Archive 2/2005

Abstract

The collapse of the Italian “partitocrazia” in the early 1990s was followed by the emergence of a completely new party system. All but one of the relevant parties from the previous regime were affected by corruption scandals and had to struggle for survival. This situation created opportunities for the originally protest parties (LN), for transformed parties (AN, PDS) and for new political actors (FI). Forced by the logic of the mixed electoral system, these parties quickly started to form pre-election coalitions that were intended to guarantee political relevance for the small parties and to secure electoral victory for the bigger parties. The center of the political continuum has consequently been deserted in the last three elections. Any political actor situated between the two principal coalitions would be mercilessly squeezed or absorbed by them. Therefore, the Italian party system has gradually become a bipolar one. This means that the system has turned into a competitive one and has opened a possibility for alternation.

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Italy, transition, party system change, bipolar competitiveness

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In recent years, the issue of political parties’ attitudes to European integration has become especially important in political science research. This article focuses on skeptical party attitudes to the European Union and critically evaluates the conceptualization of euroskepticism. First, it discusses the most applicable typologies, especially Taggart and Szczerbiak’s distinction between „hard“ and „soft“ forms of euroskepticism. Second, it points out the insufficient and vague definition of the concept of „soft“ euroskepticism.

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hard and soft euroskepticism, European integration, party attitudes to the EU

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This article deals with the relationship between Norway and the European Union. Norway is now the only Scandinavian country that is not a member of the EU. Nevertheless, it cooperates with the EU very closely in an increasing number of areas. Norway’s membership in the European Economic Area has positive, as well as negative, consequences for the country. In addition, Norway is facing many challenges related to the enlargement of the EU. The divergence between the foreign policies of the US and the EU puts Norway in an uncomfortable position. On the basis of assessment of these factors, the authors conclude that it is possible that Norway would apply for membership in the EU after the forthcoming elections in September 2005.

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Norway, European integration, European Union, referendum on EU membership

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The article deals with class analysis in contemporary capitalist societies. The first part introduces the neo-Marxist version of class analysis and Erik Olin Wright’s class schema. The second part discusses the neo-Weberian version of class analysis and introduces John Goldthorpe’s class schema. The last part of the article deals with the comparison of these two versions of class analysis and answers the following question: what version of class schema is more appropriate to describe the contemporary class structure in capitalist societies?

Key words

class analysis, class theory, class structure, class positions, job market

Abstract

The author of the article presents a critical reply to Barša’s interpretation of his monography (Jakoubek, M., Romové: konec /ne/jednoho mýtu. Tractatus Culturo/mo/logicus, Socioklub, Praha 2004) and of two anthologies he has co-edited (Jakoubek, M., Poduška, O., eds., Romské osady v kulturologické perspektivě, Doplněk, Brno 2003 & Jakoubek, M., Hirt, T., eds., Romové: kulturologické etudy. Etnopolitika, příbuzenství a sociální organizace, Čeněk, Plzeň 2004). Taking the examples of his alleged orientalism and of his (also alleged) idea that Gypsies are carriers of the culture of poverty, the author illustrates that Barša’s interpretation is full of mistakes and inaccuracies. He also argues that the concept of culture used by Barša is unacceptable in the social sciences and accuses his critic (together with the whole discourse of multiculturalism) of ethnocentrism. Regarding methodological issues, the author demonstrates that although Barša claims to offer a better method of analysis, in actuality he fails to do so.

Key words

Gypsies, Roma, Pavel Barša, multiculturalism, traditional Roma culture

Abstract

The reviewed book (Lenka A. Rovná: Kdo vládne Británii?) aims to analyze the decision-making process in the British political system and to identify its main participants and their ability to influence the process. However, the author leaves out a detailed analysis of the relationship among the political powers and only informs us about the basic principles of British politics. Thus, the title of the book does not properly reflect its content. In addition, we can detect many serious problems regarding factual accuracy and the text’s adherence to the formal requirements of academic work (e. g. incorrect translation, missing references of the works cited, insufficient methodological grounding, reliance on secondary instead of primary sources). In spite of its shortcomings the book can be used as an elementary source of knowledge on British politics. Nevertheless, the expectations that this book could fill the gap in Czech scientific research on the British political system were not met.

Key words

British political system, decision-making process, British political parties, political development

Abstract

This review essay discusses the Czech edition of the book Political Philosophy: A Beginners’ Guide for Students and Politicians by Adam Swift. It does not follow strictly the book’s content but, instead, highlights the important arguments and introduces additional ones. The main focus of the essay is the conditions of political and social pluralism and conceptual issues related to them. The essay is organized as follows. The first section concentrates on the different understandings of liberty, as defined by Swift, and underscores some arguments that are either missing or underdeveloped in Swift’s account. The second section overviews two distinctive approaches to social justice – egalitarian liberalism and libertarianism. The third section covers the debate over the meaning of equality in current political philosophy. The fourth section presents a critical assessment of the communitarian critique of liberalism and of the liberal reply to it in the form of Rawls’s political liberalism. The essay concludes by stressing the need for a minimal consensus on the political principles in a stable society. Such a consensus is vital for the creation of the necessary preconditions for any viable form of social and political pluralism.

Key words

political philosophy, liberty, justice, equality, community, political liberalism, Adam Swift

Abstract

Oskar Krejčí. 2004. Politická psychologie, Praha: Ekopress, 320 pages.

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Stanislav Balík, Michal Kubát. 2004. Teorie a praxe totalitních a autoritativních režimů, Dokořán, 1. vyd., 167 pages.

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Jan Kysela. 2004. Dvoukomorové systémy. Teorie, historie a srovnání dvoukomorových parlamentů, Praha: Eurolex Bohemia, 630 pages. // Věra Stýskalíková, Hubert Smekal (eds.). 2004. Zahraniční a bezpečnostní politika vybraných zemí Balkánu, Brno: Masarykova univerzita v Brně, Mezinárodní politologický ústav, 219 pages.

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Berlín, 13.–16. ledna 2005

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