The Philosophy of Economic Personalism and KDU-ČSL Policies

This article deals with the phenomenon of economics in the doctrine of personalism and its consequences in the sphere of politics. Within this analysis, some economic distinctions between personalism, on the one hand, and libertarianism and neomarxism, on the other, are identified through a focus on the hermeneutics of personalism and its logical ideological results. These results have the form of testable propositions such as a pregnant definition of dignity, support for the concept of workfare, the family as the “core”, and the belief in the social market, which leads to progressive taxation and interventions in the labor market. These propositions are contained in KDU-ČSL policies, explicitly declared in the manifestos “Volební program 2010–2014”, “Volební program 2013–2017”, and other documents, as well as speeches of KDU-ČSL representatives, mainly of the chairman Pavel Bělobrádek. The connection between personalism and KDU-ČSL policies is then tested by metaphor analysis and the outcomes provide answers to two questions – first, whether the theory of personalism is present in KDU-ČSL policies; second, whether the KDU-ČSL could be subsumed under the socio-economic cleavage in the Czech context, and if so, then to which particular space.This article deals with the phenomenon of economics in the doctrine of personalism and its consequences in the sphere of politics. Within this analysis, some economic distinctions between personalism, on the one hand, and libertarianism and neomarxism, on the other, are identified through a focus on the hermeneutics of personalism and its logical ideological results. These results have the form of testable propositions such as a pregnant definition of dignity, support for the concept of workfare, the family as the “core”, and the belief in the social market, which leads to progressive taxation and interventions in the labor market. These propositions are contained in KDU-ČSL policies, explicitly declared in the manifestos “Volební program 2010–2014”, “Volební program 2013–2017”, and other documents, as well as speeches of KDU-ČSL representatives, mainly of the chairman Pavel Bělobrádek. The connection between personalism and KDU-ČSL policies is then tested by metaphor analysis and the outcomes provide answers to two questions – first, whether the theory of personalism is present in KDU-ČSL policies; second, whether the KDU-ČSL could be subsumed under the socio-economic cleavage in the Czech context, and if so, then to which particular space

“One Flew Over the Stork’s Nest”: Neo-patrimonial Populism of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš

Following the discussion on the relation of populism, its typology and neutral bureaucracy, this text examines the communication practice of the former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš regarding the European subsidies. Using the mixed content analysis of several years of Babiš’s statements, we shall verify two theses: Babiš’s rhetoric is dominantly populist and Babiš’s rhetoric is neo-patrimonial. The analysis results imply Babiš’s case to be a new and not yet described form of populism that we identify as “neo-patrimonial populism” and that complements the standard populist communication with practices not distinguishing between the public and personal interest, property, and status.Following the discussion on the relation of populism, its typology and neutral bureaucracy, this text examines the communication practice of the former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš regarding the European subsidies. Using the mixed content analysis of several years of Babiš’s statements, we shall verify two theses: Babiš’s rhetoric is dominantly populist and Babiš’s rhetoric is neo-patrimonial. The analysis results imply Babiš’s case to be a new and not yet described form of populism that we identify as “neo-patrimonial populism” and that complements the standard populist communication with practices not distinguishing between the public and personal interest, property, and status

“Recall” as an empty signifier – the problem of SPD party populism

The article seeks to provide a critical reflection of the political debate in the Czech Republic about the quality of the democratic system and the quantity of democratic mechanisms. The analyzed example is the political requirement for recall, a mechanism of a type of "reverse personalized plebiscite". Based on Laclau´s theory of populism, the article analyzes speeches made by representatives of the SPD party, which calls for an implementation of the recall. The assumption is that SPD is not entirely clear on the purpose and method of instating recall, which is therefore not intended to serve the purpose of extending democracy, but is merely an instrument of populism. The purpose is to draw attention to possible problematic effects that such an instrument could have on the political system

Surfování na migrační vlně v době populismu: Sekuritizace migrace ze strany poslanců Parlamentu České republiky

The contribution of the following article is based on contribution to current discussion related to political populism. The study is anchored in theoretical approaches to populism and designed as CAQDAS of stenographs of speeches related to the “migration crisis” held by members of the Czech Chamber of Deputies. According to the theory of populism, we derived criteria for measuring populism and those were in the analytical part applied to analyzed data corpus. Main contributions of our study are following: 1. operationalization of analytical possibilities of the concept; 2. using valid and analytically relevant data that are not frequently used; 3. broadening of Czech debate related to populism (by empirically proving, that political party Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) is using very strong populist rhetoric 4. building ground for possible following research od populism in Czech/ European context

Recognising and Applying Equivalent Meanings: an example of creating a codebook from a language-game of extremism in the Czech Republic

In this article, I present tools for more accurate data collection in selected types of research. My premise is that tools for identifying the equivalence of meaning of different data units can minimise the room for potential error in data collection. A major error may be omitting the data that are semantically equivalent to the research subject and thus wrongly excluding them from the empirical corpus. I focus on the natural language of the actors as a data source domain, specifically on the equivalence of the meaning of various phenomena. The presentation of tools goes from a reflection on meaning as such to the meaning of words, to their equivalence in specific language-games, and to the identification of the purpose of a phenomenon and the determination of the equivalence of such purpose. This scheme shows that the identification of the purpose of a phenomenon is the key to the implication of equivalence. I demonstrate the practical application of the presented tools on the creation of a codebook in research on extremism in the Czech Republic, complemented with recommendations on replicating such a procedure and applying it to other data

Analysing Public Policies on a Local Level: Reflection of Several Patterns in the Case of Public Transport in Pilsen

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: options and threats on a local level policy formulation, especially in a phase of its formulation through declared priorities created by stakeholders. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: unclear relation between stakeholders and their hierarchy in the case, and unknown options how to improve examination process between them; about method, content analysis is used in the defined case (case study). THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: starts with content analysis of all documents about public transportation in Pilsen, continues with stakeholder relation analysis and summarizing patterns of public policy creation which depict possible problems – options how to solve them followed. RESEARCH RESULTS: there is a mutual harmony of public transport documents in Pilsen, but it depends on one stakeholder without proper rule to make the final decision in policy formulation; research options could be focus on informal practises; there could be problem with a lack of information if the whole policy is depended on one stakeholder (analytically informant), who do not want to participate. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: to combine formal information in examined documents with adding informal perceptions of stakeholders (non-structured interviews are recommended); to distinguish stakeholders with direct decision making power from those, who “only” prepare strategies; to focus on agenda setting of those stakeholders that prepare strategies – they formulate problem, so they create policy informally

A Discursive Analysis of Národní listy: Nation vs. Islam and Laclau's Populist Matrix

This article deals with the phenomenon of populism and the form it takes in the context of the Úsvit – národní koalice party and the Blok proti islámu coalition. The methodology of the analysis is based on Laclau’s account of populism and includes a discursive analysis of the populist mentality as a tool to form a vague argument against “bad” Islam culture. These assumptions are tested by a summative content analysis and are contextualized by a metaphor analysis. The results confirm all assumptions: Úsvit and Blok create a specific populist mentality based on a negative perception of Islam, a positive (but empty) national identity, and a simplified critique of the current establishment framed as tool for spreading bad culture which is based on the ideology of Muslims and Islam.This article deals with the phenomenon of populism and the form it takes in the context of the Úsvit – národní koalice party and the Blok proti islámu coalition. The methodology of the analysis is based on Laclau’s account of populism and includes a discursive analysis of the populist mentality as a tool to form a vague argument against “bad” Islam culture. These assumptions are tested by a summative content analysis and are contextualized by a metaphor analysis. The results confirm all assumptions: Úsvit and Blok create a specific populist mentality based on a negative perception of Islam, a positive (but empty) national identity, and a simplified critique of the current establishment framed as tool for spreading bad culture which is based on the ideology of Muslims and Islam

One-dimensional democracy: a case study of open society by K. R. Popper

Tato disertační práce se zabývá neklasickou teorií demokracie K. R. Poppera. Pomocí hermeneutiky tzv. druhé generace jako přístupu a analýzy metafor jako metodologie odhaluje skrytý ideologický význam ve zmíněné teorii demokracie. Teorie demokracie je součástí širšího paradigmatu otevřená společnost, které zkoumám ve čtyřech rovinách v rovině pohledu pozitivistické politologie, normativní politologie, ideologie konzervatismu (jako specifického postoje ve smyslu paradigmatu) a teorie vědy. Paradigma otevřená společnost stojí na předpokladech absolutního racionálního jednání člověka, který se pohybuje v rámci společnosti, jejíž fungování je analogické tržnímu mechanismu. Výsledkem takového jednání je specifická teorie demokracie, která je procesuální a sama sebe označuje za neutrální. Předpoklady a výsledky zkoumání takové představy jsou patrné u teoretiků tzv. rakouské školy. Je otázkou této práce, zda je paradigma otevřená společnost propojeno s těmito teoretiky. Výzkum z hlediska čtyř rovin je veden kriticky. Prvním předmětem kritiky otevřené společnosti je její jednorozměrnost ve formě absolutní racionality. Druhým předmětem kritiky je taktéž absence kolektivního republikánského étosu. Třetím a finálním předmětem kritiky je překračování postulované Popperovy demokratické teorie do oblasti ideologie z důvodu esenciálního prvku. Závěry výzkumu lze shrnout do jedenácti bodů. (1) demokracii je nutné zkoumat i nadále. Je třeba se zaměřit na konkrétní teorie a testovat je jazykově-vědní analýzou, aby v nich byly vidět případné ideologické "zkratky". (2) Popperova teorie demokracie je procesuálně neudržitelná, protože v sobě obsahuje esencialistický prvek absolutní racionality (nikoliv čistého racionalismu). Demokracie jako neutrální proces u Poppera selhává a obsahuje ideologický (dle konzervativního pohledu) prvek liberální rostoucí racionality, která je individualistická. (3) Popperova teorie vědy není univerzální, ale jen dílčí. (4) Popper spojuje svou teorii vědy se sociální filozofií, která se tváří, že je sociální, resp. politologickou teorií. (5) Podle Poppera je pravou sociální vědou ekonomie, protože je schopna kvantifikovatelného zobecnění sociální reality skrze své racionální modely. (6) Popper je liberální myslitel, který tenduje k von Hayekovu pojetí tržní reality. (7) Von Mises a Rothbard se ve svých teoriích podstatně odlišují od paradigmatu otevřená společnost K. R. Poppera. Je nutné ale poznamenat, že teorie von Misese a Rothbarda tenduje k procesuálnímu pojetí demokracie, stejně jako von Hayekova. (8) Paradigma otevřená společnost a neoliberalismus či libertarianismus tzv. rakouské školy nejsou jednoznačně propojeny. Paradigma otevřená společnost je koherentní, tzv. rakouská škola nikoliv. Přesto je nutné poznamenat, že v dílčích představách jsou téměř identické např. v chápání racionality jedince, nebo v chápání negativní svobody, kterému dávají prioritu. (9) Paradigma konzervatismus jako postoj odmítá partikulární koncepty paradigmatu otevřená společnost z důvodu popírání vybraných republikánských principů (občanské náboženství, nacionalismus, obecně vnímání společnosti a demokracie jako hodnoty) a principů personalismu (duchovní stránka člověka, nejen racionalismus v jednání) ve smyslu pluralismu "racionality" a "duchovní stránky". (10) Procesuální teorie demokracie tzv. neklasického pojetí K. R. Poppera je jednorozměrná z hlediska konzervatismu jako postoje, teorie vědy a normativní politické teorie. Příčinou a jediným rozměrem je esenciální racionalita. (11) Ani jedna ze zkoumaných teorií nevytváří jednoznačnou utopii, prohlašovanou za teorii. Z tohoto důvodu je třeba další výzkum, který se nebude věnovat demokracii jako fenoménu, ale racionalitě jako pojmu při stavbě či kritice teorií.ObhájenoThe open society paradigm is based upon the assumption of rational action of humans set in a society whose basic logic of operation is analogous to market mechanisms. This assumption leads to a specific theory of democracy which is at its basis processual and, at the same time, considers itself (ideologically) neutral. Examples of similar assumptions and uses of this theory of democracy are notably present in works of the so-called Austrian School of economic thought and this thesis attempts (besides other goals) to examine the relation between the open society paradigm and Austrian School theories. The first line of the critical inquiry of the open society paradigm deals with its single-dimensionality in the form of the assumption of absolute rationality of human action. The second subject of criticism stresses the absence of collective republican ethos in the paradigm. The third and final subject of critical investigation is the movement of Poppers democratic theory into the sphere of ideology caused by its basic assumptions. The results of research can be summarized in eleven basic points. First, we have to research the concept of democracy further, focusing on the linguistic approaches allowing us to see the ideological shortcuts undermining the actual workings of the democratic system. Second, Popper's theory of democracy is impossible to defend processually, as it contains the inherent essential assumption of absolute rationality. Democracy as a neutral process fails in Popper's theory and contains the ideological element (from a conservative perspective) of a liberal, individualist and ever increasing rationality. Third, Popper's theory of democracy is not universal, but particular. Fourth, Popper's theory of science is linked to a specific social philosophy that mimics a social or political science theory. Fifth, For Popper, the real social science is economics, because it is able to produce quantifiable generalizations of social reality through rationalistic models. Sixth, Popper is a liberal thinker who shows an inclination towards Hayek's concept of market reality. Seventh, the theories of von Mises and Rothbard differ significantly from the conceptual assumptions of the open society paradigm of K. R. Popper, however, they show some inclinations towards the processual concept of democracy similar to Hayek's. Eighth, the open society paradigm and the neoliberal or libertarian ideology of the Austrian School are not visibly connected. The open society paradigm is coherent, while the Austrian School is not however, it must be noted that they share certain assumptions, especially their concept of individual rationality or their prioritization of the concept of negative freedom. Ninth, the conservative paradigm cannot accept specific assumption of the open society paradigm, especially with regard to its refusal of selected republican principles (ignoring the spiritual aspect of human existence and focusing on rationality of human behaviour) in the sense of pluralism of "rationality" and "spirituality". Tenth, the processual theory of democracy in Popper's non-classical approach is single-dimensional from conservative perspective, as well as from the perspective of theory of science and normative political theory. The single cause and dimension consists of essential rationality of human action. Eleventh, none of the theories under scrutiny present a single utopia represented as a theory and that is why we need more research which will not focus on democracy as a phenomenon, but the rationality of the concept in the construction and critical investigation of theories

ANALÝZA VEŘEJNÉ POLITIKY OCHRANY HRANIC V BEZPEČNOSTNÍ AGENDĚ MINISTERSTVA VNITRA ČR (OD ROKU 2014 DO BŘEZNA 2017)

Článek se zabývá bezpečnostní veřejnou politikou v České republice. Aktérů promlouvajících do tohoto druhu politik je v České republice mnoho, nicméně dle obecného povědomí a exekutivních pravomocí vyplývajících z právní úpravy je jednou z důležitých institucí Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky (MVČR). Tento aktér je odpovědný nejen za vykonávání své exekutivní role, ale v České republice má i značnou roli při přípravě legislativních veřejných dokumentů. Článek se zaměřuje na tvorbu a kontextuální rámování narativa MVČR v aktuální otázce tzv. migrační krize, a to od vzniku současné vlády, až do března roku 2017. Konkrétně jsou sledovány kontextuální vazby vztažené k politice ochrany hranic a smyslu hraničních přechodů jako bezpečnostních prvků pro zajišťování vnitřní bezpečnosti ČR. Smyslem článku je popsat a konceptualizovat pozice MVČR při vytváření veřejných politik ochrany hranic, protože kontext daný takovou tvorbou vytváří normativní podobu vlastních priorit pro případnou veřejnou diskuzi a kontrolu veřejných institucí