Democracy 20052014 How democratic is Latvia The Audit How Democratic is Latvia published in 2005 was the first systemic assessment of democracy to be performed ID: 328858
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Slide1Slide2
Audit of
Democracy
2005-2014
How
democratic is Latvia?
The
Audit
‘How Democratic is Latvia’ published
in 2005 was the first systemic assessment of democracy to be performed by local experts in any of the post-Communist or post-Soviet ountries
A
udit
of 2014 assesses democracy in Latvia over the ten-year period spent as a member state of NATO and the EU. Slide3
T
he Audit of Democracy of Latvia 2014 was
based on t
he methodology of International IDEA which includes 78 questions on various areas of social life. IDEA methodology provides for the assessment of the level of democracy in
four interlinked blocks :Citizenship
, law and rights includes matters related to the political nation and citizenship (Chapter 1), rule of law (Chapter 2), civic and political rights (Chapter 3), and economic and social rights (Chapter 4).
Representative and Responsible Governance includes matters related to to free and fair
elections (Chapter 5), the role of political parties in democracy (Chapter 6), efficient and responsible
governance (Chapter 7), democratic efficiency of the parliament (Chapter 8), civic control over the armed forces and police (Chapter 9) and integrity in social life (Chapter 10) Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How
democratic
is
Latvia?Slide4
3.
Civic Society and People’s
Participation
addresses matters related to the role of media in the society (Chapter 11), political participation (Chapter 12) and decentralization of
public administration (Chapter 13).Audit of 2014 is supplemented with a Chapter 14
on the totality of individuals’ values, attitudes and convictions which shape the basis for the functioning of a political system and which are referred to as ‘political culture’ in literature. One
sub-chapter focuses especially on how the reciprocal perception and attitudes of two large ethno-linguistic groups in Latvia
distinguished by the language used in everyday life (Latvian or Russian) influence democratic processes.
4. International Dimensions of Democracy. Considering
the continuously increasing impact of international factors on democratic development,
Chapter 15
includes matters related to the influence of external factors on state policy and state and society support for democratic development abroad
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How
democratic
is
Latvia?Slide5
Audit of
Democracy
2005-2014
How
democratic is Latvia?
Preparation
,
publication
and
dissemination of the Audit-2014 was funded by the National Research Program ‘National Identity’, Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Embassy of the United States of America in Latvia.
A
n
expert group was
formed
under the auspices of the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute (ASPRI) of the Faculty of Social Sciences (SZF) of the University of Latvia for preparing chapters of Audit 2005-2014. In addition
to researchers from the SZF, this group also included experts from the Latvian Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Latvia, and Vidzeme
University of Applied Sciences
.Slide6
AUTHORS
Vita DREIJERE
Doctoral candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Latvia
Dr. Ivars IJABSAssociate professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia
Dr. Jānis IKSTENSProfessor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia
Dr. Valts KALNIŅŠ
Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia. Researcher, Public Policy Centre “Providus”Anhelita KAMENSKADirector, Latvian Centre for Human Rights
Boriss KOLČANOVS
Researcher, Latvian Centre for Human Rights
Dr. Gatis LITVINS
Director of Latvian Notary Institute, Associate researcher,
Public Policy Centre “
Providus
”
Jurijs NIKIŠINS
Doctoral candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Latvia
Dr. Žaneta OZOLIŅA
Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia
Dr. Feliciana RAJEVSKA
Associate professor,
Vidzeme
University of Applied Sciences
Dr. Iveta REINHOLDE
Associate professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Latvia
Dr. Toms ROSTOKS
Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Latvia.
Dr. Juris ROZENVALDS
Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia
Dr. Ojārs SKUDRA
Associate professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Latvia
Ilze ŠULMANE
Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia
Dr. Visvaldis VALTENBERGS
Assistant professor,
Vidzeme
University of Applied Sciences
Dr. Inga VILKA
Associate professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Latvia
Sigita ZANKOVSKA- ODIŅA
Researcher, Latvian Centre for Human Rights
Dr. Brigita ZEPA
Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of LatviaSlide7
Audit of
Democracy
2005-2014
How
democratic is Latvia?
A public opinion poll based on evaluation questions (carried out by public opinion research
centre
SKDS) was conducted within the scope of the project from March–April 2014 as a supplement to the expert assessment. Slide8
Very
good
Good
Satisfactory
Poor
Very
poor
10.1
x
10.2
x
10.3
x
10.4
x
10.5
x
Best
features
.............................................................
Most
serious
problem
..................................................
Suggested
improvements
......................................................
Audit of
Democracy
2005-2014
How
democratic
is
Latvia?Slide9
In the
Appendix
1 you
will find comparison between assessements of 2005, 2007 and 2014.
Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How democratic is Latvia?Slide10
Achievements
of the
past
decade
One of the conclusions drawn in the Audit of 2005 has been fully confirmed, i.e. that joining NATO and the EU has significantly
decreased the influence of negative external factors on the domestic political processes taking place in Latvia.Continuous progress is being made in terms of achieving greater openness
on the part of the legislator, government and public authorities towards the society. Courts in Latvia are independent from interference in administration of justice, and the lengthiness of court proceedings has ceased to be the uncontested weak spot of the entire judicial system. Slowly but surely, the society’s trust in courts is increasing. The population in Latvia does not encounter unreasonable restrictions in terms of freedom of assembly and expressing their opinions. This
is strengthened by the positive judicial practice in these matters.In general, Latvia has strong municipalities which enjoy a comparatively high level of trust from the society, and a wide, active and dynamic spectrum of NGOs. During recent years, important steps have been made
towards strengthening civic ties with those residents of Latvia who were born in non-citizen families as well as
with those who have chosen to leave for Western countries in order to seek a better life.Audit of Democracy 2005-2014
How
democratic
is Latvia?Slide11
Failures
of the
past
decade
Firstly, the disproportionately large socio-economic inequality, which has increased dramatically after the re-instatement of independence and resulted in only a small part of the society being able to
fully enjoy the achievements of the Latvian society’s modernization process.Secondly, alienation between the holders of power and the general public still exists. Estrangement from democratic institutions is increasing in a significant part of the society. Thirdly, the state of Latvia has not succeeded in settling relations between the major ethno-linguistic
groups during the last ten years.. Results of the poll also give grounds to claim that the society’s mood in terms of mutual relations between the ethno-linguistic communities is more moderate and aimed
towards compromise than the mood existing in the political elite. This, in turn, raises the question of the political elite’s accountability before the public regarding such an ethno-political arrangement in Latvia which would ensure preservation and development of the Latvian culture, simultaneously facilitating civic peace.
Audit of
Democracy 2005-2014How democratic is Latvia?Slide12Slide13
The aim of the Human Development
Report 2012/2013 "Sustainable Nation" is to evaluate the current development processes in Latvia, paying particular attention to the social dimension of
sustainabilitySlide14
Social
sustainability and inequality
Challenges for
the sustainability of Latvian pension systemDemographics and
poverty in families with childrenSustainable nation
and integration of societySustainability of democracy
and civic participationUse of information in
context of social sustainability
Sustainability of territories: the individual perspective