The author provides a definition of political marketing, highlights its links with a democratic polity, reviews the evolution of political marketing from the party to the marketing concept, looks into political marketing as a sort of construction of political reality, & analyzes political marketing in Croatia. He points out that political marketing is resisted by the very people who should make use of it, but acknowledges that there are some objective circumstances that stand in its way, such as the lack of money, the undeveloped public electronic media, & the still predominantly traditional culture of the society, more inclined to oral communication. 2 Diagrams, 13 References. Adapted from the source document.
The essay analyzes & categorizes rhetorical methods in destructive communication. Journalistic destructive rhetoric is mostly evident in the yellow press & political communication. Such rhetoric avoids argumentation & focuses on the satanization of individuals, ideas, or things it wishes to discredit. According to the author, this type of rhetoric primarily ensues from the inability of a journalist to gain prominence in a more positive way, which represents a contemporary form of herostratism. Since contemporary media give journalists too much influence in society, some have tried to impose themselves in politics & society as the ultimate arbiters in deciding on what is right & what is not. The conclusion of this analysis is that this phenomenon ought to be studied by means of multilateral strategies; otherwise, the public cannot successfully cope with the negative consequences of this journalistic anomaly. 10 References. Adapted from the source document.
Packaging politics has recently become a major topic of political communication research, studies, & debates. The author presents the definitions & views of this phenomenon & looks into its fundamental features & effects. By using this theoretical framework as his starting point, the author analyzes the extent of packaging politics in the electoral campaign of the HDZ & the SDP, the two biggest parties in Croatia in 2003, by focusing on the six ways of packaging politics in a campaign: the use of television, the cooperation of parties with spin doctors & media consultants, the media presentation of politicians' contacts with celebrities, the construction & promotion of political leaders' image, the attitudes to certain social issues & problems, & the attacks on the opponents. In his survey, the author uses the results of the content analysis of the samples of TV spots used in the campaign of 2003 as well as the results of the poll carried out on the eve of the elections on a representative sample of adult Croatian citizens. The results show that in this campaign the leading Croatian parties tried to win the voters' support by packaging politics, which was particularly noticeable in the intensive use of television & the promotion of the images of these parties' presidents. This & other methods of packaging politics were more expertly & deftly used by the winning party -- the HDZ -- than by its biggest rival, the SDP. The author points out how this evident packaging of politics affected the quality of the political discourse in that electoral campaign. That is why the campaign partly lost its primary function to provide a venue for an informed & public debate on key issues & problems of social development. 1 Table, 2 Figures, 18 References. Adapted from the source document.
Studija se bavi promjenama u odnosu između lokalnih novinara i lokalnih političara u Češkoj kao posljedicom profesionalizacije političke komunikacije, kako na nacionalnoj tako i na lokalnoj razini, nakon takozvane Baršunaste revolucije iz 1989. godine. Taj je fenomen već istraživan u zapadnim demokracijama, a u Češkoj je relativno nov. Unaprijeđene komunikacijske vještine političara te zapošljavanje komunikacijskih stručnjaka u politici utječu na povjerenje – temeljnu komponentu u odnosu političara i novinara. Članak se temelji na saznanjima iz polustrukturiranih intervjua s 10 novinara i 11 političara iz različitih mjesta u Češkoj, kojima je cilj istražiti na koji način oni shvaćaju i održavaju razine međusobnog povjerenja. Najprije smo opisali ključne komponente povjerenja te objasnili zašto se povjerenje smatra ugroženijim u doba rofesionalizirane političke komunikacije nego što je bilo tijekom 1990-ih. Naposljetku zaključujemo članak istraživanjem triju najvažnijih prijetnji povjerenju koje su identificirali naši ispitanici. ; The study discusses changes in the relationship between local journalists and local politicians in the Czech Republic as a consequence of the professionalization of political communications at national as well as local levels following the so-called Velvet Revolution of 1989. This phenomenon has been studied widely in Western democracies but is relatively new in the Czech Republic. Politicians' improved communication skills and the employment of communication professionals in politics influence trust – a key component in the relationship – between politicians and journalists. The article is based on semi-structured interviews with 10 journalists and 11 politicians from different Czech localities, which aim to explore how these actors understand and maintain levels of mutual trust. First we describe key components of trust and explain why in the era of professionalized political communication trust is perceived as more threatened than in the 1990s and we conclude by exploring the three most important threats to trust as identified by our interviewees.
In this paper the author evaluates the level of visual literacy of Croatian politicians. Her evaluation is based on the analysis of visual material used by political parties in the pre-electoral campaign late in 2007. Assisted by students at the Academy of Visual Arts as politically independent visual experts/evaluators, she examines the visual quality of the political message, its symbolic & communicational, as well as aesthetic & ethical value, taking the examples of posters, advertisements, spot commercials & other products. Research results point to the conclusion that our political public recognizes the power of images mainly in the context of present-day visually oriented society, & that it attempts to use visual effects in communication with potential voters in order to influence their opinions. Unfortunately, the level of such communication is very low, & mostly boils down to negative comparative advertising, which, as proven in other countries, is counterproductive, because it fosters mistrust & doubt of the public regarding the politicians' opportunities & ability to solve social problems. The visual rhetoric in politics requires an art of discourse that has a specific effect on its target group, & this in turn presupposes a high level of visual literacy of both the politicians themselves & the professionals they rely upon. Adapted from the source document.
The policy of pressure on Croatia as an illustrative -- although not isolated -- example has not inspired empirical & theoretical studies of this phenomenon. The discussion has remained at the level of everyday political discourse, even "coffee-house politics." Due to its extreme topicality, as well as its theoretical "solvency," the author has attempted with this essay to come up with a theoretical definition of the concept of pressure & to demonstrate on the Croatian example its goals, scope, dynamics, & future prospects & outcomes. Among the existing approaches, the author has chosen the "politico-economic approach" which defines the policy of pressure as a specific form of political communication between the "center" & the "periphery" in Wallerstein's "world system." The example of Croatia serves the author as an ideal-type model of such communication through a combination of political science & sociological analysis. In his opinion, & due to certain favorable contingencies, Croatia is the nearest to the ideal type of such communication. Due to a lack of systematic empirical data, the discussion naturally remains at the theoretical-hypothetical level, & should be understood as an invitation to further discussion & as an incentive for more extensive empirical research. However, since this is a very dynamic phenomenon, the question is: is the author's argumentation still valid today as it was at the time when the essay was written? There have been two changes: (1) the war on Kosovo which proves the author's hypotheses; & (2) a certain "thaw" in the relations between the international community (particularly USA) & Croatia (it is still unclear whether this change concerns the fundamental strategic trends or is solely a "politico-meteorological" phenomenon (the alteration of colder & warmer periods). This is why the author did not deem any alterations in the text necessary; one should wait & in the meantime expose the (hypo)theses to some critical scrutiny. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.
The notions of Left & Right form a fundamental semantic pattern within which voters construct their political perceptions & attitudes. Their universal meaning lies in a simple spatial approach to politics as conflict; functionally, Left & Right are "shortcuts" for political communication. In the empirically oriented political science, the Left-Right scale has become a standard variable in public opinion polls. After the initial pessimistic interpretations, in the last 20 years or so, this scale has increasingly demonstrated its validity & reliability. The sources of the Left-Right identification may be manifold, & not solely ideological. Also, the Left-Right scheme has demonstrated a remarkable potential to -- in time -- encompass new political contents & thus create a need for new cross-national & longitudinal studies. Voters -- not scientists -- are those who define what is Left & what is Right. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.
Starting from Agamben's term "Gesture" -- interpreted as "communication of communicability" -- and having in mind links between Gesture & politics, this text opens the possibility of reading Guy Debord's ideas into the heterotopia of the Prologue of "Dundo Maroje" by Croatian Renaissance playwright Marin Drzic. In this way, the possibility of cultural criticism has been tested on the basis of an insight into social performances structured as acts in a play; from the crisis & the culmination to the dramatic solution, & back again. The title syntagm "theatre of shame" is being argumented with the thesis that spectacularized societies archive shame by false identity witnessing. This paper suggests that our confrontation with the Other in ourselves -- exemplified through the lack of capacity to witness identity in the media -- leads to what Agamben describes as the slipping away of the truth of witnessing from the jurisdiction of the archive. Adapted from the source document.
U članku se govori o položaju hrvatskoga jezika u službenim listovima u Bosni i Hercegovini od 1990. do 2005. godine. Hrvatski je jezik jedan od tri službena jezika u Bosni i Hercegovini pa je potrebno, s obzirom na njegov status, istražiti i njegov stvarni položaj u društvu. Budući da odabrani tekstovi pripadaju javnoj komunikaciji – a u tome je području uporaba standardnoga jezika obvezna – pozornost je usmjerena na jedan od najzastupljenijih stilova javne komunikacije, a to je administrativni funkcionalni stil. Za istraživanje položaja hrvatskoga jezika u navedenome razdoblju na planu toga stila istraženi su tekstovi sljedećih službenih glasila: Službeni list BiH, Narodni list HZ/RHB i Gradski službeni glasnik Grada Mostara (Službeni list grada Mostara). Prikupljena građa analizirana je prije svega na leksičkoj razini jer se na toj jezičnoj razini ponajbolje može odrediti status jezika u javnoj komunikaciji. ; The paper deals with status of Croatian language in official gazettes in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 to 2005. Croatian language is one of three official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, therefore it is necessary to explore its real position in the society, especially regarding its status. Since those texts are a part of public communication – and usage of standard language in that area is obligatory – attention is focused on one of the most represented public communication style, and that is administrative functional style. For exploring the position of Croatian language in the mentioned period regarding that style, the texts of the following official gazettes were analyzed: Službeni list BiH, Narodni list HZ/RHB and Gradski službeni glasnik Grada Mostara (Službeni list grada Mostara). Collected data were firstly analyzed at the lexical level since the status of language in public communication can be best determined at that linguistic level.
The author looks into Habermas' theory of deliberative democracy in the context of the present-day debates on the theory of morals & politics. The starting point of Habermas' theory is his idea of discourse ethics. This is cognitivist ethics in the tradition of Kant, Rawis, Tugendhat & Apel that is built around the concept of normative correctness analogous to the descriptive notion of truth. This idea is best expressed by Kant's categorical imperative, according to which the validity of norms depends on their generalizability. Habermas, in line with Kant, is aware of the impossibility to rationally found universalist ethics. Instead of the final (deductive) foundations he offers the reflexion about the assumptions of a meaningful discourse i.e. the argumentation rules that must be respected if language communication is to be meaningful. Habermas' outline of the theory of law in his book Between Facts and Norms (Faktizirat und Geltung) builds on this moral-theoretical position. In modern society the function of law is to facilitate social communication: law is the legitimate framework of social communication on which the actors can rely. Habermas considers the specific link between human rights & popular sovereignty as the source of legitimacy. Human rights & popular sovereignty mutually condition each other & at the same time there is tension between them. The absolutization of individual rights makes democracy impossible since decision-making is obstructed; absolutization of popular sovereignty leads to the tyranny of the majority & the loss of rights. Habermas thinks that law can be legitimized by communicational mediation between the individual rights & popular sovereignty, in line with the principle that the claim to validity can only be laid by those norms that are approved of by all potentially affected individuals as rational discourse participants. Popular sovereignty is consistently procedurally interpreted. On the one hand, it is practised by means of public discourses & on the other through decision-making processes within democratically structured political institutions. The two dimensions of legitimizing law are different yet complementary: public discourses take place in civil society, political decisions are made in democratic institutions of the state. This is also an outline of the specific position of Habermas' political theory of deliberative democracy. It is equally distant from the model of liberal democracy which emphasizes possessive individualism & the protection of citizens' private interests, & from the republican democratic model that emphasizes political participation of active citizens. The theory of deliberative democracy emphasizes the importance of civil society: It is a sort of a practical verification of discourse ethics. Civil society is a sphere of autonomous public communication that is complementary to state administration but cannot substitute it. Communication power is exercised in the "siege mode" i.e. multiple discourses of civil society should contribute to the rationality & legitimacy of the decisions made by the political system, but do not have to replace them nor expose them to populist pressures. 2 Figures, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author looks into Habermas' theory of deliberative democracy in the context of the present-day debates on the theory of morals & politics. The starting point of Habermas' theory is his idea of discourse ethics. This is cognitivist ethics in the tradition of Kant, Rawis, Tugendhat & Apel that is built around the concept of normative correctness analogous to the descriptive notion of truth. This idea is best expressed by Kant's categorical imperative, according to which the validity of norms depends on their generalizability. Habermas, in line with Kant, is aware of the impossibility to rationally found universalist ethics. Instead of the final (deductive) foundations he offers the reflexion about the assumptions of a meaningful discourse i.e. the argumentation rules that must be respected if language communication is to be meaningful. Habermas' outline of the theory of law in his book Between Facts and Norms (Faktizirat und Geltung) builds on this moral-theoretical position. In modern society the function of law is to facilitate social communication: law is the legitimate framework of social communication on which the actors can rely. Habermas considers the specific link between human rights & popular sovereignty as the source of legitimacy. Human rights & popular sovereignty mutually condition each other & at the same time there is tension between them. The absolutization of individual rights makes democracy impossible since decision-making is obstructed; absolutization of popular sovereignty leads to the tyranny of the majority & the loss of rights. Habermas thinks that law can be legitimized by communicational mediation between the individual rights & popular sovereignty, in line with the principle that the claim to validity can only be laid by those norms that are approved of by all potentially affected individuals as rational discourse participants. Popular sovereignty is consistently procedurally interpreted. On the one hand, it is practised by means of public discourses & on the other through decision-making processes within democratically structured political institutions. The two dimensions of legitimizing law are different yet complementary: public discourses take place in civil society, political decisions are made in democratic institutions of the state. This is also an outline of the specific position of Habermas' political theory of deliberative democracy. It is equally distant from the model of liberal democracy which emphasizes possessive individualism & the protection of citizens' private interests, & from the republican democratic model that emphasizes political participation of active citizens. The theory of deliberative democracy emphasizes the importance of civil society: It is a sort of a practical verification of discourse ethics. Civil society is a sphere of autonomous public communication that is complementary to state administration but cannot substitute it. Communication power is exercised in the "siege mode" i.e. multiple discourses of civil society should contribute to the rationality & legitimacy of the decisions made by the political system, but do not have to replace them nor expose them to populist pressures. 2 Figures, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.
Using critical theory of media and technology as a theoretical framework, we describe the dialectical interrelation between (media) technology and democratic changes, where new media technology only paved the way to organization and exchange of information during 'Arab Spring', but was not its cause. 'Arab Spring' as the case in point proved a negative correlation between the level of communication technology (new media) and the intensity of protests, according to which a higher level of accessibility to new media led to a lower level of protests. Also, we observe an uneven impact of new media on democratic changes, i.e. internet social networks had a secondary role in creating media news, compared to satellite TV which at an early stage of 'Arab Spring' enabled the actors of online civil society to have an impact on state politics to a large extent. Arab new media cannot yet lead to democratic changes nor explain their causes, but merely alter patterns of mobilization and organization of social and political events. Adapted from the source document.
The author's definition of a citizen is based on B. Barber's book, Strong Democracy (1984). The ideal citizenship is closely linked to the concept of democracy. In liberal democracy ("thin democracy") civic apathy & apolity prevails, so it is necessary to aim at "strong democracy." Strong democracy is the one that has strong citizenry, ie, self-governed citizens who actively participate in politics. This does not mean that representative democracy is to be relinquished; it is to be revived through the mutual cooperation of citizens. The civic virtue would be represented by "civility" marked by "empathy, respect, & neighborhood." In the revival of bourgeois democracy, particular attention is being paid to the new means of communications. The weaknesses of Barber's concept are, according to the author, equating citizens with neighbors, overemphasizing civic activity, & putting too much confidence in the latest technology (tele-voting). The concept of neighborhood is civically too narrow; the activist mobilization may pose a danger while the political confidence in new technologies is dubious. Adapted from the source document.
The aim of the article is to present the development of the TILKA education model. This new L1 and L2 teaching model integrates language and literature teaching through research and activity, as well as the principles and methods of intercultural education and transactional analysis. Our main research question during the model development was how nonviolent communication can be included into the intercultural language teaching. The analysis of various discourses (science, tourism, politics, literature) with regard to intensity modification has shown that verbal aggressiveness can be related to the expression of intensity modification. Building the competence of nonviolent communication with the use of specific intensity modificators can be included into the language teaching model as one of the most important intercultural goals. ; Cilj članka je predstaviti razvoj odgojnog modela TILKA. Taj novi model nastave materinskog/prvog i stranog/drugog jezika s jedne strane obuhvaća poduku jezika i književnosti s pomoću istraživanja i aktivnosti, a s druge spaja smjernice i metode interkulturnog odgoja i transakcijske analize. Naše najvažnije istraživačko pitanje vezano je uz nenasilnu komunikaciju koja bi mogla postati sastavni dio interkulturne jezične nastave. Da bismo odgovorili na pitanje kako uključiti nenasilnu komunikaciju u okvir interkulturne jezične nastave, analizirali smo četiri različita diskursa (znanost, turizam, politika, književnost) iz perspektive modifikacije intenziteta. Analize su pokazale da je verbalna agresija povezana s modifikacijom intenziteta u jeziku. Kod nenasilne komunikacije modifikatori koji jačaju intenzitet prisutni su samo onda kad postoje realna potreba i mogućnost da se pojača argument. Inače se više upotrebljavaju modifikatori za slabljenje argumenta koji uspostavljaju neku racionalnu distancu prema sadržaju i primatelju poruke. Kompetencija nenasilne komunikacije sa specifičnom upotrebom modifikacije intenziteta može biti uključena u jezičnu nastavu kao jedan od najvažnijih interkulturnih ciljeva.
Sve veća nepovezanost građana i donositelja odluka gura politiku u smjeru koji će dovesti do preoblikovanja institucionalnog aranžmana. Komunikacijski alati mogu imati važnu ulogu u razvijanju novih prostora za participaciju građana. Postoje različiti modeli kojima vlada i javna administracija mogu poduprijeti građansku participaciju: e-vlada, otvorena vlada i specifičan dizajn digitalne demokracije. Otvorena vlada može biti jedan od načina za ponovno povezivanje građana i političkih institucija, ali u isto vrijeme može biti i "privlačan" alat za institucionalizaciju participacije odozdo prema gore i njezino umrtvljivanje. Cilj je ovog rada predstaviti prva saznanja međunarodnog istraživačkog projekta na temu otvorene vlade i participacijskih platformi u četiri europske države (Francuskoj, Italiji, Španjolskoj i Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu). Istraživanje nastoji otkriti mogu li platforme za participaciju poboljšati kvalitetu demokracije i može li otvorena vlada doprinijeti demokratizaciji demokracije. ; The growing disconnection between citizens and decision-makers is pushing politics towards a re-shaping of institutional design. New spaces of political participation are sustained and even reinforced by communication, especially by digital communication. Governments and public administrations can find and use different models to facilitate citizens' participation; e-government, open government and a specific design of digital democracy. In this respect, open government can constitute a way to re-connect citizens and political institutions, but at the same time, it can also be an "appealing" tool to institutionalize bottom-up participation and so anesthetizing it. The aim of this article is to present the first findings of an international research project about open government and participatory platforms in four European countries (France, Italy, Spain, the UK). The study tries to understand if participatory platforms can improve the quality of democracy, and if open government can contribute to democratizing democracy.
