Vít Hloušek – författare

Two decades have passed since the transition to democracy began in Eastern Europe. Today, West and East-Central European countries share a common political space - the European Union. This has created a fascinating opportunity for analysis of the similarities and differences between these countries. Here, Vít Hloušek and Lubomír Kopecek critically apply the party-families approach to political parties in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. With chapters devoted to social democrats, greens, the far right and left amongst many others, this book charts the parties' origins, ideologies, and international ties alongside their Western European counterparts. By examining the political relevance of different party families, Hloušek and Kopecek are able to assess the validity of this typology in the analysis of the transformation of political parties in this region. Detailed analysis coupled with an innovative application of the party families approach, makes this essential reading for students of party politics.

This book uses the V4 countries as an ideal political environment for testing shifts in Euroscepticism and illiberalism in the dynamic context of the "e;politicising moments"e; of multiple crises.It analyses what kind of Euroscepticism prevailed in East-Central Europe during the COVID-19 and Ukrainian war crises and how it changed compared to its manifestation during the earlier Eurozone and migration crises. With this, it looks at how, and under what circumstances, Eurosceptic narratives were linked to illiberal ones. The authors reveal that Euroscepticism and illiberalism are more than pure coincidence and highlight the conceptual connections between them, showing how Euroscepticism and illiberalism cross-fertilise and reinforce each other.This book is of key interest to scholars and students of Euroscepticism, Central-Eastern European, party politics, illiberalism, politics in the period of crises and more broadly to European and EU studies, comparative politics, and area studies.

This book uses the V4 countries as an ideal political environment for testing shifts in Euroscepticism and illiberalism in the dynamic context of the "e;politicising moments"e; of multiple crises.It analyses what kind of Euroscepticism prevailed in East-Central Europe during the COVID-19 and Ukrainian war crises and how it changed compared to its manifestation during the earlier Eurozone and migration crises. With this, it looks at how, and under what circumstances, Eurosceptic narratives were linked to illiberal ones. The authors reveal that Euroscepticism and illiberalism are more than pure coincidence and highlight the conceptual connections between them, showing how Euroscepticism and illiberalism cross-fertilise and reinforce each other.This book is of key interest to scholars and students of Euroscepticism, Central-Eastern European, party politics, illiberalism, politics in the period of crises and more broadly to European and EU studies, comparative politics, and area studies.

This book uses the V4 countries as an ideal political environment for testing shifts in Euroscepticism and illiberalism in the dynamic context of the “politicising moments” of multiple crises.It analyses what kind of Euroscepticism prevailed in East-Central Europe during the COVID-19 and Ukrainian war crises and how it changed compared to its manifestation during the earlier Eurozone and migration crises. With this, it looks at how, and under what circumstances, Eurosceptic narratives were linked to illiberal ones. The authors reveal that Euroscepticism and illiberalism are more than pure coincidence and highlight the conceptual connections between them, showing how Euroscepticism and illiberalism cross-fertilise and reinforce each other.This book is of key interest to scholars and students of Euroscepticism, Central-Eastern European, party politics, illiberalism, politics in the period of crises and more broadly to European and EU studies, comparative politics, and area studies.

Party Systems in East Central Europeanalyzes the formation of political parties in the nations of this region. In the first part, the authors concentrate on the key periods and turning points in this development, connecting them with the democratization of the countries in the region in the last third of the nineteenth century. This includes a look at the period before World War I, between the wars, and particularly in the times after the fall of the communist regimes. The analysis focuses chiefly on the ideological background that gave way to the rise of political parties in the region. In relation to this, the authors base their writing mainly on the socio-political theory of Stein Rokkan. The second part of the book is a political analysis of the key aspects related to party politics. First, the authors examine the ties of political parties to broad social processes, using the classic theories of Giovanni Sartori and Stein Rokkan. Next, they continue with the analysis of the operation of parties within governments, with a special focus on the creation of coalition governments, functioning of coalitions and coalition governance. Last, some defects are reflected upon, as well as unfinished processes related to the fast establishment of political parties in the region, e.g., absence of firm links with social groups, high volatility, instability of parties, etc.

This book provides an analysis of the European Parliament elections 2019 with a focus on East-Central European countries. The authors offer conceptual insights into Euroscepticism and discuss traditionally familiar concepts in a new light, pairing East-Central European Euroscepticism with visions of illiberal democracy, on the one hand, and showing the increasing Europeanisation of Eurosceptic parties in the region, on the other. The book combines a fresh and innovative conceptual treatment with rich and accurate empirical evidence in order to highlight the dynamics of Euroscepticism in "new" EU member states. Students and experts interested in EU politics, within academia and beyond, will find this volume particularly informative.

This book provides an analysis of the European Parliament elections 2019 with a focus on East-Central European countries. The authors offer conceptual insights into Euroscepticism and discuss traditionally familiar concepts in a new light, pairing East-Central European Euroscepticism with visions of illiberal democracy, on the one hand, and showing the increasing Europeanisation of Eurosceptic parties in the region, on the other. The book combines a fresh and innovative conceptual treatment with rich and accurate empirical evidence in order to highlight the dynamics of Euroscepticism in "new" EU member states. Students and experts interested in EU politics, within academia and beyond, will find this volume particularly informative.

Political parties run by entrepreneurs as a means to their own end are a recent phenomenon found in many countries, and their electoral influence has never been greater. This book offers a thorough comparative analysis of such ‘business-firm’ and sometimes oddly memberless parties in Western and East-Central Europe, assessing the considerable corpus of literature on the growing band of political entrepreneurs. The book clearly separates such party enterprises from other, more traditional, political platforms as it contributes to our understanding of the potential of entrepreneurial parties. The authors offer a unique typology based on two characteristics: whether the party receives private financial, media or other investment; and the nature of its membership and territorial structure. Famous examples of entrepreneurial parties, including Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom, alongside their lesser-known counterparts, servein this book as valuable material for conceptual innovation and the investigation into why certain entrepreneurial party types succeed or fail.

Political parties run by entrepreneurs as a means to their own end are a recent phenomenon found in many countries, and their electoral influence has never been greater. This book offers a thorough comparative analysis of such ‘business-firm’ and sometimes oddly memberless parties in Western and East-Central Europe, assessing the considerable corpus of literature on the growing band of political entrepreneurs. The book clearly separates such party enterprises from other, more traditional, political platforms as it contributes to our understanding of the potential of entrepreneurial parties. The authors offer a unique typology based on two characteristics: whether the party receives private financial, media or other investment; and the nature of its membership and territorial structure. Famous examples of entrepreneurial parties, including Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom, alongside their lesser-known counterparts, servein this book as valuable material for conceptual innovation and the investigation into why certain entrepreneurial party types succeed or fail.

Political parties run by entrepreneurs as a means to their own end are a recent phenomenon found in many countries, and their electoral influence has never been greater. This book offers a thorough comparative analysis of such ‘business-firm’ and sometimes oddly memberless parties in Western and East-Central Europe, assessing the considerable corpus of literature on the growing band of political entrepreneurs. The book clearly separates such party enterprises from other, more traditional, political platforms as it contributes to our understanding of the potential of entrepreneurial parties. The authors offer a unique typology based on two characteristics: whether the party receives private financial, media or other investment; and the nature of its membership and territorial structure. Famous examples of entrepreneurial parties, including Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom, alongside their lesser-known counterparts, servein this book as valuable material for conceptual innovation and the investigation into why certain entrepreneurial party types succeed or fail.

This open access book provides an in-depth exploration of how presidents, prime ministers, and their cabinets manage relationships and make decisions in times of international crises. The authors focus particularly on war and its effect on executive dualism and presidential activism. This systematic analysis concentrates on four Central European countries – Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia – and examines the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as earlier conflicts: the Kosovo crisis (1999), the Iraq War (2003), the Russo-Georgian War (2008), and Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the emergence of separatist “republics” in eastern Ukraine (2014). All these conflicts had a major political impact on the political landscape of Central Europe, often empowering presidents, who represent the state externally and influence foreign and security policies.

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of Czech politics, past and present. The authors not only cover the main political developments of the past two centuries, they also situate the current political system in the context of communist and pre-communist legacies. They argue that amidst the dramatic changes of the Velvet Revolution, one can find a plethora of continuities in culture and institutions that help to explain the shape of Czech politics today.