Reversing the Past : Municipal Splits in Slovakia After 1989

The research on territorial reforms on the local level has so far focused on municipal amalgamations. However, less is known about municipal splits – a phenomenon that is less frequent, but that occurred in several European countries in recent decades. This paper deals with municipal splits in Slovakia after 1989, and it examines a set of factors that supported municipalities in their effort to obtain independence. The findings show that the massive wave of splits that began shortly after 1989 was primarily motivated by the aim of reversing the consequences of the amalgamation that had been conducted by the Communist regime. Hence, the question of identity was the main trigger leading to municipal splits. On the other hand, the analysis found that economic factors had only a limited role in the establishing of new municipalities in Slovakia

Ako (de)stabilizovať preferenčné hlasovanie

This paper deals with the topic of preferential voting in Slovak parliamentary elections by means of a comparison with the model applied in the Czech Republic. The aim of the article is to point out the main features and weaknesses of the Slovak model. It shows that the low effectiveness of the Slovak system lies in the existence of a nationwide electoral district composed of 150 seats. In the end the author suggests possible solutions to this problem, including a way for lower ranked candidates to use the weak point of the current system for their own benefit

It’s More than Just Debating : The Political Participation and Democratic Attitudes of Debate Programme Participants in Seven “New” Democracies

This study is focused on the democratic competencies and political participation of young people taking part in debate programs in seven “new” democracies – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, and Slovakia. The research employs conventional methods adopted from various established surveys for capturing the political attitudes and values of youths. Using a longitudinal research design, we compare results from debaters and their non-debating peers on three dimensions: political competence, democratic values, and political participation. The results of the pre-tests indicate that debaters’ attitudes are more in accordance with what a democratic theory would expect from active and engaged citizens. Participating in debate activities did not reveal significant attitudinal improvements during the short timeframe of our research (one school year), but the initial differences between debaters and non-debaters remained stable over time

Distribúcia verejných zdrojov ako nástroj mobilizácie volebnej podpory. Prípad alokácie hasičskej techniky na Slovensku

Článok analyzuje distribúciu hasičskej techniky do obcí na Slovensku v období pred parlamentnými voľbami v roku 2016. Z výsledkov vyplýva, že obce vedené starostami z vládnej strany a tiež obce, kde vládna strana v predošlých voľbách zaznamenala lepší výsledok, boli v distribučnom procese zvýhodnené. Súčasne text ukazuje, že pridelená technika mala pozitívny dopad na podporu vládnej strany a ešte výraznejšie zvyšovala podporu vládneho predstaviteľa, ktorý distribučný mechanizmus osobne riadil. Daný efekt je najsilnejší v najmenších obciach a s rastúcou veľkosťou obcí sa oslabuje.Research shows that political parties use public resources as a vote-buying mechanism. This paper analyzes the distribution of fire engines to Slovak municipalities before 2016 election. We find that towns with mayors from the ruling party as well as municipalities where this party scored better in previous election were advantaged in the selection process. We also show that grants increase the electoral support of the ruling party and even more substantially they boost the share of votes of the government representative who personally directed the distribution. This positive effect is strongest in smaller municipalities and it weakens with rising town population

Výzkumná zpráva z exit pollového šetření k volbám do Poslanecké sněmovny PČR 20. – 21. 10. 2017 v Brně a vybraných obcích Jihomoravského kraje

Dokument popisuje vybrané charakteristiky voličů v politických volbách do Poslanecké sněmovny v roce 2017. Závěry vycházejí z dat získaných metodou exit-pollového šetření, tedy dotazováním voličů opouštějících volební místnosti. Data obsahují údaje o několika tisících voličů z Brna, okresních měst a několika menších obcí v Jihomoravském kraji. Závěrem je tak popis voličů dle jejich demografických charakteristik a politických postojů, které zahrnují na osobu ideálního premiéra, na plnění volebních slibů, důležitá témata a faktory ovlivňující volební rozhodnutí. Součástí dokumentu je také srovnání rozdílu mezi voliči v Brně a v ostatních obcích kraje.Document describes several characteristics of voters in elections in to the Chamber of deputies 2017. Conclusions are based on data gathered by exit-poll survey. Data includes information about several thousands voters from Brno and other regional towns and villages in region South Moravia. Document provides description of sociodemographic characteristics of voters and their political attitudes including opinion on ideal prime minister, fulfillment of electoral pledges, most important issues and factors influencing voting decision. At the end the differences between regional city and other towns and villages are described

Meno ako výhoda? Experimentálny výskum zameraný na efekt poradia na listine

Článok analyzuje efekt poradia kandidátov v regionálnych voľbách na Slovensku. V rámci výskumu bol uskutočnený experiment s randomizovaným a rotovaným poradím kandidátov na listine. Z výsledkov vyplýva, že pozície bližšie k začiatku listiny sú príjemcami väčšieho podielu hlasov voličov. Tento efekt je významnejší v prípade kandidátov, ktorí nezastávajú žiadnu verejnú funkciu. S ohľadom na to, že v krajských voľbách na Slovensku, sú kandidáti na listine zoradení abecedne, naša štúdia preukazuje, že kandidáti s menami zo začiatku abecedy získavajú vo voľbách neodôvodnenú výhodu oproti svojim konkurentom. Vo všeobecnosti tak naše zistenia problematizujú férovosť analyzovaných volieb.This paper examines list order of candidates in regional elections in Slovakia. We conducted an experiment with a randomized and rotated ballot ordering. Our results show that earlier positions on the list receive significantly higher portions of votes. This effect is even more substantial for candidates without public office although it works also for public office holders. Given the alphabet ranking used in regional elections in Slovakia, our study shows that candidates with surnames starting with letters from beginning of alphabet are given unfounded advantage over their rivals. In general, our findings problematize the fairness of the analyzed elections

The role of ethnicity in the perception of pork barrel politics : Evidence from a survey experiment in Slovakia

In divided societies and new democracies, clientelism (in the form of pork barrel) and ethno-politics appear to go hand in hand. It is apparent that politicians are incentivized to compete for support within their own ethnic groups, but does an ethnic link between voters and decision-makers influence how voters perceive and evaluate pork barrel practices? To address this question, we conducted a survey experiment (n=1,200) in ethnically heterogeneous Slovakia. The aim was to examine whether pork barrel politics implemented by a Slovak decision-maker and a Hungarian decision-maker are evaluated differently by Slovaks and Hungarians. The findings suggest that when individuals and decision-makers share the same ethnicity, individuals tend to maintain an equally positive level of trust and willingness to vote for the responsible decision-maker, even when the decision-maker implements a policy decision that does not benefit them. Nonetheless, shared ethnicity does not prevent individuals from being critical of the implemented policy decision itself.Peer reviewe

It’s More than Just Debating: The Political Participation and Democratic Attitudes of Debate Programme Participants in Seven “New” Democracies

This study is focused on the democratic competencies and political participation of youngpeople taking part in debate programs in seven “new” democracies – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania and Slovakia. The research employs conventional methods adopted fromvarious established surveys for capturing the political attitudes and values of youths. Using a longitudinalresearch design, we compare results from debaters and their non-debating peers on three dimensions:political competence, democratic values and political participation. The results of the pre-tests indicatethat debaters’ attitudes are more in accordance with what a democratic theory would expect from activeand engaged citizens. Participating in debate activities did not reveal significant attitudinal improvementsduring the short timeframe of our research (one school year), but the initial differences between debatersand non-debaters remained stable over time

For the Game, for the Loyal Partisans: Distribution of Sport Grants in Slovakia

Distribution of resources is at the core of politics. Although this activity is primarily economic in nature, the existing research shows that political representatives often use the allocation of public money to reward their allies at the expense of their rivals. This paper analyses a 2015 governmental programme of local sport grants in Slovakia that aimed to build sport facilities for children and young people. In order to avoid any political bias, the programme was established as a neutral mechanism with an anonymous evaluation of grant requests. The results of analysis, however, provide substantial evidence that the subsidies were given primarily to towns with closer political ties to the government while municipalities led by mayors from the opposition were nearly fully ignored. In addition, the presented social and economic aims of the funding programme were not effectively pursued. The paper thus represents a valuable contribution to the discussion of distributive politics, in general, as it shows that, despite the respective legal framework, the allocation of resources may still end up as a process fuelled by partisan interests

Democratising candidate selection in Romania and Slovakia

In Central and Eastern Europe only a handful of parties formally specify primary elections – open to their members – as a means of selecting their candidates. Two important political parties from Romania and Slovakia had a similar approach towards primaries: they both formally adopted primaries, but failed to use them on a systematic basis. The Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) used primaries for the selection of its legislative candidates in 2004, made them optional immediately afterwards and never used them again. The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party (SDKÚ-DS) adopted primaries in 2000 but used them only in 2002 and 2010.. This chapter analyses the use of primaries in Romania and Slovakia with a focus on the PSD in 2004 and the SDKÚ-DS in 2010. Our goal is to identify similarities in the formal rules, organisation and potential effects of primaries. The empirical evidence reveals no impact of the inclusive candidate selection methods on electoral performance or membership organisation for either party