Cevro Revue 2/2008
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
The Troublesome Concept of Sovereignty – the Czech Debate on European Unity 1 MATS BRAUN
722L The Troublesome Concept of Sovereignty – the Czech debate on European Unity 1 MATS BRAUN Abstract: How the European Union is conceptualised in the national and public polit- ical debates restricts the European policy options available to that state. It is therefore of interest to see which conceptions of the EU dominate in a country, and to understand how these can be identified and interpreted. This paper outlines a framework for discourse analysis and then applies it to the Czech public discourse on the European Union. I de- scribe how the debate can be analysed according to three different ideal types of legitima- tion, based on 1) an instrumental rationalisation, 2) a “we feeling”, 3) a “good argument”. I argue that any single actor will likely use arguments drawing upon all three levels, and I conclude that the Eurosceptics (Euro-realists) associated with the Civic Democratic Par- ty came to see EU membership as a “marriage of convenience”, a necessary evil, because their arguments went in two incompatible directions. According to the third ideal type, they had to favour membership as good for the national interest, in economic terms. Si- multaneously, this conflicted with the other two levels due to their belief that the EU is a threat to national sovereignty, and their conception of the nation state as the only legiti- mate arena for democratic decision-making. Advocates of membership, such as Prime Minister Špidla, had a more inclusive conception of the EU, enabling the argument that the EU strengthens nation states in globalising times. Key words: discourse analysis, legitimacy, European integration, the Czech Republic INTRODUCTION In this article I approach the question of how to identify and interpret con- testing conceptions of the European Union in political and public discourses. -
Non-Financial Report 2018 2 Other Countries
Non-financial Report 2018 OASIS OF COVERAGE IN THE HEART OF EUROPE Our non-financial performance indicators Already for the second time we are reviewing what we have done over the past year in our Non-financial Report. Electronic communication is not visible to the eye. We cannot touch it, we cannot weigh it, it cannot be wrapped up or tasted. It may therefore seem that it is everywhere and comes out of nowhere and that it could always be better, faster and more accessible without anyone lifting a finger. But of course, this is not how it is. Building and operating a fast and reliable accomplishments in many areas, we are what the internet service that is available truly everywhere world aspires to. requires huge investment, plenty of personnel, technology and electricity. If you ever wander Did you know that the Czech Republic is one around in the country, you will notice the of the leading countries in the world in mobile mobile signal transmitters. These are only the internet signal coverage and quality? And since a smaller, visible part of the network. Yes, internet picture is more than a thousand words, you can connectivity cannot be seen, but of course we all see for yourself: on images from OpenSignal, an expect to have it. At O2, we strive to make this independent company that specializes in wireless expectation a daily reality. For you, for everyone, coverage and quality mapping, the Czech for all of us. Republic is a green island in the heart of Europe. Take one look at the coverage map and you will Other countries, even OECD and G8 countries, see that we are doing well. -
Přidružené Organizace Občanské Demokratické Strany“ Zpracoval Samostatně a Uvedl Veškeré Použité Prameny a Použitou Literaturu
MASARYKOVA UNIVERZITA V BRNĚ FAKULTA SOCIÁLNÍCH STUDIÍ Katedra politologie Přidružené organizace Občanské demokratické strany Magisterská diplomová práce Adam Barták Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Lubomír Kopeček, Ph.D. UČO: 78567 Obor: PL Imatrikulační ročník: 2002 Linz, 2006 Vyjádření o autorství práce : Prohlašuji, že jsem magisterskou práci na téma „Přidružené organizace Občanské demokratické strany“ zpracoval samostatně a uvedl veškeré použité prameny a použitou literaturu. 2 Poděkování : Za odborné vedení práce, cenné připomínky a rady si dovoluji poděkovat PhDr. Lubomíru Kopečkovi, Ph.D. 3 Obsah : 1.Úvod ..........................................................................................................................2 2. Přidružené organizace politických stran za První republiky …….....4 2.1 První republika a politické strany…………………………………….....4 2.2 Národní demokracie a republikánská strana……………………...……9 3. Centrum pro ekonomiku a politiku – CEP ……………………....…..…15 3.1 Historie a charakteristika…………………………………….……........15 3.2 Organizační struktura………………………………………….…….…15 3.3 Hlavní aktivity a cíle ……………………………………………....……16 3.4 Financování………………………………...……………...………….…23 3.5 Spolupráce s jinými organizacemi a vztah k ODS………………….…24 4. CEVRO a Liberálně-konzervativní akademie ……...……………...….28 4.1 Historie a charakteristika……………………………………………….28 4.2 Organizační struktura…………………………………………………..28 4.3 Hlavní aktivity a cíle …………………………………………...……….29 4.4 Financování…………………...……………………………………........38 4.5 Spolupráce s jinými organizacemi a vztah -
The Shape of The
2017 Aspen Annual Conference The Shape of the Nov 29 2017 #AspenAnnual2017 Contents Foreword 5 Program 6 Speakers 8 Economy and Competitiveness 24 Quality of Governance 27 Education 29 National Security and Resilience 32 Quality of Life 35 Foreword We are doing well, but could be doing far better. How do we stack up against our closest neighbors? Who should we compare ourselves to? We will be meeting for the third time this year in order to address questions about the development of our society. The Shape of the Czech Republic conference followed up on the Czech Republic: The Shape We’re In project which the Aspen Institute launched in 2015 and which sought to map the country’s status in various areas based on available data and international comparisons. The conferences last year and the year before that successfully ofered a number of answers to the question of why the Czech Republic fares poorly in comparison with similar countries and what can be done about it. The starting point was the attempt to place various aspects subject to international comparison into broader contexts: economic competitiveness, education, the functioning of public institutions, the quality of life and security. This year’s conference on the Czech Republic is connected to an international conference entitled The Shape of (Central) Europe, which allows us to examine the local situation in the context of contemporary Europe. Our thanks go to everyone who took part in the working groups, in particular their coordinators, who drafted the reports contained in this booklet. This is not an academic study intended for specialists, but material for public discussion. -
In Europe Economy and the Limits of Czech Presidency’S Possibilities Guantánamo Troubles Relations with New American President ODS Has Introduced Its Candidates
1 - 15 February 2009 4/2009 A Bi -mon thly Review of European Aff airs from the Czech Perspective In this Issue Switzerland “Stays” in Europe Economy and the Limits of Czech Presidency’s Possibilities Guantánamo Troubles Relations with New American President ODS has Introduced its Candidates Mini -analyses Switzerland “Stays” in Europe Katarína Lokšová, Michal Vít On Sunday 8 th February a plebiscite on expanding free movement of persons to new EU members (Bulgaria and Romania) took place in Switzerland. By a majority of 59,6 %, the Swiss voters have supported free movement of EU citizens in Switzerland with only four cantons voting against . There are several reasons for this decision. The Union and Switzerland have a rather unusual mutual agreement which includes the so-called guillotine clause which enables the EU to cancel all its agreements with Switzerland (including economic ones) in case Switzerland denies free movement to its citizens in a referendum. A related reason why a majority of the Swiss has decided to vote “yes” is the considerable dependence on trade relations with EU members. Also a great part of Swiss qualified workforce comes from the EU. Despite that Brussels feared the referendum’s outcome could be negative. In the time of a financial crisis, opening to foreign workers is a largely unpopular measure. The biggest political party, right-oriented SVP (Schweizerische Volkspartei) launched a quite aggressive campaign against the expansion of free movement to Bulgaria and Romania. It argued that both countries are poor which will lead to an influx of migrants to the already overcrowded Switzerland. -
The Consolidation of Centre-Right Parties in the Czech Republic As an Issue for Comparative Analysis
The consolidation of centre-right parties in the Czech Republic as an issue for comparative analysis Submission to Politologický časopis Dr Seán Hanley Senior Lecturer in East European Politics School of Slavonic and East European Studies University College London [email protected] tel + 44 207 679 8818 1 The consolidation of centre-right parties in the Czech Republic as an issue for comparative analysis1 Introduction The emergence of strong parties of the centre-right in the Czech Republic in the early 1990s of a predominantly neo-liberal or ‘liberal conservative’ orientation was one of the more unexpected outcomes of early post-transition politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Many commentators had assumed that Czech(oslovak) party system would be shaped by what they took to be) the country’s ‘social democratic tradition’ or cultural proximity to the social market economies such as Austria or Germany. A centre-right bloc, if it emerged at all, was expected, to be Christian Democratic in character. Such expectations were rapidly confounded by the formation and rise of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) in 1990-1 which, as academic observers more correctly anticipated, became one of the most electorally successful and enduring party formations in the region, contributing both to stable broader pattern of centre-right politics and the wider consolidation of the Czech party system. In this paper, rather giving a narrative overview of the development of Czech centre-right parties or considering its ‘unexpected’ character (for my own attempts to address this see Hanley 2007), I reflect upon the questions of Czech centre-right’s stabilization reviewing how existing literature has addressed this issue and considering what future directions might be open to researchers. -
Jánabráchismus V České Republice Aneb Mocenské Sítě V Letech 2010–2017
Jánabráchismus v České republice aneb mocenské sítě v letech 2010–2017 Nadační fond proti korupci Obsah 1 Předávání moci mezi lety 2010 až 2017 3 2 Vlivné osoby a jejich vazby 11 Andrej Babiš . 11 Alexej Beljajev . 15 Pavel Bém . 16 Daniel Beneš . 19 Lenka Bradáčová . 23 Milan Cícer . 26 Vladimír Dbalý . 28 Martin Dvořák . 33 Miroslav Elfmark . 37 Igor Gáborík . 39 Libor Grygárek . 41 Richard Háva . 44 Martin Horák . 45 Tomáš Hrdlička . 46 Milan Chovanec . 50 Ivo Ištvan . 56 Roman Janoušek . 57 Zdeněk Kabátek . 62 Miroslav Kalousek . 63 Václav Klaus . 65 Ivan Langer . 68 Dagmar Máchová . 71 Karel Muzikář ml. 73 Vratislav Mynář . 76 Jana Nagyová (dnes Nečasová) . 78 Petr Nečas . 82 Martin Nejedlý . 84 Radek Pokorný . 87 Petr Rafaj . 92 Vlastimil Rampula . 94 David Rath . 95 Ivo Rittig . 97 Martin Roman . 100 Luděk Sekyra . 104 Bohuslav Sobotka . 106 Jaroslav Strnad . 109 Robert Šlachta . 110 Marek Šnajdr . 112 Petr Šťovíček . 114 Alena Vitásková . 115 Zdeněk Zbytek . 119 Miloš Zeman . 121 Pavel Zeman . 124 Rejstřík 126 Literatura 129 2 1 Předávání moci mezi lety 2010 až 2017 Souběžně s prvním překročením státní hranice cizím vojákem v uniformě vojsk armád Varšavské smlouvy hodinu před půlnocí dne 20. srpna 1968 obsadila skupinka příslušníků speciálních jednotek sovětské armády Generální štáb tehdejší československé armády [349], [363]. Příslušníci Specnaz dorazili do Prahy krátce předtím jako civilisté. Jejich úkolem bylo zabránit odporu československé armády. Souběžně s tím ministr obrany SSSR maršál Andrej Grečko telefonicky „upozornil“ ministra národní obrany generála Martina Dzúra výhružkou „pokud padne jediný výstřel, budete viset na telegrafním sloupu!“ před ozbrojeným odporem vůči jednotkám vojsk Varšavské smlouvy vstupujícím do Československa [349], [350]. -
Perspectives: the Central European Review of International Affairs
Perspectives25 Winter 2005/2006 The Central European Review of International Perspectives Affairs The Troublesome Concept of Sovereignty New Wars – Old Wars: Winter 2005/2006 the Case of Guatemala 25 Czech Dissidents’ Discourse on Neoconservatism The Polish-Czechoslovak Conflict over Teschen Silesia A War of Words: Language and Conflict in the Middle East INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PRAGUE Perspectives25 Winter 2005/2006 The Central European Review of International Affairs INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PRAGUE EDITORIAL BOARD: Petr Drulák (Chairman), Institute of International Relations, Prague, Czech Republic Regina Axelrod, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA Dorothee Bohle, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Vladimír Handl, Institute of International Relations, Prague, Czech Republic Karen Henderson, University of Leicester, United Kingdom Petr Jehlička, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom Paul Luif, Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Vienna, Austria Jiří Šedivý, George C. Marshall Centre for European Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Andrei V. Zagorski, Institute for Applied International Research, Moscow, Russia Co-Editors: Petr Kratochvíl, [email protected] Petr Jehlička, [email protected] Book Review Editor: Jan Karlas, [email protected] Opinions expressed are those of the individual authors, and thus represent neither the views of the editors, nor those of the Institute of International Relations. Articles Appearing in this journal are abstracted or indexed in Academic Search Premier (via EBSCO host); ABI/INFORM Global, Academic Research Library (via ProQuest), World Affairs Online, Czech National Bibliography. Editorial and Administrative Office: Institute of International Relations, Nerudova 3, 118 50 Prague 1, Czech Republic. Tel.: 00 420 / 251 108 101 (P. Kratochvíl), 00 420 / 251 108 124 (J. -
Classical Liberalism in the Czech Republic · Econ Journal Watch
Discuss this article at Journaltalk: http://journaltalk.net/articles/5889 ECON JOURNAL WATCH 12(2) May 2015: 274–292 Classical Liberalism in the Czech Republic Josef Šíma1 and Tomáš Nikodym2 LINK TO ABSTRACT In the Czech Republic the term liberalism still signifies classical liberalism, so we just speak of liberalism. In this article we treat the cultural and intellectual life of liberalism in the Czech Republic, as opposed to the policy record, and report especially on recent history. We especially treat economists and economic thought. In what is today the Czech Republic, liberalism has had a very turbulent history, with glorious ups and wretched downs. The story can be divided into three periods: 1. The pre-World War II period: The country was part of the intellectual sphere of the Austrian monarchy, which ended in 1918 but a legacy of strong Austrian influence continued past that date. 2. The period of the oppressive political regimes of national and international socialisms, with short and interesting revivals of independent thinking in 1945–1948 and the mid-1960s. 3. The period from the Velvet Revolution in 1989 to today. In most European countries today, liberal thought is marginalized and underdeveloped. But in the Czech Republic it has considerable presence—in the academic community, in public debate, and in public opinion generally. Such presence flows out of the work done over the past several decades. The lead author 1. CEVRO Institute [school of legal and social studies], 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic; Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic. -
Asociace Obranného a Bezpečnostního Průmyslu ČR the Defence and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic
Asociace obranného a bezpečnostního průmyslu ČR The Defence and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic Washingtonova 25 110 00 Praha 1 Czech Republic Tel.: + 420 224 235 320 Fax: + 420 224 235 319 E-mail: [email protected] www.aobp.cz DSIA ADHOG Advertising s.r.o. AERO TRADE a.s. AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s. ALFAVARIA Group s.r.o. ALLSAT s.r.o. Aon Central and Eastern Europe a.s. ARGUN s.r.o. ATS-TELCOM PRAHA a.s. AUDIOPRO s.r.o. AURA, s.r.o. AVEC CHEM s.r.o. AVIATION SERVICE, a.s. B.O.I.S. - FILTRY, spol. s r.o. BAE SYSTEMS (INTERNATIONAL) LTD BANZAI spol. s r.o. BESTIS s.r.o. Cetag, s.r.o. CEVRO Institut, o.p.s. Corpus Solutions a.s. Česká letecká servisní a.s. Česká zbrojovka a.s. Československá exportní spol. s r.o. DICOM, spol. s r.o. EGO Zlín, spol. s r.o. ELDIS Pardubice, s.r.o. ERA, a.s. EuroNet.CZ spol. s r.o. EVPÚ Defence a.s. EXCALIBUR ARMY spol. s r.o. EXPLOSIA a.s. FENIX Protector s.r.o. Glomex MS, s.r.o. GORDIC spol. s r.o. Gumárny Zubří, akciová společnost GUMOTEX, akciová společnost ICZ a.s. Imex Group s.r.o. INNA s.r.o. INTERCOLOR, akciová společnost INTV, spol. s r.o. KARBOX s.r.o. Koutný spol. s r.o. KOVOSVIT MAS, a.s. LOM PRAHA s.p. MAX MERLIN spol. s r.o. MEDIAP, spol. s r.o. Meopta Systems, s.r.o. -
Political Parties, Their Performance, and Quality of Czech
Czech political parties, their functions and performance: Assessing Czech party politics1 Vlastimil Havlík, Vít Hloušek2 Abstract The paper tries to assess the roles that political parties play in the political system of Czech parliamentary democracy. Popular evaluation of the parties’ performance seen by the eyes of the Czech public is rather skeptical. Parties are seen as weak and corrupted vehicles of political power without transmitting important societal interests and embodying important political and moral values. We are going to present different point of view. The analysis of Czech political parties will be based on a catalogue of parties’ systemic functions and evaluation of the scope and quality of Czech political parties in respect to them. Keywords: political parties, democracy, functions, Czech Republic, elections, representation, articulation, aggregation In the European Union (EU) today political parties face a range of issues and challenges within the party systems of their respective countries. For parties in new member states of the EU, those which underwent a process of democratic transition during the 1990s, the situation is more complicated than for the rest. In a way, their position is more precarious than that of their Western European counterparts, as the concept of “political party” has various and not always positive connotations in Central Europe. Our contribution will not attempt to evaluate the positives and negatives of party politics in all EU member states with post-communist legacies, but will focus on the Czech Republic. Indeed, it was in the Czech Republic, following the fall of the communist regime, that the first democratic election (in Summer 1990) was won by the Civic Forum with its slogan “Parties are for partisans, Civic Forum is for everybody.” This slogan had an obvious tactical importance as part of the wider struggle with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and other parties of the former National Front. -
Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Rights Selected Speakers’ Bios
Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Rights Selected Speakers’ Bios Petr Jan Pajas, MSc. Co-founder of the conference, Petr Jan Pajas is AAU President Emeritus, formerly serving as a member of the AAU Board of Trustees. A physicist by original profession he was forced to abandon the profession in aftermath of 1968 events. In early 1990th, he managed the Czechoslovak Charta 77 Foundation and the Office for Establishment of the Central European University in Prague. Since that time, he worked in several other managerial positions and is actively involved in promoting the civil society. Keynote Speakers Dr. Daniel Kroupa Daniel Kroupa is a Czech politician, philosopher, university professor, and former dissident and signatory of Charter 77. After the Velvet Revolution, he was one of the founders of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA). Some of the other positions he held include member of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia, member of the Senate of the Czech Parliament, and member of the European Parliament. Dr. Alexandr Vondra Alexandr Vondra is a Czech politician, diplomat, and a former dissident and signatory of Charter 77. During the Velvet Revolution, he co-founded the Civic Forum, a political movement. He served as Minister of Defence, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since his exit from politics, Vondra has served as director of the Prague Centre for Transatlantic Relations at the CEVRO Institute in Prague. Prof. Dr. theol. Dr. phil. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, DD Thomas Schirrmacher is a Christian moral philosopher and a specialist in the Sociology of Religion and Religious freedom. He serves the World Evangelical Alliance as Associate Secretary General for Theological Concerns and as Chair of the Theological Commission.