Issue published: 30 June 2023

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The impact of closed and flexible candidate lists on the representation of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

Petr Dvořák, p. 183–216

Abstract: This article addresses the impact of closed and flexible candidate lists onthe representativeness of the lower house of the Czech Parliament from 1996 to 2021. Specifically, the paper explores representativeness according to gender, profession, residence, education, age and political experience. The effectiveness of preferential votes has manifested only since the electoral reform in 2010, mainly in the representativeness of women. Other monitored variables had a more pronounced influence, mainly in 2010 and 2013, when various citizen initiatives called for a change in the existing political set, and the new political parties disrupted the party system. Or when the voters of the PirStan coalition preferred the candidates of the STAN at the expense of the candidates of the Pirates in 2021.

Keywords: closed candidate list, flexible candidate list, the Czech Republic, personalization

Linking European Integration with Illiberalism: ‘Laboratory’of Central‑Eastern Europe

Vít Hloušek, p. 217–234

Abstract: The essay discusses Central Eastern Europe as a ‘laboratory’ of existing, emergingas well as contained elements of illiberal backlash. The Central European countries show both challenges and resilience mechanisms in more ‘extreme’ conditions than the cases from Western Europe. The paper offers the connection between the domestic development of Central European states and the ‘polycrisis’ of European integration by linking the issue of politicisation of European integration with the emergence of illiberal politics in contemporary Europe. The goal and main argument of the paper are that there exists a nexus between illiberal Central Eastern European politicians and rising Euroscepticism in the region. The empirical research of Central Eastern European case swill help us better understand general trends of European integration politicisation.

Keywords: Central‑Eastern Europe, democratization, illiberal democracy, Europeanintegration, politicisation

How to make the EU affairs more attractive? Case study teaching at Czech universities

Kateřina Kočí and Markéta Votoupalová, p. 235–264

Abstract: The article examines the case study (CS) method of teaching the studies focusing on the European Union (i.e. EU studies) through the lenses of the current debates onthe EU’s future which stress the growing cleavage and diversity inside and outside the EU. It is then difficult to present these topics to university students via traditional means, or via existing CS on international relations or EU affairs which are often of Western origin, and thus not always easily transferred to other environments. Its aim is to explore how the CS may be enriched by bringing local narratives. The article investigates the Czech Republic, a relatively newer member of the Union, where the EU studies has suffered from declining interest from students over the last few years. Particularly by employing questionnaires and semi‑structured interviews with Czech university teachers, we examine the type of CS, the extent to which they are and may be applied as a learning method and what their benefits are towards students, teachers and EU studies as a discipline. Our findings suggest that CS are used by the majority of respondents, but confusion prevails over the way CS should be employed. Moreover, the broader context of the CS learning method is rather neglected. Hence, there is space for greater systematic preparation and possibly for CS templates and samples that can be shared by instructors.

Keywords: Czech Republic, case studies methods, learning, EU studies

Long torn by ill fate? Wounded collective identity in light of a survey in Hungary

Dávid Kollár and Tamás László, p. 265–281

Abstract: The primary aim of the paper is to explore the relationship between the trauma‑focusedself‑description of Hungarian history and other factors such as sense of regional betweenness, memory, well‑being or even the respondent’s personality (sympathy for authoritarian personality traits, political orientation, religiosity). In the current study, network analysis is used to explore the elective affinities between the above‑mentioned variables. This method – rather than focusing on linear relationships– concentrates on interactions and feedback loops to better understand this social phenomenon. Our results show that the outlined factors form a coherent and highly stable belief system that can only be changed by significant influences.

Keywords: historical trauma, collective identity, narrative, network analysis

Hungary’s Pragmatic Diplomacy in the Age of Détente: The Case of the African Opening between 1956 and 1970

Daniel Solymári, p. 283–303

Abstract: Following the change of the political systems that swept across the former Soviet Bloc region toward the end of the 1980s, it was obvious for the ex‑satellite states that they would direct the major (re)orientation in their foreign policies towards the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Since the 2010s, every country of the ex‑Communist Bloc, including the Russian Federation itself, has fostered pragmatic foreign policies with African regions and states. To be able to understand present‑day Hungary’s recently enhanced engagements with the African continent, as well as making sense of its governmental ‘Africa Strategy’ of April 2019, this paper proposes to offer a general and historical analysis of changing geopolitical landscapes and foreign policies – towards Africa in the Age of Détente, between 1956 and 1970.

Keywords: Hungary’s foreign policy, détente, Africa, Soviet diplomacy, Cold War

Russia’s war against Ukraine and the transformation of the Euro‑Atlantic Security Architecture

Tetiana Sydoruk, Viktor Pavliuk and Antonina Shuliak, p. 305–323

Abstract: This article attempts to contribute to the debate on the reasons for the inability of the US and its allies to prevent Russia from destroying the Euro‑Atlantic security architecture by a full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as to the discussion of scenarios to strengthen the Euro‑Atlantic community in the frame of preparation for the new post‑war political landscape and reality. Based on a critical analysis of existing research, it is argued that despite the diversity of views of scholars and the still unpredictable outcome of the war in Ukraine, today it is possible to formulate some theses on the main directions of the European order transformation. These include enhancing the unity of the collective West, awakening Europe in the security and defense dimensions, strengthening and expanding NATO, increasing the US presence in the European region and ‘the end of the history’ of Russia’s return to the League of Superpowers. At the same time, the following issues remain controversial: the relations between Russian aggression and the US‑NATO strategy after the Cold War, the prospects of the United States maintaining the leading role in ensuring European security given the war‑induced increase in Europe’s defence capabilities, and Ukraine’s future European and Euro‑Atlantic integration.

Keywords: full‑scale invasion, war, Russia, the collective West, NATO

Measures against right‑wing extremism in an illiberal populist country: The case of Hungary

Zsuzsanna Vidra and Anikó Félix, p. 325–351

Abstract: The paper focuses on the question of what it means both conceptually and practically to talk about counter right‑wing extremism (RWE) measures in an illiberal populist regime while the dominant political ideology or narratives are very close to those of right‑wing extremists. Through a qualitative analysis of policies in the Hungarian context, the paper explores both the political and the policy scene to understand how the political context and policies identified as counter‑RWE measures interact. Relying on the categorisation of counter‑measures, different sets of policies are scrutinised: legal, security, anti‑terrorism, and public order measures including education, prevention, exit, deterrence, training, and communication programmes. It was concluded that there is a lack of government strategy and policies for countering RWE including almost all relevant policy fields. It was also observed that hate crime incidents have increased under the illiberal regime while at the same time previously strong extremist militant activities have declined. However, as it is argued, it is not due to effective policies but the manipulating political strategy of the incumbent party.

Keywords: countering right wing extremism, right wing extremism, right wing terrorism, illiberal regime, hate crime, radicalisation