Unadaptable Roma and Decent Majority? News Discourse After the 2011 Violent Incidents in the North Part of the Czech Republic

The paper analyses the news discourse on Roma minority during the violent incidents and the following anti-Roma protests in the north part of the Czech Republic in 2011. It focuses on news reports relating to the Roma in three most-read Czech newspapers between August 8, 2011 and September 8, 2011. The study adheres to the discourse analysis and is undertaken in three stages. In first step we introduce a general characterization of the news and the context of the unrests as presented by the media. This is followed by the analysis of the extent to which the media emphasize the ethnicity and generalize the “Roma” criminality. In third step a dichotomy in relation to the majority and the Roma minority (us vs. them) is analysed. The analysis points to systematic „othering“ and stereotyping of Roma minority in the selected newspapers. Results show that the media emphasized the ethnicity of Roma actors involved in the attacks and generalized given incidents as continuing „Roma“ criminality. Moreover, the newspapers tended to present the situation either as „the last drop“ of the tensions between two groups (majority population and Roma minority) or as a consequence of the problems with the criminality of „unadaptable“ citizens, meaning the Roma. These discursive practices can lead to deepening of racial stereotypes in the society, but they can also contribute to the formation of favourable discoursive opportunity structure, hence favourable context for parties of the far right, which are characteristic of their nationalistic, racist and xenophobic rhetoric and actions.The paper analyses the news discourse on Roma minority during the violent incidents and the following anti-Roma protests in the north part of the Czech Republic in 2011. It focuses on news reports relating to the Roma in three most-read Czech newspapers between August 8, 2011 and September 8, 2011. The study adheres to the discourse analysis and is undertaken in three stages. In first step we introduce a general characterization of the news and the context of the unrests as presented by the media. This is followed by the analysis of the extent to which the media emphasize the ethnicity and generalize the “Roma” criminality. In third step a dichotomy in relation to the majority and the Roma minority (us vs. them) is analysed. The analysis points to systematic „othering“ and stereotyping of Roma minority in the selected newspapers. Results show that the media emphasized the ethnicity of Roma actors involved in the attacks and generalized given incidents as continuing „Roma“ criminality. Moreover, the newspapers tended to present the situation either as „the last drop“ of the tensions between two groups (majority population and Roma minority) or as a consequence of the problems with the criminality of „unadaptable“ citizens, meaning the Roma. These discursive practices can lead to deepening of racial stereotypes in the society, but they can also contribute to the formation of favourable discoursive opportunity structure, hence favourable context for parties of the far right, which are characteristic of their nationalistic, racist and xenophobic rhetoric and actions

Understanding Enemy Images in Central and Eastern European Politics. Towards an Interdisciplinary Approach

Europe has experienced a rise in politics based on antagonism, often discussed from the perspectives of populism and the mainstreaming of the ideologies of the radical right. In this study, we argue that there is a need for an interdisciplinary, theoretically broader and more empirically focused approach that fosters understanding of these developments. To explore the causal factors, we focus on the enemy images that are constructed and diffused by politicians, and their specific historical and structural contexts.V předchozích letech Evropa zažívá vzestup politiky založené na antagonismu, často diskutovaném v kontextu populismu a mainstreamingu ideologie radikální pravice. V tomto textu tvrdíme, že je třeba multidisciplinárního, teoreticky širšího a více empiricky zaměřeného přístupu pro porozumění tohoto vývoje. Pro zjištění kauzálních příčin se soustředíme na zobrazení nepřítele prezentované politiky a též na strukturální a specifické historické faktory

New label no progress: institutional racism and the persistent segregation of Romani students in the Czech Republic

The over-representation of Romani children in special schools in the Czech Republic is well documented and widely condemned. In 2007 the European Court of Human Rights found the state guilty of discrimination against Romani children on the basis of disproportionate placement of children in remedial special schools. In 2015 high numbers of Romani children are still being misdiagnosed with Special Educational Needs and offered a limited and inappropriate education. This article explores the challenges which continue to hamper their successful inclusion in the Czech education system. Using Critical Race Theory as a lens to examine the Czech case, problems with the current policy trajectory are identified. The article shows that institutional racism persists in the Czech Republic, shaping attitudes and practices at all levels. Policy makers demonstrate little recognition of ingrained educational inequalities and Roma continue to be widely perceived as ‘others’ who must learn to adapt to Czech ways rather than as citizens who are entitled to services on their own terms

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A right-wing extremist or people’s protector? Media coverage of extreme right leader Marian Kotleba in 2013 regional elections in Slovakia

The paper focuses on the coverage of the extreme right leader Marian Kotleba in the media during the 2013 regional elections in Slovakia. It examines how the media shaped the discourse regarding Kotleba in a six-week period, covering time both before and after the elections. Applying the frame analysis, it identifies ten issue-specific frames that problematize Kotleba in relation to either his general political actions or the regional elections and analyses 359 articles, leading to 1095 claims made by various sources. The findings show that the extreme right politician was mainly framed in terms of extremist threat and the failure of authorities. However, although the prevalent framing in the media may be perceived as negative, the media attention for the leader radically increased after the elections’ first round, making Kotleba highly salient in the public debate, and counter-frames appealing to effective side of politician’s candidacy can be observed. The paper contributes to the literature on the media representation of the extreme right in Central and Eastern Europe

Populist radical right and immigrants in times of crisis : the case of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

The last couple of years witnessed an advancement of populist radical right groups, which brought about radicalization of public attitudes and political discourses in many European countries. While the populist radical right has in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) traditionally focused their antagonism towards national minorities, with the eruptions of economic and migrant crises, the radical groups in the East have seemed to profoundly intensify their opposition towards immigration on the basis of populist frames on the one hand and (ethno-)nationalist on the other. Building upon a frame analysis of populist radical right parties, this chapter investigates existence and “type” of populist radical right discourses on immigrants and “the people” in the Czech Republic and Slovakia during more than two decades (1993-2014, for a total of more than 6800 frames collected). It examines (1) how economic and refugee crises has impacted (if any) on the symbolic mobilization of the populist radical right and (2) which forms this opposition to the democratic and pluralistic system has taken. We illustrate how the economic and refugee crises deepened existing and opened up new opportunities for the populist radical right to mobilize support on hostility aimed at immigrants and foreigners

Softening the corrective effect of populism: populist parties’ impact on political interest

Populist appeals to ‘pure people’ have been theorised to mobilise previously disengaged citizens. However, this ‘corrective consequence’ has found weak support in empirical research. This finding is consistent with studies that suggest that novel campaign appeals and new political offerings have a negligible effect on turnout. As a consequence, this research proposes a distinction between the behavioural and attitudinal effects of populism and introduces a softened revision to the corrective argument: Despite a negligible behavioural impact on individuals’ turnout propensity, the electoral success of populism is nevertheless associated with an attitudinal change: increased political interest. This proposition is supported by two empirical tests. The first detects this dynamic among 232,208 respondents in 136 national election studies from 16 Western countries (1970–2017). The second analysis, which uses an improved causal identification strategy, uncovers an analogous effect in the GESIS Panel (2014–17, Germany). Hence, the emergence of populist parties can stimulate political interest among citizens, even though it does not necessarily lead to increased turnout