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Reception of Strategic Economic Narratives: Case Study of the Kenyan News Discourse.
Řehák, Vilém ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Horáková, Hana (referee) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
Strategic narrative is a communicative tool for political elites to construct a shared meaning to the international politics, to articulate state's interests, to change the discursive environment, and to shape the behaviour of other actors. It has three different dynamics, which proceed simultaneously and reinforce each other: formation of the narrative within the given state, its projection in the international arena, and its reception in other states. Theory of strategic narratives fits well into the framework of new regionalism, which tries to analyse relations between the processes of globalization, globalism, regionalization, and regionalism. Until recently, such analyses were conducted from state-level and positivist perspective. As a result, the dimension of reception remained understudied. The presented thesis is an attempt to fill this gap. It analyses global political economy from the interpretivist constructivist perspective: it uses the leading local newspaper as a data sources and analyses media (news) discourse as one form of a broad societal discourse. Such an analysis can help us to analyse how local society assesses and reacts to strategic narratives and their internalization or rejection by local elites. In my thesis, I focus on narratives of the three superpowers (the US, the EU,...
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Seeking community reconciliation through traditional practice. The Sierra Leonean experience
Werkman, Kateřina ; Moravcová, Dagmar (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee) ; Kandert, Josef (referee)
Sierra Leone was torn apart by a violent conflict that lasted for over a decade between 1991 and 2002. The deep physical and emotional scars it left on the people and their communities and the destruction of the country's socio-economic and institutional foundations are still visible today. But Sierra Leoneans have also shown an extraordinary ability to deal with the painful and violent past and to move on. This does not mean that the victims would be able to easily forget the suffering they endured or that the return and (re)integration of the ex-combatants into the society would always go smoothly and effortlessly. Yet, if you ask around in the villages across the country, people almost always answer the same: "We have reconciled". What do they mean by that? And how have they achieved it? These questions form the core puzzle of the present thesis. It explores the process of reconciliation and restoration of relationships at village level in Sierra Leone, with a particular focus on the role of local ceremonies. While its main concern is with the specific circumstances in Sierra Leone, it also aims to contribute to the debates in transitional justice and peacebuilding fields regarding the 'local' practices of reconciliation in African post-conflict societies. The thesis argues that Sierra Leonean...
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Bejas - history, society and culture
Záhořík, Jan ; Kumsa, Alemayehu (advisor) ; Kropáček, Luboš (referee)
A history of the Beja tribes goes back to the antiquity. The Beja nation represents o ne of the oldest known African nations. Exploring foreign countries and nations, was mainly for Greek historians, connected with several problems. Strange civilizations were described in more or less unreal colours, as for example headless or without other parts of the body. The change in viewing "the others" came in the Middle Ages thanks to Arab scholars to whom we are obliged for their valuable information about the Beja tribes. Unfortunately, we do not have a rich information base from the ancient times. We can get some information from the rock inscriptions, but there are only few relevant sources describing the Beja tribes. Especially Cerman speaking travelers and scholars of the 19th century play an important role in learning about the Beja. Their records can help us to look at their history and to know a bit from their everyday life. From the 20th century we have a lack of records and direct resources. That is the reason why reconstruction of the modern Beja history can be difficult. ft is surely interesting to consider how the view of the Beja was changing throughout the times. First of all, they were seen as the "wild ones, " dangerous nomad nation which is an enemy oj all its neighbours. Then, especially in the...
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Critical review of Mary Douglas`s Witchcraft Theory
Vacíková, Tereza ; Chlup, Radek (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
This diploma thesis has two aims. The first one is exploration of "Grid/Group Theory" as it was presented by its author Mary Douglas in "Cultural Bias" (1978). According to this theory the thinking in the idiom of witchcraft is a product of an perception of specific social structure by an individual. The crux of this thesis should be comparation of social structure of few African societies with their cosmologies according to the empirical materials. It should proof the validation of the theory and also show some dificulties which the student must face during the application. The second aim is description of witchcraft and sorcery phenomenon and attempt to determine its essence or function for society.
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Security Complex of African Great Lakes
Pfeifer, Tomáš ; Werkman, Kateřina (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
The thesis focuses on analysis of causes of armed conflicts within security complex of the African Great Lakes region. Explored period is situated between 1990 and present. The major part of text is devoted concrete analysis of causes of conflicts according to sector approach. The thesis attempts to describe main causal frameworks of conflicts within researched area eventually to find some their common features.
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Reception of Strategic Economic Narratives: Case Study of the Kenyan News Discourse.
Řehák, Vilém ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Horáková, Hana (referee) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
Strategic narrative is a communicative tool for political elites to construct a shared meaning to the international politics, to articulate state's interests, to change the discursive environment, and to shape the behaviour of other actors. It has three different dynamics, which proceed simultaneously and reinforce each other: formation of the narrative within the given state, its projection in the international arena, and its reception in other states. Theory of strategic narratives fits well into the framework of new regionalism, which tries to analyse relations between the processes of globalization, globalism, regionalization, and regionalism. Until recently, such analyses were conducted from state-level and positivist perspective. As a result, the dimension of reception remained understudied. The presented thesis is an attempt to fill this gap. It analyses global political economy from the interpretivist constructivist perspective: it uses the leading local newspaper as a data sources and analyses media (news) discourse as one form of a broad societal discourse. Such an analysis can help us to analyse how local society assesses and reacts to strategic narratives and their internalization or rejection by local elites. In my thesis, I focus on narratives of the three superpowers (the US, the EU,...
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Amharas in Ethiopia
Zárubová, Martina ; Kumsa, Alemayehu (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
This thesis is devoted to the Ethiopian Amharas, who had and still have big impact on the present Ethiopian society in spite of not being majority in the state. Before it was thanks to the privileged position within the Orthodox Church and later, thanks to taking control of the educational system, when Amharic became the official language of whole Ethiopia. The work is based on theoretical study of literature and is structured in such a way as to include all the important phases of the history and life of Ethiopian Amhara. In this thesis I give a brief overview of the history, including the legend of the origin of the Solomonic dynasty, to which Amharas still avow. In the view of the fact that significant role in the Ethiopian society plays also the affiliation of most of the Amharas with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church I am pursuing its history and hierarchy. I also appraise religious rituals, feasts and celebrations. In individual parts of the thesis I follow up the historical roots of Amharic and its relevance to a particular language group. Role of Amharic is analysed also with respect to the so-called amharization process - Ethiopian modernization. I also put up a historical view of the language situation in Ethiopia in general and briefly describe other Ethiopian languages, including their...
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Critical review of Mary Douglas`s Witchcraft Theory
Vacíková, Tereza ; Chlup, Radek (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
This diploma thesis has two aims. The first one is exploration of "Grid/Group Theory" as it was presented by its author Mary Douglas in "Cultural Bias" (1978). According to this theory the thinking in the idiom of witchcraft is a product of an perception of specific social structure by an individual. The crux of this thesis should be comparation of social structure of few African societies with their cosmologies according to the empirical materials. It should proof the validation of the theory and also show some dificulties which the student must face during the application. The second aim is description of witchcraft and sorcery phenomenon and attempt to determine its essence or function for society.
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Seeking community reconciliation through traditional practice. The Sierra Leonean experience
Werkman, Kateřina ; Moravcová, Dagmar (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee) ; Kandert, Josef (referee)
Sierra Leone was torn apart by a violent conflict that lasted for over a decade between 1991 and 2002. The deep physical and emotional scars it left on the people and their communities and the destruction of the country's socio-economic and institutional foundations are still visible today. But Sierra Leoneans have also shown an extraordinary ability to deal with the painful and violent past and to move on. This does not mean that the victims would be able to easily forget the suffering they endured or that the return and (re)integration of the ex-combatants into the society would always go smoothly and effortlessly. Yet, if you ask around in the villages across the country, people almost always answer the same: "We have reconciled". What do they mean by that? And how have they achieved it? These questions form the core puzzle of the present thesis. It explores the process of reconciliation and restoration of relationships at village level in Sierra Leone, with a particular focus on the role of local ceremonies. While its main concern is with the specific circumstances in Sierra Leone, it also aims to contribute to the debates in transitional justice and peacebuilding fields regarding the 'local' practices of reconciliation in African post-conflict societies. The thesis argues that Sierra Leonean...
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Ethiopia in international relations, 1923-1935. Creating myths and images
Záhořík, Jan ; Kumsa, Alemayehu (advisor) ; Kropáček, Luboš (referee) ; Vilhanová, Viera (referee)
The work Ethiopia in international relations, 1923-1935. Creating myths and images, aims to analyze a position of Ethiopia in international relations with a special focus on two aspects: first, to clarify a role of creating image of Ethiopia as a "barbarous, backward country, which is necessary to civilize" in an international context; second, to show Ethiopia from the European media point of view with a particular interest in the Czechoslovak press. The work is thus not directed as clearly historical work but its message lies rather in symbolical level. On the background of historical imagology I try to show changes of imagining Ethiopia from the symbolical admission to the League of Nations and international political chessboard until the invasion of the Italian troops in the Ethiopian territory and thereby an end of waiting for foreign help. The work shows how fates of small countries like Ethiopia or Czechoslovakia have been written rather in power and colonial centres of that time. When Ethiopia entered the League of Nations as the only independent African country, it was the time of growing potential of several European countries - Italy and Germany - who were able to recast their colonial or expansive plans into reality. The European powers France and Great Britain, in distress of possible...
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