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Evolution of the preferences of the Council of the European Union in negotiating Transparency Register
Štefániková, Michaela ; Martinková, Viera (advisor) ; Plechanovová, Běla (referee)
The thesis examines the evolution of the preferences of the Council of the European Union in the context of the approval of the European lobbying control mechanism, the so-called Transparency Register. In the thesis, the author sets three research hypotheses that seek to prove the influence of three different factors on the positions of the Council, as the last institution to enter the negotiation process. The thesis is based on rational choice theory, specifically the agenda-setting as well as the principal-agent sub-theory. The methodological form of the thesis research is based on the qualitative method of process-tracing, which explains the investigation of the chain of events or decision processes through which conditions are transformed into outcomes. The examination of agenda-setting confirmed the fact that although the Commission as the primary actor of agenda-setting at the EU level has fulfilled this role, it uses only soft power and a diplomatic narrative that lacks authority, which prevents it from convincing the Council to actively cooperate in negotiating the Register. On the contrary, the informal but significant agenda-setting role of the European Parliament, through publicity and inter-institutional dialogue, has achieved that the Council has agreed to the negotiations, even in the...
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Lobbying - economic and legal aspects : attitudes of members of the law academia and members of the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the regulation of lobbying
Blažek, Matej ; Hraba, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Bažantová, Ilona (referee)
Lobbying - Economic and Legal aspects Abstract The diploma thesis deals with lobbying and its economic and legal aspects. The aim of the thesis is to present lobbying from a broad perspective in the context of other regulations by using descriptive, comparative and analytical methods and to provide a comprehensive overview of the development of efforts to regulate lobbying in the Czech Republic. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the last governmental regulatory initiative where I am testing a hypothesis of whether the underway regulation is systemically correct in light of examples in other countries. I also conducted two surveys aimed at finding out the attitudes of members of the law academia and members of the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the regulation of lobbying in the Czech Republic. The data serve both to (i) illustrate the interpretation of lobbying across the work, (ii) but also because of the specific proposed variant of lobbying within the framework of the approved substantive intent of the lobbying law (the deadline for submitting a paragraph to the government is set to end 2018), and (iii) I believe that they can be useful even when finalizing the bill, or other later proposed measures under the de lege ferenda considerations on lobbying. The thesis is...
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Influence of foreign private actors on political decision-making in the Czech Republic: case study of Japanese and German economic actors
Barták, Petr ; Parízek, Michal (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
Influence of non-state transnational actors on decision-making of sovereign states is one of the most important topics in the international relations discipline. Some academic approaches consider this influence as quite important. Others perceive it as only secondary. Economic actors are a specific case because they on one hand bring know-how, employment and economic growth. On the other hand, they decrease sovereignty of the host states. This thesis tries to uncover influence of the two strongest non-state transnational economic actors in the Czech Republic - German and Japanese Chambers of Commerce. The topic of lobbying of these actors in the case of lack of labor force in the Czech Republic was chosen because of its good empirics. The text also aims to test assumptions according to which bargaining power of such actors is influenced by geographical distance between the host state and home country of the transnational actor. This thesis also wants to address the general topic of influence of the transnational actors on states in the international relations, based on the findings of this case study.
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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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Lobbing and its regulation i Czech and international context
Hoferek, Jan ; Staša, Josef (advisor) ; Rajchl, Jiří (referee)
Lobbying and its regulation in Czech and international context Abstract This Master's thesis investigates the phenomena of lobbying and its regulation both in international and subsequently national context, following a current government draft law on lobbying. The thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter, a suitable definition of lobbying is sought and its functions, most common typologies and three main theories are presented. After that, attention is shifted to the mutual relationship between lobbying and corruption and their interactions. In the following part, possible approaches towards the legitimacy of lobbying as a part of democratic process are presented. The end of the chapter analyses general background of lobbying activity regulation and its forms and tools. The second chapter is concerned with lobbying and concrete modes of its regulation in three selected countries - Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia. The individual subsections have the same structure: at the beginning, the overall history of the regulation is outlined, followed by the introduction of the national lobbying environment. After that, relevant legal definitions are summed up, the regulation is comprehensively presented and then, based on academic literature, evaluated. Each of the subsections is concluded with...
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Influence of foreign private actors on political decision-making in the Czech Republic: case study of Japanese and German economic actors
Barták, Petr ; Parízek, Michal (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
Influence of non-state transnational actors on decision-making of sovereign states is one of the most important topics in the international relations discipline. Some academic approaches consider this influence as quite important. Others perceive it as only secondary. Economic actors are a specific case because they on one hand bring know-how, employment and economic growth. On the other hand, they decrease sovereignty of the host states. This thesis tries to uncover influence of the two strongest non-state transnational economic actors in the Czech Republic - German and Japanese Chambers of Commerce. The topic of lobbying of these actors in the case of lack of labor force in the Czech Republic was chosen because of its good empirics. The text also aims to test assumptions according to which bargaining power of such actors is influenced by geographical distance between the host state and home country of the transnational actor. This thesis also wants to address the general topic of influence of the transnational actors on states in the international relations, based on the findings of this case study.
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Lobbying - economic and legal aspects : attitudes of members of the law academia and members of the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the regulation of lobbying
Blažek, Matej ; Hraba, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Bažantová, Ilona (referee)
Lobbying - Economic and Legal aspects Abstract The diploma thesis deals with lobbying and its economic and legal aspects. The aim of the thesis is to present lobbying from a broad perspective in the context of other regulations by using descriptive, comparative and analytical methods and to provide a comprehensive overview of the development of efforts to regulate lobbying in the Czech Republic. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the last governmental regulatory initiative where I am testing a hypothesis of whether the underway regulation is systemically correct in light of examples in other countries. I also conducted two surveys aimed at finding out the attitudes of members of the law academia and members of the lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic to the regulation of lobbying in the Czech Republic. The data serve both to (i) illustrate the interpretation of lobbying across the work, (ii) but also because of the specific proposed variant of lobbying within the framework of the approved substantive intent of the lobbying law (the deadline for submitting a paragraph to the government is set to end 2018), and (iii) I believe that they can be useful even when finalizing the bill, or other later proposed measures under the de lege ferenda considerations on lobbying. The thesis is...
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Pharmaceutical Industry and Healthcare Policy
Babilon-Crockett, Max ; Háva, Petr (advisor) ; Dlouhý, Martin (referee)
This thesis is concerned with assessing the involvement of the pharmaceutical industry with the United States' health system. We will consider the role that the industry plays in the greater system, and how its activities influence the environment around it. This is done through a case study, in the context of the United States experiencing a so-called "opioid epidemic." This crisis is a serious problem for the health system, and society as a whole, which predominantly involves prescription pharmaceuticals. We will undertake an examination of the pharmaceutical industry's relationship with that crisis through a strong reliance on critical discourse analysis, rooted in systems theory. Despite being a critical component in the American health system, and the one directly responsible for the creation of pharmaceuticals, we will see that the industry is predominantly treated as an ally in addressing the opioid epidemic, rather than complicit in its emergence. This indicates that the industry successfully influences the discourse surrounding its role and responsibilities as a component of the health system. Keywords Pharmaceutical industry, lobbying, healthcare, PhRMA, health system, opioid, prescription drugs
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