POLITICAL REFORMS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, along with the advent of democratic governments in Croatia and Serbia, brightened the security prospects for journalists in Central Europe and the Balkans. In contrast, Russian’s new government imposed press restrictions, and authoritarian regimes entrenched themselves in other countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Central Asia, further threatening…
SLOVAKIA’S RULING COALITION LACKS IDEOLOGICAL COHERENCE, aside from a common aversion to former prime minister Vladimir Meciar and his nationalist HZDS party. Internal bickering and power struggles have slowed government decision-making and the pace of political reform. Direct political pressure on journalists has declined significantly since Meciar left office in late 1998, but the lack…