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.
The paper focuses on reflection of the First World War in presidential speeches in years 1990–2013. This period delimits mandates of former Czech presidents Václav Havel and Václav Klaus. Ways in which both presidents referred to the historical event and in which they utilized its interpretation for legitimization of their political goals are compared. As its theoretical framework, the study utilizes an approach that has been developed by Jeffrey Alexander and Philip Smith as part of their program in cultural sociology. The study aims to identify the most significant cultural codes and narrative strategies of the analyzed speeches and to relate them to (supra)nationalistic metanarratives that they help to maintain. The study also points to the fact that presidential speeches represent an important case of utilization of past for the purposes of legitimization of state policy while also being a practice with which states are established.
This article applies classical typologies of totalitarian & authoritarian regimes by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carl Friedrich & Juan Linz to the case of the first Slovak Republic (Slovak State). Its political regime between 1935/1939 & summer 1940 can be classified as organic statism. Organic structures (corporativist structures) & the antiliberal & anticapitalist rhetoric of the Catholic Church in encyclicals like the Rerum Novarum were typical of this type of authoritarian regime. Nevertheless, the Nazi pressure led to the transition of the regime to the "defective" (or "arrested") totalitarian regime, which is, according to Linz's typology, in the "grey" zone between totalitarian & authoritarian regimes. The defeats of the German army & changes inside Slovak's camp resulted in the erosion of the regime base at the end of 1942 & brought about yet another regime change. The end of the stage of "unclear" authoritarian regime was marked by the armed insurrection in August 1944. The totalitarian episode, in which the main role was played by the German occupation forces, characterized the last months of war. 39 References. Adapted from the source document.
The Czech Language Instit provides consulting services, viz, questions about current usage, to a wide audience, from curious laypeople to scholars, in an institutional (ie, academic) setting. The institute, represented by the Prague Linguistic Council of the Czech Academy of Sciences' Instit for the Czech Language, is accessible by phone, mail, & drop-in appointment to any interested speaker of Czech needing information on pronunciation, orthography, semantics, etymology, usage, et al. A staff of linguists is on hand to answer all relevant questions. The requests received & characteristics of those who have contacted the institute are described.
During both occasions of the 1st anniversary of the German Grand Coalition government CDU/CSU & SPD (2005/2006) & of the 10th anniversary of the Czech-German Declaration on reconciliation (1997) the author analysis the recent German foreign policy, especially the role of past burdens in the bilateral relations. Gradually, although they faced many complications, both a legal & political solution was found, & instilled, creating a prevision for, & to a certain degree institutionalizing "the culture of historical controversy." The rhetoric of historical guilt & responsibility slowly disappears in Germany's relationships to the states of Central & East Central Europe, it relates also to the reconciliation rituals. On the other hand the new German government (with the CDU-chancellorship) has accepted all declarations & treaties made by preceding governments, including those which deal with property issues between the F.R.G. & Poland/Czech Republics respectively. The main dash is not drawn between any single political camps; rather nowadays, it is drawn right across the German society & their political elites. Especially the topic of World War II & its victims has become a conventional subject & one of public historical memory. This appeared shortly after the new government was appointed into office, as well as the idea that the moral-historical dimension of the Czech-German, Polish-German (and any other neighbors to Germany) relations will not disappear, but instead achieve a new quality. Only the role of moderator will be given to the governments & to the political sphere. Parallel to the departure of the last generation of contemporaries, the theme will be changed, & there will be only one of many reference frameworks in German relations to its neighbor states & their societies. This will, however, not be a linear process: relapsing is not excluded & it will depend on the responsibility & maturity of the political elites as well as the quality of the Czech-German "community of interests" (including the constituting role of European Security & Energy policies), as to how they will be managed. Adapted from the source document.
The origin of the apartheid regime was based on the Calvinist idea of Afrikaners being "the nation privileged by God." This idea had resulted in sharp discrimination of the African population since the 1850's. This political process was even more strengthened during the Nationalist Party (NP) period of government after the 1948 elections. Afrikaner nationalism reached its peak in May 1961 with the unilateral declaration of an independent South African Republic. But the apartheid regime entered into a period of deep crisis at the end of the 70's, and the fragile status quo started to become untenable. The new Prime Minister PW Botha initiated a reform process, which was refused by conservative members. They withdrew from the NP and formed the Conservative Party (CP). Its strongly nationalistic rhetoric was caused by the increasing activity of black organizations, and was reflected in the results of the 1987 elections when it became the strongest opposition party with 30% of the votes. Nevertheless, the reform process continued. The new president FW de Klerk legalized the black organizations, released political prisoners, and arranged the national referendum in which white voters decided to end the apartheid regime. Together with the consecutive loss of influential positions in the army and the death of the CP's leader, it substantially weakened the position of the Afrikaner conservative right wing. Finally, one section of the right wing decided to terminate the boycott of negotiations and to participate in the forthcoming elections. The only Afrikaner party was called the Freedom Front (FF), but it gained only 2% of the votes. The peaceful course during and after the elections weakened the conservatives even further. In the elections of 1999 and 2004, the FF didn't exceed even 1% of votes and is now a marginalized political party. Some militarized illegal organizations still exist in South Africa, but the government has been successful in eliminating these groups. Afrikaner nationalism still exists, but due to the evolution of the political situation it is diminishing. Adapted from the source document.
