Suchergebnisse

The aim of this article is to analyze the attitudes of the main political parties in the Czech Republic towards the European Union. A special emphasis is put on the presentation of these attitudes in the pre-referendum period & on the levels of support for membership achieved among the parties' supporters. This topic is analysed through the theoretical lens of "europeanization," an approach which examines the impact on domestic (national) policies & political systems of EU policies & processes. This theoretical perspective is usually applied to current member states but has been increasingly extended to candidate countries in the pre-accession period as well. In the period after the first democratic elections of 1990, the "European" debate among Czech political parties has intensified & shifted from the clear initial "yes" to membership to more complex & qualitative questions. By the time of the national EU referendum, (June 2003) the impact of" europeanization" was manifested by the presence of a significant number of EU-related topics in the political parties' agenda. The authors have utilized a range of political geography, sociology, & political science methods to demonstrate a high correlation between the EU referendum results & the levels of the partisan support for the parties favoring membership in the EU. According to the available empirical data from various public opinion surveys, the support for membership among the voters of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Christian Democratic Party (KDU-CSL) & Freedom Union (US-DEU) ranged from 82 to 92 %. On the contrary, the position of the Communist Party (KSCM) was clearly the opposite. In addition to the political orientation of the voters, other factors which have influenced the voting results were examined. These included such factors as regional unemployment rate, education, wage levels as well as other political-geographical aspects. References. Adapted from the source document.

This article summarizes the basic theoretical approaches to the study of intelligence & intelligence control in the new Central European democracies. The existing theories are applied to the case of intelligence transformation in the Czech Republic. The Czech intelligence came through a reform similar to that of the intelligence services in neighboring countries, but with some significant exceptions. The Czech Republic's intelligence community consists of three organizations: the Security Information Service, the Office for Foreign Relations & Information, & the Military intelligence (Military intelligence has two relatively independent parts: Military Defense Intelligence & Military Intelligence Service). Only the Security Information Service & the Military Defense Intelligence are under the control of special parliamentary bodies, though at present there are two suggestions about a legislative reform. The article summarizes both of these suggestions, makes critical notes, & presents the author's own suggestion on how to improve democratic control of the Czech intelligence services. References. Adapted from the source document.

A review essay on a book by Adam Swift, Politicka filozofie: zakladni otazky moderni politologie ([Political Philosophy: Basic Issues of Modern Politology] Prague, Czech Republic: Portal, 2005). References.

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).

A review essay on a book by Pavel Barsa & Ondrej Cisar, Levice v postrevolucni dobe. Obcanska spolecnost a nova socialni hnuti v radikalni politicke teorii 20. stoleti ([The Left in the Postrevolutionary Era. Civil Society and New Social Movements in Radical Political Theory of the Twentieth Century] Brno, Czech Republic: CDK, 2004). References.

The paper analyses the Europeanisation of election manifestos of major relevant political parties in the Slovak Republic between 1994 and 2010. The changes are examined by means of the two-dimensional concept distinguishing the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of Europeanization; and Europeanisation in manifestos is interpreted as a result of European integration. The authors conclude that the process of the Europeanisation of political parties began a little later in Slovakia in comparison to some of the countries which became democratized slightly earlier (e.g. the Czech Republic). A different pace of democratization, experience with Mečiar's hybrid regime, and the multi-dimensional party system seem to be the main reasons for the "backwardness" of Slovak political parties' manifestoes.

This paper aims to provide an extensive content analysis of studies & texts published in relevant Czech political science journals. Its major focus is on providing topical analysis of data, while paying special attention to the timelines along which various research areas became subjects of interest in these journals, & to the frequency of appearances of these areas over the course of time. In this way the authors try to identify the major topical areas of publication interest, & in some cases also present hypotheses indicating why particular research areas were/are disproportionately targeted by the journals in specific periods. Finally, the authors analyze the topical preferences of all journals, thus making it possible to identify the scope of their publication policies. Adapted from the source document.

This paper examines the electoral results of two extreme right-wing parties, namely Národní Strana and Právo a Spravedlnost in the 2006 local elections. The basic method chosen is a comparative study of their electoral results at the level of those municipalities where they were present. Local results for the two political parties are also compared and contrasted with their previous performance in parliamentary elections. Additionally, a longer-term analysis of electoral support for Sdružení pro Republiku – Republikánská strana Československa and its successors present in the above elections will be investigated. The distribution of electoral support will be attributed to selected socioeconomic factors, number of young voters, education, nationality, and number of religious people in society. On this basis the presented text will try to show the interdependence of electoral behaviour.

The category of antisystemic actors is employed relatively often in political science. The aim of this article is two-fold. First, it criticizes the contemporary usage of "antisystemicity" as too self-contained an analytical concept. In order to demonstrate this, two key theoretical traditions of the term -- G. Sartori's classification of party systems & world-systemic ("Wallersteinian") research of international political economy & its challengers -- are described, analyzed & mutually compared. Their understanding of antisystemic protest is depicted in order to show some shortcomings & inadequacies of their usage of this category. Second, the article strives to theoretically & formally unfold, integrate & further develop the concept of antisystemic contention in order to clarify the modes of its usages for socio-political reality. This inquiry consists of analyses of three key factors of antisystemic collective action -- ie., its object, subject & relations in-between. The analysis of object is basically grounded in Luhmann's neofunctionalist theory of modernization. Based on a systems theory analysis of society, the article proceeds to grasp the subject-actor as a general & case insensitive category, thus connecting existing concepts of antisystemic political subjects. Further analyzed dimensions of antisystemic protest are its goals & forms of action, but also its penetration by politics & economy. In conclusion, a general three-dimensional typology of antisystemic collective action is drawn from preceding analyses & offered as a methodological tool for empirical research of political contention. Adapted from the source document.

The term crisis is commonly used in intellectual rhetoric, in scientific articles, by people in everyday contexts, and especially in public speeches by politicians. Since references to crisis (rhetoric of crisis) have a particular resonance in the political sphere, a better understanding of this concept is much needed. The aim of this article is to bring the term crisis into the context of political theory. This will be done via reference to the works of Carl Schmitt, Michael Walzer and Classical Realists such as Hans Morgenthau and Michael Williams. The term crisis will be characterized as part of an illocutionary speech act which signifies "politicization"; this means moving an issue from its "ordinary sphere" to the political sphere. On the basis of this contextualization, several models of crisis in the political sphere will be constructed. Adapted from the source document.

This text is a short reflection on the possibility of studying historical events through a political science approach. The two analyzed publications exemplify the possibility and the failure of such an approach. While the first book presents a coherent political science analysis of the past, the second publication fails to do so. In my text, I argue that by using appropriate theoretical foundations and methodological approaches, politics in the past can not only be effectively examined but that relevant conclusions can be reached as well. Adapted from the source document.

Obálka; Obsah; Poděkování; Kapitola 1: Deník "vlastního Boha": Etty Hillesum; Kapitola 2: Návrat bohů a krize evropské moderny; Kapitola 3: Tolerance a násilí: dvě tváře náboženství; Kapitola 4: Hereze neboli vynález "vlastního Boha"; Kapitola 5: Lest vedlejších důsledků: pět modelů zcivilizování konfliktů světových náboženství; Kapitola 6: Mír namísto pravdy? Možná budoucnost náboženství ve světové rizikové společnosti; Doslov k českému vydání: Moc bezmocného Boha