Moldova and Ukraine, countries of the European Union's Eastern Partnership program, are undergoing complex processes of democratic transformation, but with weak embeddedness of democratic values and principles drawbacks can occur. It is embeddedness that helps to overcome the challenges of transformation and pushes countries beyond mere frontiers of democracy towards becoming strongly committed democratic communities.

The working papers published here were prepared in the framework of the “Frontiers of Democracy: Embedding Democratic Values in Moldova and Ukraine” project of the CEU Center for European Neighborhood Studies by authors coming from various backgrounds: scholars from academia, analysts from think tanks, practicioners from civil society organizations.

The aim of this project is to facilitate embedding democratic values in the societal ethos in Moldova and Ukraine by providing a forum for discussion about the difficulties of such a complex process and by drawing on the transition experience of the Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).

The project is part of CEU's "Frontiers of Democracy" program and has been conducted with the support of the International Visegrad Fund. The views expressed here are those of the authors.

WORKING PAPERS

I. Political participation and socialization

The below papers were prepared building on presentations of their authors at the workshop "Embedding Democratic Values: Social Transition and Political Socialization in Central and Eastern Europe" that took place on December 4, 2015, in Budapest.
To read about the discussion, click here.

Olga Gyárfášová - Satisfaction with Democracy, Participation and Political Alienation in Slovakia [Download]

Dániel Mikecz - Democratization, Political Participation and Social Media [Download]

Jan Husák - Is Structural Support for Democratic Participation and Socialization Feasible in Central and Eastern Europe? [Download]

Adam Reichardt - The Challenge of Embedding Democratic Values in Central and Eastern Europe: Two steps forward, one step back [Download]

Alexandru Baltag - The Democratic Transition and Europeanization Process in the Republic of Moldova [Download]

II. The role of civic education and media in democratization

The below papers were prepared building on presentations of their authors at the workshop "Embedding Democratic Values: The Role of Civic Education and Media in Democratization" that took place on March 21, 2016, in Chisinau.
To read about the discussion, click here.

Olga Budnyk - Non-Formal Education in Ukraine: Its state, needs, challenges and impact [Download]

Bálint Juhász - Krétakör Free School: A democratic education program [Download]

Petru Macovei - Mass Media in the Context of Democratization: The case of the Republic of Moldova [Download]

Martin M. Šimečka - Media in Slovakia: Good and bad news [Download]

Václav Štětka - Between Instrumentalization and Para-Journalism: Current challenges to democratic roles of the media in the Czech Republic [Download]

III. Embedding tolerance and transparency

The below papers were prepared building on presentations of their authors at the workshop "Embedding Democratic Values: Tolerance and Transparency" that took place on May 16, 2016, in Kyiv.
To read about the discussion, click here.

Martin Šimáček - How to Develop Effective and Inclusive Policies: Experiences from the Czech Republic [Download]

Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć - Polish Experience in Fighting Corruption (1997-2015) [Download]

Anita Koncsik - From the Happiest Barrack to the Saddest Shopping Mall: Accountability, transparency and (anti-)corruption in Hungary [Download]

Oleksandr Sushko - Corruption Challenge and Countering Corruption in Ukraine [Download]