Každý univerzitní učitel by se čas od času měl zamyslet nejen nad tím, co učit, ale také jak to učit. Jednou z moderních metod výuky jsou tzv. výukové případové studie. Uplatnění nacházejí nejvíce v aplikovaných společensko-vědních disciplínách, nejvíce tam, kde vyučovaná látka zahrnuje nějaké rozhodování lidí na různých pozicích. ; Teaching cases is quite well-known powerful educational tool, which belongs to modern methods of teaching and learning. They are distinguished from case studies used for research purposes.
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 ...
The article aims at characterization of the political system in Albania after the fall of the communist regime in 1991. The concepts of J. J. Linz are used. The text begins with the short description of the previous (communist) regime and with the character of the transition. The strong emphasis is given on the analysis of the several axes of non-democratic regimes: the limited pluralism, the mobilization, the ideology and the leadership. The authors conclude that it has been neither classical authoritarian nor totalitarian regime, but the regime, which is situated at the border of democracy and non-democracy and labelled by authors as a defect regime. With respect to unusual values of mobilization, the text operates with the classification mobilizational regime in ethnically divided society.
This package contains the eye-tracker recordings of 8 subjects evaluating English-to-Czech machine translation quality using the WMT-style ranking of sentences. We provide the set of sentences evaluated, the exact screens presented to the annotators (including bounding box information for every area of interest and even for individual letters in the text) and finally the raw EyeLink II files with gaze trajectories. The description of the experiment can be found in the paper: Ondřej Bojar, Filip Děchtěrenko, Maria Zelenina. A Pilot Eye-Tracking Study of WMT-Style Ranking Evaluation. Proceedings of the LREC 2016 Workshop "Translation Evaluation – From Fragmented Tools and Data Sets to an Integrated Ecosystem", Georg Rehm, Aljoscha Burchardt et al. (eds.). pp. 20-26. May 2016, Portorož, Slovenia. This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 645452 (QT21). This work was partially financially supported by the Government of Russian Federation, Grant 074-U01. This work has been using language resources developed, stored and distributed by the LINDAT/CLARIN project of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (project LM2010013).
Systemic corruption is not a failure of individuals, i.e. the result of their deviant behaviour, but a collective phenomenon shared mainly by public institutions as a whole. The phenomenon is based on an effort to establish a new set of corrupt norms inside such institutions affecting policymaking, administrative procedures, public procurements, and the behavior of employees etc. In spite of the fact that impacts of systemic corruption on the areas of government, civil freedoms, social cohesion, and public economy are well known, there is very little practical research involving concrete evidence of systemic corruption in particular cases. This paper attempts to clarify how to generate a set of indicators of systemic corruption and then identify and verify them in a real-life political environment – in our specific case, the administration and policymaking of Liberec City Council between 1998 and 2010. The research was based upon elaborated interviews (with politicians, public servants, prosecuting authorities etc.), document analysis (reports and papers of the city council and municipal government, contracts and invoices etc.), and political and media analysis. The results are significant, as only an understanding of how a corrupt system really works can lead to the implementation of suitable anticorruption measures. ; Systemic corruption is not a failure of individuals, i.e. the result of their deviant behaviour, but a collective phenomenon shared mainly by public institutions as a whole. The phenomenon is based on an effort to establish a new set of corrupt norms inside such institutions affecting policymaking, administrative procedures, public procurements, and the behavior of employees etc. In spite of the fact that impacts of systemic corruption on the areas of government, civil freedoms, social cohesion, and public economy are well known, there is very little practical research involving concrete evidence of systemic corruption in particular cases. This paper attempts to clarify how to generate a set of ...
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 ...
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.
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 aim of this article is an analysis of the Iranian policy towards the region of Western Balkans, mainly the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, since the early 1990s until present days. The security and political dimensions of mutual relation between Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina are examined. This country has been on the focus of Iranian foreign policy for decades. The article maps Iranian political, religious and cultural activities in the country during and after the civil war. One of the main outcomes of the text is the analysis of stagnation, and we might say even fall of Iranian influence in the region caused by changing of the international atmosphere, Iranian regime itself and the decline of Iranian money flow to Bosnia and Herzegovina caused by problematic economic situation in the Islamic Republic suffering the lack of sources.
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 ...
After 1989 some of CR citizens of German nationality wanted to leave the organization, which represented them during a period of communism (Cultural Association of CSSR Citizens of German Nationality). This was the reason why, after complex process, in 1992 there came into existence Assembly of Germans in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Its representatives cooperate also with the Sudet Germans in the Federal Republic of Germany. They try to play an active role in Czech-German relations. In 2001 the Assembly asked the CR Parliament, in form of petition, to cancel the discriminatory, in relation to German citizens, measures of the Beneš decrees. So far, they have not been successful. ; After 1989 some of CR citizens of German nationality wanted to leave the organization, which represented them during a period of communism (Cultural Association of CSSR Citizens of German Nationality). This was the reason why, after complex process, in 1992 there came into existence Assembly of Germans in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Its representatives cooperate also with the Sudet Germans in the Federal Republic of Germany. They try to play an active role in Czech-German relations. In 2001 the Assembly asked the CR Parliament, in form of petition, to cancel the discriminatory, in relation to German citizens, measures of the Beneš decrees. So far, they have not been successful.
This study is an attempt to deliver a comprehensive (geo)political analysis of the evolution of transit routes to supply Caspian oil and natural gas reserves to world markets using the territory of the South Caucasus. In the initial part of the study, a series of transit options prevailing in the two decades up to 2005 is scrutinized; in 2005, the highly debated Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was eventually built marking the shift in interest from oil transit to natural gas transit. Emphasizing the peculiarities of geopolitical competition for the strategically important area of the post-Soviet South Caucasus that has been continuing between Russia, the United States, and to a certain extent also Iran and Turkey, the article seeks to explore the close interconnection of politics and economics, and on some key occasions also the prevalence of the former over the latter, reaching in this regard beyond Caspian projects.
As with other communist successor parties, Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) enjoyed a political comeback in the mid-1990s. The PDS's success can be explained by many eastern German voters' disenchantment with the social, cultural, and economic effects of reunification as well as by the distinctive regional and fragmented character of the German Political Party System that allows the PDS, as the self-proclaimed defender of "eastern interests," disproportionate political influence. The PDS is faced with a dilemma, however. In the long-term it will have to become a true all-German party of the left if it wishes to survive electorally. Yet in becoming an all-German party the PDS risks losing the distinctive eastern identity that has been so essential to its success hitherto. ; As with other communist successor parties, Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) enjoyed a political comeback in the mid-1990s. The PDS's success can be explained by many eastern German voters' disenchantment with the social, cultural, and economic effects of reunification as well as by the distinctive regional and fragmented character of the German Political Party System that allows the PDS, as the self-proclaimed defender of "eastern interests," disproportionate political influence. The PDS is faced with a dilemma, however. In the long-term it will have to become a true all-German party of the left if it wishes to survive electorally. Yet in becoming an all-German party the PDS risks losing the distinctive eastern identity that has been so essential to its success hitherto.
The Moravist parties are an interesting subject of study for two principal aspects: that of an experiment involving different party and political identities and forms of organisation in the period of transition to pluralist democracy in a post-communist environment, and that of a link between ethno-regional political actors and identitary mobilisation, or a stimulator of a potential nation-building process. Unfortunately, this topic has not yet been given much attention (cf. Musil, Rabušic, Mareš 1991; Daněk 1993; Pernes 1996; Dallago 1999). The purpose of this article is to at least partially fill the gap. Brief as it is, the article cannot cover the problem in its complexity, but to give an overview of the evolution of Moravist parties between 1990 and 1999/2000, to elaborate on some hypotheses explaining the reasons of the spectacular electoral success of the Moravist movement at the beginning, and the fall of its electoral and political potential today. I have based my approach to the above phenomena on the following premises: 1. The Moravist movement has been a legitimate actor on the Czechoslovak and, eventually, Czech political scene, drawing upon sources of political legitimacy which were not better or worse than the sources used by other actors. A different issue is, however, the successful effort of other competitors to delegitimatise the movement. 2. The initial success of the Moravist movement was a product of an extraordinary and unrepeatable combination of heterogeneous factors and issues, with a prevailing role of conjunctural factors. That is the reason why the chance for the Moravist movement to remain a genuine major political actor in the medium and long term was quite minimal, irrespective of the strategy invented and pursued by its leaders. 3. The chance of the Moravist movement to remain a minor, but relevant regional actor in Czech party politics was quite bigger, though. In this respect, the fall of Moravist parties should be explained as a result – even though not exclusively – of ...
