Archive 1/2014

Nicola Maggini
Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
email: nicolamaggini@libero.it

Abstract

The economic crisis, the fall of the Berlusconi government and the birth of the technocratic government led by Mario Monti have produced several changes in the Italian political system. Certainly, one of the most important innovations in the context of Italian politics has been the emergence of the Five Star Movement. Such a new party has achieved spectacular overnight success in several elections at sub-national level, and now it is the most voted party in the 2013 national elections. The Five Star Movement combines anti- establishment rhetoric with demands for political reform. The article analyses the electoral growth of the Five Star Movement using both aggregate data and individual data from “Osservatorio Politico CISE” (i.e. cross-section and panel surveys conducted from November 2011 to March 2013). In particular, the author investigates whether the profile of the supporters of the Five Star Movement has changed over time, both from a political and a social standpoint. Finally, the author analyses what factors influence the electoral choice for the Five Star Movement, also from a longitudinal perspective.

Key words

Five Star Movement; 2013 Italian political elections; voting behaviour; multilevel panel analysis

Josef Koudelka
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: koudelkapv@seznam.cz

Abstract

This article’s aim is to examine the role of political philosophy and the possibilities of how it can help policy- makers to create and evaluate immigration policies more carefully. It should be shown that just policy needs to deal not only with the consequences which affect citizens but also with other impacts on foreigners. Philosophers can at least find ideals which reflect relevant liberal values and analyse if immigration policies and their implantation do not harm important liberal principles. They can also point out the problematic aspects of realistic and idealistic approaches to immigration policy. Then the equality and freedom of citizens and immigrants could be more respected. It is important especially for refugees because their situation can be very difficult when they are able to find a country where they can live.

Key words

immigration; political philosophy; realistic and idealistic approaches; justice

Richard Turcsányi
Department of International Relations and European Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: turcsanyi@mail.muni.cz

Abstract

The paper presents an application of the concept of strategic culture as a possible way to analyse the foreign policy of a state by stressing its uniqueness and beliefs in contrast to commonality and rationality. The goal is to find out whether the strategic culture approach is a useful method to understand the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China. In the paper it is firstly discovered that Chinese strategic culture is perhaps not just belligerent or peaceful alone, but both at the same time in a distinct manner. Furthermore, it is argued that exactly this knowledge helps us to understand foreign policy discourse at various levels within the country: government, academia, media, and public opinion. Analysing each of the levels shows that with the exception of the media, all three remaining actors share similar belief patterns with the ‘dualist’ strategic culture, thus holding peaceful self-perception and keenness to use pro-active practical solutions.

Key words

People’s Republic of China; strategic culture; Chinese foreign policy thinking; Chinese strategic culture; Chinese foreign policy; Chinese media; Chinese public opinion

Maja Keržan
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
e-mail: maja.kerzan@gov.si

Alenka Krašovec
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
e-mail: alenka.krasovec@fdv.uni-lj.si

Abstract

Throughout history public administration has faced various challenges. Today those challenges are visible in the need to connect public administration and successful democracy, which is evident in the emphasis of the idea of serving citizens and not (only) users. It is obvious that the answer can be found in the concept of the new public service. The authors focus on whether it is possible, in Slovenia, which is facing similar challenges as those of many other developed countries, to introduce the concept of the new public service formally or actually, especially the element of open public administration. The research has shown that in the last decade a lot has changed concerning this, but at the same time a lot has stayed the same. That is why the authors establish that the strength of the concept of the new public service lies within the formal aspect (the existence of the special document that demands the openness of public administration to users); on a lesser scale this actually exists. For this reason, open public administration in Slovenia is still an unfulfilled wish.

Key words

public administration; democracy; interest groups; new public service; participation

Abstract

Charvát, Jakub. 2013. Politika volebních reforem v ČR po roce 1989. Praha: Grada. 232 pages.

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Baun, Michael; Marek, Dan (eds). 2013. The New Member States and the European Union: Foreign Policy and Europeanization. Abingdon - New York: Routledge. 234 pages.

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Osyková, Linda. 2012. Volebné kampane politických strán na Slovensku počas 1. ČSR. Bratislava: VEDA SAV Publishing. 274 pages.

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