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Quotas in politics as a way to obtain equality between the sexes?
Mottlová, Markéta ; Bíba, Jan (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
The main purpose of this text is to answer a question whether quotas in politics create conditions for obtaining equality between the sexes. Women's consistent underrepresentation in legislatures constitutes a democratic deficit and quotas are suggested as a possible means of attaining women's equal participation in political decision-making. Arguments for and against quotas will be showed. Quotas are aligned with several concepts - a politics of presence, descriptive representation and differentiated citizenship. It will be also explained why the unequal distribution of the unpaid labor of the family is a major obstacle for women to gain equality in politics. It will be described what types of quotas are actually applied, what are the effects of gender quotas in terms of numbers as well as the empowerment of women and under what conditions are women politicians able to make use of their positions as elected politicians. Attention will be paid to some years of experience with the implementation of quotas in Africa, whether the inclusion of women in politics furthers democratization and interests of women. South Africa will be showed as a country in which gender quotas are applied with success. In contrast negative effects of quotas in certain political system and context will be pointed out.
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Normative implications of legitimizing lobbying: cases of the Czech Republic and France
Vargovčíková, Jana ; Znoj, Milan (advisor) ; Slačálek, Ondřej (referee)
How is the political practice of lobbying being legitimized and what can these ways of legitimization tell us about how the conception of democratic legitimacy is changing? In particular, this work tries to demonstrate and analyse the double nature of the ways in which lobbying is being legitimized on the example of public debates on lobbying regulation in the Czech Republic and France: on the one hand, the use of discourses of participation of civil society, proximity, and stakeholder involvement shows that discourses of democratization of policy processes and decision-making processes have strong relevance in contemporary public debate in both countries studied. On the other hand, connecting these discourses to the practice of lobbying in turn reshapes the meaning of participation, stakeholder involvement and proximity in a way that puts limits to the understanding of these discourses of democratization
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Advisory bodies and expertise in the Czech politics : epistemic communities and the influence on the reforms of higher education and pension system
Merklová, Kateřina ; Polášek, Martin (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
Advisory Bodies and Expertise in the Czech Politics - Epistemic Communities and the Influence on the Reforms of Higher Education and Pension System Master thesis Bc. Kateřina Merklová The Master thesis Advisory Bodies and Expertise in the Czech Politics - Epistemic Communities and the Influence on the Reforms of Higher Education and Pension System concerns with the relation between politics and expertise. So-called epistemic community represents the knowledge interpreter that we consider an independent actor in the political process. In the theoretical part of the text, we have explained the original definition of the concept as well as its critics and case studies that cover various contexts. Following most of the authors, we have applied a looser definition of the concept and deconstructed its rigid criteria. The empirical part of the thesis presents a case study (N=4) based on comparative methods that analyzes variable influence of four particular epistemic communities (the authors of the White Paper on Tertiary Education, Bezdek's Committee, Bezdek's Committee II, and the National Economic Council) on policy-making process and its sources. Regarding our intention and research questions, we have chosen two qualitative methods - in-depth interviews and content analysis of relevant texts. We have...
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Patterns of the legitimation of lobbying in Central Europe and their ambivalences
Vargovčíková, Jana ; Znoj, Milan (advisor) ; Georgakakis, Didier (referee) ; Perottino, Michel (referee)
The paper examines attempts to professionalize and institutionalize lobbying in Poland and the Czech Republic from the beginning of the 1990s to 2016, from the point of view of the sociology of professions, the sociology of public policy-making and interpretative policy analysis. First, on the basis of an analysis of the professional paths of 80 Polish and Czech commercial lobbyists, it presents their common typology for both countries and shows how efforts to gain recognition and enhance their professional status, i.e. efforts to professionalize lobbying, are linked to their pursuit of political legitimacy. Then it shows lobbying as a specific way of constructing the political activity of private actors as a policy problem. It illustrates the conditions under which lobbying in both countries was constructed as a problem and set on the agenda. In doing so, the dissertation pays particular attention to the role of transnational actors in this process. Finally, lobbying regulation processes are analysed as arenas where the symbolic boundary between the public and private spheres is negotiated and redefined.
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French Republic and its position in the World
Čupka, Mikuláš ; Barša, Pavel (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
The purpose of this thesis is to describe V. French Republic, its unique mode of operation and particularly the position of president, as a characteristic symbol of semi- presidential systems. The beginning of the thesis and its first chapter is devoted to historical conditions and circumstances that led to the creation of the Fifth Republic. Afterwards, the work describes basic political institutions of the French system. The second part of the work deals with various theories of the semi-presidential systems and understanding of the French prototype within these definitions. The third chapter then compares the political practice in the United States and France. Likewise it compares the two kinds of presidents in those countries. Finally, the theme of the final chapter is French president's ability to govern as a modern "monarch" within the V. French Republic. Keywords V. French Republic; Semi-presidential system; cohabitation; President; Prime Minister; Political culture; United States of America; constitution
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Lobbying and it's regulation in Czech Republic
Hujová, Anna ; Bašný, Adam (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
The thesis "Lobbying and its regulation in the Czech Republic" deals with the theoretical and practical aspects of lobbying regulation. Its aim is to make a comprehensive and effective regulation of the campaign for the Czech Republic. It first examines basic terms: lobbying, lobbyists and public officials. It provides a theoretical overview of the lobbying regulation tools. The thesis describes two forms of regulation which are self-regulation and regulation by law. A separate chapter is devoted to demark lobbying from corruption. The following chapter provides an overview of lobbying regulation in the selected countries. This analysis shows the various options and approaches to lobbying regulations, which is reflected in adjustments to the individual states. In practice the use of rights and obligations for lobbyists, a lobbying group or both simultaneously. Attention is also given to attempts made to regulate lobbying in the Czech Republic. So far, however, none of them have been applied in practice. Based on findings from previous chapters and assessment of the state regulation of lobbying in the Czech Republic, there are suggested basic principles of regulation for this activity. The final chapter presents the outcome of the thesis and gives us a specific list of measures that are...
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Advisory bodies and expertise in the Czech politics : epistemic communities and the influence on the reforms of higher education and pension system
Merklová, Kateřina ; Polášek, Martin (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
Advisory Bodies and Expertise in the Czech Politics - Epistemic Communities and the Influence on the Reforms of Higher Education and Pension System Master thesis Bc. Kateřina Merklová The Master thesis Advisory Bodies and Expertise in the Czech Politics - Epistemic Communities and the Influence on the Reforms of Higher Education and Pension System concerns with the relation between politics and expertise. So-called epistemic community represents the knowledge interpreter that we consider an independent actor in the political process. In the theoretical part of the text, we have explained the original definition of the concept as well as its critics and case studies that cover various contexts. Following most of the authors, we have applied a looser definition of the concept and deconstructed its rigid criteria. The empirical part of the thesis presents a case study (N=4) based on comparative methods that analyzes variable influence of four particular epistemic communities (the authors of the White Paper on Tertiary Education, Bezdek's Committee, Bezdek's Committee II, and the National Economic Council) on policy-making process and its sources. Regarding our intention and research questions, we have chosen two qualitative methods - in-depth interviews and content analysis of relevant texts. We have...
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Quotas in politics as a way to obtain equality between the sexes?
Mottlová, Markéta ; Bíba, Jan (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
The main purpose of this text is to answer a question whether quotas in politics create conditions for obtaining equality between the sexes. Women's consistent underrepresentation in legislatures constitutes a democratic deficit and quotas are suggested as a possible means of attaining women's equal participation in political decision-making. Arguments for and against quotas will be showed. Quotas are aligned with several concepts - a politics of presence, descriptive representation and differentiated citizenship. It will be also explained why the unequal distribution of the unpaid labor of the family is a major obstacle for women to gain equality in politics. It will be described what types of quotas are actually applied, what are the effects of gender quotas in terms of numbers as well as the empowerment of women and under what conditions are women politicians able to make use of their positions as elected politicians. Attention will be paid to some years of experience with the implementation of quotas in Africa, whether the inclusion of women in politics furthers democratization and interests of women. South Africa will be showed as a country in which gender quotas are applied with success. In contrast negative effects of quotas in certain political system and context will be pointed out.
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Lukashenka's First Presidential Term Images (1994-2001)
Bruna, Jaroslav ; Slačálek, Ondřej (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
The author seeks to identify the key elements of the Lukashenka's first presidential term perception in Tyden magazine. This perception is compared with the Lukashenka regime selfpresentation. The autor uses Norman Fairclough's Analysing Discourse as a theoretical background. Firstly we are identifying the main themes and furthermore the way how they are elaborated during the image analysis.
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Moral Responsibility of Collectives
Fojt, Viktor ; Znoj, Milan (advisor) ; Vargovčíková, Jana (referee)
The subject of this work is a long-term debate about the collective responsibility which occurs between two opposite opinions on social phenomenon above all. The methodical individualists interpret the social phenomenons with reference to individuals, whereas the methodical holists assert that these cannot be reduced to phenomenons of individuals without any rest. Methodical individualists lean on the classic conception of the moral responsibility which is based on the intended agency in causal connection with the moral wrong. This conception is connected with human beings in its nature, but there is countless of thinkers who bring arguments in favour of the collective moral responsibility which is thought to bring about more good in the world. We will try to introduce this debate in its complexity and its most interesting and important arguments. Within the frame of debate about moral responsibility of collectives, we can meet with the notion of shared responsibility, distributive collective responsibility, non-distributive collective responsibility connected with the organized collectives, the responsibility for historic injusticies and with the conception of moral taint. All of notions will be the subject of this work. The biggest interest is put on the responsibility of politic communities. In...
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