Archive 3/2004

Abstract

The referendum on the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union was the first – and thus far the only – national referendum in the history of both the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. Although it was obvious that the majority of the Czech population was in favor of joining the European Union, sociologists could not predict the turnout. The polls had shown that at least 70 percent of the population would vote “Yes”. However, as there had been no referendum in the country’s history before, there were fears of voter apathy. There was no experience concerning the difference between public opinion polls and the actual results. Regardless of these factors, TNS Factum offered a very accurate prediction of voter turnout and of support for accession. The voting pattern in the actual referendum was firmly correlated with and similar to the voting behavior in the 2002 parliamentary elections. A study on electoral data showed a strong correlation between the support for Koalice (Coalition of liberals and Christian democrats) in the 2002 general election and the pro-EU votes in the 2003 referendum. The Czech referendum was not an exception compared to developments in other post-communist states. Nevertheless, there is a clear difference between east European referenda and past EU referenda in Western Europe. The latter were characterized by higher voter turnout and by relatively less enthusiasm concerning EU accession. In this respect, the post-communist referenda were the inverse. They displayed low voter turnout and high support for accession; hence, they demonstrate the differing perceptions of the east European populations and their western counterparts.

Key words

referendum, European Union, electoral polls, voting behavior, Czech Republic

Abstract

This paper discusses the critiques forming the debate on the future of the two major global financial institutions – the IMF and the WB. The author does not claim what the IMF and the WB really are, but reviews how they are seen by their critics. The article describes and summarizes the multifaceted critical discussion and proposes an elementary scheme formed by four basic positions. These are based on two variables: (1) moderation or radicalism of the critiques; (2) their affiliation with the right or the left side of the political spectrum. As a result, four basic critical positions emerge: right reformers, right radicals, left reformers, and left radicals. This paper characterizes each of them by overviewing the opinions of two representative participants of the discussion.

Key words

International Monetary Fund, World Bank, critical discussion, reform or abolition proposals, global financial architecture

Abstract

Denmark is considered to be one of the most Euroskeptical member states of the European Union (e.g. it rejected the Treaty of the European Union in 1992 and refused to adopt the euro in 2000). This article analyzes the attitudes of relevant Danish political parties towards European integration. The author of this article utilizes Nicolò Conti’s typology of political parties’ attitudes towards the European Union based on their spatial position on the political spectrum. Conti supposes that the Euroskeptical attitude (the so-called hard Euroskepticism) is mostly represented by the right- and left-wing parties, while a pro-European attitude is typical of the center and governing political parties. First, the author of this article categorizes the relevant Danish political parties on the basis of Conti’s typology. Second, the author compares their real attitudes to European integration to the assumed ones.

Key words

Denmark, political parties, European Union, Euroskepticism, Europeism

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the debate on political parties’ attitudes to European integration and the European Union (‘Europe’). First, it focuses on the typology of party attitudes to ‘Europe’. It deals with two anti-European attitudes – soft Euroskepticism and hard Euroskepticism, as defined by Paul Taggart and Aleks Szczerbiak. Taggart and Szczerbiak have defined hard Euroskepticism as a principled opposition to the EU and to European integration. Soft Euroskepticism stands for a non-principled objection to European integration or the EU. Subsequently, Petr Kopecký and Cas Mudde’s critique of this approach is analyzed, and an alternative typology is specified. The latter distinguishes between a diffuse and a specific support for European integration (i.e. the support for the idea of European integration and the support for the EU). The article also debates Nicolo Conti and Luca Verzichelli’s three new categories of party positions towards ‘Europe’. Two of these positions are positive (identity Europeanism and functional Europeanism) and one is neutral. Identity Europeanism is based on a principled support for the EU and for European integration. Functional Europeanism implies that support for European integration is conditional on its compatibility with a specific domestic or party interest. The neutral position means that a party has no clear attitude to European integration. The article further analyzes the current positions of Czech political parties towards the EU. Second, quantitative methods applied in research on party attitudes towards ‘Europe’ are briefly presented and their advantages and disadvantages are assessed. Third, the question of whether European integration creates a new cleavage is discussed. The negative answer given in the article is supported by Peter Mair’s explanation of the limited and indirect impact of European integration on national party systems. Fourth, party families’ attitudes towards European integration are summarized. Finally, the paper suggests possible future developments of Euroskepticism and Europeanism during the ratification of the European constitution in member states.

Key words

European Union, European integration, Euroskepticism, Europeanism, cleavage, party families, quantitative methods, Czech parties

Abstract

This article presents a detailed analysis of the Civic Forum as the most important vehicle of changes in the first stage of the development of the Czech party system. It aims at two interrelated goals: first, to describe and adequately elaborate processes within the Civic Forum, which should serve to explain internal divisions in this movement and the emergence of various streams within the Civic Forum as their immediate consequence. Second, it intends to outline ideological positions within the Civic Forum, thus identifying a logic of the future developments in the Czech party system and distribution of its subjects on the left-right scale. Moreover, the article traces back through the history of the Civic Forum influences of ideas of the non-political politics and their permanent clashes with attempts to establish Civic Forum as a hierarchical political party. The article concludes that the Civic Forum significantly contributed both to the establishment of the Czech party system just in the shape it acquired within its further development, and to the emergence of the major Czech parties of the right.

Key words

Civic Forum, Czech party system, transition, political ideologies, political right

Abstract

The statute of March 15, 2004, that banned religious symbols in the French schools and State high schools, was the last act of the Headscarf Affair which had been regularly returning to the limelight of the French political scene since 1989. The review of several recent sociological books devoted to the phenomena of islamization helps to buttress the main assumption of the article that the Affair is a symptom of a failing integration of the immigrants from the Muslim countries. These populations are disproportionately hit by social and economic marginalization while, at the same time, summoned to assimilate culturally. Dogmatic republicanism conceives of the assimilation as a necessary precondition for the political integration. In the situation of an increasing social exclusion, however, the push to assimilation adds a cultural offense to an economic injury and incites a contrary reaction: a proud self-assertion of the Muslim identity. The statute banning the headscarves only intensifies this vicious dynamic. The analyses in the reviewed books seem to lead to a different solution: a reasonable response would rather be to tolerate the expressions of religious distinctiveness while, at the same time, trying to integrate people of immigrant origins both economically and politically. This would require, however, a reconstruction of the French republicanism which – at least in its dogmatic form – does not distinguish between the cultural and political sides of integration.

Key words

political integration, muslim identity, islamization, France

Abstract

Miroslav Mareš, Josef Smolík a Marek Suchánek. 2003. Fotbaloví chuligáni. Evropská dimenze subkultury, Brno: Centrum strategických studií, Barrister&Principal, 181 pages.

Key words

Abstract

Miroslav Mareš (ed.). 2003. Etnické a regionální strany v ČR po roce 1989, Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 239 pages.

Key words

Abstract

David Held. 2004. Global Covenant. The Social Democratic Alternative to Washington Consensus, Cambridge, UK; Malden, US: Polity Press, 201 pages.

Key words

Abstract

Miroslav Kollár a Grigorij Mesežnikov (eds.). 2003. Slovensko 2003. Súhrnná správa o stave spoločnosti, Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 820 stran.

Key words

Abstract

July 4 - 8, 2004

Key words

Abstract

May 27 - 28, 2004

Key words

Abstract

Ve středu 21. července 2004 ve věku nedožitých 75 let zemřel Prof. JUDr. Vladimír Čermák, brněnský filosof, politolog a právník, emeritní profesor Masarykovy univerzity a v letech 1993–2003 soudce Ústavního soudu České republiky.

Key words