The importance of the political order for peace

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-12-2015-0206
Pages24-37
Published date09 January 2017
Date09 January 2017
AuthorJanja Mikulan Kildi,Victor Cepoi
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Aggression, conflict & peace,Sociology,Gender studies,Gender violence,Political sociology, policy & social change,Social conflicts,War/peace
The importance of the political order
for peace
Janja Mikulan Kildi and Victor Cepoi
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of security challenges in the selected states in
Eurasia and Central and Eastern Europe from the perspective of peace and politics. Since the security
situation differs significantly across the sub-regions under scrutiny, the main objective of the current research
is to establish and test a theoretical model of relevant combinations of political factors and their relation to
peace. The theoretical framework has been designed by following Fukuyamas idea of political order and
upgraded with the newly constructed index of social exclusion.
Design/methodology/approach According to the objective and methodological gaps in this field, the
paper applies comparative fuzzy set analysis. The method relies on the theoretical framework and empirical
data and allows a constant communication between the two. It has allowed the research to focus on what
conditions are necessary and/or sufficient for peace in the selected countries.
Findings It is evident there are several different paths to achieve peace. However, the rule of law clearly
constitutes both the necessary and sufficient conditions for peace in the selected regions. Moreover, the
results of the research reveal that the concepts of interest are highly interlinked with each other, especially
when it comes to the rule of law, state, and democratic accountability. Thus, further research should focuson
in-depth analysis of each particular case to explore which conditions or combinations are decisive in
particular setting.
Originality/value Such findings can contribute to improving the areas where Eurasian countries are still
lagging behind. Further research should focus on small but significant differences within these four groupings
of countries, to improve the understanding of prerequisites for peace and contribute to the development of
state and human security in the EU neighborhood.
Keywords Peace, State, Democratic accountability, Fuzzy set analysis, Political order, Rule of law
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In total, 25 years afte r the collapse of the Be rlin Wall, it is appar ent that political, e conomic
and social transformations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) proceeded very differently
from the changes that took place in the Eurasian region. This research is particularly interested
in political and se curity trajectori es in Eurasia. Howev er, due to the methodo logical
requirements, ce rtain common depar ting points for trans formations (espec ially post-socia list
legacies), and differences in transformation outcomes, it is relevant to include CEE states in the
model as well. Since mo st of the countries in thes e regions are facing diff erent state and
human security cha llenges, the main quest ion of the research is wh at the conditions for
establishing peace are.
At the beginning of the 1990s, states had to deal with several open questions related to their
security, such as the sustainability of borders, the situation of ethnic minorities, the reliability of
newly created state structures, and the burdened relations with the neighbors. Looking for the
answers to these questions, most countries of the CEE region have decided to join the EU and
NATO (Świeżak, 2012). The successive waves of the EU enlargement (2004, 2007, 2013) and
the expansion of NATO (1999, 2004) became the incentive for deep political and economic
reforms[1]. On the contrary, the political and security trajectories in the former Soviet Union space
Received 26 December 2015
Revised 7 February 2016
1 March 2016
2 March 2016
3 March 2016
Accepted 3 March 2016
Janja Mikulan Kildi and
Victor Cepoi are PhD Fellows,
Young Researchers and
Teaching Assistants, both at
School of Advanced Social
Studies, Nova Gorica, Slovenia.
PAGE24
j
JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCH
j
VOL. 9 NO. 1 2017, pp.24-37, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599 DOI 10.1108/JACPR-12-2015-0206

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