Slovakia 2004 - A Global Report on the State of Society

The Global Report published annually since 1997 is the flagship publication of the Institute for Public Affairs. Led by editors Miroslav Kollár and Grigorij Mesežnikov, a numerous collective of authors monitors the current state of affairs and examines possibilities of future positive development in various areas of public life including domestic politics, foreign policy, economy and other specific areas of the country’s development. The abridged and updated English edition of Slovakia 2004: A Global Report on the State of Society comprises 26 thematic chapters. The book illustrates how Slovakia coped with new challenges and tackled old problems. In 2004, Slovakia sought its place within Euro-Atlantic structures, shaped its new co-responsibility for stability in Europe and the world and strove for progress in various areas such as public administration, health service, judiciary, social security system, and business environment. At the same time, the publication documents the country’s ongoing struggle with various problems, for instance great regional disparities, slow launch of education reforms, unsatisfactory law enforceability, displays of discrimination against the Roma, corruption, clientelism and excessive influence of political parties.