scholarly journals Vliv institucionálního zapojení nevládních organizací na volbu strategií

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-53
Author(s):  
Aneta Pinková
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political System ◽  
Strategy Choice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Advisory Committees ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Independent Variable

The article explores institutional platforms used to incorporate non-governmental groups into the decision making process and the possible impacts of such incorporation on their choice of strategy. The paper starts with an overview of relevant theories and concepts, such as the political opportunities structures, the concept of access points to the political system and, most importantly, the insider – outsider typology of interest groups. The empirical part of the paper focuses on the Czech Republic and the two institutional platforms available to NGOs within its political system: participation in advisory committees and formal commenting procedure. The article further presents a case study of employer and business groups in the Czech Republic, using a scale of institutional incorporation as an independent variable influencing the groups’ strategy choice. The scale roughly indicates the level of the organizations’ institutional incorporation, based on their involvement in both advisory committees and formal commenting procedure. On the basis of the findings from the case study, possible impacts of institutional incorporation on strategy choice are outlined, indicating that the so-called insider strategies are more often used by more incorporated groups. This suggests a continuing relevance of Grant’s insider – outsider typology, which has been questioned by political scientists in recent years. While the article focuses on a relatively narrowly defined category of organizations, the findings also suggest that the role and influence of institutionalized platforms on the overall strategy choice of traditional interest groups should not be ignored by researchers, as it is often the case both in the Czech Republic and internationally.

scholarly journals Participative and Deliberative Democracy on the Local Level: How the Political Characteristics of Municipalities in the Czech Republic Relate to the Use of Selected Democratic Innovation within their Territory?

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Hurtikova ◽  
Michal Soukop
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Utilisation Rate ◽  
Unexplored Area

Little current studies of democratic innovations have considered whether there is any connection between the political characteristics of a municipality and the higher degree of use of participative and deliberative tools within their territory. This article aims at contributing to the discussion by testing selected political indicators in the municipalities in relation to the utilisation rate of innovative tools. By using the case study of local territory within the Czech Republic during the election period of 2014–2018, the article uses unique data from the municipalities with extended powers to track common features of participative municipalities, e-municipalities, and transparent municipalities, and reveals the substantial positive effects of intergenerational renewal in the representative bodies and strong financial capital. Paper contributes to the discourse on democratic innovations by focusing on unexplored area, thanks to which participative and deliberative tools could become a normal part of the decision-making process on a local level.

scholarly journals Referenda w systemie politycznym Republiki Czeskiej

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 77-91
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Koźbiał
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Political System ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Local Level ◽  
State Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Wind Power Plants

Republika Czeska jest jednym z tych krajów europejskich, w których bezpośrednie instrumenty demokratyczne, takie jak referenda, są rzadko stosowane na szczeblu państwowym. W Republice Czeskiej w ten sposób zdecydowano jedynie o przystąpieniu kraju do Unii Europejskiej (2003). Z drugiej strony, na poziomie lokalnym czeskie doświadczenia z referendami są bogate. W latach 2006‑2021 przeprowadzono ponad 300 referendów, średnio ponad 20 rocznie. Problematyka poruszana w tych referendach obejmowała kwestie infrastruktury, lokalizacji elektrowni wiatrowych czy składowania odpadów radioaktywnych. W przyszłości szersze niż dotychczas wykorzystanie referendów w czeskim systemie politycznym zależeć będzie m.in. od wyniku wyborów parlamentarnych, które odbędąsięjesienią2021 r. Czeska Partia Piratów, która ma duże szanse na zwycięstwo w tych wyborach, opowiada się za korzystaniem z tego typu głosowania znacznie częściej niż dotychczas. Referenda in the political system of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic is one of those European countries where direct democratic instruments, such as referendums, are rarely resorted to at the state level. Only the country’s accession to the European Union (2003) was decided in this way in the Czech Republic. On the local level, on the other hand, the Czech experience with referendums is rich. Between 2006 and 2021, more than 300 referendums were held, an average of more than 20 per year. The issues dealt with in these referendums included infrastructure issues, the location of wind power plants or the storage of radioactive waste. The future of the use of referendums more widely than before in the Czech political system will depend, among other things, on the outcome of the parliamentary elections to be held in the autumn of 2021. The Czech Pirate Party, which has a significant chance of winning this election, is in favour of using this type of voting far more often than before.

scholarly journals Aféra Nagygate mezi korupcí a organizovaným zločinem: korupční sítě a jejich možný vliv na kvalitu demokracie v České republice

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Kupka ◽  
Michal Mochťak
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Political System ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Democratic Performance ◽  
Negative Impacts

The paper addresses the question of what sort of influence organized crime may have on democratic performance in the Czech Republic and which dimensions of its political system (if any) are endangered most. We define organized crime narrowly in terms of corruption networks, questioning in effect the predominant understanding of these two concepts as distinct or even exclusive phenomena. The paper thus construes corruption and organized crime as concepts referring to transgressive acts (i.e. behaviour that involves a violation of moral or social boundaries that do not have to be legally codified), rather than in terms of legal norms. The influence of corruption networks is demonstrated on the case of the "Nagygate" scandal, which is analysed by utilising the framework of possible harms, as developed by Michael Maltz. We argue that the debate on organized crime in the Czech Republic is, in fact, inherently tied to the study of corruption, since corruption constitutes an integral part of organized criminal activities. Our findings show that transgressive behaviour has mostly negative impacts that include the loss of trust, widespread beliefs that injustice goes unpunished, a weakening of the political system, and the overall degeneration of the democratic regime. Moreover, the Nagygate scandal provides evidence that democratic institutions are not solely the victim of organized crime but also a possible source of transgressive activities.

scholarly journals Is the Czech Republic on its Way to Semi-Presidentialism?

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vít Hloušek
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political System ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Parliamentary Democracy ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Standard Definition ◽  
Characteristic Features

ABSTRACT The main aim of the article is to contribute to the bourgeoning debate on semipresidentialism, its definition, and its characteristic features, with analysis of the empirical example of the Czech Republic, a country which, according to Elgie´s standard definition, shifted to semi-presidentialism in 2012. The author investigates whether and how Miloš Zeman, the first directly elected president of the Czech Republic, influences relations among the key political institutions in the direction of the model of a semi-presidential democracy. The paper sets out the working concept of semi-presidentialism first and, through the lenses of process tracing, analyses the goals and acts of Zeman after he entered office in January 2013. The case study of the Czech Republic sheds light not only on the recent development(s) in the Czech political system, but it can be seen as an interesting example of how strong political personalities are attempting to expand their influence on politics in a parliamentary democracy and what the possible limits of this effort are.

Islamic and Jewish Religious Feminists Tackle Islamic and Jewish Oral Law: Maintenance and Rebellion of Wives

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-63
Author(s):  
Ruth Roded
Keyword(s):  
State Policy ◽  
Political System ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Jewish Law ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Parallel Case ◽  
First Time

Beginning in the early 1970s, Jewish and Muslim feminists, tackled “oral law”—Mishna and Talmud, in Judaism, and the parallel Hadith and Fiqh in Islam, and several analogous methodologies were devised. A parallel case study of maintenance and rebellion of wives —mezonoteha, moredet al ba?ala; nafaqa al-mar?a and nush?z—in classical Jewish and Islamic oral law demonstrates similarities in content and discourse. Differences between the two, however, were found in the application of oral law to daily life, as reflected in “responsa”—piskei halacha and fatwas. In modern times, as the state became more involved in regulating maintenance and disobedience, and Jewish law was backed for the first time in history by a state, state policy and implementation were influenced by the political system and socioeconomic circumstances of the country. Despite their similar origin in oral law, maintenance and rebellion have divergent relevance to modern Jews and Muslims.

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