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Controversies over the US Hegemony in the Multipolar World

Adam Gwiazda, p. 7–21

Abstract: Since the end of the Cold War, American hegemony continues to characterize the international system. This hegemony has met with a considerably higher acceptance by other states and other actors of the international system than a world of competing superpowers and political blocs. The main argument developed in this paper is that American primacy may not last forever, but as there is no effective global security mechanism for coping with the growing threat of extremist religious and political movements, the United States will continue to play the unique role of a sole superpower in the international system for a few decades to come.

Keywords: US hegemony, multipolar world, NATO, US power, military expenditures

Constructivism and Rationalism as Analytical Lenses: The Case of the European Neighbourhood Policy

Petr Kratochvíl and Elsa Tulmets, p. 22–40

Abstract: The paper proposes a novel way in which social constructivism and rationalism might be combined in the study of the EU´s external relations. It proceeds in four steps: First, a basic model for the study of EU external policies is introduced, with its four basic elements being based on different combinations of constructivism and rationalism. Second, existing theories are categorised in accordance with the model. Third, a case study exploring the relations of three countries in the EU´s Eastern neighbourhood (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia) with the Union is introduced, through which the practical applicability of the model is demonstrated. Fourth, the paper concludes with some theoretical remarks.

Keywords: European Neighbourhood Policy, EU external policies, social constructivism, social rationalism

The Origin of the Czech and Slovak Pluralist Party System

Jan Bureš and Petr Just, p. 41–82

Abstract: The article analyzes the process of pluralistic party system renewal in Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism in 1989. It shows the initial conditions and major actors, as well as factors that infl uenced party system structure and behaviour in the environment of a post-communist society without a recent democratic tradition. Special attention is devoted to the differences between Czech and Slovak party systems, as both parts of the former united Czechoslovakia demonstrated differences in their respective party systems both before and after 1989. After the introduction of key political parties, the results of 1990 general parliamentary election and its impact on the party system are analyzed.

Keywords: Czech political parties, Slovak political parties, pluralist party systems, elections

Traditional, Third Way or a Different Path? The Czech Social Democrat Party in 2010

Ladislav Cabada, p. 83–89

Abstract: This text is not intended to be an expert analysis but rather a refl ection upon the state of ideological debate within the Czech Social Democracy Party, and the position of the Democratic Socialist left within the party and political systems of the Czech Republic and the European Union. This text primarily refl ects the writer’s opinions on the events and an idea examined, and is in this sense primarily an essay.

Keywords: Czech Social Democrat Party, ideology, political system of the Czech Republic

Seeking a Type: the Czech Party System after 1989

Vít Hloušek, p. 90–109

Abstract: This article studies the issue of a typological categorization for the Czech party system. The author works from Sartori’s concepts of moderate and polarized pluralism; the reasons for using this concept are laid out in the theoretical part of the text. An analysis of individual phases of development of the Czech party system shows that until the middle part of the last decade the Czech party system could not be fit into a single type. However, analysis of the current form of the Czech party system at the electoral and parliamentary levels shows that the today’s Czech multi-party system displays the characteristics of a moderate pluralism.

Keywords: Czech party system, moderate pluralism, polarized pluralism

Institutionalization of Party Systems: Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia in a Comparative Perspective

Petr Jurek, p. 110–123

Abstract: This article focuses on the analysis of the institutionalization of party systems. The objects of the analysis are four party systems of post-communist countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia. To assess the degree of institutionalization, three quantitative criteria are used: electoral volatility, the effective number of parties and the parliamentary age of parties. The main aims of the analysis are to compare aforementioned party systems’ degree of institutionalization and simultaneously confirm the assumption that post-communist party systems are in a far more heterogeneous category than is often suggested. At first, the article defines and explains the institutionalization of party systems and uncovers the possibilities of its quantitative assessment. Then, the level of institutionalization of Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian and Slovenian party systems is evaluated. There are two main conclusions. First, the institutionalization of a party system in the case of Slovenia and Croatia is on a considerably higher level than in the cases of Bulgaria and Romania, although there is some positive progress in the case of Romania in the last five years. Second, common trends, connected with institutionalization and often mentioned as overall, don’t have a strong reliance on empirical measures.

Keywords: institutionalization, party system, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, electoral volatility, effective number of parties, age of parliamentary parties

The Party System in Central Europe after 20 years (Standard or Exceptional?)

Michal Kubát, p. 124–132

Abstract: This article is a brief consideration of the state of the party system in Central Europe, in the sense of its position in wider theoretical and comparative contexts of democracy as such and within Western European models. Does Central Europe differ from Western Europe? Is Central European democracy, including the political party system, qualitatively different from Western European democracy? This text first examines the issue of the consolidation of democracy in Central Europe, then explores the relationships between the consolidation of democracy and the political party system in the region and finally tries to find an answer to the question of the standard or exceptional nature of Central European democracy and the Central European political party system in relation to Western Europe. The result of this examination is the finding of an absence of qualitative difference between Central and Western Europe in terms of the aspects referred to above.

Keywords: parties and party systems, democratic consolidation, Central Europe

BOOK REVIEWS

Helena Hricová: Party Politics in the Western Balkans

Zuzana Krčálová: International Negotiation in a Complex World

Linda Piknerová: Fixing Failed States. A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World