Dane Taleski - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Dane Taleski
Party regulation in general has not been a matter of concern until very recently (Biezen, 2011; B... more Party regulation in general has not been a matter of concern until very recently (Biezen, 2011; Biezen and Borz, 2012; Casal Bértoa et al., forthcoming). Un fortunately, in the most recent publications in the field scholars have tended to focus on the most consolidated South and East Central European democracies (Biezen and Casal Bértoa, work in progress) leaving aside regions like the Balkans where party regulation has played an important role in terms not only of party system formation but also on democratic transitions. In order to fill this gap, this paper explores how political parties have been regulated in Macedonia. Empirically, the paper analyses how the different types of regulation have affected the Macedonian party system in terms of formation and development. The main conclusion is that such laws have had a mixed impact on the country´s political life.
This paper is a first attempt to answer the question what are the predictors for party support fo... more This paper is a first attempt to answer the question what are the predictors for party support for the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) on local level. While there are general theoretical guidelines and similar research from other countries, this issue has not been tackled in Macedonia. Using multiple regression analysis, I test the influence of five sets of factors (geography, demography, socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and electoral opportunities) on the vote share of SDSM in three local electoral cycles (2005, 2009 and 2013). The results show that SDSM's support is positively related to municipalities with a greater number of households, a higher average age of citizens, a higher number of ethnic Macedonians and a higher number of economically active citizens; where electoral opportunities are higher. Education levels show mixed results, while a higher proportion of religious citizens shows a negative relationship with support for SDSM. Whether municipalities are urban or rural, rich or poor, close to the capital or in the capital itself, have high levels of social welfare spending and greater representation of women, are all factors that are not related to support for SDSM.
The paper suggest a research design and methodology to study the transformation of rebel groups i... more The paper suggest a research design and methodology to study the transformation of rebel groups into political parties in Croatia and Macedonia
One Decade After the Ohrid Framework Agreement: Lessons (to be) Learned from the Macedonian Experience. Edited by Marija Risteska and Zhidas Daskalovski, 2011
Book chapter. pp. 170-190.
From Bosnia and Herzegovina to Northern Kosovo – Coping with the Remaining Impasses in the Western Balka", edited by Esrnst Felberbauer, Predrag Jurekovic and Frederic Labarre., 2011
Book chapter. pp. 17-49.
"15 Years of Peace-Building Activities in the Western Balkans – Lessons Learn and Current Challenges" edited by Ernst Felberbauer, Predrag Jurekovic and Frederic Labarre., 2010
Book chapter.
Ethnopolitics 8 (3-4), 355-367, 2009.
This article explores the EU's role in ethnic conflict management in Macedonia—once a favourite s... more This article explores the EU's role in ethnic conflict management in Macedonia—once a favourite success story, now a case whose outcome appears increasingly uncertain. Through a historic and conceptual overview of the relations between EU/EEC and the Republic of Macedonia, this study analyses whether the EU's intervention can be considered a success. The paper examines the impact of the EU during the pre-conflict period, in the armed conflict in 2001 itself, in shaping the mediation effort leading to the Ohrid Framework Agreement, and in the management of the post-conflict phase. The EU's role as a power broker in de-escalating the armed conflict in 2001 and in securing the Ohrid Agreement occurred, it is argued, because of the EU's promotion of a perception that Macedonia had a clear perspective for EU membership. The prolonged stalemate in the accession process between Macedonia and the EU since the agreement has induced widespread scepticism about the credibility of the EU's incentives for compliance and the good faith of the EU as a conflict manager, thus threatening to destabilize Ohrid.
Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2008
Political Parties and Minority Participation, Jan 1, 2008
SWP Working Paper, Jan 1, 2005
Telefon +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org swp@swp-berlin.org Working paper... more Telefon +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org swp@swp-berlin.org Working papers are papers in the subject area of a Research Unit, which are not officially published by SWP. These papers are either preliminary studies that later become papers published by SWP or papers that are published elsewhere. Your comments are always welcome.
Publication by the Institute for Democracy, Solidarity, …, Jan 1, 2003
EU and the Balkans: policies of …, Jan 1, 2008
Executive Board of the Social-democratic Union of Macedonia, and seats in the Managing Board of t... more Executive Board of the Social-democratic Union of Macedonia, and seats in the Managing Board of the "Progress" Institute based in Skopje. This policy paper was supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, office Macedonia
Books by Dane Taleski
The policy study looks at the process of regional cooperation in South East Europe and asks how e... more The policy study looks at the process of regional cooperation in South East Europe and asks how existing regional initiatives, in rule of law and social development, work in practice at the national level in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania? The study offers a comparative overview and detailed country analysis.
The guidebook offers advice on how to prepare successful projects for EU funding.
Book Reviews by Dane Taleski
Book review of “Macedonia: The Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Foundations of a Balkan S... more Book review of “Macedonia: The Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Foundations of a Balkan State”, by Victor C. De Munck and Ljupcho Risteski, London and New York: I.B. Tauris&Co Ltd 2013 East European Politics, 30 (2): 287-289. April 2014.
Conference Presentations by Dane Taleski
In general elections are seen as the key instrument in the democratization process even in postco... more In general elections are seen as the key instrument in the democratization process even in postconflict countries. On one hand there is the suggestion that the more repetitive and uninterrupted the electoral process is, the better are the chances for democracy to consolidate. On the other hand there is stream of literature that criticizes the “electoralism” paradigm. In that respect elections are portrayed as a gate way for further polarization in the society, and as such the electoral competition supports further instability, rather than aiding the democratization of the country.
The question is then whether post-conflict elections contribute or impede the democratization in post-conflict countries? The question has been addressed by analyzing the effects of various electoral designs in post-conflict countries. Also the role of international actors in post-conflict elections and democracy building has been extensively analyzed. However, little attention is given to the political parties as the main actors in post-conflict elections.
I claim that the prolongation or continuation of the conflict is function of the electoral strategy of the political parties. Parties can choose a strategy of symbolical extension of the conflict, as an efficient electoral strategy. I call this ‘electoral militarism’. However this is not necessarily detrimental for the stabilization and democratization of the country. On the contrary, it can structure the political competition making the elections and parties more stable.
The paper follows case oriented research methods. The electoral process and outcomes in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Croatia are compared. This design holds constant most institutional factors, as well as historical legacies, while the main difference is the presence (Macedonia, Croatia) and absence (Bulgaria) of internal armed conflict. Also there is a differentiation in terms of sequence of events, whether the conflict preceded (Croatia) or interrupted (Macedonia) the democratization process. The paper is based on cross national comparison of electoral data (i.e volatility, patterns of party support) and a case study of Croatia, where process tracing is used in a longitudinal analysis of several election cycles.
Early draft prospectus of my doctoral dissertation.
Party regulation in general has not been a matter of concern until very recently (Biezen, 2011; B... more Party regulation in general has not been a matter of concern until very recently (Biezen, 2011; Biezen and Borz, 2012; Casal Bértoa et al., forthcoming). Un fortunately, in the most recent publications in the field scholars have tended to focus on the most consolidated South and East Central European democracies (Biezen and Casal Bértoa, work in progress) leaving aside regions like the Balkans where party regulation has played an important role in terms not only of party system formation but also on democratic transitions. In order to fill this gap, this paper explores how political parties have been regulated in Macedonia. Empirically, the paper analyses how the different types of regulation have affected the Macedonian party system in terms of formation and development. The main conclusion is that such laws have had a mixed impact on the country´s political life.
This paper is a first attempt to answer the question what are the predictors for party support fo... more This paper is a first attempt to answer the question what are the predictors for party support for the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) on local level. While there are general theoretical guidelines and similar research from other countries, this issue has not been tackled in Macedonia. Using multiple regression analysis, I test the influence of five sets of factors (geography, demography, socioeconomic conditions, cultural factors and electoral opportunities) on the vote share of SDSM in three local electoral cycles (2005, 2009 and 2013). The results show that SDSM's support is positively related to municipalities with a greater number of households, a higher average age of citizens, a higher number of ethnic Macedonians and a higher number of economically active citizens; where electoral opportunities are higher. Education levels show mixed results, while a higher proportion of religious citizens shows a negative relationship with support for SDSM. Whether municipalities are urban or rural, rich or poor, close to the capital or in the capital itself, have high levels of social welfare spending and greater representation of women, are all factors that are not related to support for SDSM.
The paper suggest a research design and methodology to study the transformation of rebel groups i... more The paper suggest a research design and methodology to study the transformation of rebel groups into political parties in Croatia and Macedonia
One Decade After the Ohrid Framework Agreement: Lessons (to be) Learned from the Macedonian Experience. Edited by Marija Risteska and Zhidas Daskalovski, 2011
Book chapter. pp. 170-190.
From Bosnia and Herzegovina to Northern Kosovo – Coping with the Remaining Impasses in the Western Balka", edited by Esrnst Felberbauer, Predrag Jurekovic and Frederic Labarre., 2011
Book chapter. pp. 17-49.
"15 Years of Peace-Building Activities in the Western Balkans – Lessons Learn and Current Challenges" edited by Ernst Felberbauer, Predrag Jurekovic and Frederic Labarre., 2010
Book chapter.
Ethnopolitics 8 (3-4), 355-367, 2009.
This article explores the EU's role in ethnic conflict management in Macedonia—once a favourite s... more This article explores the EU's role in ethnic conflict management in Macedonia—once a favourite success story, now a case whose outcome appears increasingly uncertain. Through a historic and conceptual overview of the relations between EU/EEC and the Republic of Macedonia, this study analyses whether the EU's intervention can be considered a success. The paper examines the impact of the EU during the pre-conflict period, in the armed conflict in 2001 itself, in shaping the mediation effort leading to the Ohrid Framework Agreement, and in the management of the post-conflict phase. The EU's role as a power broker in de-escalating the armed conflict in 2001 and in securing the Ohrid Agreement occurred, it is argued, because of the EU's promotion of a perception that Macedonia had a clear perspective for EU membership. The prolonged stalemate in the accession process between Macedonia and the EU since the agreement has induced widespread scepticism about the credibility of the EU's incentives for compliance and the good faith of the EU as a conflict manager, thus threatening to destabilize Ohrid.
Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2008
Political Parties and Minority Participation, Jan 1, 2008
SWP Working Paper, Jan 1, 2005
Telefon +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org swp@swp-berlin.org Working paper... more Telefon +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org swp@swp-berlin.org Working papers are papers in the subject area of a Research Unit, which are not officially published by SWP. These papers are either preliminary studies that later become papers published by SWP or papers that are published elsewhere. Your comments are always welcome.
Publication by the Institute for Democracy, Solidarity, …, Jan 1, 2003
EU and the Balkans: policies of …, Jan 1, 2008
Executive Board of the Social-democratic Union of Macedonia, and seats in the Managing Board of t... more Executive Board of the Social-democratic Union of Macedonia, and seats in the Managing Board of the "Progress" Institute based in Skopje. This policy paper was supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, office Macedonia
The policy study looks at the process of regional cooperation in South East Europe and asks how e... more The policy study looks at the process of regional cooperation in South East Europe and asks how existing regional initiatives, in rule of law and social development, work in practice at the national level in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania? The study offers a comparative overview and detailed country analysis.
The guidebook offers advice on how to prepare successful projects for EU funding.
Book review of “Macedonia: The Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Foundations of a Balkan S... more Book review of “Macedonia: The Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Foundations of a Balkan State”, by Victor C. De Munck and Ljupcho Risteski, London and New York: I.B. Tauris&Co Ltd 2013 East European Politics, 30 (2): 287-289. April 2014.
In general elections are seen as the key instrument in the democratization process even in postco... more In general elections are seen as the key instrument in the democratization process even in postconflict countries. On one hand there is the suggestion that the more repetitive and uninterrupted the electoral process is, the better are the chances for democracy to consolidate. On the other hand there is stream of literature that criticizes the “electoralism” paradigm. In that respect elections are portrayed as a gate way for further polarization in the society, and as such the electoral competition supports further instability, rather than aiding the democratization of the country.
The question is then whether post-conflict elections contribute or impede the democratization in post-conflict countries? The question has been addressed by analyzing the effects of various electoral designs in post-conflict countries. Also the role of international actors in post-conflict elections and democracy building has been extensively analyzed. However, little attention is given to the political parties as the main actors in post-conflict elections.
I claim that the prolongation or continuation of the conflict is function of the electoral strategy of the political parties. Parties can choose a strategy of symbolical extension of the conflict, as an efficient electoral strategy. I call this ‘electoral militarism’. However this is not necessarily detrimental for the stabilization and democratization of the country. On the contrary, it can structure the political competition making the elections and parties more stable.
The paper follows case oriented research methods. The electoral process and outcomes in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Croatia are compared. This design holds constant most institutional factors, as well as historical legacies, while the main difference is the presence (Macedonia, Croatia) and absence (Bulgaria) of internal armed conflict. Also there is a differentiation in terms of sequence of events, whether the conflict preceded (Croatia) or interrupted (Macedonia) the democratization process. The paper is based on cross national comparison of electoral data (i.e volatility, patterns of party support) and a case study of Croatia, where process tracing is used in a longitudinal analysis of several election cycles.
Early draft prospectus of my doctoral dissertation.