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Transnational repression? The Russian Federation and Russians Abroad in 2014-2021
Skoupá, Veronika ; Kolenovská, Daniela (advisor) ; Svoboda, Karel (referee)
Research on state-led repression usually focuses on domestic politics. However, the ability of contemporary authoritarian regimes to influence the quality of life of their citizens rarely stops at the state border. Repressive regimes today are increasingly able to target their domestic opponents outside their own territory. Recently, therefore, scholars have increasingly interpreted the interaction of authoritarian states with their critically minded citizens in a transnational context. According to them, the focus of an authoritarian regime's control over a society remains internal, but the increasing number of cases of physical attacks, intimidation or silencing of opinionated competitors even after they have decided to go abroad has led scholars to think about transnational repression and transnational authoritarianism. This thesis examines the validity of their conclusions using the case of the Russian state's relationship with its critical citizens between 2014 and 2021, based on theories of transnationalism and totalitarianism. Early scholarly studies have shown that Russia punishes its citizens abroad through several different methods. This thesis focuses on recorded cases of physical violence, restrictions on movement and forced displacement, threats, surveillance, and information...
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Czechoslovak dissent as a learning society
Padevět, Jiří
The diploma thesis is dealing with the problematics of Czechoslovak/Czech dissent, especially in the years from 1977 to 1989 and with its position as a learning society on its own. In the text, the status of dissent in the general society is described and followed, along with the ostracization of it, which ultimately led to a forming of a parallel polis, which included both parallel educational and cultural systems. Those were based on transmitting and sharing knowledge and skills inside of the community. Considering many activities performed by dissent organizations, the thesis takes interest mainly in four educational and cultural structures: home seminars, home theatre, samizdats and so-called festival of the second culture, both personally and organizationally bonded to Charter 77. These activites are not perceived only from the cultural history perspective, but more importantly with the help of andragogy and learning society concept. In conclusion, the thesis will focus on such specific educational and cultural topics and not only its impact on the parallel polis of dissent, but on the society in general, as well. The main intention of the theoretical and analytic part of the thesis is to analyze, identify and describe key milestones and phenomenons, tied with the informal learning of adults...
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Inside the Dictator's Panopticon: Unveiling Digital Authoritarianism in Belarus
Yaromich, Kathrin ; Solovyeva, Anzhelika (advisor) ; Hynek, Nikola (referee)
Title: Inside the Dictator's Panopticon: Unveiling Digital Authoritarianism in Belarus Název práce: Uvnitř diktátorova panoptika: Odhalování digitálního autoritarismu v Bělorusku. Abstract: The following research presents the first-ever empirical case study of digital authoritarianism in Belarus. While Belarusian propaganda has created an atmosphere of omnipresent surveillance with citizens always feeling watched, there is pervasive secrecy surrounding existing surveillance practices and their functioning. The following research aims to unravel the techniques of digital repression employed by the Belarusian government, as well as to evaluate them in line with the conceptual framework of the usage of digital technologies to the strategic ends of authoritarian regimes and the transformational political effects of such new technologies. In addition to establishing distinct features of Belarusian digital authoritarianism, the research also determines the extent to which Belarusian authoritarianism is digital as well as the role of private actors. Given the lack of academic literature relating to the specific case study, interviews with experts in the field were carried out and consequently utilized in the qualitative analysis along with secondary data. The findings suggest Lukashenka's government effectively...
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Czechoslovak dissent as a learning society
Padevět, Jiří ; Veteška, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Kříž, Jaroslav (referee)
The diploma thesis is dealing with the problematics of Czechoslovak/Czech dissent, especially in the years from 1977 to 1989 and with its position as a learning society on its own. In the text, the status of dissent in the general society is described and followed, along with the ostracization of it, which ultimately led to a forming of a parallel polis, which included both parallel educational and cultural systems. Those were based on transmitting and sharing knowledge and skills inside of the community. Considering many activities performed by dissent organizations, the thesis takes interest mainly in four educational and cultural structures: home seminars, home theatre, samizdats and so-called festival of the second culture, both personally and organizationally bonded to Charter 77. These activites are not perceived only from the cultural history perspective, but more importantly with the help of andragogy and learning society concept. In conclusion, the thesis will focus on such specific educational and cultural topics and not only its impact on the parallel polis of dissent, but on the society in general, as well. The main intention of the theoretical and analytic part of the thesis is to analyze, identify and describe key milestones and phenomenons, tied with the informal learning of adults...
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Grassroots political activism in Russia
Chervotkina, Yulia ; Svoboda, Karel (advisor) ; David, Maxine (referee)
Russian protests of 2011-2012 revitalised the country's political life. Hoping for a change, citizens were looking for opposition leaders to represent them in their dialogue with the authorities. However, the opposition failed to maintain its support and attract new followers over time, and this paper analyses why it happened. To answer the question, we analysed the long-term consequences of state-organised repression and institutionalisation. Our results showed that repression is not the only reason for the loss of support of the opposition. Limited radicalisation, premature institutionalisation, and disconnection of the opposition from civil society played a vital role in this process. Even though these were the main characteristics of the For Fair Elections movent, this research argues that the Russian opposition did not outgrow them ten years later. Keywords: Russia, protests, political opposition, repression, civil society
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Radicalization of the Czech society in reaction to occurence of COVID-19 disease
MINAŘÍK, Dominik
The submitted diploma thesis deals with the issue of radicalization of the population in the Czech Republic, which is a constantly evolving phenomenon and the crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic could affect this process, when the submitted diploma thesis underlines important facts related to this phenomenon. The thesis contains a theoretical part, in which the author focuses onto the introduction and views of concepts related to the chosen topic, such as radicalism and extremism. The author briefly present the position of individual ideologies that create the process of radicalization of the population and have an affect to cause extremist manifestation of individuals or groups. The chosen problem points to the danger which point to the democratic society and the trend of so-called populists in the political spectrum, who come in times of crisis with an often simple but unfeasible solution to the situation. Within such a connection of the crisis in the form of COVID-19 and the impact of possible radicalization of the democratic civilian population, this theses monitors and evaluates such events when the current measures in the fight against the radical scene in the Czech Republic are summarized by the relevant state departments and the student suggest his own measures. As the last point of this theses the found data of security risks and measures are compared on an international scale.
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Post-Horseshoe Theory: Commonalities and Interactions between the European far right and Islamism
Langmoen, Sindre Mathias Byrgiel ; Laryš, Martin (advisor) ; Aslan, Emil (referee)
The Turkish and Russian diasporas residing in the West have both been the subject of suspicions and fears, been framed as extremists or as foreign agents. Such accusations are vastly overstated but are rooted in elements of truth. The purpose of the present research is to analyse Russian and Turkish diasporas in Germany, establish to what extent, how and why they are the targets of instrumentalisation by Russian and Turkish governments, and compare the Russian and Turkish cases in terms of nature, scope, and outcome. Using the principal-agent model for theorizing the delegation of authority, government-diaspora relations are examined in terms of diaspora policies, laws and institutions; political activities, attitudes and extremism; criminal networks, intelligence activities and extraterritorial repression. The analysis showed significant differences between the two cases. Turkey has established a great network of loyal institutions and movements in the diaspora, which socializes diaspora members into nationalist Turkish pro-AKP ideology and instrumentalises them into protesting, lobbying, voting, or into repressing political opponents. Russia has a weaker network and exerts less influence on its diaspora, but has still achieved success in instrumentalising diaspora communities for the sake of...
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Challenging Hegemony: Coercion, Repression and Protest in Liberal Democracies.
Čapinská, Barbora ; Kýrová, Lucie (advisor) ; Gagnon, Jean-Paul (referee) ; Wahlström, Mattias (referee)
Barbora Čapinská Abstract for dissertation thesis Challenging hegemony: coercion, repression, and protest in liberal democracies Year of defence: 2022 Abstract: This dissertation project identifies and classifies the types of coercive and repressive methods liberal democratic states use to prevent, resist, or suppress protest via analysis of secondary literature from several disparate academic fields. Despite the substantial fragmentation of the relevant research, it systematizes and clarifies the terminology used to describe these phenomena and combines the extant findings from all relevant research strands. Above all, the project stresses the fact that repressions are employed in response to a threat posed by the challengers, but the degree of this threat, or respectively legitimacy of the protest, is influenced or even constructed by the mass media coverage of protest and social movements. By endorsing a discourse-theoretical prism and the concept of hegemony, a relational definition of state, and a three-dimensional view of power, the author proposes to view protest and repression as a hegemonic struggle, in which protest is a counter-hegemonic discourse and the state an embodiment of hegemony suppressing challenges. To supplement existent typologies, the author introduces the concepts 'institutional...
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Child sexual abuse in Czech republic
Aichingerová, Kristýna ; Sloboda, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Munková, Gabriela (referee)
Diploma thesis "Child sexual abuse in Czech republic" deals with the development and especially with the stage in our republic about this issue. The thesis in the first two parts examine the issue of child sexual abuse from number of points of view, which are the actors how enter to the issue, what does the child sexual abuse mean and which are its forms, analyse the problems during the solution of this issue in Czech republic. In the second part the diploma thesis goes in for the possibilities of solution of the issue in Czech republic. With the help of the evaluation of some options, where as examples are some foreign models, in this thesis there are proposed some proceedings which would be advisable to introduce in Czech republic for the effective solution of the issue.
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Escape to the Soviet Union and imprisonment in the gulag in memories of surviving Ruthenians and Jews from Carpathian Ruthenia
Urban, Tomáš ; Houda, Přemysl (advisor) ; Krátká, Lenka (referee)
The thesis deals with interpretations of the memories of Ruthenians and Jews who fled to the Soviet Union after the occupation of Carpathian Ruthenia by the Hungarian army in 1939 to find freedom and justice, but instead encountered imprisonment and repression and they ended up in the gulag for several years. On a daily basis, they were exposed to hard physical labor, hunger, thirst, Arctic frost, disease, cruel treatment and a permanent struggle for life. While Czechoslovak citizenship guaranteed Ruthenian citizens a pardon of the remainder of their sentences, early release from Stalinist concentration camps and participation in a training center in Buzuluk, Jews did not get such an opportunity due to alleged Hungarian nationality and had to live in the gulag on and on, even for more time than was determined by the court during the trumped-up political trials. Therefore, the Ruthenians had a significant presence in the formed Czechoslovak military unit and participated in the final defeat of the Hitlerˈs army. For the most part, they did not return to Carpathian Ruthenia because they did not agree with its post-war accession to the USSR, which hurt them so much. Despite this, they did not lose their left-wing orientation, many even joined the Communist Party, believing that Czechoslovak socialism...
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