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New Frontiers for Open Society
The increasingly global nature of international politics and society
raises several fundamental questions with respect to democratic reform.
What is the reach of democratic ideas and what is the possibility of
meaningful policy change across borders? How might the process of
European enlargement promote a more expansive open society? Which are
the principal actors and forces spearheading changes? Reconceptualizing
international integration and governance issues as they confront social,
cultural, and political barriers represents a key challenge to
establishing new frontiers of democratic politics. These "new
frontiers" are not only geographical. To be sure, we seek the
expansion of democracy to regions and countries where it does not yet
exist. But we also seek its advance where it is as yet only formal or
nominal. Through the investigations carried out in the following topic
areas, IPF hopes to generate new policy ideas that will offer innovative
ways forward.
All projects for 2005/2006
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Eight working groups in 2005/2006
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Democratic Governance, Transparency, and Accountability
Good governance includes the capability of citizens to hold the government accountable for its actions and inaction. Monitoring the collection and use of public funds is key to influencing the priorities and policies of government and curtailing corruption. Revenues generated from natural resource extraction, collection of customs duties and other taxes, and public procurement awards are all areas particularly susceptible to ...
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The Challenge of Wider Europe
Wider Europe policy was developed by the EU in 2003 to define EU relations with neighboring countries and mitigate negative effects of EU enlargement. Since the borders of the European Union have been redrawn toward the East and South, a host of new neighboring countries stand to gain from the institution’s expansion of democratic norms and practices. Some states, for example in the Balkans, are already on track for ...
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Public Health and the Roma
The public health situation of minority communities, particularly the Roma, stands as a huge barrier (akin to poverty) to the expansion and strengthening of democratic norms. The Roma of Central and Eastern Europe are in the unique position of suffering the worst health problems of both the industrialized and the developing world. This poor health status is created and exacerbated by rampant discrimination throughout the countries of the region. Yet, efforts to promote the health of Roma populations often fail to confront ...
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Policy making in Transition Contexts
This Group addresses the topic of “Policymaking in Transition Contexts”. Democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and on the post-Soviet space set in train after the collapse of the communist regimes compelled us to reflect on the formation and particularities of the emerging political systems. Transitions in several CEE countries are rapidly progressing, taking place on a more fundamental level, and advancing in some specific “tough” areas (e.g. education and environment). Although transitions have been ...
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Combating Organized Crime
The aim of this site is to create a well-systematized source on the issues of organized crime in the Central and Eastern Europe to support IPF fellows and inform wider public on the research done by the OSI and other international organizations in this field. Organized crime finds fruitful grounds for flourishing in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe. It erodes new emerging democracies by establishing illegal ...
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Developing Socially Responsible Elites and the Challenge of Higher Education Reform
The experience of many countries indicates that democratic development and larger modernization depends to a significant degree on the level of elite preparedness: their know-how, capacity to present coherent ideas for necessary changes and ability to convince citizens of their ideas. ...
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Combating Open Society Threats in the former Soviet Union
The purpose of the “Combating Open Society Threats in the FSU” research group is to analyze various trends in governance that seem to open up the possibilities for a new type of engagement with civil society in Russia. The members of this group investigate the potential leverage of external actors, the possibilities of e-government, the input of religion on political life and the on going question of public institutional reform in Russia ...
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Open Society Promotion in Predominantly Muslim Societies
The cultural, intellectual, and religious struggle around the promotion of open societies is one of the major challenges facing predominantly Muslim societies. These societies are undergoing fundamental challenges in seeking to balance the often-conflicting objectives of modernization, such as open societies, economic development, and cultural identities. This struggle should not be confused with the notion of ...
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