Annales Scientia Politica

4

Authors: Gita Geremešová - Gabriel Székely

Interview with Assoc. prof. Dr. Joseph Dravecký, PhD. – Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic in Vatican and at the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta

6

Authors: Jaroslav Vencálek

Dynamic social processes of the beginning of the 3 rd millennium are linked with a myriad of fundamental changes in the behavior of human entities. The concept of linear causal perception of social relations is not considered to be sufficient any more. The need for complexity in the perception of evolutionary intricacy of current processes is associated with the need to understand the functional interdependence of autonomous and heterogeneous aspects of socio - political values. By recognizing layering of autonomous processes in time - space levels we are approaching the concept of fractal organization of society.

7

Authors: Juraj Tej

Socio - economic dimension in the area of regional policy in Slovakia is characterized by a strong infl u- ence of European Union`s regional policy. The self - governing regions, which should be strong elements of regional policy, face the challenge of making o b- jective social policy based on group of indicators in the context of current quality of life and histor ical model of social policy. Necessary prerequisite is to know what influences the social milieu. Latest OECD indicators seem to be most acceptable within the diagnostics of regional socio - economic realia.

10

Authors: Max Steuer

The study analyzes selected outcomes of the minority policy of the Slovak Republic between 2006 and 2014. By conducting a content analysis of three government manifestos (2006, 2010, 2012) and explanatory statements of three significant laws from this peri od, it shows that the measures approved by two executives (2006, 2012) aimed to satisfy the alleged demand of the majority for a more restrictive minority policy. The 2010 government made some effort towards more inclusive steps but its wavering political support prevented their effective implementation. The study also reviews the changes in the advisory institutions in this period which mirrored the overall approach to minority policy of the three executives.

11

Authors: Alexander Duleba

This article aims to identify Slovakia’s approach towards the Energy Union initiative launched by the European Commission in February 2015. It maps expectations voiced in Slovakia regarding how the Energy Union could be or could not be instrumental in addr essing main energy challenges for Slovakia as they are identified by the Slovak government and energy community. In addition, this article summarizes main positions of Slovakia on the most important segments of the Energy Union proposal as they are viewed from a Slovak perspective, including planned measures in strengthening energy security, developing single energy market and reviewing regulatory policy, improving energy efficiency and meeting the EU goals in climate policy. The research findings presented in this article are based on analytical review of respective discourse in Slovakia, including governmental documents in the field of energy and foreign policy.

14

Authors: Jakub Charvát

The paper deals with the question of party system change in the Czech Republic since the 2010 parliamentary elections. Although at least since the mid - 1990s the Czech party system was considered to be one of the most stable party systems in the CEE countries, since the 2010 elections the Czech party syste m has been undergoing major transformation of its format and structure, mainly because of a drastic change of voter behaviour in the 2010 and 2013 parliamentary elections.

5

Authors: Michal Cirner

Prodemocratic Constitution of Czechoslovakia has been ratified 95 years ago. The political system from 1918 to 1938, is an inspiration and a memento for the current political and social leaders. It is for reflection how many efficient elements of the former system, the present political system still did not adopt and vice versa, how many deficiencies of the former system continues similarly in the current political system.

6

Authors: Štefan Surmánek

After the gaining of independence in 1993 we notice a close connection of the Catholic Church and the interests of its managing authorities with the representatives of the state power, what entitles us to claim, that with the establishment of the independent Slovak Republic began the proces of its clericalization. By a close and frequently also co-ordinated cooperation of the religiously oriented political subjects with the representatives of the Catholic Church try the ultimately mentioned to spread their influence on all the areas of the public administration and thus indirectly (in many cases also by an open political engagement) to participate in the political decision making and in the determination of the character of the development of the particular areas of the public life. The consequence is, on the one hand, the „politization“ of the religion and the church activities, on the other hand it leads to the „religionization“ of the political and public life and to the strengthening of the privileged position of the Catholic Church in the structures of the public power in Slovakia as well.

7

Authors: Pavol Marchevský

The submitted work has the ambition to get involved in the present discourse of education in the area of neoliberalism. Referring to the works of J. Habermas, the work attempts to present the topical nature of the legacy of this German sociologist and philosopher in the outlines discourse of neoliberal education. The work also focuses on aspects of the discourse in the form of issues related to marketization and public interest in education. The work also attempts to map and confront opinions of current authors concerning applicability of Habermas’s ideas in the given discourse.

9

Authors: Gita Geremešová - Helena Melkusová

The study examines the association between the ideology of multiculturalism and political correctness. The policy of multicultural correctness is becoming obsolete as a result of vanishing universal values and the need for trans-cultural harmony. Multiculturalism accompanies politically unlimited globalization where the criterion of social justice is replaced with the criterion of differentiation and where it is diminished to cultural differences. Multiculturalism as an emancipation tool may only function under the circumstances when human rights are treated primarily as social rights. The Islamism of the Western European ghetto abuses the disparity between the political and social rights. The return to the culture of the ancient homeland (=Islam) is a reaction to poverty and a form of protest against social powerlessness.

13

Authors: Jaromír Feber

The author analyses the concept of liberal democracy as issue of political philosophy. Liberal democracy is considered as a form of governance with the consent of the people, which is also explicitly assigned value dimension. Western democratic political system derives its legitimacy from a commitment to promoting liberal values (freedom, equality, solidarity). The author expresses skeptically about the possibility of implementing liberal values within the boundaries of global capitalism.