Archive 4/2012

Maxmilián Strmiska
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: strmiska@fss.muni.cz

Roman Chytilek
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: chytilek@fss.muni.cz

Abstract

The major purpose of the article is to assess the contribution of the study of parties and party arrangements in Southeast Asian and Oceanian (particularly Melanesian and Polynesian) polities to contemporary comparative party research, as well as to party theory-building. The sub-continental frameworks of Southeast Asia and Oceania offer a large range of opportunities for comparative enterprises. However, the development of innovative theorizing drawing from investigations into Southeast Asian and Oceanian party phenomena has been constrained by persisting inconsistencies in the conceptualization and/or categorization of party arrangements, and – even more importantly – by a low awareness of methodological and epistemological problems that are involved in cross-area comparisons. The authors argue that a reassessment of research strategies is needed in order to change this situation.

Key words

political parties; party systems; cross-area comparisons; theory-building; Southeast Asia; Oceania; Melanesia; Polynesia

Vít Hloušek
International Institut of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: hlousek@fss.muni.cz

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the Public Affairs Party, which entered the Czech House of Deputies after the 2010 parliamentary elections. The aim of the paper is to cover organizational matters and certain peculiarities of the party. As the most appropriate tool of analysis, the concept of a business firm party is used. The author shows how the political and economic interests of the party’s most influential member, Vít Bárta, overlapped significantly and that Bárta could be depicted as a kind of “political entrepreneur” misusing political activity for his business purposes. The analysis of the functioning of the Public Affairs Party and especially the distribution of power inside the party shows, in comparison to classical examples of business firm parties, that Public Affairs embodies a new way of intersecting politics and business practices: the already existing party was taken over (in a hostile way, to use the language of business) by a business company.

Key words

Public Affairs Party; Business Firm Party; Political Entrepreneurs; Czech Party Politics

Ilona Kruntorádová
Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Czech Republic
email: kruntoradova@fsv.cuni.cz

Petr Jüptner
Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Czech Republic
email: juptner@fsv.cuni.cz

Abstract

The paper herein presents a summary of research targeting the attitudes of mayors of Czech municipalities towards the financing of municipalities and the submitted legislative determination of taxes. Data reflect expert interviews with a representative sample of nine municipalities in Central Bohemian region. The research was originally incorporated into the doctoral thesis by Ilona Kruntorádová accomplished at the Institute of Political Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague; it is contextualized in the paper with political debates about the new rules concerning the funding of municipalities. Such rules create divisions among the municipalities as well as the parties within the Nečas coalition government. The main research findings underline the prevailing lack of funds facilitating the development of small municipalities, mediation of the interests of municipalities through personal contacts rather than special interest associations, and deeper divisions between small municipalities and large cities. The research herein should primarily serve as a pre-research for larger inquiries involving a broader sample of municipalities throughout the Czech Republic.

Key words

local politics, small municipalities, dual seats, municipal associations, intermunicipal cooperation

Michal Nový
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: 273880@mail.muni.cz

Abstract

The increasing levels of electoral abstention across ‘new’ European democracies can downgrade the legitimacy of these regimes. From this point of view, the basic question ‘who does not vote and why?’ gains new relevance. My article focuses on the determinants of non-voting from a cross-national perspective. I present two approaches towards explaining electoral abstention. The first, arising from the Michigan model, is based on a solid connection between party choice and participation. This approach considers the lack of party identification as the main reason for non-voting. The second approach emphasizes the role of the decision-making process in abstention itself, without regard to the selection of a preferred party, and is connected with well-known concepts like political efficacy, trust, interest, and satisfaction. These explanations have often been utilized for well-established democracies, yet how do they work in post-Communist space? After a brief theoretical discussion, I investigate the robustness of presented theories by means of empirical analysis of the situation in 11 post-Communist countries. The European Social Survey 2008 is used for the verification of the importance of both approaches.

Key words

electoral abstention, non-voter, post-Communist Europe, Michigan model, political motivations

Abstract

Miroslav Novák (2012): Úvod do studia politiky, Praha: Slon, 783 pages.

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Stephen Clark, Julian Priestley (2012): Europe's Parliament: People, Places, Politics, John Harper Publishing. London, 432 pages.

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Jan Wintr (2010): Česká parlamentní kultura, Praha: Auditorium, 432 pages.

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Ve dnech 8. a 9. listopadu 2012 se v Brně konala konference Political Communication Sessions výzkumné skupiny IPSA pro politickou komunikaci (neboli RC 22). Jednalo se o první akci tohoto typu v České republice, kterou spolu s RC 22 organizovala katedra politologie a Mezinárodní politologický ústav FSS.

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