Abstract. This research aims to give insight into the processes of public interaction between the police and antigovernment protesters during the Coronavirus Crisis in Poland by evaluating crowd control mechanisms. It addresses the research question: where does the model of anti-government protest policing developed by the Polish Police during the Covid-19 pandemic lie on a continuum of antinomic ideal types of escalated force and negotiated management? The research is embedded in studies on protest policing and draws on an intertextual qualitative analysis of police statements and media news. It shows that the policing of protests was closer to escalated force. However, a hybrid model was involved that combined elements of coercion and negotiation. In terms of protecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and police tolerance for community disruption, this particular form of policing is close to escalated force. Still, the communication between the police and the assembly participants, the extent and manner of the arrests closely mirrored both models. One dimension, the extent and nature of the force used, indicated negotiated management. Keywords: protest policing, contention, contentious politics, de-democratisation, Coronavirus Crisis, Poland
Politična participacija je ključnega pomena za delovanje in razvoj koncepta demokracije, saj predstavlja orodje, prek katerega lahko državljani izvajajo pritiske na politično elito. To vlogo zavzema poleg konvencionalne tudi nekonvencionalna politična participacija. Osrednji poudarek bo namenjen protestni participaciji, ki se najpogosteje opredeljuje kot ena izmed kompleksnejših oblik kolektivne akcije, skozi katero državljani najvidneje izražajo svoja prepričanja, hkrati pa najbolj jasno odraža nezadovoljstvo državljanov. Osredotočili se bomo na protestno participacijo v obdobju ekonomske krize, ki je leta 2008 zajela države Evropske unije. V okviru empirične analize se tako osredotočamo na dejavnike, ki so v zastavljenem obdobju privedli do izbruha protestne participacije, pri čemer nas zanimajo predvsem različne kombinacije vzročnih poti, ki jih ti dejavniki tvorijo. Ključno raziskovalno vprašanje se nanaša na možne kombinacije pogojev, ki v obdobju ekonomske krize rezultirajo v prisotnosti ali odsotnosti protestov v državah EU. Te kombinacije tvorijo naslednji dejavniki: materialna deprivacija, brezposelnost, razvitost civilne družbe in razvitost demokracije. Empirična analiza temelji na kvalitativni primerjalni analizi (QCA) oziroma bolj specifično na crisp-set QCA. Slednjo se uporablja za obdelavo kompleksnejših binarnih podatkov, pri čemer je cilj poenostavitev teh podatkovnih struktur v preprost in logičen zapis. S pomočjo izbrane metode analize smo prišli do ugotovitve, da do zastavljenega izida ne vodi le en sam pogoj ali ena sama kombinacija pogojev, temveč nastane več raznolikih vzročnih poti, ki lahko rezultirajo tako v odsotnosti kot v prisotnosti izida (protestnih akcij). ; Political participation is crucial for the functioning and development of the concept of democracy, as it represents a communication tool through which citizens can exert pressure on the political elite. Besides the conventional form, unconventional political participation has this role, too. The main focus will be on protest participation, which is most often identified as one of the more complex forms of collective action, through which citizens most visibly express their beliefs ; at the same time it reflects dissatisfaction of citizens most transparently. The highlight will therefore be on protest participation in the period of economic crisis affecting the countries of the European Union since 2008. In the context of the empirical analysis we focus on factors that led to an outbreak of protest participation within the set period. We are particularly interested in the various combinations of causal paths formed by these factors. The key research question therefore refers to the possible combinations of conditions, resulting in the presence or in the absence of protests in EU countries in times of economic crisis. These combinations are formed by the following factors: material deprivation, unemployment, development of civil society and development of democracy. Empirical analysis is based on qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) or more specifically on the crisp-set QCA. The latter is used to process more complex binary data, the aim being to simplify these data structures into a simple and logical notation. By using the selected method of analysis, we came to the conclusion that not only one condition or a single combination of conditions leads to the set outcome. Rather there emerges a variety of causal paths, which can result in both the absence and in the presence of the outcome (protest actions).
V Ukrajini so se leta 2014 po seriji različnih notranjih političnih kriz na vzhodu države, v regiji Donbas, pojavila separatistična gibanja, katerih pripadniki so za regiji Doneck in Lugansk zahtevali odcepitev od države. Začetnim protestom je sledil konflikt, ki ga že od vsega začetka zaznamuje prepletanje delovanja različnih vpletenih strani: upornikov na eni in ukrajinske oblasti na drugi strani, kot tudi mednarodne skupnosti. Na eni strani sta Evropska unija in NATO, ki si zadnji dve desetletji na različne načine prizadevajo za integracijo vzhodnoevropskih držav. Na drugi strani je Ruska federacija, ki je še vedno izrazito povezana z republikami nekdanje Sovjetske zveze in nanje tudi močno vpliva. Širjenje vplivov iz EU in ZDA oziroma zahoda na splošno v teh državah domnevno ogroža ruske interese in interese proruske struje v Ukrajini. Magistrsko delo prikazuje zgodovinski razvoj Ukrajine in zapletene družbene, gospodarske in politične razmere, prisotne v državi, ki pripomorejo k razumevanju razvoja in poteka konflikta. Temu sledita analiza medijskega poročanja in vloge medijev v razvoju konflikta in političnogeografska analiza konflikta ter njegov vpliv na širše dogajanje in odnose v Evropi in svetu ; After a series of various internal political crises in eastern Ukraine in 2014, separatist movements appeared in the Donbas region, demanding secession of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The initial protests were followed by a conflict marked throughout by the intertwining actions of the various parties involved: the rebels, the Ukrainian authorities as well as the international community. On the one hand, there is the European Union and NATO, striving for the integration of Eastern European countries over the last two decades. On the other hand, there is the Russian Federation, still strongly connected with the republics of the former Soviet Union and exerting a strong influence on them. Supposedly, the growing influences of the EU, the US and the West in general in these countries pose a threat to the Russian interests and the interests of the pro-Russian movement in Ukraine. This master's thesis presents the historical development of Ukraine and its complex social, economic and political conditions, shedding light on the development and course of the conflict in the country. It then provides an analysis of the role of the media in the development of the conflict, as well as a political geographic analysis of the conflict and its impact on the events and relations on European and global level.
