|
|
Consumerism as part of U.S. propaganda during the Cold War
Gajdácsová, Jana ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Calda, Miloš (referee)
This thesis examines the role of consumerism in American propaganda. Its main objective is to show the strategy by which the American government used consumerism and consumer goods to legitimize its regime abroad. This case study is mainly focused on the 1950s and it is divided into three parts. The first part addresses the attitudes of the world public towards the American consumerism at the beginning of the Cold War, the beginnings of the American information programs fighting against the rising anti-Americanism, and also the exhibitions promoting the Marshall Plan. The second part is dedicated to the United States Information Agency's operations, to the U.S. participation in international trade fairs, and to the development of the People's Capitalism concept. The third part dissects the American National Exhibition in Moscow, which represented one of the biggest achievements of the American overseas propaganda. This thesis, therefore, analyses how the consumerism was integrated into the American ideology and became a key element in the struggle of the Cold War.
|
|
| |
|
|
Rational Irrationality in the USA
Kleňha, Jan ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Calda, Miloš (referee)
In this thesis, the theory of rational irrationality is used to explore the incentives behind seemingly irrational beliefs held by a large part of the contemporary American society towards anthropogenic climate change. Applying causal analysis, three questions are answered: "is it rationally irrational for people to be indifferent towards climate change?" "Are Americans inherently more likely than others to hold irrational beliefs about global issues such as climate change?" If so, "is this phenomenon rooted in certain values that constitute the American identity?" The author focuses on specific "American values" and uses statistics and recent empirical studies to find correlations and causality between those values and the exhibited behavior of individuals, while discussing its possible causes and implications. The study concludes that the root cause of irresponsibility of the American citizen towards climate change is a lack of social mechanisms rewarding individuals for holding epistemologically accurate beliefs. The author then proposes a set of general measures to be prioritized in order to improve social reward mechanisms in the American society. If implemented, those measures should be able to effectively enforce epistemic rationality in the U.S. political debate, which is desirable...
|
|
|
U.S. media before the Iraq invasion. Quantitative analysis of newspaper articles with respect to balance of sources
Navrátilová, Kristýna ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Bečka, Jan (referee)
The role of the media before and during the Iraq war in 2003 in the United States still resonates topic. Journalists are often criticized for failing to fulfill their roles and violations of journalistic standards. This thesis deals with the balance of articles in two national newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, in the period before the invasion of Iraq, specifically from the August 2002 until the invasion on March 19, 2003. The thesis is a quantitative content analysis of the articles from the front pages of these newspapers. The main hypothesis of the research is that, according to criticism that the media received, there should be more sources supportive of the administration of George W. Bush and almost no opposition. The thesis examines, whether journalists followed the norm of balance of sources, or whether is the criticism justified. The result is, that despite the lack of opposition on the domestic political scene, journalist found the opposition sources abroad. Reporting of these two newspapers were, in terms of used sources, balanced.
|
|
|
TTIP: Why did the negotiations start as late as 2013?
Karl, Václav ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Fiřtová, Magdalena (referee)
This thesis' focus is a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States of America called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The main goal of the thesis is to answer the question of why the negotiations began as late as 2013. The thesis touches on the issue of regionalism; therefore it presents a short introduction on this topic in the beginning. It then follows to the Second World War and by chronologically analysing the trade relations between the EU and the USA it describes the factors which led to the negotiations of TTIP, as well as those that called them off. Among these main factors it primarily mentions the failure of multilateral negotiations within the WTO and various interest groups on both sides of the Atlantic, mainly trade and consumer organisations. Furthermore, it mentions the Great Recession of 2007 and the decline in the influence of the United States and the European union on the world geopolitical scene. The thesis also analyses which of the mentioned factors were relevant at certain moments and in individual cases, as well as if it shifted the negotiations back to the start. The whole thesis is written from the american perspective on this issue and it takes the european one into consideration only in the cases of dispute. In the end, it...
|
|
|
Mexico's dual approach at the southern border : clash of realism and humanitarianism
Vrchota, Petr ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
In my thesis I will show the case of Mexico, a country that is struggling hard to fulfill its principles of national security - one of the most characteristic features of Mexico's policies. Simultaneously, Mexico is making efforts to fulfill human rights' obligations of both its nationals and foreigners. Increasingly especially since the turn of the millennia, the United States has been fortifying its border with Mexico with the aim to prevent the Mexican and other immigrants reaching the United States illegally. Yet, hard-line border controls and migration-related policies have not been adopted solely by the United States, but also Mexico has played a dominant role in fortifying its border areas, especially along the southern border with Belize and Guatemala. My research questions would then focus on what is driving Mexico to adopt dual approach towards Central American migrants along Mexico's southern border, and why is Mexico balancing between realistic principles of national security and human rights' obligations, which has espoused by signing and ratifying international conventions?
|
|
|
History in computer games: case study on "Valiant Hearts: The Great War"
Šindelář, Jakub ; Matějka, Ondřej (advisor) ; Kozák, Kryštof (referee)
This thesis is a case study analysis of the visualization of history in computer games. The analyzed game, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, was published by the French company Ubisoft in 2014. The game is set in The First World War and was developed in cooperation with The Centenary Parnership Proram. The main goals of the thesis are following: First, determine if the vision of history in the game reflects the current paradigms of French historiography of The First World War. Second, to identify and to interpret particularities and deformations in the way the game recreates history. The first, theoretical chapter presents the phenomenon of The First World War in the French context, the study of computer games and the methodology of the analysis. For the analysis I have created my own methodology which combines various approaches used elsewhere. Chapter 2 contains the analysis, which is further structured into the analysis of the story from the perspective of the main characters and locations (2.1), analysis of the object inventory and the in game miniencyclopedia (2.2), and the analysis of game's style and form -the graphic and audio style, along with the issue of player freedom (2.3). For greater clarity, the parts of the game are referred to through it's subchapters. The results of the analysis...
|
|
|
Prison Privatization in the United States: The Limits and Consequences of the Transfer of Public Power into Private Hands
Kršková, Martina ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Kucer, Maxim (referee)
The thesis Prison Privatization in the United States: The Limits and Consequences of the Transfer of Public Power into Private Hands analyzes selected consequences of prison privatization in the United States. Although the prison privatization in the US is considered a modern phenomenon, the private sector was involved in corrections from the very early history of the US. Therefore, the thesis introduces the history and philosophy of private sector involvement in corrections. The thesis then examines the factors that led to the decision to privatize prisons, namely overcrowding of prisons, other political factors, and so-called PIE-program that enabled interstate trade with prisoner-made goods. Further, it provides detailed statistics to illustrate the steep rise in the prison population. It also addresses the question of cost-savings and efficiency and it provides examples of specific factors that influence economic performance of private prisons. Important part is dedicated to the growth of prison-industrial complex characterized by the overlapping interests of bureaucracy, politicians and private prison companies that lead to increased pressure to maintain or increase the prison population. In the final chapter, the thesis analyzes the consequences such as increasing tax burden; demographic...
|
|
|
United States Anti-Drug Policy in Colombia: Consolidation of the La Macarena Region as a Lesson derived from Plan Colombia?
Koutenská, Kristýna ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Kozák, Kryštof (referee)
The United States officially declared war on drugs in the early 1970s with the aim to stop the flow of illegal narcotics coming into the country. Not only did Washington enhance the domestic anti-drug policy, but it also strengthened the foreign anti-drug policy and launched an extensive campaign in Latin America, one of the major producers of drugs in the world. Chemical eradication and interdiction of drug-trafficking routes in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia led to a relocation of the cultivation of illegal crops to Colombia, closer to the laboratories. Thus, Bogota became the centre of attention for Washington. This bachelor thesis describes U.S. anti-drug strategies and highlights its limits, which influence the success rate of specific plans, in this case Plan Colombia and La Macarena Integral Consolidation Plan (PCIM). In 2000 Washington approved an ambitious Plan Colombia. One of its main objects was to reduce the production of cocaine in Colombia within six years. However, massive aerial eradication only led to a displacement of a large number of people and in the end the production of coca and cocaine even increased. The Colombia's National Territorial Consolidation Plan, more precisely the PCIM was supposed to put this situation right. The aim was to regain control over the municipalities that...
|
|
|
Disfranchising Prisoners in the U.S. - New Means of Segragation?: Case Study of Commonwealth of Virginia
Pánková, Tereza ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kozák, Kryštof (referee)
The thesis Disfranchising Prisoners in the U.S. - New Means of Segregation?: Case Study of Commonwealth of Virginia deals with the equality of the criminal justice system in Virginia. The goal of this thesis is to determine, whether the criminal justice system in the Commonwealth of Virginia is used to discriminate against minorities and if the laws and practices are creating a group of second-class citizens out of African Americans. The first chapter will be devoted to the data and history of disenfranchisement, the second chapter will deal with the consequences of a felony conviction, such as the loss of the right to vote, loss of employment and loss of social benefits and parental rights. In the last chapter of my thesis, I will analyze the possibilities of a future reform and its main sources, such as court decisions, the ratification of a constitutional amendment to the Virginia Constitution, and gubernatorial action by the Governor of Virginia. The findings of this thesis show that the criminal justice in Virginia is used to discriminate against African Americans and that the laws and practices are creating a group of second-class citizens out of African Americans.
|
guest ::
RSS feed.