This paper maps and compares the main topics articulated by political parties in their manifestos published for the Slovak parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2012. First, the paper discusses the conceptual grounds of policy space dynamics. Next, it outlines the method used for the research, based upon quantitative content analysis of the parties' manifestos of the Comparative Manifestos Project Group. Relevance of individual issues is measured by their representation in manifestos. The paper also examines the change in parties' priorities for the 2012 election compared to the election of 2010. With the help of an additional methodology tool, the parties under review are then put along a left-right spectrum. Using this technique, the policy space during the period of both elections is examined. Simultaneously, party shifts along the left-right spectrum that emerged from the obtained data are presented. The final section of the article exposes the descriptive results to the theoretical assumptions about policy space dynamics presented in the beginning. Adapted from the source document.
The article focuses on an analysis of the professions of Czech deputies in the interwar period and in the period after 1989. Based on the theoretical framework of representation we assume that voting decisions are influenced not only by party electoral programs, but also by the individual characteristics of candidates. Candidate professions may indicate whether they are considered to be sufficiently qualified and whether they are considered to represent the interests of voters. The aim of the article is to analyse the differences between two historical periods and the differences among parliamentary parties. The analysis proved that the structure of professions of parliamentary representatives changed dramatically over time. The professions of representatives in the interwar period tended to resemble the professions of their core voters, and hence were rather different across political parties. In contrast, the professions of parliamentary representatives elected on the party list of different parties became rather similar after 1989. A clear tendency towards the emergence of professional politicians can be observed. A descriptive type of representation is on the decline. ; The article focuses on an analysis of the professions of Czech deputies in the interwar period and in the period after 1989. Based on the theoretical framework of representation we assume that voting decisions are influenced not only by party electoral programs, but also by the individual characteristics of candidates. Candidate professions may indicate whether they are considered to be sufficiently qualified and whether they are considered to represent the interests of voters. The aim of the article is to analyse the differences between two historical periods and the differences among parliamentary parties. The analysis proved that the structure of professions of parliamentary representatives changed dramatically over time. The professions of representatives in the interwar period tended to resemble the professions of their core voters, and ...
This article analyses the representation and main characteristics of comparative politics articles published in the journal Politicka misao. Starting from the assumption that the political and academic fields are engaged in a process of 'reciprocal legitimation', we divided the period of analysis into two phases and research subsamples. The first encompasses articles published in the period 1964-1989, while the second covers articles published in the period 1990-2013. Content analysis reveals that during the first phase comparative politics articles were weakly represented in the journal. The few articles that belong to the field were mostly written from a Marxist perspective, and occasionally from the perspective of old normative institutionalism. Overall they were methodologically unreflective, descriptive and configurative. The most frequent topics were self-managing democracy, communist and revolutionary parties, anti-imperial movements and conflicts in Third World countries. The time period after 1990 is characterised by a strengthening of the field of comparative politics. First of all, there is a notable increase in the number of articles dedicated to elections, electoral systems, political parties and party systems, legislatures and governments, constitutionalism and the judiciary, political culture, nationalism, as well as European institutions and processes. Secondly, theoretical approaches are more diversified, ranging from new institutionalism, behavioralism and pluralism to rational choice theory and cultural theory. Though case studies and focused studies with a small-N are the most frequent empirical strategies, overall methodology remains the weakest element of domestic academic production in comparative politics, while explicitly methodological discussions remain extremely rare. Adapted from the source document.
Naseljenost nekog područja rezultat je različitih utjecaja, odnosno obilježja (prirodno-geografskih i društveno-gospodarskih). U ovom radu koristi se deskriptivna metoda istraživanja, da bi se što bolje objasnili i prikazali ti utjecaji. Od prirodno-geografskih obilježja u radu se analiziralo oblik otoka, udaljenost naselja od obale, učestalost vjetra i reljef, a od društveno-geografskih promatrani su prometna povezanost i turizam. S obzirom na činjenicu da je turizam najvažnija gospodarska grana na otoku Krku, u radu se provodi korelacijska analiza promatranih demografskih varijabli i varijabli vezanih za turizam otoka Krka u razdoblju od 1971. do 2011. godine. Korelacijska analiza provedena je određivanjem Spearmanovog koeficijenta korelacije ranga, sadržanog u programu SPSS, na temelju podataka svih sedam jedinica lokalne samouprave na otoku Krku. Kartografski prikazi u ovom radu izrađeni su korištenjem programa ArcGIS. U radu je utvrđeno da prirodno-geografska obilježja, koja su odlučujuća u osnivanju, odnosno razmještaju naselja, nisu jedini čimbenik u njihovu razvoju. Na razvoj i promjene naseljenosti otoka Krka velik utjecaj imali su razvoj industrije, prometa i turizma. Uvođenjem trajektnih linija i, naročito, izgradnjom mosta, prethodno izolirani otok postao je dobro povezan s kopnenim zaleđem i obližnjim otocima. Prometna povezanost glavni je preduvjet pojave i razvoja turizma. Turizam je trenutno jedan od najvažnijih razloga doseljavanja stanovništva na otok, te razlog premještanja stanovništva na (položene) obalne dijelove. Rezultati korelacijske analize pokazali su povezanost svih promatranih varijabli. ; A region's population is the result of various influences or characteristics (such as natural or geographical, as well as socio-economic). In this paper, a descriptive method is used to explain these influences in more detail. In the natural and geographical category, the following features were analysed: the shape of the island, distance of the settlement from the shore, frequency of wind, and terrain. In the socio-economic category, the availability of traffic routes and tourism were studied. Considering that tourism is the most important branch of economy on the island of Krk, a correlation analysis was conducted as part of this paper. This was done by observing the demographic variables, as well as the variables related to tourism on Krk in the period between 1971 and 2011. The correlation analysis was done by determining the Spearman's Rank correlation coefficient, which is included in the SPSS software, based on data from all seven local government units on the island of Krk. Cartographic representations in this paper were created with the help of ArcGIS software. In the paper, it was established that natural and geographical characteristics, which are key when forming settlements and the layout thereof, are not the only contributing factor in their development. The development and population changes on the island of Krk were heavily influenced by the development of industry, traffic and tourism. By improving ferry lines and connections, and especially by building the Krk bridge, a previously isolated island became very well-connected with the mainland and inland, as well as the surrounding islands. A good traffic connection is the prerequisite for the development and expansion of tourism. Currently, tourism is one of the main reasons for the increase of migration toward the island, as well as the reason for the resettlement of the local population to the (flat) coastal areas. The results of the correlation analysis show that all of the observed variables are connected.
