Archive 4/2011

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the civil war and subsequent developments in Nepal through the concept of the failed state. The aim of the article is to evaluate whether Nepal meets the criteria for being recognised as a failed state. In the first part, the conceptualization of the term failed state and its general definition are introduced. The second part of the article focuses on methodology. Finally, the main part of the article presents an analysis of Nepal through the concept of the failed state, following theoretical concepts developed by Robert I. Rotberg. The author’s conclusion is that contemporary Nepal should not be regarded as a failed state. Despite the chronic internal weakness of the country and its institutions, whose functions are in many cases carried out by parallel institutions, it is not possible to say that such functions were completely missing. Instead, we can say that the functions of these institutions and structures are limited – that is, that these institutions are performing their functions, albeit partially. In addition, the level of violence that occurs in some areas is not comparable with the period when Nepal was experiencing deep internal armed conflict.

Key words

Nepal, South Asia, weak state, failing state, failed state, Third World, internal conflict

Abstract

Comparative studies of electoral institutions have marginalized or ignored a fundamental characteristic of electoral systems called malapportionment. This paper presents a brief introduction to the issue of malapportionment from the theoretical (and comparative) perspective suggested earlier by Samuels and Snyder and then applies it – along with the issue of the value of a vote – to the Municipal Council of the Capital City of Prague electoral system, especially in the context of the October 2010 elections and previous changes to the electoral system. The analysis of malapportionment and the value of a vote shows that the new electoral rules present some problems with respect to the “one vote, one value” principle but, on the other hand, that these rules conform with, and are comparable to electoral systems used worldwide. This conclusion supports the Czech Constitutional Court’s decision not to annul the 2010 Municipal Council elections.

Key words

electoral system change, malapportionment, value of a vote, the 2010 Municipal Council elections, Constitutional Court

Abstract

The publication output of all political science and international relations departments and their individual scholars in the Czech Republic is analyzed and ranked here using publication indicators from the Web of Science and Scopus citation databases. Both individual and departmental rankings are constructed based on a composite measure of publication activity which incorporates three indicators: the sum of author shares (in order to account for each author’s contribution in the case of co-authored articles) of articles registered in either database, the number of citations of these articles, and the impact factor of the journal. The departmental rankings are further weighted by the size of a given department. The analysis takes into account all departments with an active undergraduate or graduate program in political science or international relations (a total of 14), and all researchers with an institutional affiliation to these departments. The original dataset used for this analysis was compiled from both citation databases and validated by information from the internet presentations of the departments and by sending a questionnaire to the heads of all the departments. The results suggest a weak overall performance of Czech political science in terms of the used publication indicators. However, the analysis of recent trends shows a significant increase in overall Czech publication activity since 2006. Both this trend and the emergence of scholars with consistent publication activity registered in the citation databases constitute a positive development and allow for optimism in the near future.

Key words

publication output, citation analysis, Czech political science, ranking of political science departments, research quality

Abstract

The article deals with the phenomenon of the naval blockade in peacetime. Instituting a naval blockade is an extensively used policy in international politics, both in history and in the contemporary world. The peacetime naval blockade is firstly defined and theoretically classified. This is followed by an analysis of several peacetime naval blockades, which serves to illustrate the limits of the effectiveness of such blockades. The analysis comes to the conclusion that there are many limitations on the effectiveness of the peacetime naval blockade, the most significant being that this kind of blockade has no formal rules and no background in international law. It also comes to the conclusion that an effective naval blockade in peacetime must be based on a complex approach and be part of a package of diplomatic measures. Also, it appears that such blockades themselves can have some deeper psychological effects, not only economic, political or military ones.

Key words

International politics, sea, naval blockade, pacific blockade, law of the sea, technology, navy, naval diplomacy, maritime trade, United Nations

Abstract

Willian Easterly. 2010. Břímě bílého muže. Proč pomoc Západu třetímu světu selhává? Praha: Academia, 456 pages.

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Abstract

opeček, Petr Roubal, Jiří Suk a Tomáš Zahradníček. 2011. Rozděleni minulostí. Vytváření politických identit v České republice po roce 1989, Praha: Knihovna Václava Havla, 415 pages.

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Abstract

Jeronim Perovic, (ed.). 2009. Russian Energy Power and Foreign Relations: Implications for Conflict and Cooperation, New York: Routledge, 254 pages.

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