Seventh Grade Students' Perceptions of Nicaraguan Immigrants in Costa Rica

The University of Kansas has long historical connections with Central America and the many Central Americans who have earned graduate degrees at KU. This work is part of the Central American Theses and Dissertations collection in KU ScholarWorks and is being made freely available with permission of the author through the efforts of Professor Emeritus Charles Stansifer of the History department and the staff of the Scholarly Communications program at the University of Kansas Libraries’ Center for Digital Scholarship.Costa Rica has experienced large migrations from Nicaragua in the past two decades due primarily to Nicaragua’s weak economy and volatile government. Costa Rica offers immigrants a stable economy and political situation. One consequence of these migrations is strong negative perceptions held by Costa Ricans about Nicaraguans. How and from where did the negative perceptions originate? What feeds and encourages these negative perceptions? Why do negative perceptions continue to persist? In order to answer these questions and assess the validity of the negative perceptions, this thesis analyzes essays written by seventh-graders regarding their opinions of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica. The overall student response was negative, which matches the discourse used by the adult population. In some instances, there was reasonable, objective evidence for the validity of the negative perceptions. However, in most cases, the students tended to over-generalize and exaggerate negative perceptions in response to their fear of the “other.

Partie prawicowego populizmu – próba zdefiniowania zjawiska

Since the end of the 80s in Western Europe and since the 90s also in Central and Eastern Europe parties called right-wing populist appeared on the political scene of many European countries. They have been very successful at the local, international and European political level. Their success can be seen for example in the election results to the European Parliament in 2009. These parties now very often form part of contesters of the European integration process, at the same time becoming its’ challenge. There is still no unity among political scientists concerning the characteristics of these parties and how to define them. The aim of this publication is firstly to depict different theoretical concepts of the analyzed parties, which are present in the political science literature. They will be later the basis for defining the ideological-programmatic specifics of the right-wing populist parties and will indicate their common features. The second aim is to present a new theoretical concept defining the right-wing populist parties. This definition will give grounds for further research on the phenomenon of the right-wing populist parties

Prawicowy populizm w Holandii – Lista Pima Fortuyna i Partia na Rzecz Wolności. Kontynuacja czy zmiana?

Z wprowadzenia: "W ostatnich dwóch dekadach XX w. prawicowy populizm stał się istotnym wyzwaniem w polityce większości państw europejskich. Współczesne demokracje zmagają się z coraz nowszymi formami owych zjawisk, które nierzadko, choć w różnym stopniu, wywierają wpływ na politykę danego kraju. Na początku XXI w. partie tego typu pojawiły się również w Holandii – powszechnie uważanej za najbardziej tolerancyjną, otwartą i stabilną demokrację europejską. Wśród politologów spotkać można opinie, że sukces prawicowych populistów w Holandii możliwy był m.in. dzięki liberalnej i postmodernistycznej specyfice Fortuyna i jego formacji – Listy Pima Fortuyna (Lijst Pim Fortuyn – LPF)."(...

Office for the Protection of the Constitution as an Institution of Political System Security in the Federal Republic of Germany. Problems of Functioning in a Democratic State

Celem publikacji jest przedstawienie roli, jaką Federalny Urząd Ochrony Konstytucji oraz urzędy krajów związkowych odgrywają w niemieckim systemie bezpieczeństwa ustrojowego, ukazanie źródeł i kontrowersji związanych z ich funkcjonowaniem oraz źródeł braku efektywności służb wywiadowczych. Celem artykułu jest także zdefiniowanie uniwersalnych obszarów napięć pomiędzy demokracjami liberalnymi a„naturą” służb wywiadowczych. Analiza ukazała, że specyfika niemieckiego systemu bezpieczeństwa ustrojowego determinuje trudną relację metod wywiadowczych wobec innych instrumentów systemu bezpieczeństwa konstytucyjnego państwa jak np. delegalizacja partii politycznych. Okazało się także, że szczególnie problematyczny ze względu na efektywność działania urzędów jest rozdział kompetencji pomiędzy policją a służbami wywiadowczymi oraz federalny charakter wywiadu cywilnego. Analiza pozwoliła na pewne generalizacje dotyczące problematyki działania wywiadu w państwie demokratycznym. Jako typowy określić można m.in. konflikt między zasadą nienaruszalności wolności osobistej a metodami działania służb wywiadowczych oraz dylemat związany z brakiem przejrzystości działań służb specjalnych oraz ich efektywną kontrolą przy konieczności zachowania efektywności i bezpieczeństwa działań wywiadu. The purpose of this paper is to present the significance and the way of functioning of the Federal and State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundes- and Landesämterfür Verfassungschutz) in the German political security system and to indicate the sources of  controversies linked with its operating and the lack of the effectiveness of civil secret service. The aim of this article is also to identify universal conflict areas between liberal democracy and the nature of civil secret service. The research displayed that the German political security system determines a difficult relationship between secret service methods and other tools of the constitutional state security system such as e.g. delegalisation of political parties. Moreover, it turned out that a strict competence division between the police and secret service and the federal character of this service is particularly problematic due to effectiveness of the offices. The research allowed to make some general conclusions regarding the service activities in a democratic state. Among others, what can be named as typical is the conflict between the role of inviolability of personal freedom and secret service methods of operating and the dilemma linked with the lack of transparency of secret service operations and their effective control while preserving the necessity of effectiveness and security of service activities.

Kształtowanie instrumentów ochrony demokracji w Polsce na przykładzie zakazu zgromadzeń. Perspektywa ideowa

There is no single, universal model for the protection of democracy that sets limits on freedom and tolerance in liberal democracies. In response to political extremism, states apply various measures — from highly repressive ones, such as restrictions on freedom of speech or association, to more liberal ones based on persuasive strategies. Which instruments are adopted and implemented depends on the decisions of public actors. This article deals with the ban on assembly, which is a repressive instrument of democracy protection. Basing on the analysis of selected assembly bans cases, the aim is first to determine which model of democracy protection is closer to the solutions adopted in Poland — militant or procedural democracy, and second to indicate why such solutions were adopted. More precisely, by means of an ideational perspective, the aim is to explain the different positions taken by public actors in the process of implementing the assembly ban. The article uses the method of qualitative content analysis of legal acts and decisions made by public authorities regarding holding assemblies. By means of a purposeful case selection, the analysis was carried out on the assembly bans against extreme right-wing groups in Warsaw and Wrocław. The research has shown that the legal norms adopted in Poland allow the application of assembly bans in accordance with the concept of militant democracy. However, the implementation shows a different approach of public actors in this matter. Municipalities are closer to the model of a militant democracy, as they allow a preventive ban on assembly as an instrument of public order protection in relation to freedom of speech infringements. In doing so, they do not maintain neutrality towards the views public discourse participants. The courts, on the other hand, exclude the subject of assemblies as a basis for their preventive restriction, the premises of the ban being violence or a direct threat to life, health and property. Their position is thus closer to the procedural model of protecting democracy. The adopted ideational perspective points to possible reasons for the different positions of public actors. Their attitude to values which are crucial for the protection of democracy shows differences. This applies, among others, to the different weight ascribed to particular democratic values, the different perception of threats to the society and the democratic state, and the divergence in defining the thresholds of freedom and tolerance. ∗ Artykuł powstał w wyniku realizacji projektu badawczego UMO-2014/15/D/HS5/03272 finansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki. Wyrazy podziękowania kieruję do recenzentów za bardzo wnikliwe i inspirujące komentarze.There is no single, universal model for the protection of democracy that sets limits on freedom and tolerance in liberal democracies. In response to political extremism, states apply various measures — from highly repressive ones, such as restrictions on freedom of speech or association, to more liberal ones based on persuasive strategies. Which instruments are adopted and implemented depends on the decisions of public actors. This article deals with the ban on assembly, which is a repressive instrument of democracy protection. Basing on the analysis of selected assembly bans cases, the aim is first to determine which model of democracy protection is closer to the solutions adopted in Poland — militant or procedural democracy, and second to indicate why such solutions were adopted. More precisely, by means of an ideational perspective, the aim is to explain the different positions taken by public actors in the process of implementing the assembly ban. The article uses the method of qualitative content analysis of legal acts and decisions made by public authorities regarding holding assemblies. By means of a purposeful case selection, the analysis was carried out on the assembly bans against extreme right-wing groups in Warsaw and Wrocław. The research has shown that the legal norms adopted in Poland allow the application of assembly bans in accordance with the concept of militant democracy. However, the implementation shows a different approach of public actors in this matter. Municipalities are closer to the model of a militant democracy, as they allow a preventive ban on assembly as an instrument of public order protection in relation to freedom of speech infringements. In doing so, they do not maintain neutrality towards the views public discourse participants. The courts, on the other hand, exclude the subject of assemblies as a basis for their preventive restriction, the premises of the ban being violence or a direct threat to life, health and property. Their position is thus closer to the procedural model of protecting democracy. The adopted ideational perspective points to possible reasons for the different positions of public actors. Their attitude to values which are crucial for the protection of democracy shows differences. This applies, among others, to the different weight ascribed to particular democratic values, the different perception of threats to the society and the democratic state, and the divergence in defining the thresholds of freedom and tolerance. ∗ Artykuł powstał w wyniku realizacji projektu badawczego UMO-2014/15/D/HS5/03272 finansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki. Wyrazy podziękowania kieruję do recenzentów za bardzo wnikliwe i inspirujące komentarze

Eurosceptics: a New Challenge to German Politics?

Sukcesy wyborcze eurosceptycznej Alternatywy dla Niemiec w 2013 i 2014 r. zrodziły pytanie, czy i jaki wpływ wywiera ona na niemiecką scenę polityczną. W rozważaniach uwaga zwrócona została w szczególności na liczbę relewantnych partii, uczestniczących w rywalizacji politycznej na poziomie federalnym, krajów związkowych oraz na zachowania partii politycznych, zasady rywalizacji i współpracy międzypartyjnej na arenie wyborczej oraz gabinetowej. Analiza pozwoliła na konkluzję, że partia wpłynęła na układ sił na niemieckiej scenie politycznej, przyczyniła się bowiem do osłabienia pozycji większości ugrupowań politycznych zarówno na poziomie federalnym, jak i związkowym, przyczyniła się do zniknięcia liberalnejFDP z Bundestagu oraz wschodnich parlamentów krajów związkowych, a także – w przypadku landu Saksonia – również skrajnie prawicowej NPD. Pośrednio sukcesy AfD wpłynęły na proces przeformułowania strategii działania innych ugrupowań politycznych, szczególnie chadecji, zarówno w zakresie oferty programowej, jak i porozumień koalicyjnych.The successful run of the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the elections of 2013 and 2014 has prompted questions about whether and how it affects the German political scene. The paper addresses such issues as the number of relevant parties which participate in political rivalries on the federal and federal-state levels and the practices of political parties – principles underpinning their rivalry and inter-party collaboration in electoral and cabinet settings. It is argued that AfD has influenced the composition and distribution of power in German politics by undercutting the position of most political organisations both on the federal level and within particular states and by contributing to the ousting of the liberal FDP from the Bundestag and parliaments of the Eastern states as well as of the far-right NPD from Saxony’s parliament. Indirectly, the AfD success has induced other political organisations, in particular the Christian Democrats, to re-define their strategies, programmes and coalition policies