Suchergebnisse

The article focuses on representatives of the regional (and most recently established) level of government in the Czech Republic. It describes the context behind the emergence of regional governments & how they differ from the local & national political levels. It notes the close personnel connection between local & regional political elites. Experience gained in local politics helps elites to succeed at the regional level. The presence of local politicians in regional government varies with the level of residential fragmentation & the degree of urbanization in the given region. Unlike local politics, which is consistently comprised of a significant proportion of independents, regional representatives are almost exclusively members of political parties & movements. This situation on the one hand serves to increase the politicization of local politics & on the other leads to greater competition within political parties, whose programs & national leadership regional politicians wish to influence.

Why are things different on the other side of national borders; and how can this be explained sociologically? This inaugural lecture tries to answer these questions, starting from the example of the bicycle in the Netherlands. It distinguishes four processes that have contributed to increasing similarity within nations: growing interdependence within nations; increasing density of networks and institutions; vertical diffusion of styles and standards; and the development of national we-feelings. Together, these processes have contributed to the development of national habitus: increasing similarities within nations, and increasing differences between people living in different countries. These processes have reached their apex in the second half of the twentieth century. Since then, they have diminished, leading to increasing variations within countries, and growing similarities between comparable groups in different countries. This analysis poses new questions and challenges for sociologists. First, it leads us to rethink comparative research: what are we comparing when we compare nations, and is this still a viable unit of analysis? Second, it leads us to consider how the transfer of styles and standards occurs in our informalized, globalized, and mediatized age. Third, sociologists should analyse the new forms of inequality resulting from these processes, such as the growing rift between 'locals' and (bike-loving) cosmopolitans.

Since the time of its foundation (1990) the Slovak National Party (SNS) has been able to pool approximately 5-10 % of votes. During most of its 15 years existence there was a permanent crisis in the party and one could observe numerous clashes between particular groups in the Slovakian party system. As a result of this in-party fragmentation the SNS disintegrated in 2001. Following the division of supporter's votes between two successor parties, the SNS lost its parliament representation. This was the main impulse for the antagonized leaders to change their relations and start a process of integration which was successfully finished on March 3rd 2005 – the 15th anniversary of the party. From the beginning of 2005, the SNS has been enjoying growing popularity (7%) and has a good chance to succeed in the next parliamentary elections in autumn 2006.

This article analyses the evolutionary process of the Romanian party system during the years 19892004. The Romanian party system went through rapid development after the overthrow of the Ceausescu regime, a process that has not yet ended (this opinion relates mainly to center and right parties). The developmental periods of the party system are divided on the basis of parliamentary elections, since these elections and their results always represent a new situation in the party scene. The main part of the article describes the development and political program individual party subject Romanian party system. The classical division into left, center and right parties is applied to the location of political parties with respect to disputability in the Romanian political context. Besides the classical political parties, it is also possible to identify relatively strong ethnic parties and special party families. In the present state (after the 2004 election) it is possible to characterize the situation as conflict between two main poles -- centrist ("Truth and Justice") and post-communist (Social Democratic Party). Christian National Peasant Party Christian Democratic; socialist Socialist Workers Party; ethnic Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romanian, and radical continuity parties (mainly Great Romania Party) can all be defined as secondary poles. Extreme right parties are minor and insignificant. The Communist party family has no relevant representative. Adapted from the source document.