FRENOS & CONTRAPESOS. CUANDO LOS NÓRDICOS HABLAN DE GOBERNANZA ...
. Osmo Kuusi, Hanna Smith & Paula Tiihonen: "Russia 2017: Three Scenarios", Parliament of Finland

Cuando los Nórdicos hablan de gobernanza, presto atención. Cada vez me impresiona más la calidad institucional en Dinamarca, Noruega, Suecia, Finlandia e Islandia (Holanda, sin ser un país Nórdico, también merece ser mencionada). Leo, estudio los datos, viajo, intercambio e-mails y entiendo mejor porqué a un tal Jorge-Luis Borges le interesaban tanto estos países. Los comentarios reproducidos abajo están tomados de un informe oficial sobre Rusia producido por —nota bene— el Comité por el Futuro del Parlamento finlandés.

The courts’ corruption, limited independence, and ineffectiveness, and the lack of independence on the part of judges continue to be viewed as major weaknesses, however. In a functioning democracy, institutions have a meaning that goes beyond formal laws and official state organisations. Democracy and good governance also encompass such things as stability and the assurance of justice, a respect for the law, fairness, public access and openness, official ethics, confi dence in the political-administrative system, and fostering the common and public good. Through the various phases of Russian history, laws have changed rapidly, and it has been too easy to place oneself above them.

In practice, completely ordinary citizens have also been able to circumvent the law by paying off the authorities. Many politically important trials have resulted from negotiations between a political party and the court. In the competitive global economy, states also compete in expertise, creativity, and innovativeness. Stable societal development presupposes that the foundations of power and its division between institutions and the people are clear. Just like political institutions, the institutions of justice -the laws, courts and judges- have been established in proper fashion in Russia. The justice system functions unreliably, however, and lacks regularised modes. A legally distinct right of ownership is, however, an important precondition to an interest in investing.