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Analysis of the Decision-Making Process of the Kennedy Administration During the Second Berlin Crisis in 1961
Procházková, Michaela ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
The second Berlin crisis represents one of the important milestones in the development of the Soviet-American relations during the Cold War. After the World War II, Berlin was divided into four occupation zones. Following the establishment of the two German states, this situation resulted in the city being split into the Western and the Eastern part. At the end of 1958, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev threatened the Western powers that he would sign a peace treaty with the German Democratic Republic and hand over the control of access routes to the Western Berlin to the East German officials. The following four-power negotiations failed to find a solution to the Berlin question. After the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy became the president of the United States and thereby inherited the Berlin question from his predecessor. The Bachelor's thesis "Analysis of the Decision- Making Process of the Kennedy Administration during the Second Berlin Crisis in 1961" concentrates on two key events of the crisis development - the first meeting of Kennedy and Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961, and the closure of the borders between the West and the East Berlin followed by the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961. It aims to analyze the U.S. responses to these events using three...
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Redistricting Bodies and Redistricting Reform in the U.S.: Where Are We Now and the Way Forward
Šára, Pavel ; Bečka, Jan (advisor) ; Calda, Miloš (referee)
While drawing electoral districts and its special type called gerrymandering (redistricting with a certain purpose in mind) has been present in American politics since the founding of the United States, it has recently received a lot of attention and criticism. Gerrymandering has been accused of ruining electoral competition, contributing to the gridlock in Congress, and hampering the spirit of American democracy. Moreover, legislators responsible for redistricting are frowned upon for choosing their own voters and thus ruining the purpose of the electoral process. Redistricting currently follows certain principles, the most important of which and the only two recognized at the federal level are population equality and minority representation. These principles were designed to limit the redistricting bodies when drawing districts. State legislatures remain the most common redistricting institution. However, for the criticism that they face various redistricting commissions with different powers were established. The current trend in the redistricting reform is to delegate the redistricting power to independent commissions which can adopt a redistricting plan without the consent of a legislature and whose members have no connections to politics. Competition and partisanship are the two most discussed...
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The Changing Legal and Social Status of the LGBT People in the U.S. Since 1990
Sochacký, Jakub ; Hervey, Norma (advisor) ; Young, Ralph (referee)
This paper deals with the role of American courts, specifically their decisions, regarding the rights and social status of LGBT people, which is an acronym standing for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. The main finding is that court decisions in favor of LGBTs make lives of such people even more difficult, because authorities in states where such decisions are taken often try to circumvent these decisions using legislative powers. However, in the long term, it seems that courts manage to initiate debates about LGBT-related topics with various arguments that the American society is forced to consider. It appears that in such debates common sense prevails over prejudices and myths. One such myth that was widely accepted by society was that when a child lives with a homosexual in a common household, such child was going to become homosexual him- or herself. This paper also explores an analogy between current efforts of LGBT people to reach full equality and secure anti- discrimination measures for themselves and the struggle for civil rights of African-Americans. Both these groups have faced treatment which suggested that they are second-class citizens. One of the ways society expresses this second-class citizenry is by denying LGBTs access to the institution of marriage arguing it...
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The impact of US shale gas extraction on local dynamics between environmental- and economic- security frames
Burda, Ondřej ; Hynek, Nikola (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
This work focuses on situations where two different sectors of human security - economic and environmental - clash. It uses the currently popular topic of shale gas in the United States in order to determine what happens when such conflict occurs. It also tries to find out which sector potentially dominates in this conflict. The first part of the work defines the research questions, states my preliminary working thesis and discusses sources used. The theoretical background of the whole work is then outlined in the second part. Special attention is given to the concept of human security and the Copenhagen school, i.e. to elements that widened the traditional perception of security. The second part, however, is also engaged in the definition of the theoretical framework of given security sectors in the context of US shale gas. The third part is the core of the work's research. Here, various mini case studies within the United States and their economic and environmental variables are discussed. The aim is to find out what happened in specific cases when the clash of the two sectors occurred. The fourth part aims to outline the possible factors not mentioned in the third part, which, however, could still play a role in the shaping of the results. In the fifth section, there is a preliminary analysis of...
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Historie nerovných příležitostí v USA: Segregace hispánských dětí ve školách
Veselková, Eva ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
A History of Unequal Opportunity in the U.S. Segregation of Latino School Children Half a century has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court famously stated that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. After all this time, separate facilities are still the reality and they are still unequal. This thesis examines the educational experience of Latino children in the United States from the twentieth century up to the present, with the main focus on the area of the American Southwest. The history of Latino school segregation is examined from the legal perspective, focusing on the significant court cases in which Latinos fought against segregation and for equal educational opportunities. A special attention is paid to Mendez v. Westminster federal court case, which has ended de jure segregation of Latinos after the World War II. While the topic of school segregation in relation to Latinos is often overlooked by professional literature and little known to the public, it is very important as Latinos represent one fourth of all public school children in the United States today. This paper concludes that, because of school segregation, the educational history of Latinos in the United States is one of unequal opportunity. Moreover, the educational opportunities of Latino children remain...
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Divisive Factors of Immigration Policy in the Republican Party: A Case Study of Representatives from California
Vaculová, Lucia ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
Bachelor thesis deals with different opinions on the measures of the proposed immigration reform between representatives of the Republican Party. The aim of this work is to present the reasons for the split during the first session of the 113th Congress by analyzing the views of Members representing the state of California and the effects of their decisions. The first part describes the development of the party since the elections in 2010. It outlines a change in approach of the party leaders on immigration issue and the opinions of different factions to proposed legislation. Following the presentation of the proposal of the reform adopted in the Senate in the summer of 2013, it explains the main dimensions of immigration policy. The second half consists of case study that focuses on the influences that shape views of politicians on immigration. The work thematically sorts aspects of immigration policy into categories of border protection, legal and illegal immigration. Based on the results of other works, it describes three variables that have a determining influence on the views of the representatives: electorate, interest groups and the ideology of the politician. The application of the presented theories allows for the analyses of the casual connection between said data and view of politicians...
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The United States Military: The Most Patriotic Social Welfare Program?
Aldorf, Marek ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Bečka, Jan (referee)
American social policy, which has been under the influence of neoliberal paternalism, has become highly selective and inefficient. That needs to be changed. A model solution has been found right in the United States, in one of its federal institutions: the U.S. Military. In the past several decades, it has developed from a simple tool of defense into a complex institution, where an almost perfect social system exists, which could serve as an example for the national system. The military social system wasn't established purely on altruism, but rather based on a strategic decision to build and sustain the most stable and efficient fighting force. As a consequence, universal health-care emerged, as well as free access to higher education, social-welfare programs for veterans etc. Thus, people within the military community tend to have higher educational attainment, employment rates and quality of family life than the general population in the US. As a result, the military has been increasingly used as a social program. Even though the military service is often thought to be reserved for lower socio-economic classes, American middle class has increasingly sought it out as well. Given the structural problems not only in the national social system, it has been looking for alternative ways to improve, or...
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The Policy of Affirmative Action at American Universities: Perspective of the Supreme Court 1978-2003
Mertová, Viktorie ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Calda, Miloš (referee)
U. S. universities often apply affirmative action approach in admissions procedure, that is to say, they give preferential treatment to racial or ethnic minority applicants. There are several reasons for this policy. First, in the 1960s, the federal government instructed all the federal contractors to take an affirmative action to ensure that minorities were not discriminated against. Second, universities attempt to create a diverse student body which is supposed to produce educational benefits and raise the quality of education. The affirmative action programs cause a number of controversies. The opponents argue that the policy discriminates against the majority and therefore violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. Many litigations took place in the United States over the course of years, some of the cases were even brought before the Supreme Court. The Bachelor's thesis "The Policy of Affirmative Action at American Universities: Perspective of the Supreme Court 1978-2003" investigates the changes of the Supreme Court's approach to this problem in the period between 1978 (first landmark decision) and 2003, when the Supreme Court dealt with the issue last so far. On the basis of an analysis of the decisions in three significant Supreme Court cases, this paper characterizes the most...
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The conception of reconstruction of Yugoslavia after WW II
Šmejc, Martin ; Tejchman, Miroslav (advisor) ; Šesták, Miroslav (referee)
Martin Šmejc Abstract: "Conception of reconstruction of Yugoslavia after WW II." The topic "Conception of reconstruction of Yugoslavia after WW II." covers three different phenomena. The most important factor, that determined the development of Yugoslavia during the WW II., was the coming to power of the communist Partisans led by Josip Broz Tito. Their vision of Yugoslavia's reconstruction after the war was defined during the second session of the AVNOJ in Bosnian town Jajce in November 1943. How should according to those visions reconstructed Yugoslavia look like is one of the research questions this thesis is going to answer. The second phenomenon touches upon the conceptions of Yugoslavia's reconstruction by the royal Yugoslav governments in exile. Their project was quite as important as of the Partisans. Their importance resides in the fact that until March 1945, when a united government of Royalists and Partisans based on Tito-Šubašić agreement was created, the government in exile were considered as the only legitimate representatives of Yugoslavia. The third analyzed phenomenon is the impact of the three Allied powers on the situation of Yugoslavia until 1948. The third question posed in this analysis will determine the scope of influence of the USA, UK and USSR on the development of Yugoslavia -...
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Soviet-US Relations during Polish Crisis, 1980- 1981
Roškotová, Jitka ; Horčička, Václav (advisor) ; Soukup, Jaromír (referee)
This Diploma thesis analyses the development of relationships between two superpowers of the Cold War, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, during the Polish crisis period at the turn of the 70's and 80's of the 20th century. The objective of the Thesis was, above all, to reconstruct carefully the Polish crisis events, to discover its reasons, effects and implications for mutual relationships of the superpowers. The introduction of the Thesis focuses on the development of the Soviet-American relationships in the course of the Cold War from its beginning to the Polish crisis outbreak. Consequently, the foreign policy of both superpowers, their characteristics, main actors and factors are analysed. In the 1970s, Poland struggled with enormous economic troubles which were also connected with social disorder. In summer of 1980, the disorder developed into a strike wave which the existing communist regime did not manage to get under control. The Polish events thus resulted in proclamation of the state of emergency which was supposed to "save" the communist system in Poland. The Polish coup d'état in the 1980s definitely showed to the entire world that the communist system can be maintained in the states of Central and Eastern Europe only by force. In the...
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