europe and also a self-exclusion of theBelarusians. After several years of minimal contacts between Belarus and the West, there has been an increased interest in the region to be observed. The lesson from the past has shown that isolation and political/economic pressure do not work in case of Belarus, so that the ¿Serbia scenariö cannot be repeated. The main reasons for an increased interest in Belarus are the Easternenlargement of the European Union and the importance of resources, mainly gas and oil, flowing through the Republic from Russia. Next to the realistic approach that includes also the borderzone pragmatism, there are also idealistic reasons to be taken under consideration. The aspirations of the new member states in Central Europe and the believe of the EU that a stabile,accountable neighborhood can be assured only through building democracy in the country made up the decision of the EU to intensify the democratization processes in Belarus.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - Region: Russia, grade: 1.0, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), course: Direct Democracy: Theory and Practice., language: English, abstract: In order to proof democratic developments in Belarus the following study will be dividedinto five different sections. The opening section positions Belarus within contemporary debateabout the concept of the Direct Democracy, with a special focus on the relevance and functionsof the institution of referendum and plebiscite.Next, the paper reviews the Belarusian referenda since president Lukashenko came topower. First, legal bases for this kind of institution must be presented. Further, detailed coursewithin the timeframe of May 1995 and October 2004 in connection with a public reaction onthem and an international appraisal will be shown.Section three of the paper then considers the historical context of Belarus with a specialfocus on the Soviet period in order to elucidate the issues mentioned. Long dependence mayexplain why there exists a big mistrust to international institutions and the West as such. Thissection presents also possible reasons of the weak Belarusian national identity and lack of thecivil society in the country.Next chapter looks after possible ways Belarus should follow. Having in mind the waythe direct democracy has been forced there via referendums that do not meet law standards, thispart will consider possible reasons and challenges for the Belarusian governance in the domainof international relations with its biggest neighbors: Russia and the European Union, from avariety of perspectives. It is essential in the debate about democratization of Belarus withoutdestroying so important economical ties with Russia.In conclusion it will be analyzed how the changes described can proof the concept of theDirect Democracy in Belarusian context. In doing so, answers on how the internationalcommunity can deal with such types of governance will be provided. Finally some interestingfindings regarding democratic changes due to an undemocratic form of governance will besummed up.

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - History of Political Systems, grade: 1,7 (B), European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), course: Europejska Mysl Polityczna, language: Polish, abstract: Celem niniejszej pracy jest przedstawienie wizji idealnego pästwa wed¿ug Platona. Praca analizuje najpierw t¿o historyczne staro¿ytnej Grecji, teorie ustrojowe Platona ze szczególnym uwzgl¿dnieniem argumentów krytykuj¿cych ustrój demokratyczny, nast¿pnie przedstawia wizj¿ idealnego pästwa plato¿skiego i w ko¿cu opisuje wp¿yw my¿li plato¿skiej na pó¿niejsze idee polityczne. Dyskurs taki pozwala zrozumie¿, dlaczego filozof zaproponowä taki, a nie inny, obraz rzeczywisto¿ci politycznej