Střet katolických a pokrokářských stran

Kapitola se soustřeďuje na vesměs zapomenutou etapu české historie, kdy byla parlamentní dolní komora volena většinovým volebním systémem, a sice na dvoje první všeobecné parlamentní volby před vypuknutím první světové války. Na příkladu střetu katolických a pokrokářských stran řeší otázku, jaké důsledky měl použitý většinový volební systém s formulí absolutní většiny na reprezentaci politicky ostře profilovaných táborů.Kapitola se soustřeďuje na vesměs zapomenutou etapu české historie, kdy byla parlamentní dolní komora volena většinovým volebním systémem, a sice na dvoje první všeobecné parlamentní volby před vypuknutím první světové války. Na příkladu střetu katolických a pokrokářských stran řeší otázku, jaké důsledky měl použitý většinový volební systém s formulí absolutní většiny na reprezentaci politicky ostře profilovaných táborů.The chapter focuses on the phase of Czech history, when the house of representatives of Cisleithan Parliament was elected by majority electoral system, namely at the two first general parliamentary elections before the First World War. At the example of conflict between catholic and progressive parties is solved the question what consequences had a majority electoral system

Could a Referendum Change the Local Party System? Discussion of the Referendum’s Consequences in the Context of Cleavages

The local policy is sometimes degraded by this opinion: in the small village, there is no policy, self‑government is based on the personal character without the political context, it is mainly oriented on the technical side of the government. However, different researches confirm that despite this claim local policy contains political (and ideological) fights. These researches focus on different topics and different attitudes in cleavages or conflict study. However, only a few research types mentioned the importance of local civic activism in connection with the local policy trends. It is interesting because civic activism, values and attitudes are the main points in the cleavage topic. In this research, we will discuss the term cleavage (concept by Deegan‑Krause) in the context of four Czech municipalities which have experience with civic activism – the referendum. In our research, we will focus on four municipalities, on which we will present the application of the Deegan‑Krause model. Based on the application, we will discuss if civic activism in the form of a referendum could lead to changes in the local party system

The Discussion of Possible Savings based on the Efficiency Argument in the Smallest Municipalities? The Case Study of the Vysočina Region

The unique municipality structure in the Czech Republic is one of the most interesting research topics in the Czech political space. The large number of municipalities with less than 1,000 or less than 500 inhabitants causes differences between Czech municipalities. There are differences in economic factors, differences in the development of municipalities, among other. All of these differences are discussed by experts, researchers and politicians in term of the efficiency of the smallest municipalities. The term ‘efficiency’ is used as the benchmark for a successful or an unsuccessful government. This research evaluates the argument of efficiency presented by Deborah Stone (2002). This argument was applied to the case of Kraj Vysočina, one of the regions with the largest number of the smallest municipalities in the Czech Republic. We analysed the selected argument of efficiency – economies of scale. Based on our quantitative analysis we have confirmed that evaluating municipalities through the prism of the economies of scale argument is not a good measurement of the efficiency of municipal government. The argument of efficiency is more complex and we cannot view it only in economics terms

Focus on elections: Remarks on the Contemporary Methodology for Classifying Non-Democratic Regimes

This article describes and analyses current trends in classifying non-democratic regimes. A brief overview of the basic typologies (J. J. Linz, S. P. Huntington, W. Merkel) is given first. The article then focuses on the methodology currently used for classifying non-democratic regimes, one which is connected to a significant degree with the theory of so-called hybrid regimes. Placing a strong emphasis on the texts of L. Diamond, A. Schedler, S. Levitsky and L. A. Way, the authors attempt to illustrate the methodological consequences the application of this theory has for the relevant area of political science. The authors particularly concentrate on the exclusive role of the elections as a variable of classification, or, respectively, on the concept of elections as a criterion applied in a continuum between electoral democracies at the one end, and competitive authoritarianisms at the other. This paper provides a critical reflection on this approach and points out its methodological limits. According to the authors, elections can be used to discriminate between democracies and non-democracies, however, within the category of the nondemocratic regime one needs to apply a different set of criteria in order to be able to discriminate further

Municipalities without elected councils : Causes of insufficient fulfilment of candidate lists in some municipalities in local elections in 2018

By means of a qualitative analysis of the sixteen municipalities in the Czech Republic in which additional elections were held in 2019, five variables were identified which may explain why additional elections occurred. For analysis, we used data from the Czech Statistical Office (municipal elections 1994 to 2019), the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic and information on individual municipalities from media analysis. We have identified the following possible variables which may affect whether additional elections are held: end of elites, non -stand as a candidate again, the end of municipal representatives, incumbent decides not to defend mandate (variable Non -defend man-date) and personal disputes within the municipality. Conversely, the financial situation of the municipality, the age of the representatives, the voter turnout in the municipal-ity, the number of voters, the number of candidate lists or associations and candidates proved inconclusive in most municipalities. A significant increase in new candidates is a consequence rather than an explanation of the holding of additional elections.Pomocí kvalitativní analýzy šestnácti obcí v České republice, ve kterých se v roce 2019 konaly dodatečné volby, bylo identifikováno pět proměnných, které mohou vysvětlovat, proč k dodatečným volbám došlo

Local Executive Coalitions after Local Elections 2006 in Four Districts of Czech Republic

The aim of this article is to analyze local executive coalitions and mayors. The research covers 68 municipalities. The article focuses on type of executive coalition, the members of coalitions, the force of the parties in the coalitions, relations between parties and on mayors. The main outcome of the research is that the largest coalitions are those which do not support competitiveness in party systems – grand, oversized, wide and all-embracing coalitions

Local Cleavages, Politics and Policy at the Local Level – Is Depolitization Real?

The aim of this article is to identify gaps in considering local self-government as an inherently primarily non-political or anti-political area. The concept of local cleavages, which is based on the theory of cleavages of Stein Rokkan and Seymour M. Lipset, is then presented. The author shows eleven potential cleavages which can be observed in Czech local politics. Six of them are clearly based on the local level: the development contradiction, the origin contradiction, the geographic contradiction, the clubs contradiction, the citizen vs. community contradiction, the contradiction about the extent of functions of the municipality. Another four cleavages are derived from the national level: religious cleavage, socialeconomic cleavage, the post-materialism cleavage, cleavage related to legacies of the old regime. The final one shares the logic of those at the national level, but doesn’t fit the Lipset and Rokkan model: namely, the gender contradiction. The article shows that politics has disappeared from the local level only in a declaratory way but not in reality. Under various labels such as independency, non-partisanship and expertness, the illusion of non-interest is created and maintained. However, local policy is not without interests; in fact, it is a political area in every sense of the word

Vliv podoby exekutivní koalice na následné volební výsledky. Česká komunální politika v letech 1994 – 2014 jako výzkumné pole

Článek se zaměřuje na témata související s výzkumem stranické konvergence a jejího dopadu na výsledky voleb. Na výzkumném poli české komunální politiky se pokouší odpovědět otázku, zda voliči rozlišují členy velkých a jiných koalicí při následujících volbách a zda se toto chování mění v čase. Sledován je vliv koaličního chování na volební výsledky čtyř nejsilnějších politických stran na komunální úrovni za dvacet let 1994-2014.This article focuses on the topics related to the research of the party convergence and its impact on the election results. At the research field of the Czech municipal politics we try to answer the question whether voters behave differently towards the members of grand and other coalitions in the next elections and whether that behaviour changes in time. The impact of the coalition behaviour to the election results of the four strongest political parties at the municipal level in twenty years between 1994 and 2014 is studied