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Direct Democracy and Referendum in the Ukrainian Political System
Storchak, Yelyzaveta ; Mlejnek, Josef (advisor) ; Brunclík, Miloš (referee)
The thesis examines the role of direct democracy and referendum in the Ukrainian political system between 1991 and 2022. Comparative analysis was chosen as the main research method to identify the historical roots and development of direct democracy in Ukraine. The aim of the paper is to explore the advantages and disadvantages of direct democracy in the country's political system, especially during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky. The thesis asks three main research questions: the advantages of the current application of direct democracy in the Ukrainian political system, the identification of the disadvantages of this approach, and an analysis of the comparison of the new legislation adopted under President Zelensky with previous experiences with direct democracy. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical parts. The first part deals with key concepts and theoretical aspects related to direct democracy and the referendum as its instrument. The second part complements the analysis with a historical retrospective of referendums in Ukraine and an overview of the legislation governing this area. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of legislation adopted under President Zelensky and its relevance to the experience of direct democracy in Ukraine. The study concludes that the...
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Nationwide referendum in Czech Republic 1993-2021
Grospič, Erik ; Guasti, Petra (advisor) ; Jüptner, Petr (referee)
Although there has been a debate of varying intensity regarding the benefits of a nationwide referendum since 1993, the Czech Republic belongs to the minority group of states within the European Union in which the general regulation of this institute is not enshrined in the legal order. At the same time, only one referendum at this level has been held here under specific circumstances since the First Republic itself. This diploma thesis deals with the concept of this element of direct democracy by relevant political entities that were represented in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in the years 1993-2021. From a time point of view, this thesis focuses on eight electoral periods of the lower chamber. In the introductory part of the thesis, the use of the referendum is briefly presented from a global point of view, then within Europe and also the current Czech practice. The theoretical part presents the concept of direct democracy and the referendum itself, including its typology. This is complemented by a number of findings from recent scientific studies. In connection with this, some controversial aspects of the referendum are presented, the conception of which by the given actor subsequently determines the relationship to the use of the referendum as such. The...
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Local referendum
Jedličková, Tereza ; Svoboda, Petr (advisor) ; Kryska, David (referee)
Resumé The thesis examines local referendums, a form of direct democracy that is used the most in the Czech Republic. Nowadays, it is a standard part of municipal politics. The goal of the paper is to provide a complex analysis of the legislation, based primarily on relevant case- law, including the newest rendered in fall 2014. The thesis is composed of an introduction, nine chapters and a conclusion. The order of the paper largely follows the composition of the Act on Local Referendum. Chapter One examines the relevant constitutional and international legislation. Chapter Two describes the scope of topics that may be subjects of local referendums in general and also looks at the most frequent ones. Chapter Three concerns itself with the preparative committee - a body that puts forward the proposal to hold a local referendum - and examines its assembling and operation. Chapters Four and Five explores the review procedure of the committee's proposal conducted by municipal authorities and by municipal councils that render the final decision to hold a local referendum. Chapter Six focuses on the conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to achieve a valid and legally binding decision in a local referendum. Chapter Seven describes all four types of judicial review procedures that relate to local...
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Direct democracy at the municipal level in the Czech Republic
Stejskalová, Eva ; Jirásková, Věra (advisor) ; Suchánek, Radovan (referee)
The objective of the submitted diploma thesis is to analyze the subject of a direct democracy system in the Czech Republic focusing on the local level of governance. The possibility of being able to participate imminently in the municipal government and thus amending the current representative model became the subject of not only political discussions over the last few years. The thesis is composed of a foreword and five chapters, which are hereafter divided to subchapters for better transparency. Findings and author suggestions concerning the possible future forms of the local democracy are summarized in the conclusion. The introductory chapter presents the direct democracy in a theoretical way and shows how it differs from the representative democracy model. It also contains the definition of the five most respected forms of a direct democracy, which are: referendum, plebiscite, citizen initiative, petition and recall. Following two chapters are focused on the situation in Czech Republic, first in general, then with an emphasis on the municipal scene. Efforts to establish an individual form of a direct democracy can be observed already from the year 1918 with various results, new possibilities appeared later as Czech Republic had entered supranational communities. A local referendum still remains...
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The Rise of Direct Democracy in the Czech Republic: Sources, Use and Consequences
Dvořák, Tomáš ; Kabele, Jiří (advisor) ; Šaradín, Pavel (referee) ; Vráblíková, Kateřina (referee)
In the last few decades there has been an expansion of institutions of direct democracy in most developed countries. The Czech Republic has been no exception and over the past 25 years, there has been a rise of direct democracy in the Czech Republic. The aim of the dissertation is an analysis of the use of direct democracy in the Czech Republic. Although the analyses are based mainly on data from the Czech Republic, the aim is also to contribute to scholarly debates in the field of direct democracy research. I focus on the following questions: Who supports the use of direct democracy and who participates in it in the Czech Republic? How do voters form opinions and what are the characteristics of direct democracy campaigns? What is the effect of direct democracy on other forms of political participation? I view direct democracy as an institutional innovation and evaluate it based on three criterions: inclusiveness, competence and efficiency. First, I focus on who supports the expansion of direct democracy. I also study the patterns of turnout of various social groups in direct democracy (inclusiveness). Second, I analyse the processes of opinion formation in direct democracy campaigns to find out, whether it can be regarded as competent or not. Last, I analyse whether direct democracy leads to increased or...
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Direct democracy in the 21st century: challenges and pitfalls (including forecast of future development)
Kozák, Lukáš ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Ondřejková, Jana (referee)
Direct democracy in the 21st century: challenges and pitfalls Abstract The thesis deals with the position of direct democracy in the 21st century, what are its advantages and disadvantages and problem areas. Before that, it briefly presents why such strong voices calling for direct democracy have been heard in recent years. The first part of the thesis describes the emergence of representative democracy and how this process was influenced by opinions on direct democracy. Furthermore, the reasons for the existence of representative democracy are outlined and the theory behind it is briefly introduced. In its second part, the thesis discusses, in greater detail, the present of representative democracy, what are its advantages and disadvantages and what problems it faces, which quite possibly threaten its very existence. In this part the thesis is based, among other things, on sociological findings, especially in Czech society. These problems largely explain frequent considerations about the implementation of direct democracy. The third part turns its attention to direct democracy exclusively and describes its history, more precisely, important passages from it. It also describes the theoretical foundations of direct democracy, in which the defense of direct democracy by its promoters is hidden to some extent....
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(De)politicisation in Direct Democracy: Case Study of Local Referendum in the Czech Republic
Drobil, Ondřej ; Dvořák, Tomáš (advisor) ; Škvrňák, Michael (referee)
DROBIL, Ondřej. (De)politizace v přímé demokracii: Případová studie místního referenda v ČR. Praha, 2021. 61 s. Bakalářská práce (Bc). Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd, Institut sociologických studií, Katedra sociologie. Vedoucí diplomové práce Mgr. Tomáš Dvořák, Ph.D. Abstract This interdisciplinary thesis deals with the processes of politicisation and depoliticisation in direct democracy. It aims to shed light on how (de)politicisation manifests itself at the level of the referendum actors' utterances and how actors use these strategies during the referendum to reproduce or change the existing ordering of the political space. The research is based on the concept of (de)politicisation as a form of political action and the premise that by the use of language as an instrument of symbolic power, one can shape the social reality. Based on the analysis of statements made by actors of a referendum held in Pilsen in 2013 and by applying critical discourse analysis approach, the following findings were made: At the level of language use, (de)politicisation occurs firstly in the sense of a shift between spheres of action or their hierarchization, through the use of a specific syntactic and semantic sentence structure, and secondly in the sense of forming of necessity or action contingency, through the use...
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Referendum Repealing the Eight Amendment of Irish Constitution in 2018
Michálková, Kristýna ; Mlejnek, Josef (advisor) ; Říchová, Blanka (referee)
The bachelor thesis deals with the Irish referendum of 2018 about repealing the constitutional amendment that forbids artificially made abortion. It is a case study that examines on this particular referendum positive and negative aspects of using this element of direct democracy. The thesis examines direct democracy theoretically and historically, describes Irish political system and the role of referendum within. Furthermore, the thesis characterizes historical milestones and important events of abortion policy in Ireland before 2018, the situation before the referendum, initiation of the referendum until its official announcement. The thesis also deals with the position of relevant political parties and the Catholic Church on the subject of the referendum, it also examines the main campaigns - both in support of the repeal of the constitutional amendment and the campaigns that oppose it. Thesis also includes election surveys, the results of the referendum itself and their consequences. At the end of the thesis, this referendum is analysed and evaluated, whether the positive or negative aspects of the use of the referendum prevail. The main research questions identified are not confirmed or rejected. In the case of the question about positive aspects of the referendum - 3 of the 6 statements are...
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