Anti-Communist Justice and Founding the Post-Communist Order: Lustration and Restitution in Central Europe

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Appel
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Economic Order ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Secret Service ◽  
Soviet Russia

This article explores how ideas and beliefs shaped the development of programs of retrospective justice. By focusing on lustration, property restitution, and the declassification of secret service files in four central European countries, this article investigates the role of formalized anti-communist programs in the founding of the new political and economic order. After reviewing the development of anti-communist programs in East Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary, the article examines the motivation behind these programs and the variation in approaches across countries. It then analyzes the implications of anti-communist programs for the creation of a post-communist national identity, and concludes with a discussion of the weak anti-communist programs in post-Soviet Russia.

Contested Constitutions

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper de Raadt
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Constitution Making

What were the effects of constitution-making procedures on the acceptance of the new “rules of the political game” in postcommunist Central Europe? This article sets out to scrutinise the increasingly popular claim among politicians and scholars of democratisation that inclusiveness and popular involvement in constitution-making processes enhance a constitution's legitimacy. The concept of constitutional conflict, referring to political contestation over the interpretation and application of constitutional relations among state institutions, is introduced as a way to assess constitutional acceptance among politicians. The investigation concentrates on constitutional conflict patterns during the five years following constitution-making in seven Central European countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Constitution-making procedures varied substantially among the cases, as did the intensity and timing of constitutional conflict. The article finds that differences in constitution-making procedures do not necessarily determine the legitimacy of constitutions among political elites. Instead, ambiguity on the allocation of formal competencies among political actors and increasing political tensions between pro-reform and anti-reform parties during the early 1990s proved to be more important triggers of constitutional conflict. Accordingly, studies on constitution-making and democratisation should focus less on procedural aspects and take into account the fuzziness of important constitutional provisions and the extent to which constitutions can survive periods of intense political polarisation.

scholarly journals The Attractiveness of Selected Central European Countries for Winter Sports and Mountain Hiking

Turyzm ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Kinga Krzesiwo ◽  
Kamila Ziółkowska-Weiss ◽  
Michał Żemła
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Mass Scale ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Mountainous Areas ◽  
Winter Sports ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Downhill Skiing ◽  
Visegrad Group

Abstract Hiking, downhill skiing and snowboarding are among the most popular forms of active tourism in mountainous areas. Their popularity and their mass scale do not only result from the presence of the appropriate landscape, but also from its appropriate development. The objective of the article is to attempt to assess the attractiveness of selected Central European countries in terms of winter sports and mountain hiking, to consider the opinions of students who live in Visegrad Group countries, as well as to evaluate the barriers to development of their competitive offers. According to respondents, the most attractive countries for winter sports are Austria and Slovakia, and the least attractive are Hungary, Romania and Lithuania. In turn, according to the students, the best conditions for mountain hiking are in Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. In addition, respondents from particular countries assessed domestic offers highly.

scholarly journals Canadian Studies in the Czech Republic and Central Europe

Ad Americam ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 139-152
Author(s):  
Don Sparling
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Higher Education Systems ◽  
Steady Growth ◽  
Canadian Studies ◽  
International Projects

This article surveys the development of Canadian Studies in Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic from 1985 (the year the first such course was offered at a Czech university) down to the present. It also deals with the wider context of the development of Canadian Studies in Central Europe under the aegis of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies, established in 2003 with its Secretariat located at Masaryk University, Brno. In both the Czech Republic and the wider region, the late 1990s saw a steady growth in Canadian Studies, fostered by financial support from the Canadian government and outreach activities by Western European Canadian Studies associations. The first decade of the twenty-first century saw an explosion of activities - many new courses and degree programmes, conferences and specialized seminars, international projects, publications, the launching of the Central European Journal for Canadian Studies. The century’s second decade, however, has witnessed retrenchment, the result of systemic changes in higher education systems and the Canadian government’s cancellation of all support for Canadian Studies activities in 2012. Nevertheless, in both the Czech Republic and Central Europe, Canadian Studies continues to enjoy a significant and respected presence in the higher education sphere.

scholarly journals Societal trust and nation-thinking in the midst of a pandemic – Central Europe and Scandinavia

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-77
Author(s):  
Alexander Bielicki
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Complex Network ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Way

Trust in those who lead the government, trust in the way society is ordered, and trust in other people can all influence how individuals perceive the country in which they live. This study examines the different facets of societal trust (the complex network of state, political, national and social trust) in four European countries – Norway, Sweden, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – and connects these with how people understand their society to be organized, especially the degree to which the national frame is relevant. The results presented from these four countries offer a more nuanced picture of what it means to have trust in government and institutions and what it means to have trust in those who inhabit one’s country, especially in a time of crisis. The main data sources are identical surveys in four languages.

Religious Change

2019 ◽  
pp. 630-636
Author(s):  
Detlef Pollack
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
Religious Change ◽  
State Socialism ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central

After the decline of state socialism in the countries of Eastern and East Central Europe, sociologists and political scientists such as Rodney Stark, Andrew Greeley, and Miklós Tomka predicted a revival of church and religion after decades of their repression under communist rule. More than two decades later, it turns out that the religious situation in Eastern and East Central Europe has become more diverse than expected. Some Orthodox countries, such as Russia, Romania, and Ukraine, have certainly seen a significant increase of religiosity; others, though, such as East Germany, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, are confronted with religious decline; and others still, such as Poland and Croatia, have seen only comparatively minor changes to the observable level of religiosity. Factors that influence religious changes include the fusion between religious and national identity, levels of economic prosperity, and levels of political corruption.

scholarly journals Mycobacterium bovis in human population in four Central European countries during 1990–1999

2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 90-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Pavlik ◽  
W. Yayo Ayele ◽  
M. Havelkova ◽  
M. Svejnochova ◽  
V. Katalinic-Jankovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Bovine Tuberculosis ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Tuberculosis Patients ◽  
Central European ◽  
The 1960S

A survey on Mycobacterium bovis and M.&nbsp;tuberculosis in humans has been performed in four Central European countries (Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) during the years 1990 to 1999. These countries cover an area of 204 688 km<sup>2</sup> with 22 135 million population. During the period, new cases of tuberculosis were bacteriologically diagnosed in 47 516 patients. M.&nbsp;tuberculosis was detected in 47 461 (99.88%) cases, whereas M.&nbsp;bovis was found only in 55 (0.12%) patients. The rate of infection due to M.&nbsp;bovis in humans did not exceed 0.29% in the study countries. The annual incidence of bacteriological confirmed M.&nbsp;bovis cases did not exceed 0.1 per 100&nbsp;000 inhabitants. In the Czech Republic out of 44 tuberculosis patients due to M.&nbsp;bovis, 32 (72.7%) were older than 61&nbsp;years and originated from rural areas, where they lived during childhood and worked in agricultural occupations. These patients may have suffered a reactivation of persistent (long-standing) M.&nbsp;bovis infection as they got older. Bovine tuberculosis in cattle was eliminated from these countries during the second half of the 1960s (Croatia in 1966, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic &ndash; former Czechoslovakia in 1968, Slovenia in 1973) and the incidence of outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis in cattle were very low, thus the disease in humans was unexpected.

scholarly journals Forming Professional Competency of Education Managers in Central European Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Oksana Tovkanets
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
School Management ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Professional Competency ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Education Managers

Abstract The article deals with the problem of forming education managers’ professional competency in the context of European integration educational processes. The peculiarities of education managers’ competences as well as directions of their professional training in motivational, cognitive and metacognitive spheres have been theoretically justified. The performed analysis of curricula in higher education institutions of Central European countries has proved their use of the complex approach to forming professional competences of education managers. The author has revealed the peculiarities of education managers’ professional training while mastering accredited specialized courses in School Management in the Centre for Lifelong Education at Faculty of Education at Palacký University in Olomouc, the Czech Republic; a Bachelor’s degree in Education Specialization (School Management) at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic; in the context of the project launched by the European Social Fund (EFS) called “The Development of Education Managers’ Competences in Schools and Educational Institutions in the Hradec Králové Region – the Model of Professional Education”, the Czech Republic. It has been concluded that higher education institutions of Central European countries focus on the development of pedagogical and managerial competencies. It has been highlighted that the complication of training content and the modernization of disciplines will allow to form thinking and actions of education managers as comprehensively educated specialists able to successfully deal with professional tasks using their educational and intellectual potential.

scholarly journals Examining Illiberal Trends and Anti-EU Politics in East Central Europe from a Domestic Perspective: State of Research and Outline of the Book

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Lisa H. Anders ◽  
Astrid Lorenz
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central European ◽  
The Subject ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
East Central European

Abstract This opening chapter introduces the subject matter and objectives of the book. It first explains central terms and provides an overview of the different illiberal trends in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It then sketches recent conflicts between EU actors and the four East Central European states and explains why these conflicts are of a new quality. Next, it summarises the state of research on illiberal backsliding and on the EU’s tools against it and identifies shortcomings and gaps in the literature. Finally, it outlines the aims as well as the overall structure of the book and provides an overview of the contributions.

scholarly journals Quo vadis, V4? What is the potential of the Czech Republic to promote its interests within the framework of the V4?

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (56) ◽  
pp. 255-279
Author(s):  
Zbyněk Dubský ◽  
Kateřina Kočí
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Future Role ◽  
Quo Vadis ◽  
Positive Input ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
Regional Grouping ◽  
The Eu

The original purpose of the Visegrad Group (VG or V4 – which includes Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) was primarily to support its member states’ accession to the EU and NATO, which it successfully achieved. However, the views on the current cooperation of four Central European countries differ. Some researchers believe that the V4 has transformed since 2004 into a viable project which has become even an inspirational model of cooperation for other regional groupings. According to them, and contrary to doubts about the continuation of the V4 project, membership of the EU has given the V4 a new impulse, and its agenda has been expanded into new areas of cooperation which included EU affairs. Therefore, the V4 operates now as a distinct regional grouping within the EU (i.e. positive input regarding their commitment in several Council presidencies). Others, however, suggest that V4 cooperation seems to be labelled as a defensive project, a coalition within the EU, which is against something (recently the prominent topics have revolved around migration issues) and that it could lead to the marginalisation of the group and thus reduce its importance at the EU level. While discussing the future role of the V4, the article will focus on the Czech Republic, and its potential to promote its interests within the framework of the V4, especially in the context of its current presidency (from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document