Bojan Bugaric

The Assault on Postcommunist Courts

In the last 25 years, constitutional courts have been major players in the governance of Central and Eastern Europe, and were arguably the most important defenders of the rule of law in the region. Yet the last few years have exposed the institutional fragility of constitutional courts in the face of illiberal democracy, as several countries have moved to pack the courts. Without quick and sustained pressure, the dismantling of the hard fought freedoms associated with the rule of law will succeed, and we will again speak of an Eastern Europe that is closer to Russia than to the West.

The Emerging Post Washington, Post Beijing Consensus: Prospects and Pitfalls

The Washington Consensus (WC), which dominated the development world for over two decades, has been called into question on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Those countries that adhered most closely to the WC failed to achieve sustained growth, while the East Asian Tigers that rejected the WC and followed their own development path achieved remarkable growth. Many attributed the success of the early East Asian Tigers to the East Asian Model (EAM), and the more recent success of China to the China Model or Beijing Consensus (BC). However, the lost decade in Japan, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and growing concerns that China may be caught in the dreaded “middle-income trap” have called into question the viability of the EAM and its more specific China variants. The shortcomings of the WC and BC have led to attempts to develop new theories and approaches to development, variously referred to as the new development state, state capitalism, liberal neo-developmentalism, new structural economics, the Post Washington Consensus or the Post Washington, Post Beijing Consensus (PWBC). This article discusses the emerging consensus, delineates the main features of the PWBC, and analyzes both its potential and limits for guiding development policies in the post-GFC era.

The EU Fiscal Compact: Constitutionalization of Austerity and Preemption of Democracy in Europe

In the article on the EU Fiscal Compact we are trying to show that the Fiscal Compact as adopted in its current form does not necessarily lead to the improved quality of fiscal policy in the Eurozone. At the same time it disproportionally interfers with the autonomous fiscal policies of the member states and with their constitutional arrangements. In combination with the indiscriminatory implementation of austerity policy across EU the Fiscal Compact may further supress socio-economic developments in many of the EU countries and their regions. We are of the opinion that the Fiscal Compact in its current form – if adopted and strictly implemented as envisaged – may further deteriorate the socio-economic situation in many parts of the EU. Alternatively, we propose more decentralized approach toward fiscal consolidation in the EU member states and their regions. Such an approach would be more tailored to the different needs and different situations and would allow more proactive development approach for many local communities, regions and member states in the EU. Therefore, more bottom-up instead of top-down approach to fiscal consolidation and to more inclusive, more balanced and more diverse development may be viewed as an alternative approach to the EU integration process.