Suchergebnisse

As with other communist successor parties, Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) enjoyed a political comeback in the mid-1990s. The PDS's success can be explained by many eastern German voters' disenchantment with the social, cultural, and economic effects of reunification as well as by the distinctive regional and fragmented character of the German Political Party System that allows the PDS, as the self-proclaimed defender of "eastern interests," disproportionate political influence. The PDS is faced with a dilemma, however. In the long-term it will have to become a true all-German party of the left if it wishes to survive electorally. Yet in becoming an all-German party the PDS risks losing the distinctive eastern identity that has been so essential to its success hitherto. ; As with other communist successor parties, Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) enjoyed a political comeback in the mid-1990s. The PDS's success can be explained by many eastern German voters' disenchantment with the social, cultural, and economic effects of reunification as well as by the distinctive regional and fragmented character of the German Political Party System that allows the PDS, as the self-proclaimed defender of "eastern interests," disproportionate political influence. The PDS is faced with a dilemma, however. In the long-term it will have to become a true all-German party of the left if it wishes to survive electorally. Yet in becoming an all-German party the PDS risks losing the distinctive eastern identity that has been so essential to its success hitherto.

Socialism was born out of the belief in the bright future of mankind. Thus, the utopian vision of classless society occupied the minds of the early communist avant-garde. Yet, such hopes did not survive the initial revolutionary enthusiasm. As the social organization of the 'real socialism' turned out to be a rigid bureaucratic system, the visions of the 'bright future' were replaced by the 'picture of the golden age', namely the image of the revolution itself. Accordingly, rituals commemorating the 'founding fathers of socialism' substituted the ritualized commitments to building the 'ideal society of equals'. The ideological content of socialism vanished. Past memories occupied the present. With the breakdown of communism the present could for a moment release itself from the iron grip of the past. The "envelope of the unhistorical" seemed to be open for the deeds of new reformers. Yet, the present could not escape too far. It was almost immediately caught again either by the past or by the future. In the first case, post-communist nationalisms (Brubaker 1996) monopolized the political field; in the second case, the "scientists of the not yet" (Stark and Bruszt 1998: 1-11) disseminated their neoliberal visions of free-market economy. As a result, the present was defined either in terms of national myths going far back to history or by visions to be realized by imitation of the Western model of capitalism. The focus of this paper is the different paths taken by different countries in the region after the collapse of socialism. The paper distinguishes between the 'nationalizing alternative' as one basic direction, and the 'catching up option' as another one. The paper further argues that this dichotomy itself forms around two clusters of several potential stances which could have been taken in the process of transformations. The goal of the paper is to propose a general framework, with the help of which the interactions 'behind' the political decisions taken by political elites in the post-socialist countries ...

One of few can enjoy the pleasures of living in a time of transition to democracy and have the opportunity to comment on the development and raise critical questions about the future of the Central and Eastern Europe. Editors Kaldor and Vejvoda pose several such questions right at the beginning of their book: Do political systems within CEEC represent a particular variant of democracy that is specific to this part of the world? Is it possible to talk about a post-communist model sui generis that is influenced by the legacy of communism and at the same time by both the weaknesses and strengths of western democracy? Can we talk about an emergent concept of European Democratic Space [term introduced by editors] as a way of consolidating democracy in Central and Eastern European Countries and of reinvigorating democracy in Western Europe? ; One of few can enjoy the pleasures of living in a time of transition to democracy and have the opportunity to comment on the development and raise critical questions about the future of the Central and Eastern Europe. Editors Kaldor and Vejvoda pose several such questions right at the beginning of their book: Do political systems within CEEC represent a particular variant of democracy that is specific to this part of the world? Is it possible to talk about a post-communist model sui generis that is influenced by the legacy of communism and at the same time by both the weaknesses and strengths of western democracy? Can we talk about an emergent concept of European Democratic Space [term introduced by editors] as a way of consolidating democracy in Central and Eastern European Countries and of reinvigorating democracy in Western Europe?

European kinship is usually conceptualised as one of the elements that forms the boundary between nature and culture. However, this implicitly assumed biogenetic basis of membership in a particular descent group is not evident in the case of kinship among inhabitants of a Roma settlement. The nature of their kinship can be described as the incorporative process of women and pristašis into descent groups. The fundamental criterion for an expectant partner in marriage is to be 'lačhe' (good, proper, appropriate). The division of people in a Roma settlement into two basic groups (lačhe versus degešis) does not mean that these people form endogamous groups defi ned by procreation. It is rather a matter of moral ideas about what makes people good or bad. Two complementary principles play an important role in these ideas. The first principle relates to the natural base, the second to the process of socialisation. In this respect, fajta does not just refer to a cognatic descent group, but also has another dimension, which cannot simply be defined in terms of procreation and which indicates a shift towards a common basis. This can be demonstrated in the example of pristašis, which is a long-term process of incorporation in which fajta, as the domain of nature, shifts to the frame of culture. Despite of the difficulty of determining whether people were born or socialised into a particular fajta, kinship in a Roma settlement should be studied within the wider organisational complex that on the one hand makes some people related and homogenous and on the other hand excludes other people from this relatedness.

The enlargement crisis of the EU has been triggered by problems related to enlargement toward the East, but its roots extend far beyond that issue. To date, European integration has developed in a structure of a wealthy core territory & concentric circles around this centre. The emergence of this pattern has been driven by the dialectics of integration & expansion. But the institutional obstacles & legitimation problems linked to EU enlargement to the East indicate that very little room to maneuver will remain for future expansion. As the expansion process reaches its limits, differentiated forms of EU integration, creating different classes of EU members, are likely to appear.

The paper analyses the development of the EU energy policy since the beginning of the European integration and argues that the eastern enlargement and two gas crises in 2006 and 2009 have crucially impacted its evolution. Originally, the ES/EU dealt primarily with the formation and liberalisation of internal energy market, however after 2004 the focus has shifted towards issues of energy security and external energy relations in general. The paper uses the spillover concept to analyse the development of the EU energy policy. It argues that the development of internal energy market was caused by a spillover from internal market as such, while the progress in the area of energy policy after the eastern enlargement was an outcome of efforts to achieve energy security; efforts that resulted in further spillover effects in areas such as diversification, external energy relations or efficiency. The paper thus claims that common European energy policy in its internal and external dimensions started to evolve gradually after the Eastern enlargement.

This paper focuses on "The Philadelphia Negro": a community study that stands at the start of American social research. This somewhat forgotten empirical study from 1899 describes the historical conditions and the economic and social causes and circumstances behind the formation and existence of the "Seventh Ward", a slum neighbourhood in Philadelphia inhabited by African-Americans. The study used survey and other methods of observation and analysis of historical, economic and social data. The study was written by the erudite Harvard University graduate William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, an African-American, and an economist, historian and sociologist. Using primary and secondary literature and archive sources this paper shows that Du Bois was the author of the first empirical social research study in the United States. It looks at his life, his research, and his opinions on racial issues. He created a programme of research on the African-American population and from 1898 to 1910 he headed the first school of sociology on the American continent at the University of Atlanta. He published the results of scientific analyses of the lives of African-Americans in the south of the United States in sixteen volumes of the Atlanta University Studies. Racial prejudices among the American sociological elites prevented both Du Bois and his work from receiving the attention they rightly deserve.

Obálka -- Obsah -- Úvod -- 1. Komunitní práce -- 1.1 Základní vymezení pojmů -- 1.2 Komunitní práce v interakci s dalšími vědními obory -- 1.3 Rozvoj komunity - rozvoj místního společenství -- 1.4 Komunitní práce a komunitní rozvoj v různých typech sídel -- 1.5 Modely komunitní práce -- 2. Z historie komunitní práce -- 2.1 Teorie na úvod -- 2.2 Vznik komunitní práce a její rozvoj ve 20. století -- 2.3 Specifika komunitní práce v Čechách a na Moravě -- 3. Základní prvky a procesy komunitních aktivit -- 3.1 Aktéři komunitních procesů -- 3.2 Další aktéři prospěšní komunitě