Kamil Švec

 Editorial

Abstract

Petr Jüptner

 Přímá volba starostů v evropské komparaci a české diskusi

Abstract

The aim of this article is to process the topic of extension of direct mayor election in the European comparison which creates a context for processing of development of the Czech political debate on the introduction of direct mayor election during the coalition government of Petr Nečas. Through content analysis of government documents are analysed three main issues: the proposed model of direct mayor election, a new position of mayors in the municipal order (local government system) as well as the possible impact of the proposed changes. Special attention is paid to the close relationship between the government proposal and Slovak model of direct elections.

Vratislav Havlík, Markéta Pitrová

 Evropské komunální kanceláře jako nástroj prosazování zájmů německých obcí v Bruselu

Abstract

The paper deals with the interest advocacy of German local authorities in the European Union and draws attention to this new research topic. The aim is to describe contact points in Brussels used by local structures to promote their interests and to evaluate their usage and validation. Special attention is paid to the European communal offices in Brussels which represent German communal entities. European Offices are presented as a potential useful contact point for cities and districts, which want to be informed about dealings in Brussels or to get into negotiation with EU officials. The paper discusses history and structure of these Offices, and analyses their daily practise in the European politics. Firstly, these issues are described in general and then concrete examples from Saxony are presented.

Sabina Ali, Filip Machart, Martin Kryšpín Vimmr

 Negativní aspekty slučování municipalit: analýza akademické diskuze

Abstract

This paper analyses negative aspects of municipal amalgamations in the european context. It focuses on two basic questions: What are risks of municipal amalgamations? Which negative consequences of municipal amalgamations are the most frequently mentioned in the academic discusion? Four european academic sources are analysed in this paper: two compilations edited by Paweł Swianiewicz (Consolidation or Fragmentation? The Size of Local Government in Central and Eastern Europe, 2002; Territorial Consolidation Reforms in Europe, 2010), academic journal Local Government Studies which studies problematics of local politics in general and academic journal Scandinavian Political Studies which focuses on different topics of politics in Scandinavia. The analysis of academic sources is limited by the time period from 2000 to 2012. During the research, there were created six categories of arguments against municipal amalgamations (based on basic categorization made by P. Swianiewicz). These categories cover these areas: Functionality of local community, institutional problems, access to local administration, voting behaviour, tensions in municipalities and economical problems. The way the arguments are distributed between different categories is discussed in the conclusion.

Michal Kubálek, Václav Bubeníček

 Charakter lokální politiky v suburbánním politickém prostoru

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a case study of the local political environment of a specific smaller medium-sized municipality in the vicinity of Prague (Roztoky), i.e. a suburban area having the distinctive nature of a transforming social environment, primarily in relation to developer construction and subsequent increasing population coming mainly from the capital city. The study deals with the relevance of the question of the changing social environment on the local political process. The research is particularly focused on the issue of changes in the nature of local politics, local cleavages, the process of forming coalitions, voting behaviour and the format of the party system and reflection on whether the effects of social and demographic changes in some of the examined aspects can be confirmed.

Pavel Šaradín

 Reformy územní samosprávy. Pohled obecních a krajských zastupitelů

Abstract

The goal of the text is to show in what manner the selected reforms in the area of local and regional politics are perceived by the representatives of both levels of the territorial authorities. Several questionnaires were carried out in the Czech Republic, whose nature was to discover the opinions and attitudes of the local representatives, among other things regarding the administrative and territorial reforms. Simultaneously, at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, the first survey of regional representatives was carried out. The questions which were concerned with reforms were similar in both groups of representatives, which allows for their comparison. It can also be said that the main debates in the Czech Republic concentrate on the issues of the introduction of elements of direct democracy, or as the case may be, several reform measures such as changes in financing or the direct elections of mayors. In the proposals of the politicians, there is primarily a lack of solutions to the issue of the significant municipal disintegration.

Radek Kopřiva

 Analytické možnosti využití preferenčních hlasů při výzkumu volebního chování ve volbách zastupitelstev obcí

Abstract

In municipal policy research the issue of party systems is one of the core areas of interest. Mainly the variables that shape party systems are studied. In this context, in a number of case studies attention is devoted to local contextual factors which influence the decisions of voters in elections of municipal councils, and which are often used in the conclusions of such conceived works to interpret both personnel and party filling of positions in local politics. A smaller number of analytical works are based on the “reverse” (inductive) view. Their goal is usually to understand and explain the forms of behaviour (usually of voters) on the basis of available data (mostly election results). This second view is also used in a work whose results are published in this article. The work deals with preferential votes for candidates running for representative seats in the municipal elections. The key objective is to verify the applicability of this data to interpret voting behaviour and the fundamental nature of the local political process.