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Authority and conformism; social psychology of Nacism
Dvořáková, Denisa ; Kosek, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Authority and conformism; social psychology of Nazism This thesis attends to Nazism from the perspective of social psychology. Its aim is to analyze Nazism by using chosen theoretical concepts of social psychology, namely authority and conformism. The work begins with the presentation of the concept of totalitarianism, when in the first instance the term totalitarianism is generally defined and then the great part of this chapter deals with the concept of totalitarianism in Hannah Arendt's conception. At the end of this chapter there are mentioned some limits of Hannah Arendt's conception. The ideology of Nazism is the content of the next chapter. There are terms ideology and Nazism defined and subsequently there is the goal and basic characterization of Nazi ideology given. The third chapter deals with the authority and the conformism as social psychological phenomena. The first part of this chapter defines conformism, lists the possible resolution of its causes and basic typology of its consequences. Furthermore, there are presented the most important classical studies in the field of the scientific study of conformism carried out by laboratory exepriments and briefly outlined the problems of disposal and situational approach. Next a brief treatise on modern individualism as a possible aspect of...
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Modern states and genocides : the fate of Turkish Armenians and European Jews
Šeferna, Václav ; Kosek, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Modern states and genocides: the fate of Turkish Armenians and European Jews This thesis primarily explores the relationship between modernity, modern thinking and modern state on one hand and the Holocaust, Armenian genocide or other genocides, on the other. The purpose of my thesis is to answer the question whether a modern state can be considered a perpetrator of both these tragedies. Furthermore, in my thesis I investigate the causes of these genocides and mainly the influence of nationalism, bureaucracy and racism. The first part of the thesis is devoted to genocide and implementation this concept in international criminal law. I deal with the emergence of this concept and its subsequent development as an independent crime under international law. In the second part I deal with the classification of genocides. First, I deal with the typology of genocides by individual authors. I also examine the differences between traditional massacres and modern genocide, name the pivotal features of modern genocide and try to answer the question of whether it makes sense to use the term "traditional genocide" at all. In the next chapter I focus on the Armenian genocide. This part begins with a short introduction of the Armenians, a quick overview of their history and a description of the Armenian situation in the...
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The position of the Supreme Court in the American political system and the significance of its decision-making for the political procedure in the USA.
Zástěra, Martin ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Kysela, Jan (referee)
The thesis "Role of the U.S. Supreme Court in American system of government and the importance of Court's decisions for the political process in the United States of America" deals with the institutional role U.S. Supreme Court has in American system of government and puts emphasis on Court's decisions and their practical consequences on the politics in the United States. In history of the country the Court was an influential decision-making body on many occasions. Although shortly after the federation was established many intended to put the Court in position where weak powers given to it would not enable the institution to fully play its role of the guardian that keeps an eye on the constitutionality of adopted laws, at the beginning of the 19th century the Court found its place and became exactly what it was originally intended to be. Decision in Marbury v. Madison gained the Court the crucial power of judicial review. The power of judicial review completely changed the role of the institution that finally became the guardian of the Constitution. This thesis outlines the institutional position of the judicial branch and especially the position of the Supreme Court in American system of government. It also focuses on the political aspects of the nomination process of Supreme Court Justices and...
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Constitutional aspects of the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation
Šnajdaufová, Eva ; Gronský, Ján (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Constitutional aspects of the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation Abstract The Czechoslovak Federation was a Czechoslovak state, which originated in 1918 based on the nation's right to self-determination. Through the natural and historical law, Slovakia was incorporated into the historical territory of the Lands of the Czech Crown, and Czechoslovakia was formed. A Czechoslovak nation had not previously existed. It was created out of people on the Czech territory and people on the Slovak territory as a fiction that helped to defend the state-forming idea. A Czechoslovak state was created as a national state, but was, in fact, a multinational state. Unsolved national and ethnic issues were one of the major causes of the end of the Czechoslovak state. The Czech and Slovak relations were re- evaluated with every social-wide change. Even prior to the formation of the state, Slovaks were assured of certain autonomy within Czechoslovakia. The failure to fulfill the assurances wound like a red thread through the entire history of the Czechoslovak state. Czechs, who began identifying with the Czechoslovak statehood practically immediately, were not too aware of their somewhat dismissive attitude toward Slovakian demands. It is likely that the concept of a unanimous Czechoslovak nation state led to its...
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The Temptation of illiberal democracy in the postcommunist Europe
Ščeblykin, Kirill ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Ondřejková, Jana (referee)
The temptation of illiberal democracy in the postcommunist Europe Abstract This thesis deals with the concept of illiberal democracy. In the first half it sums up the debate from which the concept arose. It describes the difference between liberalism and democracy and it also explains how these two concepts are interconnected. It describes the concept of defective democracies as conceived by Wolfgang Merkel. I also outline the constitutional aspects of the debate about illiberal democracy. In the second half the text applies Merkel's theoretical framework to analyse the cases of Poland and Hungary. The period of time, that was chosen, starts with the moment when parties Law and Justice and Fidesz gained majorities large enough for profound institutional changes. The period ends with activation of article 7 of the Treaty on European union. The text follows the structure of the Merkel's criteria. It analyses, how the voting rights and free access to power were preserved in both countries, if the political decisions are taken by elected representants, if there is a mutual control between the institutions and to what degree can the state power intervene into the private sphere of the citizens. I conclude that both Poland and Hungary could not be called liberal democracies in the period under review. The Polish...
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Democracy and state governed by law: harmony or conflict?
Jícha, Martin ; Ondřejková, Jana (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Democracy and state governed by law: harmony or conflict? Abstract The aim of this thesis is to define the concept of the state governed by law and the concept of democracy and to describe the relationship between them. The author of the thesis first reviewed literature defining the state governed by law and democracy and then compared different authors' concepts. These concepts are fundamentally different, therefore they cannot be included in a single definition. With regard to it, both concepts, democracy and the state governed by law, are divided into several subcategories: procedural and substantive democracy, legalistic, formal and material state governed by law. Conccurently, the author of this thesis considers the material state governed by law to be so distinctive that it is inappropriate to call it state governed by law. He chose the term constitutional liberalism for it. The relationship between democracy and the state governed by law is determined by concepts of democracy and concepts of the state governed by law, therefore this part of the thesis is also divided into chapters dealing with the relationship between the state governed by law and democracy, depending on how they are understood. The method is similar as in the first part of the thesis, so the author first researched literature and...
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Limits of demokracy
Folková, Zsófia ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
The central themes of the thesis are the limits of democracy, the qualities that distinguish it from other political regimes, the criteria necessary for its existence, and the character of the regimes that arise if one or more of these criteria are not met. The first part of the thesis presents fundamental concepts and theories that deal with these questions, the goal of the second part is to apply these theoretical considerations to a particular case, namely Hungary. The first part focuses primarily on the definition of democracy and non-democracy, on the functioning and characteristics of regimes in the "grey area" between democracy and authoritarianism, on the definitions of relevant terms and on the ways in which various theories of democracy, authoritarianism and hybrid regimes approach these concepts and definitions. The first chapter presents the theories of democracy that are relevant to the discussion about hybrid regimes: the minimalist concept, the procedural minimum and the extended procedural minimum. The second chapter focuses on the definition of the opposite of democracy, the third chapter presents a cognitive-linguistic approach to the links between democracy and authoritarianism. The last two chapters of the first part offer a brief overview of the theories of hybrid regimes and...
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Legal regulation of the position of political parties in the Czech Republic
Pilař, Jan ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Ondřejková, Jana (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to explore and evaluate legal position of political parties in the Czech Republic and its historical development. This thesis deals with political party law in a narrow sense, particularly with constitutional arrangement and the Political Parties Act. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic our political system is based on a competition of political parties, despite this fact not enough attention is usually devoted to their position in a legal system. This text uses an interdisciplinary approach combining mainly legal and political science. The thesis contains seven chapters and moves from general to specific. The first chapter deals with the term political party. Firstly it observes it from the prism of social sciences then it moves to political science definitions and in the end it extracts legal definitions and characterizes a private law nature of parties. Second chapter is about functions of political parties both in general and according to the law. The third chapter describes in detail the development of legal position of political parties from the year 1852 to the present time. The fourth chapter analyses current Political Parties Act its creation and amendments. The fifth chapter examines conditions of creating parties. The sixth chapter is about...
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Constitutional aspects of the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation
Šnajdaufová, Eva ; Gronský, Ján (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Constitutional aspects of the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation Abstract The Czechoslovak Federation was a Czechoslovak state, which originated in 1918 based on the nation's right to self-determination. Through the natural and historical law, Slovakia was incorporated into the historical territory of the Lands of the Czech Crown, and Czechoslovakia was formed. A Czechoslovak nation had not previously existed. It was created out of people on the Czech territory and people on the Slovak territory as a fiction that helped to defend the state-forming idea. A Czechoslovak state was created as a national state, but was, in fact, a multinational state. Unsolved national and ethnic issues were one of the major causes of the end of the Czechoslovak state. The Czech and Slovak relations were re- evaluated with every social-wide change. Even prior to the formation of the state, Slovaks were assured of certain autonomy within Czechoslovakia. The failure to fulfill the assurances wound like a red thread through the entire history of the Czechoslovak state. Czechs, who began identifying with the Czechoslovak statehood practically immediately, were not too aware of their somewhat dismissive attitude toward Slovakian demands. It is likely that the concept of a unanimous Czechoslovak nation state led to its...
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The phenomenon of presidential elections. The development of elections of Czechoslovak and Czech Presidents 1918-2008
Kočicová, Anna ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Havel, Tomáš (referee)
The Phenomenon of Presidential Elections. The development of the elections of Czechslovak and Czech presidents 1918-2008. The topic of this thesis is an analysis of the development of the elections of the president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic from 1918 to 2008 in the context of a distinctive understanding of the role of the president in the collective memory of the Czech nation. The reason for the connection the analysis of presidential elections in the specified time period with the Czech experience of the perception of the president's role in the political system of the Czech Republic is the inseparable close link between the two topics within which the specific perception of a president in the eyes of Czech public influences the development of the institute of presidential elections and has the potential to successfully interpret it. The presidential election can therefore be considered a phenomenon within this meaning: it has specific historical, cultural and sociological features of the perception of the president's role in the collective memory of the Czech nation which were essential in the course of the functioning of the institute of the presidential election in Czech lands for further shaping of the form of this institute and these features have also made it a...
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