Oto Potluka, Lenka Slavikova

 Impact of Floods on Local Political Representation

Abstract:

Natural disasters have significant material and social impacts on the communities affected. It may also influence the result of the political process, especially at the local level. Therefore, the paper investigates the political consequences of the disastrous floods in the Czech Republic with the focus on the largest floods in 2002. Its main goal is to test the hypothesis that floods in the Czech Republic influenced the results of local elections, i.e. that floods caused changes in local representations of those municipalities, which were affected by floods just before the local elections. The hypothesis was formulated on the basis of the current distribution of responsibility in the Czech system of flood protection (responsibility is shared by citizens, local governments and the national government).

There have been used data concerning the elections at the local level held in November 2002 and data on flood damages. The data sample included not only those municipalities affected by floods, but also those which weren’t affected. It enabled to verify the plausibility of the results.

The statistical analysis shows that there was no statistically significant influence of floods on re-election of candidates standing for their offices again. There was a moderate influence on the participation of the electorate in the elections.

Šárka Strahalová

 Coalition Experiment in Saarland

Abstract:

This article deals with a new type of coalition government in Germany established at the state level. More than two months after the state election in August 2009 the so called Jamaica coalition compromising of Christian Democratic Party (CDU), Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens was built up in the western German state of Saarland as a coalition experiment. Reflecting on the political pre-election situation, this paper focuses on election results, the positions of the political parties and follows the coalition bargaining. It analyses the reasons why no other possible majority government coalitions were viable. Furthermore, it tries to briefly explain how the process of the establishment of the coalition governments can be influenced.

Michal Šabatka

 Regionalism in Spain, Election Arenas, and Moderating a Conflict

Abstract:

The aim of this article is to examine relation between national and sub-national level of party system development and related electoral competition in five significant Spanish regions – Basque country, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarra and Canarias Islands. The process of democratization in Spain was accompanied by emergence of autonomous regions and consequently by setting up of independent party systems. This fact leads to examination of political institutions in relation to both levels of political process. The theory of first and second order elections offers basic approach to study behaviour of political parties in both levels of electoral competition. Attached case studies of forenamed autonomous regions reveals distinct form of political behaviour in each examined area depending on relevant historical and socio-economic factors.

Martin Riegl

 Terminology of kvasi-states

Abstract:

Text analyzes continuing terminological confusion of the term quasi-state. This term is used to mean states that fail to exercise internal sovereignty within internationally recognized borders. Other authors use this term within the context of unercognized states with de facto control over the part of territory, but are unable to gain external sovereignty.

The article aims to clear up this continuing terminological confusion and propose that the term quasi-state should be used for all entities, which are not qualifying as fully fledged state due to lack of political characteristics (internal and external sovereignty) of the sovereign statehood.

Karel Kouba

 RIHOUX, Benoit; RAGIN, Charles C. et al. (2009). Configurational Comparative Methods. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques. London: Sage Publications. 209 s. ISBN 978-1-4129-4235-5.

Blanka Říchová

 PECKA, Emanuel (2010). Sociologie politiky. Praha: Grada Publishing a.s. 240 s. ISBN 978-80-247-2793-6.

Jan Křeček

 McCOMBS, Maxwell (2009). Agenda setting: nastolování agendy – masová média a veřejné mínění. Praha: Portál. 256 s. ISBN 978-80-7367-591-2.

Kamil Švec

 BALÍK, Stanislav. (2009). Komunální politika: Obce, aktéři a cíle místní politiky. Praha: Grada Publishing. 250 s. ISBN 978-80-247-2908-4.