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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?

This article deals with the theory and practice of Slovak referendum. Special aim is concentrated on referendum in 1997 (held on NATO accession and on the direct election of the president of the Slovak Republic). Generally speaking referendums brought with a lot of problems. Their outcome was polarization of society and political elite. All Slovak referendums were unsuccessful (with the exception of last referendum – euro referendum in 2003). Concerning the consolidation of Slovak democracy referendums had a negative impact. ; This article deals with the theory and practice of Slovak referendum. Special aim is concentrated on referendum in 1997 (held on NATO accession and on the direct election of the president of the Slovak Republic). Generally speaking referendums brought with a lot of problems. Their outcome was polarization of society and political elite. All Slovak referendums were unsuccessful (with the exception of last referendum – euro referendum in 2003). Concerning the consolidation of Slovak democracy referendums had a negative impact.

The article presents economic voting theory and its application to the study of electoral behaviour in four Central European countries. The theoretical part describes the reward-punishment model of economic voting and its predictions for electoral behaviour in countries with coalition governance and in internationally open economies during the global economic crisis. The analytical part investigates the existence and features of economic voting (as a P-function) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Hypotheses about the existence of economic voting in these countries, the higher economic accountability of more responsible coalition partners, and the lower level of economic voting under the perceived influence of the EU on the domestic economy are tested using OLS and binary logistic analysis of European Election Study data (2004 and 2009). As the results show, economic voting was only detected in Hungary (2004 and 2009) and Slovakia (2004). The analysis indicates that, in general, almost all Prime ministers' parties bear a greater degree of economic accountability; meanwhile, perceptions of EU economic responsibility had no influence on the popularity of government parties in 2009. ; The article presents economic voting theory and its application to the study of electoral behaviour in four Central European countries. The theoretical part describes the reward-punishment model of economic voting and its predictions for electoral behaviour in countries with coalition governance and in internationally open economies during the global economic crisis. The analytical part investigates the existence and features of economic voting (as a P-function) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Hypotheses about the existence of economic voting in these countries, the higher economic accountability of more responsible coalition partners, and the lower level of economic voting under the perceived influence of the EU on the domestic economy are tested using OLS and binary logistic analysis of European ...

Samoobrona (Self-Defense) and League of Polish Families (LPR) won the seats in the Sejm in the parliamentary elections in September 2001. Both parties represent radical opposition in the Polish parliament. They critisize Poland´s accession to the EU and the situation in the country after 1989 in general. The following text describes the history of both parties and the cardinal points of their policies. ; Samoobrona (Self-Defense) and League of Polish Families (LPR) won the seats in the Sejm in the parliamentary elections in September 2001. Both parties represent radical opposition in the Polish parliament. They critisize Poland´s accession to the EU and the situation in the country after 1989 in general. The following text describes the history of both parties and the cardinal points of their policies.

The following paper focuses on the theoretical concept of the catch-all party developed by Kirchheimer and examines possibilities of its application in analyses of the political parties in the new Central-East European democracies. The paper is the case study of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). Through detailed analyses of the two core elements of the original catch-all party concept – intra-party organisation and character of the ideological appeal – article questions the scientific adequacy of frequent labelling of ODS as catch-all party. The argument points out that neither intra-organisational processes, nor ideological shifts of ODS provide a clear picture of the catch-all party. The case of ODS seems to be much more complex. Moreover, the paper points out that frequent usage of the catch-all label in the case of ODS is misleading also from a methodological point of view. Critique reveals that these works loose original concept too much. They ignore that theoretical concepts of all party types were designed for relatively long periods of time and should not be used as contingent categories describing a year or two in the party life. Paper is concluded with the proposition that analyses of political parties in Central-East Europe need complex revision of existing theoretical party types or development of the new ones based on detailed and precise case studies of individual parties in the region.

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 ...

hrsg. von Peter Haslinger . ; Inhaltstext ; Inhaltsverzeichnis ; Volltext // Exemplar mit der Signatur: München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek -- PVA 2008.3703

The paper aims to explain the development of the perception of national identity of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the strongest German political party in the past few decades. The paper focuses on election manifestos for the 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2005, and 2009 elections. For this purpose, each manifesto is examined according to up to five analytical categories – such as values, nation, Europe, threats, and society. These categories explore the party's perception in a wider context instead of focusing only on direct references to national identity. The analysed period was divided into three phases with an emphasis on the internal crisis between the years 1998 and 2002. The crisis influenced policy priorities; therefore the perceptions of elements belonging to national identity were changed in order i) to gain victory in the general elections in 2002 and 2005, and ii) to reflect properly the state of German society. Therefore, significant policy shifts were made. These policy changes show how the party successfully integrated societal demands and preferences over the past decade. Thank to this, the CDU incorporated both conservative and liberal elements. This is evident in the case of incorporating liberal elements such as homosexual partnerships while, at the same time, actively stressing the importance of defending national interests. ; The paper aims to explain the development of the perception of national identity of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the strongest German political party in the past few decades. The paper focuses on election manifestos for the 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2005, and 2009 elections. For this purpose, each manifesto is examined according to up to five analytical categories – such as values, nation, Europe, threats, and society. These categories explore the party's perception in a wider context instead of focusing only on direct references to national identity. The analysed period was divided into three phases with an emphasis on the internal crisis between the years 1998 ...

The paper deals with the complex issue of (ethno)regional parties conceptualisation. Notions and schematics elaborated and promoted by Lieven de Winter, Klaus von Beyme, Donald L. Horowitz, Francisco Letamendía, Huri Türsan, Ferdinand Müller–Rommel Derek Urwin, John T. Ishiyama etc. are briefly discussed. Ethno–regional parties can be conceived of as political parties whose electoral and legitimation potential is primarily based on identitary mobilisation of an ethno–territorial community of sub–national (sub–state) nature. However, ethnic and territorial aspects may assume different relevance within the different approaches to the study of ethno–regional parties. It should be emphasized, that regional parties are not necessarily ethnic parties – and vice versa. Regional parties could be defined as formations with region–based electorate and mobilisation resources, or as formations representing sub–national (regional) interest communities exercising party functions to the full extent in a regionally defined operating space. Ethno–regional (ethno–regionalist) parties may thus be defined as a sort of regional (regionalist) parties. Finally, some issues of classification and typology of regional party arrangements are assessed. A lot of work is still to be done in this field. More attention should be paid to the heterogeneous nature of compounded territorial–political arrangements, which allows for the coexistence of different types of actors – political parties on the national (nation–wide) and regional level, as well as for simultaneous existence of diverse party and political scenes. To make a comprehensive typology of regional party (sub)systems is not an easy task at all. This is due to the persisting lack of suitable conceptual frameworks and to the fact that an effective reconciliation of the approach to nation–forming identitary and regionalist mobilisations used by regional parties with the traditional platform applied in research into European party systems has proved very difficult. ; The paper deals ...

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 ...

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.

This text deals with elections to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey held in November 2002 and particularly in July 2007. The text describes the electoral system and analyses the election results. It is focused on differences in territorial support for the main political parties. The results of the latest parliamentary elections are compared with those of the 2002 elections. The main continuities identified are a reduction in relevant political actors and the concentration of Turkish political formations, the position of the main political parties in the Turkish system and the dominance of national electoral preference components over local components. Discontinuity, by contrast, was identified in the absence of pre-election coalitions and the fragmentation of electoral preferences.

Předložená studie pojednává o přijímání navracejících se druhů vyšších obratlovců zpět do české přírody, a to jak studenty gymnázií, kteří se při dalším studiu mohou dále věnovat problematice ochrany přírody a návratům obratlovců, tak studentů ze středních lesnických škol, u kterých se myslivecká péče o tyto druhy vbudoucnu očekává. Právě postoje studentů a mladých lidí jsou obecně velmi důležité pro přijetí těchto zmiňovaných druhů, protože nejen politiky a publicisty ovlivněná nejširší veřejnost, ale hlavně voboru vzdělaní lidé by se měli podílet na rozhodování o budoucnosti těchto zvířat. Celkově práce vychází ztvrzení, že lidé mohou mít o návratu některých obratlovců zkreslené představy, protože jsou ovlivňováni více než obecnými skutečnostmi, stále častějšími medializovanými spoty, poukazujícími např. na strach a obavy poškozených farmářů, přemnožování některých druhů a nanakažlivé nemoce, které některé druhy mohou přenášet. Kvůli celkovému zjednodušení byly v dotazníku uvedeny pouze tři možnosti vnímání, a to buď pozitivní, negativní, anebo neutrální. Zvýsledku je patrné, že jemnější členění dotazu by situaci spíše znejasnilo. ; The presented study discusses the phenomenon of acceptance of returning higher vertebrate species to the Czech countryside, both from the perspective of grammar school students, who can further study the environmental protection and facilitate the return of some vertebrates, and students of secondary forestry schools, expected to engage in hunting care in the future. The attitude of students and young people, in general, is very important for the acceptance of the discussed species, as not only the politicians and publicists have the right to influence the general public, but rather the specialists educated in the field should participate in the decision-making process affecting the future of these animals. Overall, the work develops a hypothesis that people may have misconceptions about the return of some vertebrates as, rather than focusing on general facts, they are influenced by frequently hyped points, such as the fear and concern of aggrieved farmers, the overpopulating of some species and the infectious diseases that some animals may transmit. A questionnaire was designed and circulated to obtain the required data. For general simplification, only three options were presented in the questionnaire, either positive, negative, or neutral attitude as further structuring could compromise the clarity of the results.

The study of the Bulgarian system of political parties assumed a relatively important position in the context of research in the genesis of party and political arrangements in post-communist countries of Central, South-East and Eastern Europe in the 1990s. It can be said that, in spite of certain delay, Bulgarian multipartism became one of the privileged subjects of that research, similarly to post-communist pluralisms in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic (and/or Czechoslovakia). The attention given to Bulgarian party system was not a mere coincidence. The fact is that apart from some endemic peculiarities, Bulgarian multipartism also showed – and still, to a large extent, shows - some distinct features of indisputable interest and importance for the construction of models of formation of pluralist party systems, features linked especially with the complex phenomenon of Bulgarian post-communist party and political (bi)polarisation and its medium and long term system forming consequences. This article is a contribution to the discussion about the remarkable aspects of Bulgarian post-communist multipartism. In this perspective, special attention will be paid to links between the Bulgarian model of major pole dualism (Union of Democratic Forces, SDS, and Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP), the format of its party system and the systemic effect of the "extended" ("protracted") initial social and political polarisation. In this context, also some partial issues related with the evolution of the potential and role of "third parties" in present-day Bulgarian context will be briefly addressed. ; The study of the Bulgarian system of political parties assumed a relatively important position in the context of research in the genesis of party and political arrangements in post-communist countries of Central, South-East and Eastern Europe in the 1990s. It can be said that, in spite of certain delay, Bulgarian multipartism became one of the privileged subjects of that research, similarly to post-communist pluralisms in ...