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Journal of Comparative Politics (JCP) is the semi-annual journal of the Consortium of three Central European universities (University of Trenčin, Slovakia; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Alma Mater Europeae – European Center Maribor, 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 (CEE) 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.  JCP retains an “open access” policy and encourages participation and contribution from CEE 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 8,000 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; up to five keywords should also be added. The author should provide brief personal details (up to 100 words) including affiliation and e-mail, research interest and recent publications. UK English. Manuscripts written in English should be sent by email to editor-in-chief, prof. dr. Miro Hacek, miro.hacek@fdv.uni-lj.si

For further instructions on submission of manuscripts, please visit the journal website . Articles appearing in JCP are abstracted and indexed in Web of Science ESCI, Scopus, ERIH Plus, JournalSeek, EBSCO, Ulrichsweb, ProQuest, International Bibliography of Social Sciences (IBSS), International Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Universal Impact Factor and I2OR Database.

Table of Contents
 
ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION AS THE INSTRUMENT OF CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION IN EAST ASIA
Ladislav Cabada and Šárka Waisová

DIRECT DEMOCRACY IN POLAND. BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM AND CIVIL LOCALISM
Agnieszka Turska-Kawa and Waldemar Wojtasik

DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY IN THE ECE AND THE CORE-PERIPHERY DIVIDE: RULE OF LAW CONFLICTS OF POLAND AND HUNGARY WITH THE EU
Attila Ágh

OPEN SOCIETY AND ITS ENEMIES: EAST EUROPEAN LESSONS FOR HONG KONG
Kenneth Ka-Lok Chan

EUROPE: HELL OF PARADISE? AN OVERVIEW OF EUROPEAN LAW AND CASE LAW
Noemia Bessa Vilela and Boštjan Brezovnik

COPING WITH DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES: CASE OF SLOVENIAN LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Simona Kukovič