Local referendum as a tool of direct participation of citizens in the decision-making of municipalities in the Czech Republic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Hampl
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Territorial Development ◽  
Development Environment ◽  
Correlation Relationship ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Binding Force ◽  
Direct Participation

The local referendum is the only tool of direct democracy in the Czech Republic, allowing citizens to decide on issues falling within the independent competence of municipalities directly. The aim of the paper is to assess the use, voter turnout, binding force, and thematic focus of local referenda as a tool of direct participation of citizens in the decision-making on local issues in the Czech municipalities with respect to their size defined by the population in the period 2006-2019. To fulfil the aim, descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression, classification analysis and correlation analysis have been employed. A total of 288 local referenda were held in the examined period, 193 of them in the municipalities up to 1,999 inhabitants. The results do not indicate a statistically significant relationship between the municipality size and the holding of referenda. On the other hand, the results show a weakly negative correlation relationship between the municipality size and the turnout (the binding force, respectively). The referenda focused on territorial development, environment, alternative sources of power and infrastructure predominate in the municipalities up to 4,999 inhabitants. The referenda on municipal property and public order prevail in the municipalities with 5,000 and more inhabitants.

scholarly journals How Far Can Citizens Influence the Decision-Making Process? Analysis of the Effectiveness of Referenda in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary in 1989–2015

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
National Level ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Central European ◽  
Political Role

AbstractThis article explores the political role of a referendum in Central European countries, in particular in Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. In this article, political effectiveness is understood as a possibility to influence the decision-making process by citizens through a referendum. The transformation of political systems in Central European states from socialist/communist to democratic ones resulted in increasing interest in the notion of referendum, one of the common forms of direct democracy. However, most referenda have been abused for political purposes. The focus of this article is a referendum used at the national level. This study examines the use of a referendum in Central European states from 1989 to 2015. The database presents, country by country, the subject matter of voting, people’s participation and the results in order to show the citizens’ opportunity (or lack of it) to express their opinions and to contribute to policy-making by circumventing the standard legislative process. The aim of this paper is to analyze referenda in the selected countries and to verify two hypotheses. Firstly, the weak use of a referendum and a small size of complementation of representative democracy. Secondly, the citizens’ belief in a referendum as an element of communication and consultation between authorities and society.

Divergent Paths of Inequality in Poland and the Czech Republic

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekrem Karakoç
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Two Factors

Employing most similar design and process-tracing methodology, this chapter focuses on Poland and the Czech Republic in the postcommunist region. It discusses the divergent paths these two countries have taken since their transitions. After discussing the similarities and dissimilarities of these two cases, it turns to the welfare policies shared by both countries with some differences under their former communist rule. It also traces voter turnout and linkage between political party and citizens, and explores how these two factors have affected social policies in each country. The last section offers a comparison of Polish and Czech social policies regarding the level and nature of their targeted spending and its effect on income inequality.

scholarly journals DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYABILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS GRADUATES

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-220
Author(s):  
Emília Krajňáková ◽  
Vaida Pilinkienė ◽  
Patrik Bulko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Domestic Product ◽  
Experimental Development ◽  
Correlation Relationship ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Impact

The scope of the data presented in this study offers a comprehensive view of the issue of the HEI graduates employability in the Czech Republic and also in the Slovak Republic – related to determinants of economic development and their impact on them. This paper examines the impact of gross domestic product, gross domestic expenditure on research and experimental development by only higher education sector and foreign direct investment on HEI graduates employability. The results indicate that correlation between unemployment of tertiary educated Slovaks and GDP, GERD and FDI values was very big. Correlation relationship of similar determinants, except determinant GERD in conditions of the Czech Republic was characterized as weak. On the other hand, significantly stronger (very big to perfect) correlation affecting employment of tertiary educated Czechs regarding to indicators of gross domestic product, gross domestic expenditure on research and experimental development by sector of higher education and foreign direct investments as well. In conditions of the Slovak Republic, correlation relationship between employment of tertiary educated Slovaks and GDP was almost perfect.

scholarly journals Spatial modelling of assumption of tourism development with geographic IT using

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 279-294
Author(s):  
Jitka Machalová ◽  
Ida Vajčnerová ◽  
Kateřina Ryglová
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Spatial Modelling ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
High Level

The aim of this article is to show the possibilities of spatial modelling and analysing of assumptions of tourism development in the Czech Republic with the objective to make decision-making processes in tourism easier and more efficient (for companies, clients as well as destination managements). The development and placement of tourism depend on the factors (conditions) that influence its application in specific areas. These factors are usually divided into three groups: selective, localization and realization. Tourism is inseparably connected with space – countryside. The countryside can be modelled and consecutively analysed by the means of geographical information technologies. With the help of spatial modelling and following analyses the localization and realization conditions in the regions of the Czech Republic have been evaluated. The best localization conditions have been found in the Liberecký region. The capital city of Prague has negligible natural conditions; however, those social ones are on a high level. Next, the spatial analyses have shown that the best realization conditions are provided by the capital city of Prague. Then the Central-Bohemian, South-Moravian, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovarský regions follow. The development of tourism destination is depended not only on the localization and realization factors but it is basically affected by the level of local destination management. Spatial modelling can help destination managers in decision-making processes in order to optimal use of destination potential and efficient targeting their marketing activities.

Approaches and Methods of Strategical Decision Making of Business Subjects in the Czech Republic

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-121
Author(s):  
Emil Svoboda ◽  
Patrik Svoboda ◽  
Libor Bittner
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
The Czech Republic

scholarly journals Citizens local political participation in the Czech Republic: rural-urban comparison

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
J. Cmejrek
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Administration ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Public

The Velvet Revolution in November 1989 in the former Czechoslovakia opened the way to the renewal of the democratic political system. One of the most visible aspects of the Czech political development consisted in the renewal of the essential functions of elections and political parties. On the local level, however, the political process - as well as in other post-communist countries - continued to be for a long time influenced by the remains of the former centralized system wherein the local administration used to be subjected to the central state power. Municipal elections took hold in these countries, however, the local government remained in the embryonic state and a certain absence of real political and economic decision-making mechanism on the local level continued to show. The public administration in the Czech Republic had to deal with the changes in the administrative division of the state, the split of the Czechoslovak federation as well as the fragmentation of municipalities whose number increased by 50 percent. Decision making mechanisms on the local and regional level were suffering from the incomplete territorial hierarchy of public administration and from the unclear division of power between the state administration and local administration bodies. Only at the end of the 1990s, the public administration in the Czech Republic started to get a more integrated and specific shape. Citizens participation in the political process represents one of the key issues of representative democracy. The contemporary democracy has to face the decrease in voter turnout and the low interest of citizens to assume responsibility within the political process. The spread of democratising process following the fall of the iron curtain should not overshadow the risk of internal weakness of democracy. The solution should be looked for in more responsible citizenship and citizens’ political participation. The degree of political participation is considered (together with political pluralism) to be the key element of representative democracy in general terms, as well as of democratic process on the local and regional level. The objective of this paper is to describe the specifics of citizens local political participation in the Czech Republic and to show the differences between rural and urban areas. The paper concentrates on voting and voter turnout but deals also with other forms of citizens political participation.

Evaluace politiky cestovního ruchu ČR za období 2014-2020

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Holešinská
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
The State ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Tourism Policy

The paper deals with the evaluation of the state tourism policy of the Czech Republic. Primarily it focuses on the accomplishment of the strategic document the Concept of the State Tourism Policy of the Czech Republic for 2014-2020. The activities related to particular measures are examined and as well as the implementation of tools used by the state tourism policy is analysed. The state tourism policy of the Czech Republic is also confronted with the theoretical background. Therefore, the attention is paid to the decision-making process, the legitimacy of state interference in tourism and the role of the state in tourism policy. It is emphasized that external factors (e.g. global trends or COVID-19) have an impact on the decision-making process and the direction of tourism policy. The paper is based on the qualitative analysis of documents, which is supported by the analysis of secondary data sources.

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