Suchergebnisse

This paper examines the use of Facebook and other online communication channels by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) elected in Lithuania for the 9th legislative term. Its major goal is to explore the most popular channels of communication online with voters used by MEPs elected in Lithuania for providing the information about their activities at the European Parliament as well as the strategies of communication used by MEPs and interaction of Facebook online audiences. To achieve the goal interviews with MEPs, Facebook profiles and websites of MEPs were analysed as well as public opinion poll results were discussed. Differences and similarities in social media usage of MEPs were found. All the MEPs have their Facebook profiles but not all of them have websites. Messages on the EP activities comprise usually just less than a half of Facebook posts Majority choose a video message format to present information on the EP activities. Dominating topics are related to the issues each MEPs is interested in. The analysis has discovered incongruence of the MEPs opinion and Lithuanian citizens opinion regarding the information on EP matters availability: MEPs think that the issue is not a lack of information instead a lack of interest in EP matters; Citizens report that they have not enough information. Though MEPs provide information using a variety of communication tools, it seems that information does not reaches the constituents and majority of MEPs should think about the new forms how to attract attention of citizens and be more visible.

This paper examines the use of Facebook and other online communication channels by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) elected in Lithuania for the 9th legislative term. Its major goal is to explore the most popular channels of communication online with voters used by MEPs elected in Lithuania for providing the information about their activities at the European Parliament as well as the strategies of communication used by MEPs and interaction of Facebook online audiences. To achieve the goal interviews with MEPs, Facebook profiles and websites of MEPs were analysed as well as public opinion poll results were discussed. Differences and similarities in social media usage of MEPs were found. All the MEPs have their Facebook profiles but not all of them have websites. Messages on the EP activities comprise usually just less than a half of Facebook posts Majority choose a video message format to present information on the EP activities. Dominating topics are related to the issues each MEPs is interested in. The analysis has discovered incongruence of the MEPs opinion and Lithuanian citizens opinion regarding the information on EP matters availability: MEPs think that the issue is not a lack of information instead a lack of interest in EP matters; Citizens report that they have not enough information. Though MEPs provide information using a variety of communication tools, it seems that information does not reaches the constituents and majority of MEPs should think about the new forms how to attract attention of citizens and be more visible.

Philosophical and ethical controversies of contractualism are analyzed in the article. Revitalization of modern ethical discourse based on social agreement connected with J. Rawls whose "theory of justice" is interpreted in the light of philosophical and legal legitimization of sociodemocratic practices of "a state of general prosperity". Criticism of this theory presented in the works of R. Nozick and R. Dworkin is highlighted. There the first one rejects morality of state redistribution of "justly" acquired property, the second considers moral bases of socio-regulated governed influence based on "natural law" argumentation. The analysis of discrepancies between the approaches of J. Rawls and R. Dworkin has demonstrated the difficulties of neo-liberal attempts to prove moral bases of a modern state: problem statement in the individualistic way does not consider dynamic character of human socialization and neglects an issue regarding a moral status of marginalized populations. Criticism of neo-liberal controversies of contractualism performed by J. Habermas, is analyzed. Communicative approach to dichotomy withdrawal of liberal freedom ("rights of the new") and ideas of public autonomy ("rights of the old") is revealed. The study concludes that Habermas's "involvement of the Other" is to meet all practical challenges of the modern society, it evokes a consideration of the main approach of moral bases definition of a legal, democratic, and social state. Ethical discourse content is proved to be an embodiment of a process of self-awareness created by civil society that is a special form of existence and development of social subjectivity ; Politologijos katedra ; Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

The article analyzes the problem of conflict of European and national interests in the activities of a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). The study seeks answers to the following questions: what factors impact the decision and voting of EP members, elected in Lithuania, in the plenary sessions in the cases of collision of interests, and to what extent the interests of the electorate, national parties, or European political groups are important to MEPs elected in Lithuania. To achieve the goal, first, a review of the scientific literature on the representation of interests in the European Parliament, the issues of conflict of interests is carried out. Next, the theoretical model of the "two-level game," which is applied in the analysis of an MEP's activities, is discussed. In the second part of the article, a Lithuanian case study is carried out, analyzing the data of semistructured interviews with MEPs, results of public opinion poll of the Lithuanian population, and other quantitative data. The results show that MEPs elected in Lithuania, like the MEPs elected in other countries, face the problem of a conflict of interests. The inquiry also revealed that an MEP's decision on how to vote in an EP plenary session depends not only on whether they are a member of the opposition or the ruling party, but also on their personal preferences.

This article examines the problem of legitimacy within the EU political system and focuses on the political power and recognition of the only one directly elected EU institution – the European Parliament. Historically, being the weaker house of the EU legislative system, throughout the last decades, the European Parliament has increased the political authority dramatically. These political changes should have risen the participation of the EU citizens in the elections and the legitimacy of this EU institution. Analysing the Lithuanian case, based on the qualitative interviewing of politicians and quantitative survey of citizens, the authors claim that while most of Lithuanians recognise the significance of the European Parliament and the turnout in the European elections has increased, the European Parliamentary elections remain, however, of secondary importance ; Politologijos katedra ; Regionistikos katedra ; Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

The article analyzes the problem of conflict of European and national interests in the activities of a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). The study seeks answers to the following questions: what factors impact the decision and voting of EP members, elected in Lithuania, in the plenary sessions in the cases of collision of interests, and to what extent the interests of the electorate, national parties, or European political groups are important to MEPs elected in Lithuania. To achieve the goal, first, a review of the scientific literature on the representation of interests in the European Parliament, the issues of conflict of interests is carried out. Next, the theoretical model of the "two-level game," which is applied in the analysis of an MEP's activities, is discussed. In the second part of the article, a Lithuanian case study is carried out, analyzing the data of semistructured interviews with MEPs, results of public opinion poll of the Lithuanian population, and other quantitative data. The results show that MEPs elected in Lithuania, like the MEPs elected in other countries, face the problem of a conflict of interests. The inquiry also revealed that an MEP's decision on how to vote in an EP plenary session depends not only on whether they are a member of the opposition or the ruling party, but also on their personal preferences. ; Straipsnyje analizuojama europinių ir nacionalinių interesų kolizijos problema Europos Parlamento nario veikloje. Tyrimo metu ieškoma atsakymų į klausimus, kas nacionalinių ir europinių interesų kolizijos atveju daro įtaką EP narių apsisprendimui, balsuojant EP plenarinėse sesijose, ir kiek Lietuvoje rinktiems EP nariams yra svarbūs juos išrinkusių piliečių interesai, nacionalinių partijų interesai ar europiniai politinių grupių interesai. Siekiant tikslo, visų pirma atliekama mokslinės literatūros apie interesų atstovavimą Europos Parlamente, interesų kolizijos problematiką analizė. Toliau aptariamas "dviejų lygmenų žaidimo" teorinis modelis, kuris pritaikomas analizuojant EP nario veiklą. Antroje straipsnio dalyje atliekama Lietuvos atvejo studija, analizuojant atliktų pusiau struktūruotų interviu su EP nariais, duomenis, kiekybinės reprezentatyvios Lietuvos gyventojų apklausos ir kitus kiekybinius duomenis. Rezultatai rodo, kad Lietuvoje išrinkti EP nariai, kaip ir kitose šalyse rinkti EP nariai, susiduria su interesų kolizijos problema. Tyrimas taip pat atskleidė, jog EP nario sprendimas, kaip balsuoti EP plenarinėje sesijoje, priklauso ne tik nuo to, ar jis yra opozicinės ar valdančiosios partijos narys, bet ir nuo jo asmeninių nuostatų.

This article examines the problem of legitimacy within the EU political system and focuses on the political power and recognition of the only one directly elected EU institution – the European Parliament. Historically, being the weaker house of the EU legislative system, throughout the last decades, the European Parliament has increased the political authority dramatically. These political changes should have risen the participation of the EU citizens in the elections and the legitimacy of this EU institution. Analysing the Lithuanian case, based on the qualitative interviewing of politicians and quantitative survey of citizens, the authors claim that while most of Lithuanians recognise the significance of the European Parliament and the turnout in the European elections has increased, the European Parliamentary elections remain, however, of secondary importance.

This paper focuses on the rhetoric of USA and Russian political leaders during the Ukraine crisis by analyzing changes appearing in their speeches during the different stages of the crisis. The goal of the analysis is to investigate the speeches delivered by political leaders of the United States and Russia, being important actors in the Ukraine crisis, by identifying both countries' attitudes to one another, further intentions regarding the management of the crisis and changes of topics in each stage. The speeches of the following most influential politicians in foreign policy formation in the USA and Russia are analyzed: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden, President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. The speeches were collected from the official websites of U.S. and Russian government institutions. The analysis revealed that from the beginning of the crisis the main tool in the Ukraine crisis was rhetoric. Western parties began to take real actions only later: sanctions on Russia were imposed, international organizations started to play more active role, ceasefire agreements were signed. In terms of communications strategies used by both countries, the USA rhetoric and its communication strategy as well as Russian leaders were using a combination of proactive and reactive strategies.

The rapid growth of the numbers of unaffiliated voters and the internet users caused politicians' interest in these audiences and the start of their activities in these communication channels by establishing more personalized relationships with voters. This paper aims to analyze the communication of main parties and their candidates in social media channel "Facebook" and in popular Lithuanian internet news media portals, such as delfi.lt, lrytas.lt and others before the Parliamentary elections in 2012 and the forthcoming 2016 Parliamentary elections. Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of campaign coverage in the media portals and Facebook are analysed. The paper addresses the following questions: How important are factors such as new party emergence, parallel referendum campaign, and activity of using social media for the final result of elections? How active were the politicians in the Facebook? What content dominated their profiles? How much personalized were their messages? What strategies were used for communication? Did the politicians aim at mobilizing or at persuasion the voters? Involvement of citizens, voters' turnout and political results are linked with campaign arguments and the value normative environment. We conclude by providing the discussion on the noticed tendencies and possible improvements in the communication of candidates for the future.

ABSTRACT
For a long time post-Soviet space has been perceived as homophobic and intolerant of LGBT persons. The three Baltic States - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - as former Soviet republics and current members of the European Union, represent the space where a strong homophobic post-Soviet atmosphere competes with pro-LGBT Western influence. This article examines how the first LGBT Pride Parade (which occurred in Vilnius in 2010) is reflected in Lithuanian media portals. The article also presents the broader context of LGBT issues by reviewing legal changes and Lithuanian political parties' programs. Our analysis of the media and other sources is based on three arguments: 1) that the LGBT pride parade in Vilnius became the most important event for reflecting LGBT issues in the media and society; 2) it might have not been possible without support and influence from external institutions; and 3) the LGBT parade revealed the division of two competing normative trajectories in Lithuania. The reconstructed trajectories in the article are based on the theoretical framework of new institutionalism, media analysis, interviews and focus groups. Construction of the LGBT campaign and counter-campaign seem delimited rather than approaching them as value normative consensus. However, the way in which LGBT persons are reflected within the Lithuanian media is remarkably different in comparison with the early post-Soviet period. The Baltic gay pride parade "for equality" and external (Western) support for it were highly visible in the media, influenced a significant debate on the topic not otherwise experienced in Lithuania, and (re)introduced a question about the perception of 'normality' within society. These debates also raise the question of how norms and institutions change and adapt within society.

ABSTRACT
This article examines the genesis of a new Lithuanian political unit, the Drasos kelias party, which was created in 2012 and successfully participated in the 2012 Lithuanian parliamentary elections, reconstructing it in three stages based on the analysis of news portals. Reconstruction of the first stage is based on the competing "conspiracy versions" (two different interpretations of the unsolved criminal story in the news media) in 2009- 2010. Two archetypal characters (criminal and/or hero) were sought in the interpretation of the two aforementioned versions. Agenda setting and media framing theories were used as explanatory theories. The second stage (2011-2012) is reconstructed through further analysis of the news portals as well as through the analysis of some additional research from the interviews and focus group discussions. This data allowed us to retrace the logic of collective thinking. This logic of collective thinking contributed to the formation of a continuous "single issue" protest community which was united by the slogan "do not hand the child to a paedophilia clan". This group of people constantly hindered the governmental institutions from the implementation of the court decision to hand the child to her mother, and over a long period of time its protest arguments expanded from "not handing the child to her mother" to protests against the entire Lithuanian legal system. Further, the third stage associated with formal institutionalization of political party and its rising of popularity among the voters in the 2012 Lithuanian parliamentary elections is analyzed. The analysis stresses the importance of social and personal networks for the regional dispersion of party election results.