Archive 1/2015

Isabel Camisão
University of Coimbra, Portugal
email: isabelc@fl.uc.pt

Abstract

Trust in political institutions is vital to the normal functioning of the political system. The EU is a political system in the making, thus the levels of trust in EU institutions and in the EU as a whole could be an important indicator of the ‘health’ of this emerging polity. Trust is influenced by the social, economic and social environment, which means that periods of crisis could have an impact on trust. In this paper, we analyse the levels of trust during two different EU crises – the rejection of the constitutional treaty and the current Eurozone crisis. The purpose of the analysis is to establish how different types of crises, with different degrees of salience for Europeans and with different outcomes in terms of problem-solving efficiency, affect trust in the EU and confidence in its future.

Key words

trust; confidence; EU; crisis; issue salience

Miloš Brunclík
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
email: milosbrunclik@centrum.cz

Abstract

Analytical tools are presently lacking to study the role played by the head of state in the government formation process (GFP). To remedy this absence, this paper provides a detailed analysis of that role. Two variables are of major concern: a) the formal powers of the head of state in the GFP, and b) the control over the GFP held by the parliament. These two variables are used to construct a scheme that shows the pronounced heterogeneity exhibited by GFP patterns. The GFP is seen as the result of an institutionally structured bargaining process in which institutional variations make for major differences in expected outcomes. The analysis reveals a large number of GFP patterns. Examples of the GFP taken from several European countries show the patterns should not be subsumed under broad categories, since overgeneralization may lead to confusion and cause the role played by the head of state and political regimes in European countries to be misunderstood.

Key words

head of state; government formation process; president; monarch; prime minister

Kamil Gregor
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
email: kamil.gregor@gmail.com

Abstract

This article estimates the effects of the Land Reform in interwar Czechoslovakia on electoral support for political parties in the 1925 parliamentary elections, focusing on the Republican Party of Farmers and Small Landholders (RSZML). It tests the ‘land for votes’ hypothesis that states the reform was designed and executed by the party to better its performance in subsequent elections. It employs multivariate linear ordinary least squares regression analysis of data aggregated to the judicial-district level of public administration to estimate the effects, controlling for other variables that affect electoral performance, such as the structure of the rural workforce, nationality and religion. A strong positive correlation is found between the share of land redistributed under the reform and the electoral performance of RSZML ceteris paribus, offering evidence in favour of the ‘land for votes’ hypothesis.

Key words

Czechoslovakia; land reform; elections; regression analysis

Max Steuer
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University, Slovakia
email: steuer1@uniba.sk

Abstract

Parliamentary discourse in democratic states is both a form of implementation of freedom of speech and a way of increasing awareness of the quality and level of freedom of speech in democratic regimes. The Slovak Republic is a country with a distinct post-communist tradition of freedom of speech, where restrictions and censorship have stood opposed to demands by citizens for the real acknowledgment of this right. This case study analyses how the issue of freedom of speech has evolved in the parliamentary debates from 1992 to 2013. It utilizes content analysis to discover the contexts in which freedom of speech has appeared in parliamentary proceedings in the National Council of the Slovak Republic and what clues to lawmakers’ understanding of freedom of speech may be derived from these contexts. It is concluded that despite the consolidation of democracy and membership in various international organizations that incorporate protections for fundamental rights and rising awareness on freedom of speech itself in the country, freedom of speech was of marginal importance for Slovak MPs, which indicates the absence of a need for reflection on both domestic and international issues. A consequence of this neglect is the widening influence of courts in determining the scope and extent of freedom of speech in Slovakia.

Key words

freedom of speech; political discourse; parliamentary proceedings; content analysis; National Council of the Slovak Republic; legislation

Abstract

Cabada, Ladislav, et al. 2013. Strany jednoho tématu ve střední Evropě. Brno: Václav Klemm. 169 pages.

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Carvalho, Joao. 2014. Impact of Extreme Right Parties on Immigration Policy: Comparing Britain, France and Italy. London: Routledge. 248 pages.

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Garzia, Diego. 2014. Personalization of Politics and Electoral Change. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 137 pages.

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On Friday, September 26, 2014, an interna- tional conference entitled Giovanni Sartori: 90 Years of a Political Scientist was held in Prague on the occasion of the ninetieth birthday of the Italian political scientist.

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