Suchergebnisse

This thesis focuses on the secessionist tendencies in two Spanish regions – The Basque Country and Catalonia. The aim of this thesis is to examine the factors that have triggered secession demands in these two cases. The thesis establishes a theoretical framework which embraces three causal determinants with regards to democratic secessionist mobilization. Firstly, it is argued that a cultural solidarity based on common cultural markers is an essential factor for any secession movement to emerge. Secondly, a relative economic advantage and fiscal issues may also pave the way for decisions concerning secessions. Thirdly, the political factors such as discontent with the state-wide policies and the existence of regional parties are also regarded as crucial determinants of secessionist mobilization. Having applied this framework to the cases of Basques and Catalonia, it was shown that cultural based determinants have little relevance to the empirical cases. In spite of the existence of a regional language, the data revealed that both regions can be regarded more as culturally fragmented rather than as homogenous. From the economic point of view, it was argued that both regions may be described as relatively affluent with respect to the Spanish state. However, the economic determinants were proved to be of much higher importance in the case of Catalonia. This is due to the Spanish fiscal policies and a specific fiscal arrangement applied to the Basque Country that allows the Basque Country to enjoy some degree of fiscal autonomy. The analysis of political factors showed that the institutional decentralization in both cases positively affects secessionist tendencies by providing regional parties with better representation in political arena. Thus, discontent with state-wide policies can be expressed. However, while Catalan political discourse is clearly secession-oriented, the Basque case shows quite a different trend. In The Basque Country there is a nationalist division which is reflected through the two main regional parties with distinct ideological backgrounds.

This thesis focuses on the secessionist tendencies in two Spanish regions – The Basque Country and Catalonia. The aim of this thesis is to examine the factors that have triggered secession demands in these two cases. The thesis establishes a theoretical framework which embraces three causal determinants with regards to democratic secessionist mobilization. Firstly, it is argued that a cultural solidarity based on common cultural markers is an essential factor for any secession movement to emerge. Secondly, a relative economic advantage and fiscal issues may also pave the way for decisions concerning secessions. Thirdly, the political factors such as discontent with the state-wide policies and the existence of regional parties are also regarded as crucial determinants of secessionist mobilization. Having applied this framework to the cases of Basques and Catalonia, it was shown that cultural based determinants have little relevance to the empirical cases. In spite of the existence of a regional language, the data revealed that both regions can be regarded more as culturally fragmented rather than as homogenous. From the economic point of view, it was argued that both regions may be described as relatively affluent with respect to the Spanish state. However, the economic determinants were proved to be of much higher importance in the case of Catalonia. This is due to the Spanish fiscal policies and a specific fiscal arrangement applied to the Basque Country that allows the Basque Country to enjoy some degree of fiscal autonomy. The analysis of political factors showed that the institutional decentralization in both cases positively affects secessionist tendencies by providing regional parties with better representation in political arena. Thus, discontent with state-wide policies can be expressed. However, while Catalan political discourse is clearly secession-oriented, the Basque case shows quite a different trend. In The Basque Country there is a nationalist division which is reflected through the two main regional parties with distinct ideological backgrounds.

This thesis focuses on the secessionist tendencies in two Spanish regions – The Basque Country and Catalonia. The aim of this thesis is to examine the factors that have triggered secession demands in these two cases. The thesis establishes a theoretical framework which embraces three causal determinants with regards to democratic secessionist mobilization. Firstly, it is argued that a cultural solidarity based on common cultural markers is an essential factor for any secession movement to emerge. Secondly, a relative economic advantage and fiscal issues may also pave the way for decisions concerning secessions. Thirdly, the political factors such as discontent with the state-wide policies and the existence of regional parties are also regarded as crucial determinants of secessionist mobilization. Having applied this framework to the cases of Basques and Catalonia, it was shown that cultural based determinants have little relevance to the empirical cases. In spite of the existence of a regional language, the data revealed that both regions can be regarded more as culturally fragmented rather than as homogenous. From the economic point of view, it was argued that both regions may be described as relatively affluent with respect to the Spanish state. However, the economic determinants were proved to be of much higher importance in the case of Catalonia. This is due to the Spanish fiscal policies and a specific fiscal arrangement applied to the Basque Country that allows the Basque Country to enjoy some degree of fiscal autonomy. The analysis of political factors showed that the institutional decentralization in both cases positively affects secessionist tendencies by providing regional parties with better representation in political arena. Thus, discontent with state-wide policies can be expressed. However, while Catalan political discourse is clearly secession-oriented, the Basque case shows quite a different trend. In The Basque Country there is a nationalist division which is reflected through the two main regional parties with distinct ideological backgrounds.

In the so-called old democracies and a little more advanced new democracies (such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary), people's initiative and entrepreneurship are clearly noticeable. Travelling through Southern or Western Poland one can see a lot of notices inviting to have lunch, bed, to buy furniture or other goods. It is obvious that people offer their services, want to earn by themselves, and satisfy rising consumer needs. They do not wait to be employed and (or) to be supported by someone else. Many of them are self-employed: they work, offer, buy and sell. That is how they make their living, supply services to others and pay taxes to the state. Such an idealistic representation of business environment encourages stopping for a while and asking such questions as: why situation is not the same in Lithuania? What do we lack or what is too much? Is it possible to have favourable business conditions in the country that has 3.2 million people and, according to the official statistics, 1.6 million of them are employed (Statistics… 2012)? Can it be that our legal acts do not allow working or they restrict people's initiative and do not allow starting their own businesses? [.]

In the so-called old democracies and a little more advanced new democracies (such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary), people's initiative and entrepreneurship are clearly noticeable. Travelling through Southern or Western Poland one can see a lot of notices inviting to have lunch, bed, to buy furniture or other goods. It is obvious that people offer their services, want to earn by themselves, and satisfy rising consumer needs. They do not wait to be employed and (or) to be supported by someone else. Many of them are self-employed: they work, offer, buy and sell. That is how they make their living, supply services to others and pay taxes to the state. Such an idealistic representation of business environment encourages stopping for a while and asking such questions as: why situation is not the same in Lithuania? What do we lack or what is too much? Is it possible to have favourable business conditions in the country that has 3.2 million people and, according to the official statistics, 1.6 million of them are employed (Statistics… 2012)? Can it be that our legal acts do not allow working or they restrict people's initiative and do not allow starting their own businesses? [.]

In the so-called old democracies and a little more advanced new democracies (such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary), people's initiative and entrepreneurship are clearly noticeable. Travelling through Southern or Western Poland one can see a lot of notices inviting to have lunch, bed, to buy furniture or other goods. It is obvious that people offer their services, want to earn by themselves, and satisfy rising consumer needs. They do not wait to be employed and (or) to be supported by someone else. Many of them are self-employed: they work, offer, buy and sell. That is how they make their living, supply services to others and pay taxes to the state. Such an idealistic representation of business environment encourages stopping for a while and asking such questions as: why situation is not the same in Lithuania? What do we lack or what is too much? Is it possible to have favourable business conditions in the country that has 3.2 million people and, according to the official statistics, 1.6 million of them are employed (Statistics… 2012)? Can it be that our legal acts do not allow working or they restrict people's initiative and do not allow starting their own businesses? [.]

In the so-called old democracies and a little more advanced new democracies (such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary), people's initiative and entrepreneurship are clearly noticeable. Travelling through Southern or Western Poland one can see a lot of notices inviting to have lunch, bed, to buy furniture or other goods. It is obvious that people offer their services, want to earn by themselves, and satisfy rising consumer needs. They do not wait to be employed and (or) to be supported by someone else. Many of them are self-employed: they work, offer, buy and sell. That is how they make their living, supply services to others and pay taxes to the state. Such an idealistic representation of business environment encourages stopping for a while and asking such questions as: why situation is not the same in Lithuania? What do we lack or what is too much? Is it possible to have favourable business conditions in the country that has 3.2 million people and, according to the official statistics, 1.6 million of them are employed (Statistics… 2012)? Can it be that our legal acts do not allow working or they restrict people's initiative and do not allow starting their own businesses? [.]

After WWII, the agricultural sector emerged as an area of exception in western democracies and is often characterised by sector-specific policies, compartmentalised institutions, well-organised interests' groups and ideas explaining why this sector cannot be governed by free-market forces. Nevertheless, over the last three decades, the sector has been reformed to incorporate neoliberal and environmental demands to a certain extent. Hence, the current agricultural regime consists of two competing discourses - policy exceptionalism versus post-exceptionalism. Study analyses this ideational struggle in the context of Lithuania. The study conducts interpretative discourse analysis of a site of discursive contestation, namely parliamentary debates over policy changes, which sparked farmers' unrest in Autumn, 2019. It is argued that policy exceptionalism is a dominant discourse governing Lithuanian agricultural sector and that it serves as a discursive barrier to the incorporation of environmental concerns into the agricultural policy-making process.

After WWII, the agricultural sector emerged as an area of exception in western democracies and is often characterised by sector-specific policies, compartmentalised institutions, well-organised interests' groups and ideas explaining why this sector cannot be governed by free-market forces. Nevertheless, over the last three decades, the sector has been reformed to incorporate neoliberal and environmental demands to a certain extent. Hence, the current agricultural regime consists of two competing discourses - policy exceptionalism versus post-exceptionalism. Study analyses this ideational struggle in the context of Lithuania. The study conducts interpretative discourse analysis of a site of discursive contestation, namely parliamentary debates over policy changes, which sparked farmers' unrest in Autumn, 2019. It is argued that policy exceptionalism is a dominant discourse governing Lithuanian agricultural sector and that it serves as a discursive barrier to the incorporation of environmental concerns into the agricultural policy-making process.

The purpose of the doctoral dissertation "The Idea of Honor as a Means to Understand Democracy. The Perspective of XVIII-XIX Century Political Philosophy" is to present the notion of honor as a relevant idea for political philosophy and to prove the necessity of the idea of honor for understanding modern representative democracy. It is claimed that the idea of honor helps to analytically identify and understand two fundamental inner structural contradictions of modern democracy: 1. between the democratic idea of equality and the concept of a political regime; 2. between the model of representative government applied by modern democracies and the principle of political hierarchy that is crucial for political representation to work. Philosophical conceptualization of honor in terms of a political idea is made possible by referring to the democratic and monarchist political theories of XVIII-XIX century. The paper claims that honor serves as an analytical tool to understand both intrinsic tensions of modern democracy, as well as to justify the necessary conditions for political representation to work.

The purpose of the doctoral dissertation "The Idea of Honor as a Means to Understand Democracy. The Perspective of XVIII-XIX Century Political Philosophy" is to present the notion of honor as a relevant idea for political philosophy and to prove the necessity of the idea of honor for understanding modern representative democracy. It is claimed that the idea of honor helps to analytically identify and understand two fundamental inner structural contradictions of modern democracy: 1. between the democratic idea of equality and the concept of a political regime; 2. between the model of representative government applied by modern democracies and the principle of political hierarchy that is crucial for political representation to work. Philosophical conceptualization of honor in terms of a political idea is made possible by referring to the democratic and monarchist political theories of XVIII-XIX century. The paper claims that honor serves as an analytical tool to understand both intrinsic tensions of modern democracy, as well as to justify the necessary conditions for political representation to work.

The purpose of the doctoral dissertation "The Idea of Honor as a Means to Understand Democracy. The Perspective of XVIII-XIX Century Political Philosophy" is to present the notion of honor as a relevant idea for political philosophy and to prove the necessity of the idea of honor for understanding modern representative democracy. It is claimed that the idea of honor helps to analytically identify and understand two fundamental inner structural contradictions of modern democracy: 1. between the democratic idea of equality and the concept of a political regime; 2. between the model of representative government applied by modern democracies and the principle of political hierarchy that is crucial for political representation to work. Philosophical conceptualization of honor in terms of a political idea is made possible by referring to the democratic and monarchist political theories of XVIII-XIX century. The paper claims that honor serves as an analytical tool to understand both intrinsic tensions of modern democracy, as well as to justify the necessary conditions for political representation to work.

The purpose of the doctoral dissertation "The Idea of Honor as a Means to Understand Democracy. The Perspective of XVIII-XIX Century Political Philosophy" is to present the notion of honor as a relevant idea for political philosophy and to prove the necessity of the idea of honor for understanding modern representative democracy. It is claimed that the idea of honor helps to analytically identify and understand two fundamental inner structural contradictions of modern democracy: 1. between the democratic idea of equality and the concept of a political regime; 2. between the model of representative government applied by modern democracies and the principle of political hierarchy that is crucial for political representation to work. Philosophical conceptualization of honor in terms of a political idea is made possible by referring to the democratic and monarchist political theories of XVIII-XIX century. The paper claims that honor serves as an analytical tool to understand both intrinsic tensions of modern democracy, as well as to justify the necessary conditions for political representation to work.

The purpose of the doctoral dissertation "The Idea of Honor as a Means to Understand Democracy. The Perspective of XVIII-XIX Century Political Philosophy" is to present the notion of honor as a relevant idea for political philosophy and to prove the necessity of the idea of honor for understanding modern representative democracy. It is claimed that the idea of honor helps to analytically identify and understand two fundamental inner structural contradictions of modern democracy: 1. between the democratic idea of equality and the concept of a political regime; 2. between the model of representative government applied by modern democracies and the principle of political hierarchy that is crucial for political representation to work. Philosophical conceptualization of honor in terms of a political idea is made possible by referring to the democratic and monarchist political theories of XVIII-XIX century. The paper claims that honor serves as an analytical tool to understand both intrinsic tensions of modern democracy, as well as to justify the necessary conditions for political representation to work.

The purpose of the doctoral dissertation "The Idea of Honor as a Means to Understand Democracy. The Perspective of XVIII-XIX Century Political Philosophy" is to present the notion of honor as a relevant idea for political philosophy and to prove the necessity of the idea of honor for understanding modern representative democracy. It is claimed that the idea of honor helps to analytically identify and understand two fundamental inner structural contradictions of modern democracy: 1. between the democratic idea of equality and the concept of a political regime; 2. between the model of representative government applied by modern democracies and the principle of political hierarchy that is crucial for political representation to work. Philosophical conceptualization of honor in terms of a political idea is made possible by referring to the democratic and monarchist political theories of XVIII-XIX century. The paper claims that honor serves as an analytical tool to understand both intrinsic tensions of modern democracy, as well as to justify the necessary conditions for political representation to work.