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AbstractThis paper addresses the influence of organized crime on the performance of democracy in the Czech Republic and seeks to determine which dimensions of its political system (if any) are most endangered. We construe organized crime in terms of corruption networks, questioning in effect the predominant understanding of these two concepts as distinct or even exclusive phenomena. The paper thus construes corruption and organized crime as concepts referring to transgressive acts (i.e., behavior that involves a violation of moral or social boundaries that need not be legally codified), rather than in terms of legal norms. The influence of corruption networks is demonstrated using the "Nagygate" affair, which is analyzed using Maltz's framework of potential harm. We argue that the debate on organized crime in the Czech Republic is, in fact, inherently tied to the study of corruption, since corruption constitutes an integral part of organized crime activity. Our findings are that transgressive behavior has a mostly negative impact, including loss of trust, the widespread belief that injustice goes unpunished, a weakening of the political system, and degeneration of the democratic regime. Moreover, the Nagygate scandal provides evidence that democratic institutions are not solely victims of organized crime but also a potential source of transgressive acts.

The paper addresses the question of what sort of influence organized crime may have on democratic performance in the Czech Republic and which dimensions of its political system (if any) are endangered most. We define organized crime narrowly in terms of corruption networks, questioning in effect the predominant understanding of these two concepts as distinct or even exclusive phenomena. The paper thus construes corruption and organized crime as concepts referring to transgressive acts (i.e. behaviour that involves a violation of moral or social boundaries that do not have to be legally codified), rather than in terms of legal norms. The influence of corruption networks is demonstrated on the case of the "Nagygate" scandal, which is analysed by utilising the framework of possible harms, as developed by Michael Maltz. We argue that the debate on organized crime in the Czech Republic is, in fact, inherently tied to the study of corruption, since corruption constitutes an integral part of organized criminal activities. Our findings show that transgressive behaviour has mostly negative impacts that include the loss of trust, widespread beliefs that injustice goes unpunished, a weakening of the political system, and the overall degeneration of the democratic regime. Moreover, the Nagygate scandal provides evidence that democratic institutions are not solely the victim of organized crime but also a possible source of transgressive activities.

This article deals with Czech organized crime, thus with a phenomenon that has never been widely examined. This descriptive thesis arises from Finckenauer's definition of organized crime, which is used as a basic framework, but not as a self-standing theory. The primary goal of this article is to introduce Czech structures and activities of Czech organized crime: their history and present state, as well as middle range perspectives on their future development. The data used in this article are based on qualitative research into organized crime undertaken in the years 2008-2010. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractRoma discrimination and stigmatization in Europe are well‐documented, with urban scholars emphasizing pervasive prejudices and stereotypes alongside negative policy outcomes. However, the focus on Roma marginality has tended to centre on punitive state and urban governance to the neglect of everyday urban relations. In this article we focus on the micro manifestations of stigmatization—racialized urban encounters—and their neglected longer‐term affects for Roma in Czechia and Romania. Ethnographic research and in‐depth qualitative interviews with Roma respondents expose a complex, dynamic and multi‐layered response to stigmatization that challenges the simplistic binary of resistance versus the internalization of stigma. The concept of fragmented habitus is deployed in capturing this dynamic process and providing a nuanced representation of the urban inhabitation of a long‐term stigmatized and racialized position, beyond generic 'Otherness'. We argue for more attention to the specificities and complexities of everyday relations and their affects in capturing the interdependence between urban encounters, the longer‐term construction of Roma inferiority, and the heterogeneous, dynamic and ambivalent ways in which Roma inhabit their racialized urban position.

Poverty business has become an important metaphor in the current debate regarding security in socially excluded localities. The term poverty business covers a range of business practices aimed at the poorest and most vulnerable populations. The goal of this study is to examine media representations of the phenomenon using content analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. First, characteristics of Czech media messages including the term "poverty business" are analysed. Next, key events are identified which have shaped the way poverty business is reported on in the analysed corpus. Finally, topics, groups and key actors are analysed based on the development of their quantitative representation in the corpus over time.