Suchergebnisse

The paper concentrates on attitudes to the enlargement and the future of EU held by relevant political parties in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia in 2002. With respect to the Czech Republic, three basic approaches to the issue of EU enlargement are identified, thus classifying the Czech political parties as "consistently" pro-European, pro-European "with reservations" and anti-European. It will be argued that in Slovakia the relevant political parties acted as "consistently" pro-European with the exception of the anti-European Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). The dividing line was however rather between the parties whose representatives could be viewed by international partners as an obstacle to Slovakia's admission to EU and the parties that were "acceptable" for foreign countries, which played an important role in rallying voters to opt for "acceptable" political subjects. ; The paper concentrates on attitudes to the enlargement and the future of EU held by relevant political parties in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia in 2002. With respect to the Czech Republic, three basic approaches to the issue of EU enlargement are identified, thus classifying the Czech political parties as "consistently" pro-European, pro-European "with reservations" and anti-European. It will be argued that in Slovakia the relevant political parties acted as "consistently" pro-European with the exception of the anti-European Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). The dividing line was however rather between the parties whose representatives could be viewed by international partners as an obstacle to Slovakia's admission to EU and the parties that were "acceptable" for foreign countries, which played an important role in rallying voters to opt for "acceptable" political subjects.

The paper comments on issues of conceptualisation and typology of regional parties in Europe. Regional parties could be defined briefly as independent formations with regional identity, region–based legitimacy and region–based electoral resources. The territorial aspect of their identity and of their modus operandi is the crucial one in this respect. It should be reminded that a number of heterogeneous party phenomena could be subsumed under the label of regional parties. The existence of a genuine regional party family, which could be, eventually, included into the classic familles spirituelles scheme, is not obvious. It seems that recent attempts to conceptualise the regional (and/or ethno–regional) party family have only small chance to success. Moreover, it should not be taken for granted that invention of such party family would enhance the capacity for comparative research into the European regional party phenomena. It could be a counter–productive move. There is an implicit danger to be avoided: that of conceiving of the differences between regional parties and non–regional parties as the differences between party families. However, these differences are not of the same kind. The paper proposes to distinguish several types of regional parties according to their origins (genuine regional autonomist parties, regionalized branches of state–wide parties etc.) which could allow for a sophisticated explanation of their heterogeneity and of various combinations of the systemic properties of regional parties. It is also suitable to pay more attention to the differing opportunity structures and to the compounded nature of territorial–political operational space of regional parties. ; The paper comments on issues of conceptualisation and typology of regional parties in Europe. Regional parties could be defined briefly as independent formations with regional identity, region–based legitimacy and region–based electoral resources. The territorial aspect of their identity and of their modus operandi is the crucial one ...

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 article deals with the idea of Central Europe and aims to identify common developmental tendencies of the region in the medieval period and early modern age. The author emphasizes the advantages of the comparative approach primarily in the case of the medieval and early modern Polish, Czech and Hungarian states. Alongside common developmental tendencies the author emphasizes also important differences which cast doubt on the very idea of Central Europe.

Purpose of the article: Current students of Czech and Slovak universities have lived most of their lives in the separate Czech/Slovak Republic, in new political, economic and technological conditions and also in a more intensive contact with members of other cultures than the previous generations. This could have affected their self-identification, national sentiments and attitudes to the EU. There is minimum empirical knowledge answering the question whether this hypothesis is right. The aim of the research was to contribute to the reduction of this deficit in knowledge and provide a starting point for further, more extensive, studies. Methodology/methods: The research used a sample of 134 Czech and 119 Slovak students of economy oriented universities. The research data were collected by means of a questionnaire, providing us with quantitative and qualitative data. The results were processed separately for the Czech sample and the Slovak sample and then compared. Scientific aim: The aim of the research was: (1) to explore the extent of national pride of young Czech and Slovak students of economy oriented universities as well as their identification with their country; (2) to explore the young Czech and Slovak students' opinions on the entry of their country in the EU and what they expect from the EU membership in the future; (3) to compare responses of Czech and Slovak respondents and identify the differences in their sentiments and attitudes to the EU.
Findings: The research has revealed some differences in the extent of Czech and Slovak students' identification with the regional units where the respondents live and in the perception of the contribution the entry of their country in the EU could bring. The expectations of both groups of respondents mainly concern better standards of living and a better economic situation of inhabitants. Conclusions: Generally, the results indicate that the attitudes of the students of the selected economy oriented faculties to EU membership are related to the perception of economic benefits and contributions to personal development and success at the labour market on the one hand, and on the other hand, to the perception of personal identity formed in the context of the country's historical development. It means, these are not mere results of rational calculations - the results indicate that even the generation of young, economy educated people who grew in new conditions shares the sentiments connected with their national identity. Due to the size of the sample set, the results cannot be considered valid for the entire population of students of economy oriented Czech and Slovak universities. The purpose of the research was to provide basic empirical knowledge, mainly of qualitative character, that will form a starting point for further, more extensive studies.

This article traces the effect of socio-economic, cultural, and gender factors on the reproduction of educational inequalities in access to tertiary education in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Sweden. Single- country analyses conducted to date on the Czech Republic have reached conflicting results both on the development of educational inequalities since the fall of socialism and on the weight of the factors behind those inequalities. Also, no international comparison has been conducted. Thus, the authors pursue two new directions of inquiry: 1) an international comparison, and 2) an update of the development of inequalities in all the mentioned countries since 2002. The authors used multi-dimensional statistical methods (logit models and a log-linear analysis) and the most recent available international data from the European Social Survey. The results revealed that out of all the countries studied it is in the Czech Republic that access to tertiary education is currently determined most by the cultural component of social background (the father's education). The country closest to the Czech Republic in this regard is Switzerland. The educational status of the family is also a crucial factor in educational reproduction in Sweden. Paradoxically, in the countries that historically and geographically are closest to the Czech Republic, namely, Poland and Germany, the crucial determinant in the transmission of educational status is the father's class.

Příspěvek se zabývá problematikou vývoje finančního systému zemí Evropské unie (EU) se zvláštním zaměřením na řešení stávající krize. V první řadě posuzuje smysluplnost a dosavadní postup v naplňování projektu "Eurozóny", včetně procesu postupného zavádění jednotné evropské měny. V souvislosti s tím je provedena analýza dosavadního vývoje v Evropské unii se zvláštním zaměřením na specifikaci soudobých ekonomických problémů, jež se v současnosti řeší prosazováním tzv. "záchranných" opatření. Jelikož se jedná o nestandardní politická rozhodnutí s mimořádně významnými ekonomickými a společenskými dopady, je jejich obsah analyzován v systémových souvislostech, s cílem zhodnotit jejich přínosnost, resp. rizikovost nejen s ohledem na budoucí hospodářský vývoj Evropské unie, ale též z hlediska prospěšnosti s ohledem na evropské obyvatelstvo a lidskou společnost. ; This paper deals with the development of the financial system in the European Union (EU), with a special focus on solving the current crisis. First, assess the current and meaningful progress in the implementation of the "Eurozone", including the process of the gradual introduction of the single European currency. In this context, an analysis of current developments in the European Union with a special focus on the specification of contemporary economic problems that are currently being addressed by promoting the so-called. "Emergency" measures. Since it is an unusual political decisions extremely important economic and social impacts, the content is analyzed in system contexts, to assess their usefulness, respectively. risk not only with respect to future economic development of the European Union, but also in terms of usefulness with regard to the European population and human society.

While reading academic papers and books on political regimes in Central Europe, one can become aware of an interesting and remarkable fact: these regimes (forms of government) are classified rather differently. Whereas some scholars tend to approach them as parliamentary regimes, others classify them as semi-presidential ones. The major dividing line between these two perspectives runs between a large group of English-writing scholars based outside Central Europe and those from Central Europe itself. Having reviewed a large number of relevant studies in this field, the authors of this article argue that the key reason for the different assessments of Central European regimes resides mainly in a different theoretical (but also methodological) approach, which has important implications when considering how these regimes are treated in various studies. Whereas the group of English-writing scholars tends to adopt a minimalist institutional definition suggested by Robert Elgie, most Central European scholars prefer an approach (inspired by Duverger or Sartori) that emphasizes presidential powers, which are irrelevant to Elgie's definition. ; While reading academic papers and books on political regimes in Central Europe, one can become aware of an interesting and remarkable fact: these regimes (forms of government) are classified rather differently. Whereas some scholars tend to approach them as parliamentary regimes, others classify them as semi-presidential ones. The major dividing line between these two perspectives runs between a large group of English-writing scholars based outside Central Europe and those from Central Europe itself. Having reviewed a large number of relevant studies in this field, the authors of this article argue that the key reason for the different assessments of Central European regimes resides mainly in a different theoretical (but also methodological) approach, which has important implications when considering how these regimes are treated in various studies. Whereas the group of ...

Every country in the world is currently trying to reduce opportunities for corruption in the country. Fighting corruption is very challenging and difficult. The corruption occurs primarily in the public sector, where the object of interest is funding from public sources. Corruption has a negative impact primarily on the economy of the state in terms of their current, but also potential investors and strategic partners in the area of production. Second, it can not ignore the negative impact on the society, respectively citizens of the state affected by corruption. The paper aims to quantify the interdependence between the Corruption perception index and selected indicators of economic health in selected countries of the European Union. In terms of proven relationship between defined variables can then infer the interdependence of achieved Corruption perception index value in selected EU countries and to determine whether are these states in the problem unified or differentiated.

Both in the Czech and European contexts, the Council of the EU is a relatively frequent subject of interest in political science research. A substantial amount of work (both in the tradition of qualitative and quantitative research) focuses especially on the process of coalition building and the impact and functioning of the different levels of the Council. This theoretical discussion analyzes the possibilities which both the qualitative and quantitative approaches offer concerning research dealing with the coalition behavior of one concrete EU member state. In doing so, it takes into account various specifics which characterize the Council of the EU and which substantially influence the behavior of its member states. The paper concludes that the qualitative approach (while being to a substantial degree complementary to the quantitative tradition) offers better tools for an analysis focusing on the coalition behavior of one member state than its quantitative counterpart. One of the reasons lies in the nature of our research which deals with the process of promoting the interests of the Czech Republic in the EU Council, with a special emphasis on coalition building and searching for compromises. ; Both in the Czech and European contexts, the Council of the EU is a relatively frequent subject of interest in political science research. A substantial amount of work (both in the tradition of qualitative and quantitative research) focuses especially on the process of coalition building and the impact and functioning of the different levels of the Council. This theoretical discussion analyzes the possibilities which both the qualitative and quantitative approaches offer concerning research dealing with the coalition behavior of one concrete EU member state. In doing so, it takes into account various specifics which characterize the Council of the EU and which substantially influence the behavior of its member states. The paper concludes that the qualitative approach (while being to a substantial degree complementary to ...

In recent decades, the topic of political parties' approaches towards European integration (especially the euro-skeptic parties) has become an integral part of political science research. The purpose of this text is to describe and compare the most frequently used methods or approaches of measuring the attitudes of political parties towards the EU: behavioral measures, textual approaches, self-reported positions, and reputation. The author of the text examines the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods, and compares their applicability in the context of different research goals (classification and/or description of attitudes of political parties towards the EU, identification of salience of the "European" issue, and identification of intra-party disputes over the "European" issue).