Následující text prezentuje některé poznatky o občanské kultuře v České republice učiněné na základě speciálního šetření uskutečněného v srpnu 2009 jako součást mezinárodního komparativního výzkumu u příležitosti 50. výročí realizace původního výzkumu G. A. Almonda a S. Verby a následného vydání jejich známé knihy The Civic Culture: Attitudes and Perception of Democracy in Five Nations. Kromě toho se s využitím dat z předchozích dlouhodobých kontinuálních výzkumů veřejného mínění pokouší o stručný nástin vývoje občanské kultury v českých zemích v průběhu uplynulých dvaceti let po pádu komunistického režimu v roce 1989., Following text presents some findings concerning the civic culture in the Czech Republic based on results of a special survey conducted in August of 2009 as a part of international comparative research project commemorating the 50th anniversary of realization of G. A. Almond’s and S. Verba’s original survey and their classic study The Civic Culture: Attitudes and Perception of Democracy in Five Nations. Using data from continuous public opinion surveys the text also tries briefly to outline the development of civic culture in Czech countries during last two decades after fall of communist regime in 1989., and Jan Červenka.
The text analyzes the discourse on sovereignty in the Czech politics in the light of current processes of the transformation of sovereignty caused by the globalization and Europeanization. The author discusses the dispute between liberal-conservative critics of the European integration and cosmopolitan critics of the sovereign statehood and points to the limits of both positions. It is argued that the conservatives who warn against the loss of sovereignty in the ongoing process of Europeanization and who call for the protection of the Czech statehood cling to an obsolete and invalid concept of sovereignty that is no longer adequate to changing social and geopolitical conditions. Similarly, it is pointed out that the defenders of cosmopolitan Europe who take sovereignty to be an old and useless category hindering the process of democratization are unable to offer an alternative capable of responding to growing concerns regarding the democratic deficit and the loss of political autonomy. The text tries to show that both positions misconstrue the challenges of globalization and Europeanization for the state and democracy., Petra Gümplová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Comparisons of the recent protests in Turkey to the Arab Spring are met with negative responses among representatives of the Turkish governmnet as well as those criticizing the govemment. The attitudes of political opponents emphasizing the difference between Turkey and the other Middle Eastern countries show the impact of Orientalism on Turkish identity as well as perceptions of Turkey's role as a model for (not only) Middle Eastern Muslim countries., Jitka Malečková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The author in her essay briefly visits the history of thinking about democracy. However, the focus ofher contemplations is on describing the limits of contemporary democracy. One of the perils threatening thedemocratic parliamentary system is the “tyranny of the majority” in parliaments, which means that the opinionsand proposals of political minorities are being overlooked.It was Alexis de Tocqueville who defined the term “tyranny of the majority” and the author of this work tookthis term and its definition as the cornerstone of this article and applied it to the current democratic model.She also indicated what means could be used to weaken the tyranny of the majority (as well as the tyrannyof the minority) and strengthen democracy.
The fact that recent demographic data have been pointing to gradual but consistent dying out of Europe has become the key point of strong philosophical, political and other clashes in the last years. Most discussions focus especially on the issues related to the causes of this situation, thus rather omitting the real consequences on everyday lives of Europeans in the upcoming decades. Namely the economic and sociological impacts. The structure of population change in terms of nationality is the second important process in today’s Europe: The majority population comprising original nationalities on whose basis the state composition of Europe had been formed is gradually losing its dominance. Conversely, immigrants (particularly Muslims) and their children are gaining more and more influence on the structure of society. Various kinds of economic pressure are related to these processes, which in the future will inevitably grow into the shape of events completely changing the society and its economic system. I assume that in order to maintain its economic power, traditional European population will go through a process, during which some usual democratic principles and traditions will be put aside, for example the attitude towards the right to vote will change. That is because despite many complications, traditional European society will behave quite economically by keeping its political power as a guarantee of its economic power, and particularly as a guarantee that the standards of living and thus the possibility of satisfying one’s needs - manifesting itself through life style, among other things - will be preserved., Luboš Smrčka., and Obsahuje seznam literatury