Archive 3/2008

Abstract

This article aims at problems of legitimacy, sovereignty and decision-making process in the context of European integration. Several concepts of legitimacy and sovereignty are introduced and subsequently analyzed in the context of latest development of the European Union.

Key words

European integration, sovereignty, legitimacy

Abstract

The article deals with concepts of the empirical threshold of representation as proposed by Rein Taagepera and the real threshold as proposed by Tomáš Lebeda. Both empirical and real thresholds are operational methods of the actual threshold. The empirical threshold indicates the actual share of the vote which a party needs to have a fifty-fifty chance of gaining a seat. The real threshold indicates the minimal actual share of the vote which a party needs to gain representation. The author of the paper argues that real thresholds serve as an illustration of a hypothetical rather than a real situation and they do not always occur between the upper and the lower thresholds. The second part of the paper analyzes the original and the current electoral systems for the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. While under the current electoral system a party with 6.15 per cent of the vote has a fifty-fifty chance of winning a seat within a district, the share was 4.36 per cent of the vote within the original electoral system. On the other hand, the national empirical threshold is lower under the current electoral system. This is caused by relatively large districts of the original system which are more hospitable to small parties at the district level, but not necessarily from the national perspective.

Key words

theoretical threshold, empirical threshold, actual threshold, parliamentary election in the Czech Republic

Abstract

This article focuses on the classification of the cabinets in power during the era of the independent Czech Republic. The question we ask is whether we can generally identify any prevailing type of cabinet. Our conclusion is that there were mostly minimal winning coalitions based on the cooperation of ideologically distant political parties or minority cabinets. None of these versions provided government stability. Another aim of the text is to analyse the influence of party and electoral systems on governance. In this respect we tried to answer the question, what would contribute to the smoother formation of Czech governments and their increased stability? The crucial negative factor we identified in the sphere of the party system is the existence of a radical party with minimal coalition potential – the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. In our opinion, however, this fact can be changed by regular coalition cooperation with the Czech Social Democratic Party. We believe that as far as electoral system modifications are concerned, a positive factor could be represented by a reform that would introduce the mandate premium awarded to the winning coalition or party and at the same time a single electoral district. This would strengthen the position of the election winner and ensure greater homogeneity of governments. It would also eliminate the disproportion between the real electoral support of small parties and their significantly lower number of mandates won.

Key words

cabinets, elections, Czech Republic, mandate premium award

Abstract

The aim of this article is to offer a reformulation of particular elements of the cleavage concept, which can be fruitfully applied to the reflection of certain contemporary social and political processes. In the following sections I argue that (1) by focusing on social ties and relations this reformulation of Rokkan ́s ontological assumptions has greater potential to reflect processes as: the intersection of social circles; the attraction of political actors which can be taken as nodes in the contemporary social structure and can accumulate and aggregate individuals with different socio-structural backgrounds; or the electorate re-alignment/de-alignment processes. (2) With understanding democratization as a positive discourse extension and „not as a product but a special condition of public politics“, the next aim of the article is to also discuss the role of extra-institutional political participation and selected non-state actors in contemporary decision-making process.

Key words

cleavage concept, de-alignment, intersecting circles, new social movements, political participation, Rokkan, collective identity, structuralism

Abstract

This article aims to present a basic typology and theoretical framework for the phenomenon of organized crime. The text presents a survey and summary of the existing research, focusing on problems with definition of terms, their nuance and sense. Subsequently, I offer a typology of organized crime and a typology of organized crime groups in particular. That is, organized crime groups are the basic participants in organized crime.

Key words

organized crime, organized crime group, theory of organized crime, mafia

Abstract

Josef Smolík, Tomáš Šmíd a Vladimír Vaďura (eds.). 2007. Organizovaný zločin a jeho ohniska v současném světě, Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 204 pages.

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Věra Stojarová. 2007. Současné bezpečnostní hrozby západního Balkánu. Kritická analýza konceptu bezpečnosti Kodaňské školy, Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 296 pages.

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Přemysl Rosůlek (ed.). 2007. Politická filosofie: aktuální problémy, Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 215 pages.

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Marcela Gbúrová (ed.). 2006. Voľby 2006 v štátoch V4, Prešov: Vydavateľstvo PhDr. Štefan Francko, Ph.D. – Slovacontact, 374 pages.

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