7OJCIECH
%MPOWERING 4HE
3UPPORT )N
Wojciech SzrubkaEmpowering The State – Support for State Intervention in The Baltic States and Poland
Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 451
Linköping University, Department of Water and Environmental Studies
Empowering The State
Support for State Intervention in The Baltic States and Poland
Wojciech Szrubka
The central question for this study is the popular perception of the state in four Eastern European countries. The democratic transition in this part of Europe has often been marked by deep mistrust towards politicians and sometimes towards the new political system as such. Among other things, the low election turnout in these countries has sometimes been referred to as a symptom of the aforementioned problems. Does lack of explicit trust towards politicians and the political system mean that the ability of the state to act as a regulator and a welfare producer is affected adversely? Is the capacity of the state to fulfill its roll as an intervening actor directly connected to this expressed trust?
This study is concerned with these questions and by posing them it reaches beyond the common studies on democratization, whose main concern is the status of ’democracy’ as such.
7OJCIECH
%MPOWERING 4HE
3UPPORT )N
Wojciech SzrubkaEmpowering The State – Support for State Intervention in The Baltic States and Poland
Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 451
Linköping University, Department of Water and Environmental Studies
Empowering The State
Support for State Intervention in The Baltic States and Poland
Wojciech Szrubka
The central question for this study is the popular perception of the state in four Eastern European countries. The democratic transition in this part of Europe has often been marked by deep mistrust towards politicians and sometimes towards the new political system as such. Among other things, the low election turnout in these countries has sometimes been referred to as a symptom of the aforementioned problems. Does lack of explicit trust towards politicians and the political system mean that the ability of the state to act as a regulator and a welfare producer is affected adversely? Is the capacity of the state to fulfill its roll as an intervening actor directly connected to this expressed trust?
This study is concerned with these questions and by posing them it reaches beyond the common studies on democratization, whose main concern is the status of ’democracy’ as such.
