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Global Elite and its Clubs: The Case of Bilderberg Group
Kantor, Lukáš ; Karlas, Jan (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee) ; Krpec, Oldřich (referee)
of the dissertation The following five interdisciplinary essays contribute to International Relations, sociology and media studies, mainly on empirical, but also on theoretical level. Their overarching message is to reject paranoid, but also benign narrative of global elite clubs as exemplified on the case of the controversial transatlantic forum Bilderberg Group. On theoretical level, the dissertation highlights continuing relevance of sometimes overlooked neo-Marxism. It offers further support for the thesis that some kind of transnational capitalist class (TCC) has developed, which is disputed even by several neo- Marxists, let alone other scholars. Specifically, the findings on Bilderberg Group corroborate the existence of Euro-Atlantic TCC. Within this social network, the European fraction seems to be the most consolidated one. On empirical level, the dissertation is the first publication that thoroughly exploited data from the recently launched official Bilderberg Group's website. From another under- researched source, the dissertation compiled new datasets about all post-Cold War Bilderberg conferences. On this basis, the essays provide original quantitative and qualitative insights into the composition of Bilderberg attendees and topics of their discussions. The dissertation offers the...
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Taiwan's Lobby in the United States Between Years 2017-2020.
Tučková, Gabriela ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
Lobbying is an integral part of political decision-making processes. It is a relevant way of communication, during which lobbying companies and lobbyists try to influence different policy areas for the benefit of their clients. This also applies to foreign lobbying, where a given country tries to influence the foreign policy of the target state to its advantage through lobbying companies. This tool is also used by Taiwan, for which it is one of the crucial tools to break out of international isolation and to ensure one's own security. Thus, Taiwan has invested millions of US dollars over the years, and this trend continued in the period 2017-2020, the administration of Donald Trump. The work analyzes Taiwan's lobbying activities in the U.S. between 2017 and 2020 using publicly available reports from the US Department of Justice. It evaluates the number of companies hired by Taiwanese government entities, the funds they have received for their services, and the contacts made by these companies with U.S. lawmakers. At the same time, it maps political contributions made in favor of sponsors and co-sponsors of selected laws. The thesis also deals with the activities of the American organization Formosan Association for Public Affairs, which contributes significantly to the promotion of Taiwanese issues...
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Interest Groups, Lobbying and its Regulation in the Czech Republic
Opatrný, Aleš ; Mrklas, Ladislav (advisor) ; Mlejnek, Josef (referee)
Diploma thesis "Interest Groups, lobbying and it's regulation in the Czech Republic" deals with the phenomenon of lobbying and it's role in democratic political processes. First part of this thesis is aimed at political theories of interest groups, various definitions of lobbying and methods of regulating lobbyists. The second part containes a comparison of lobbying regulations in various western states. The third part containes an analysis of the present state of lobbying regulation in the Czech Republic. In the final fourth part, certain methods of lobbying regulation are proposed to take place in the Czech Republic and scrutinized for compliance with the oppinion of Czech political elites and professional lobbyists.
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Legislative procedure as an instrument for promotion of the interests
Krudenc, Václav ; Shavit, Anna (advisor) ; Konrádová, Marcela (referee)
This bachelor thesis examines the legislative procedure in the Czech Republic for the purposes of lobbying. The theoretical part aims to acquaint the reader with the very concept of lobbying and its history and then systematically classify lobbying in terms of public affairs. The second part of the thesis is a thorough analysis of the current rules of procedure of both chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and a description of the stages in which it is possible to enter into draft laws and amend them. This part describes the process of creation of laws from the legislative initiative through individual commenting procedures to negotiations in both chambers of parliament and the possibility of applying the presidential veto. The final part of the thesis deals with the historical genesis of the rules of procedure of both chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The main goal of this work is to present possible ways in which private interests can be enforced in the law-making process in the Czech Republic.
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NRA influence on D.C. v. Heller decision
Bastlová, Renée ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Klvaňa, Tomáš (referee) ; Pondělíček, Jiří (referee)
This bachelor thesis adresses the issue of a landmark case from 2008 which dealt with the city's gun ban and in which for the first time in the history of the Second Amendment was decided in favor of an individual right to bear arms, specifically for the purpose of self-defense. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution reads "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." There are two possible ways to interpret this amendment. One side of the argument maintains that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. The other maintains that it guarantees a right to bear arms just in connection with militia. NRA, one of the most powerful lobby groups in the USA, promotes the individual right to bear arms. As a part of my thesis I analyze methods of NRA's lobbying. The thesis examines to what extent did the Supreme Court of the United States and its justices copy thoughts of the NRA in this case. The goal of this thesis is to show similarity between the NRA's and Court's arguments with the help of long-term views and opinions of this organization that can be seen in the Amicus Curiae Brief. According to my analysis, the NRA is not the reason the case was born. However,...
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US lobbyists in the EU: significance of home country regulation for lobbying behaviour in a less regulated environment
Vilimovská, Lucia ; Martinková, Viera (advisor) ; Plechanovová, Běla (referee)
Diploma thesis "US lobbyists in the EU: significance of home country regulation for lobbying behaviour in a less regulated environment" tackles the topic of lobbying in terms of comparing two differently regulated environments and the behaviour of lobbyists in these environments. In the introduction, the thesis analyses the current definitions and theoretical anchoring of the expert debate on lobbying, attempts to define this concept and to determine the basic research characteristics. The thesis attempts to describe why lobbying should be regulated and how is affected by lobbying transparency enhancement debate. Subsequently, the thesis describes and compares the regulation of lobbying in the United States and the European Union, while also taking into account international standards. The empirical part of the thesis is based on data provided by the American research center "Center for Responsive Politics". From this basic dataset, the companies and associations that lobby in the United States and the European Union, in particular, their basic documents and websites, are then researched based on established criteria. The aim of the thesis is to analyse whether companies and associations lobbying in a more regulated environment of the United States of America are transferring their 'taught'...
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Civic Engagement in Public Policies: The case study of Platform for Social Housing
Hanková, Aneta ; Muhič Dizdarevič, Selma (advisor) ; Košák Felcmanová, Alena (referee)
The topic and general objective of this work is to show how civic engagement functions in public policy, specifically in the social area. Then based on a descriptive case study, a specific objective is the analysis of a non-governmental organization Platform for Social Housing and the specifics of its advocatory function. These phenomena are observed in the context of the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of the work is divided into four chapters covering basic concepts and definitions of concepts. The first chapter specifies the theoretical framework of public policy on the state level, the second chapter does the same for civic society. The third chapter builds on previous chapters and focuses on the relationship between the state and non-governmental organizations, as well as the role of civic engagement in the public policies. The fourth, a more practically-oriented chapter, contains the theoretical framework of lobbying.
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