DEVELOPMENT

2People and Society
Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013
Introduction
Marju Lauristin
In this chapter, we deal with the institutional environment
of human development, which is related to politics,
governance and media, and on which people’s freedom of
choice, sense of security, knowledge and opportunities to
participate as members of society directly depend.
The year 2012, in the development of Estonia’s
domestic politics, was characterised by heightened civil
activism, increased demands related to the honesty and
trustworthiness of the politicians, increased dissatisfaction
with the functioning of democratic institutions
and the performance of the government. In other post-
Communist states, an increasingly critical attitude has
also developed regarding political developments. Looking
back on the two decades of democratic development in
Eastern and Central Europe, Western social scientists
are asking whether we are seeing democracy fatigue, or
even a reversal in the development of democracy (Rupnik
and Zielonka 2013: 5). The increase in critical activism
can partially be attributed to the impact of the economic
crisis, but those who see the economic crisis as a catalyst
and amplifier of public criticism, rather than as its
cause, are probably right. In Estonia as well, the criticism
is directed less at the problems of coping with the
economic crisis (here our public opinion is considerably
more positive than in many of the other countries gripped
by the crisis), but rather, fundamental issues related to
democracy and governance have been raised.
As the international indicators described below
show, after the restoration of its independence, the state of
Estonia has fulfilled the rules established by the international
environment (European Union, NATO, IMF) in an
exemplary manner, and has achieved a leading position,
among the other transition countries, in moving from an
authoritarian planned economy to a democratic state with
a market economy. Based on these achievements, in 2010,
Estonia was accepted as a member of the OECD, an association
of the world’s most developed and wealthy states.
This event alludes to a significant change in the reference
system for assessing Estonia’s developments. Looking
back on the path that has been travelled, Estonia can be
proud of its leading position among post-transition countries,
based on several development dimensions. However,
at the new stage of development, no longer as a transition
country, but as a full-fledged member of the OECD, it
is more accurate to assess our development based on a
comparison with the social order of the highly developed
wealthy states. Based on this yardstick, the heightened
expectations of the public become understandable, in
regard to both Estonia’s democracy, and the opportunities
for self-realisation that are provided by Estonian society.
Below, the quality of the functioning of the Estonian
state along with an objective assessment of Estonia’s
institutional development level will be examined, which
includes the following: the effectiveness of the democratic
institutions, protection of rights and freedoms, the level of
corruption, domestic and foreign security, and the availability
of information. The indicators that characterise the
relationship between people and the institutional environment,
such as the trust and sense of security related to the
future of one’s country, are also included. The analysis
in the chapter focuses on the composite indices (Bertelsmann
Transformation Index and Global Peace Index)
that reflect the institutional development level of states.
In addition, several more specific indices that assess the
social order and quality of the state’s effectiveness will
be examined, such as democracy indices, media freedom
indices, a corruption index, rule of law index, etc. The
individual indicators that comprise the comparisons of
the institutional development levels of the world’s states
as well as the relationships between people and the social
environment will also be examined. In order to compare
Estonia’s developments with other countries in Europe
and the world, we use data from internationally recognised
expert organisations like Eurostat, Bertelsmann
Stiftung, Freedom Forum, Transparency International,
Global Economic and Peace Institute, OECD, etc.
Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013
61