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Journal of Comparative Politics (JCP) is the semi-annual journal of the Consortium of two Central European universities (Pan-European University Bratislava, Slovakia; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia). The JCP started in 2008 to meet the needs of political scientists throughout the world interested in the advancement of their discipline and in escaping the parochialism threatening the pursuit of knowledge within the confines of a single culture. The journal focuses on the comparison of political cultures of Central and Eastern European countries, their practical policy, theoretical questions of comparative political science, theoretical and practical questions of the development of civil society and civil policy in this region. Two principal aims animate the JCP: to provide its readers promptly with the best work being done in political science, (1) on the central and currently controversial themes of the discipline, and, (2) in new areas of inquiry where political scientists – alone or in conjunction with other scholars – are shaping innovative concepts and methodologies of political analysis. To these ends, JCP retains an “open access” policy and encourages participation and contribution from Central and Eastern European research and academic communities and from wider international academic communities. JCP invites a variety of submission formats: articles and essays, reviews, working papers, talks and conference papers, responses/rebuttals and commentaries. As well, interdisciplinary ventures which address, directly or indirectly, issues of political concern are welcome from all sectors of the humanities and social sciences, as long as they are comparative in its essence.

Acceptance of articles is subject to an anonymous refereeing process. Articles submitted to the JCP should be original contributions. If the article is under consideration by another publication, authors should clearly indicate this at the time of submission. Standard length for articles is up to 7,500 words (including notes and references). The articles should begin with indented and italicized summary of up to 150 words, which should describe the main arguments and conclusions of the article. The author should provide brief personal details (up to 100 words) including affiliation and full correspondence address, research interest and recent publications. For more information :

Manuscripts written in English should be sent by email to editors, miro.hacek@fdv.uni-lj.si or peter.csanyi@uninova.sk. For further instructions on submission of manuscripts, please visit the journal website .

Articles appearing in JCP are abstracted and indexed in JournalSeek, EBSCO, Ulrichsweb, ProQuest, International Bibliography of Social Sciences (IBSS), International Political Science Abstract and DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals. Under review with SSCI and Scopus.

Journal of Comparative Politics, Vol. 5, No. 2, July 2012

Table of Contents

CABINETS AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES: RE-ASSESSING THE LITERATURE
Michelangelo Vercesi

THE MACEDONIAN EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION VS. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM: THE LACK OF INTERACTION BETWEEN EU ACCESSION REQUIREMENTS
Sanja Vrbek

BUILDING CROSS-BORDER COMMUNITIES THROUGH COOPERATION: EU REGIONAL POLICY AND CROSS-BORDER REGIONS AS SPACES OF GOVERNMENT
Marinko Banjac

THE EU AND CHINA BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP: LOOKING FOR A FRESH RESTART
Arnaldo M.A. Gonçalves

METAPHOR CHANGE AND PERSISTENCE: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL METAPHORS IN SLOVENIA AND YUGOSLAVIA
Jernej Pikalo