Articles
| Josef Mlejnek | Brake, Accelerator, or Deflector? Hungarian Mixed Electoral System after Twenty Years | |
| Abstract | The article is focused on the Hungarian mixed electoral system. Although it helped to divide the Hungarian political scene into two main blocks and to form absolute governmental majority after all the elections so far, it also has had a few questionable consequences. Owing to a complex structure of the Hungarian society from the social and value interests and attitudes´ point of view, it is debatable whether an electoral system that helps to form a bipolar party system is suitable for the country. The article then asks whether the Hungarian electoral system is not too “strong”, whether it does not lead to too violent a connection of some cleavages, and thus more to a deformation of the political scene, the consequence of which is an excessive polarization and inability of the political system to solve some vital issues of the Hungarian state and society adequately. | |
| Daniel Klimovský | Issue of Parallel Discharge of Self-governmental Offices and Office of MP in Slovakia: A Brief Discussion on Some Points | |
| Abstract | The parallel discharge of some self-governmental offices and office of MP is not any extraordinary situation in the European conditions. There are several countries where such parallel discharge is allowed (e.g. Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Luxemburg, Montenegro, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden) but also several countries where such discharge is forbidden (e.g. Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldavia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine). As far as Slovakia, discharge of the self-governmental offices is compatible with discharge of the office of MP. However, two draft bills, which should introduce incompatibility of these offices, were submitted in the Parliament at the beginning of 2009. The submission brought up a discussion, and the article is dedicated to the main points of this discussion. It shows that some of the presented points are irrelevant, and some are interpreted in a wrong or misleading way. For this purpose, the author utilizes the description and analysis of both relevant laws or documents and statements as well as activities of the concerned actors. | |
| Jan P. Kučera | Political Thought of Arthur Schopenhauer | |
| Abstract | The political dimension of human life is on the very edge of Schopenhauer focus of interest. This fact stems from his concept of metaphysics. However, the attention ought to be paid to this aspect of his philosophy, since it is an influential part of the tradition of typical "German" refusing "politics-ness", a phenomenon with enormously tragic consequences. | |
| Jitka Gelnarová | Vatican State in the Context of Convergence of the State and the Holy See | |
| Abstract | The article describes the reality of the Vatican state in the context of convergence of the state and the Holy See. The Vatican is presented as a multidimensional phenomenon characterised by merging of a state and a non-state entity. The interconnection between the state and the Holy See as a supreme institution of the Catholic Church is considered a determining characteristic of the Vatican reality. The article demonstrates how this connection, which is visible on the level of both institutions and objectives, influences various aspects of the Vatican reality such as size of the territory, structure and quantity of the population, and system of government. | |
| Michael Romancov | The New Cold War between Russia and the West? | |
| Abstract | When on December 25th 1991 Soviet Union collapsed many in the West welcomed the emergence of a free, independent and democratic Russia. Twenty years after New assertive Russia enters the stage is a new cold war on horizon? Russia is certainly not the Soviet Union, but what is it? A recovering world power or corrupt weak country? | |
Miscelanea
| Michel Perottino | Jacques Lagroye - in memoriam | |
| Petr Jüptner | Conference „Czech Municipalities in European Development“ | |
| Blanka Říchová | Conference „Mixed Electoral Systems and the Modification of Proportion Systems“ | |
Reviews
