Annales Scientia Politica

4

Authors: Ondrej Marchevský

Not all borderlines are alike. Report from the international workshop in Kirkenes (Norway)

12

Authors: Vladislav Dudinský - Vladimír Dančišin - Martin Lačný

In the circumstances of existing tendencies towards integration within uniting Europe, it is necessary to surmount mental stereotypes, which, from the historical point of view, have perceived borders and border zones as the areas of potential conflict, battlefield or buffer-zone, where all more significant investments are exposed to possible risk. Surpassing this legacy of the past is relevant also in the case of the Slovak-Ukrainian border zone, which though having a real potential is stigmatized by the phenomenon of periphery and border zone. The realized research, which is the subject of the study, assesses a current state of cross-border cooperation between the Slovak Republic and Ukraine and exposes its positives and at the same time also deficiencies, which are reflected by its participants.

20

Authors: Hela Melkusová

Within the removing barriers and improving the neighboring relationships of the Slovak Republic and Ukraine, the research of crossing the borders was carried out. This research was focused on border points Vyšné Nemecké and Ubľa. Data for this research was collected from August 2016 to October 2016. The findings were related to the travelling aim, demographic data, time limits for crossing the Slovak-Ukrainian border, satisfaction with border guards and customs officers, as well as to the state of border crossing points Vyšné Nemecké and Ubľa. Passengers suggested the ways and the means how to accelerate border procedures that would shorten waiting time and would improve the work of border guards and custom officers. The work and activity of Slovak border guards and customs officers was positively assessed. On the other hand, the job of Ukrainian border guards and customs officers was more criticized when comparing to Slovakia. Concrete suggestions for improvement of this activity are made at the end of the study.

8

Authors: Ján Feber

The moral aspects of velvet revolution. The article is focused on the issue of morality in the political process, reveals the fiction of the policy of nonviolence on the example of velvet revolution. Advocating morality, the author draws attention to the danger of its absolutisation. The author defines the idea of a good society, which should become a higher criterion of moral good. The sense of velvet revolution is discussed within this criterium.

10

Authors: Vladimír Dančišin

The study provides a summary of the most crucial conceptualisations regarding border studies. The aim is to introduce main concepts and categories employed by scholars in the field of border studies. Conceptualization of border studies point out that the issue of borders offer full range of possibilities for research.

16

Authors: Gabriel Székely

This summary study presents main sources, key objectives, theoretical and methodological framework, short analysis of four fundamental options of EU impact on border conflicts and the main recommendations and conclusions of the international research project named “The European Union and Border Conflicts: The Impact of Integration and Association (EUBorderConf)“. This project was primarily focused on research of EU impact and role in particular political dimensions and problems connected to border conflict issues. The internation research team under the supervision of project coordinators from the University of Birmingham was dealing with the question of role which a process of EU integration and association can play in a specific border conflict case. The project research team has elaborated a model of four various pathways by which the EU can have a direct or undirect impact on a concrete conflict case including a model of four conflict stages. This model is also largely based on process of conditionality and socialization. According to project authors the EU can have a positive or negative impact on a conflict according to suitability of chosen pathway. A model of conflict stages can serve for determination of negative or positive impact of EU.

2

Authors: Gabriel Székely

Report from Informal Meeting with Liam Wasley, Chargé d'affairs of the US Embassy in Slovakia

3

Authors: Martin Lačný

Ethical Leadership in Slovak Business Environment - Review of a Scientific Monograph of A. Remišová, A. Lašáková, J. Rudy et al.

6

Authors: Ivan Stryapko

The article is devoted to the analysis of tolerance and xenophobia of the Ukrainians of the Transcarpathian region towards some ethnic groups. Based on the opinion polls conducted according to Bogardus method of measuring of social distance, the author analyzed the attitude to the Russian speaking Ukrainians, the Hungarians, the Romanians, the Russians, the Roma, the Slovaks, the Jews, the Americans and the Hindus. The survey results indicate that the Ukrainians of the Transcarpathian region mostly demonstrate their tolerance towards the Slovaks, the Americans and the Russian -speaking Ukrainians. The social distance to the Hungarians, the Romanians, the Jews and the Hindus can be characterised as alienation. There is an openly xenophobic attitude towards the Russians and the Roma people.

12

Authors: Jiang Quanbao - Liu Yixiao - Li Shuzhuo - Stuart Basten

China’s recent history of family planning restrictions is well known. An increasing amount of attention has been paid to the role of abortion in both national and local policy implementation as well as individual – level decision-making. In this paper, we explore the recent history of abortion within the Chinese family planning policies within a broad bioethics framework. In particular, we explore themes of rational persuasion, coercion and manipulation at the various levels of implementation.

5

Authors: Sergiy Kurbatov

The paper is devoted to the problem of influence of university ranking of contemporary academic policy. The author argues that due to specific indicators, which are used in the main international university rankings, we would observe the temporal and spatial asymmetry of understanding of university mission, especially in elite segment of higher education: the shift to research activities in temporal context and the shift to internationalization in the spatial one. So, the overc oming of these asymmetries is an important task for contemporary ranking theory and methodology.

7

Authors: Lucia Dančišinová

At present, the mass media have a profound influence on political communication. The relationship between the mass media and politics is complicated and can be seen as a fight to win the better position. That is why politicians have been constantly trying to set the rules of their media presentation. In the case of United States presidential debates, the candidates have managed to take control over the production of official televised debates. The Memoranda of Understanding signed and pre - negotiated by two major U. S. political parties before televised presidential debates represent examples of political manipulation of the media. In this study, we analyse the Memorandum of 1992 in order to answer some of the criticisms in order to understa nd the process of political distortion of reality.

9

Authors: Jakub Kašpar - Tomáš Hoch

This paper analyses Georgian national identity from the position of liberal and constructivist approaches to international relations theory. Based on this theoretical framework, the aim of this text is to contribute to our understanding of how the European vector of Georgian national identity is constructed and how it impacts upon the pro - Western discourse of Georgian foreign policy. The research was conducted through an analysis of the academic literature supplemented by public opinion surveys in Georgia and the inte rviews with a Georgian academics and members of civil society, carried out in June and July 2015.

11

Authors: Marián Sekerák

Deliberative democracy represents one of the most discussed concepts in contemporary political science. It is believed that is rooted in the idea of parti cipatory democracy which appeared as a theory in 1970s. In the paper both concepts are analyzed in comparative perspective. Firstly, the idea of public deliberation is introduced, together with its “four (theoretical) generations”. Secondly, I shed some li ght on the ongoing issue of the relationship of participatory and deliberative democracies through the perspective of various contemporary scholars. Consequently, some of their common traits are clarified.

12

Authors: Lenka Pelegrinová - Martin Lačný

Intellectual property as assets in intangible form is classified in most countries under the definitions of the TRIPS Agreement and PCT according to the manner of its protection. This article presents results of an analysis of relationship between the prot ection of intellectual property rights at certain globalisation level and verification of their influence on macroeconomic indicators in selected countries of a similar intellectual property protection system under the PCT. The time and cross - sectional dat a enabled to test the objections by applying a non - parametric statistical method – panel data regression with the effect of random cross - sectional variables. The conclusions show that there is a statistically significant probability of the relation between the quantity of registered patents and the level of GDP, GDP per capita and ANNI.

6

Authors: Jaroslav Vencálek

Searching for the solutions of societal crisis at the beginning of the 3rd millennium has been increasingly associated with the new paradigmatic perception of the reality of the world. This is closely related with an emphasis on the study of contextual relationships that would enable preservation of the integrity of the human community. One of the priorities of this process is the need for societal transformation of the perception of the relationship between egoism and altruism.

6

Authors: Vladimír Dančišin

French mathematician André Sainte-Laguë, a pioneer in the theory of graphs, is not very appreciated scientist. Article seeks to point out that there is an undeniable contribution of the Sainte-Laguë’s works to the theory of apportionment and measurement of the disproportionality of an electoral outcome. Sainte- Laguë is one of the founders of the theoretical approach to the problem of distribution of the seats in party-list proportional representation systems. The article points out that Sainte-Laguë invented the method of equal proportions known as Huntington method.

7

Authors: Anatolij Kľučkovič

In the article the critical analysis of the main aspects of the party-government interaction in the Federal Republic of Germany is carried out. There are historical, conceptual, constitutional and legal, practical and political, and others. The fundamental approaches in German state-legal and political thought about evaluation of modern parties role in German political system are considered. The influence of political parties on the formation and functioning of the state system is highlighted. The article proves that the party influence on the higher bodies of state power is much more intensive than it is provided for in the legal regulations. The thesis is also concerned with the place of parties in ensuring the cooperation between the state and society in Germany. The author notes the deformation of parties’ democracy in Germany, close connection between political parties and the state, weakening status of the political parties as public representants.

11

Authors: Oľga Gyárfášová

The struggle over political and historical memory is a serious and recurring issue that has important implications for the rise and spread of national politics in contemporary Europe and the durability of democratic traditions. This is particularly focused on the way in which new generations of youth are taught their history and the formation of collective memory. The sociological survey conducted in 2013 has shown that large segments of population, above young people, either don’t know or don’t care much about the history of the wartime Slovak state (1939 – 1945) and the holocaust. On the other hand the agreement with preserving memory is wide-spread, partially with the rationale to prevent recurrences of intolerance, extremism and xenophobia. The survey reveals also the most frequently used sources of knowledge about the past and based on empirical findings elaborates on how to approach youth when teaching history.