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Current list of readings (valid for Spring 2017)

Class 1: March 3, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

Garton Ash, Timothy: 1986. Does Central Europe Exist? The New York Review of Books 9 October 1986, pp. 45 – 52.

Kundera, Milan: 1984. The Tragedy of Central Europe. The New York Review of Books 26 April 1984, pp. 33 – 38.

Points of discussion:

1. Today, does it still make sense to use the term Central Europe? Or do you find it redundant?
2. What are the shared qualities of Central European identity? Are they geographical, geopolitical, cultural, or other?
3. Where does Central Europe stand nowadays? What is its position on the mental map of Europe? Can you see any recent developments?

Class 2: March 10, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

The Dissident Contribution to Political Theory. In: Falk, B. J. (2003): The Dilemmas of Dissidence in East-Central Europe : Citizen Intellectuals and Philosopher Kings. Budapest: Central European University Press, pp. 313-364. eBook Collection, EBSCOhost.

Points of discussion:

1. The impact of dissent thought on civil society in Central Europe?
2. The impact of dissent thought on post-communist development?
3. Dissident thought in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary - any differences?
4. Václav Havel´s dissent thought - unique or not?

Further readings (Ebsco selections):

Baer, Josette (2000): Imagining Membership: The Conception of Europe in the Political Thought of T. G. Masaryk and Václav Havel.
Studies in East European Thought. Vol. 52, Issue 3, pp. 203-226.

Baer, Josette (2007): Thomas G. Masaryk--Democracy as Czech Humanism. Slavic Thinkers or the Creation of Polities. Databasis: Central & Eastern European Academic Source, pp. 14-42. (book chapter)

Donskis, Leonidas (ed.) (1984): Yet Another Europe After 1984. Rethinking Milan Kundera and the Idea of Central Europe. Book Jacket. Value Inquiry Book Series. Amsterdam: Brill Academic Publishers. eBook.

Drulák, Petr (2006): Between Geopolitics and Anti-Geopolitics: Czech Political Thought. Geopolitics. Autumn2006, Vol. 11 Issue 3, pp. 420-438.

Evans, Robert J W. (2011): Confession and Nation in Early Modern Central Europe. Central Europe. May2011, Vol. 9 Issue 1, pp. 2-17.

Guesnet, Francois; Jones, Gwen (2014): Antisemitism in an Era of Transition : Continuities and Impact in Post-Communist Poland and Hungary. Frankfurt: Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften. eBook Collection.

Hloušek, Vít; Kaniok, Petr (2014): Strategic or Identity-based Euroscepticism? The Euro Discourse of Vaclav Klaus. Romanian Journal of Political Science, Summer2014, Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp. 35-60.

Schöpflin, George (2003): Identities, politics and post-Communism in Central Europe. Nations & Nationalism. Oct2003, Vol. 9 Issue 4, pp. 477-490.

 Zászkaliczky, Márton; Trencsényi, Balázs (2010): Whose Love of Which Country? : Composite States, National Histories and Patriotic Discourses in Early Modern East Central Europe. Book Jacket. Series: Studies in the History of Political Thought, v. 3. Boston : Brill. 2010. eBook Collection, EBSCOhost.

Class 3: March 17, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

Dufek, Pavel – Holzer, Jan: Debating Democracy in East Central Europe: The Issues and Their Origins, in: Holzer, Jan – Mareš, Miroslav (eds.), 2016, Challenges to Democracies in East Central Europe. Routledge, London and New York.

Freedom House: 2016. Nations in Transit: Poland, Freedom House, available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2016/poland (accessed January 12, 2017)

Human Rights Watch: 2013. Wrong Direction on Rights. Assessing the Impact of Hungary’s New Constitution and Laws. Human Rights Watch, available at https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/05/16/wrong-direction-rights/assessing-impact-hungarys-new-constitution-and-laws (accessed January 12, 2017)

Points of discussion:

1. How do you see recent developments in Poland and Hungary in broader (European and global) political context?
2. What are the major future threats for democratic orders of Central European countries?
3. In your opinion, what positive role (if any) can the EU play in the process of democratic reinforcement in Central Europe?

Class 4: March 24, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

There will be no readings to this class. Students will gain the “prepared rating” for active participation in a debate on a documentary watched in the class.

Class 5: March 31, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

Ekiert, Grzegorz – Foa, Roberto: 2011. Civil-Society Weakness in Post-Communist Europe: A Preliminary Assessment. Carlo Alberto Notebooks, Working Paper no. 198, pp. 1-45, http://www.carloalberto.org/assets/working-papers/no.198.pdf (accessed January 12, 2017).

Jacobsson, Kerstin – Saxonberg, Steven: 2013. Introduction. The Development of Social Movements in Central and Eastern Europe, Jacobsson, Kerstin – Saxonberg, Steven (eds.), Beyond NGO-ization: The Development of Social Movements in Central and Eastern Europe, Ashgate: Farnham and Burlington, pp. 1-26.

Points of discussion:

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Central European civil societies? In what respect can we say that they lag behind traditional democratic societies?
2. Discuss the possible ways toward stronger civic institutions in Central European countries.
3. What are the main determinants of the current state of the civic sphere in Central Europe?
4. Can we see the process of Europeanization or even globalization of civil societies in Central Europe?

Class 6: April 7, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

Cohen, C. (1989): Free Speech and Political Extremism: How Nasty Are We Free to Bee? Law and Philosophy 7; pp. 263-279.

Alvares C. and Dahlgren, P. (2016): Populism, Extremism and Media: Mapping and Uncertain Terrain. European Journal of Communication 31, pp. 46-57.

Points of discussion:

1. How can we define political extremism and radicalism?

2. Can you briefly describe the basis and contemporary condition of political extremism/radicalism in your country?

3. Can we perceive political populism as a form of political extremism, or populism simply constitutes a normal form of political behaviour?

Class 7: April 21, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

Points of discussion:

1. What were the Spartakiads?
2. How did the communist regime use the Spartakiads as a political tool?
3. What was the history of Spartakiads after the Velvet Revolution?

Class 8: April 28, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00  

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

Cabada, L. – Hloušek, V. – Jurek, P. (2014): Party Systems in East Central Europe. Lexington Books. Chapters 3 (pp. 43–70), 4 (71–104) and 7 (pp. 179–190)

Points of discussion:

1. Discuss the impact of the communist era on the structure and functioning of party systems in Central Europe.

2. Discuss the structure of cleavages within party systems in Central European countries.

3. Try to identify the main differences of Czech and Slovak political partisanship and party competition compared to Western European political parties and party systems.

Class 9: May 5, 2017, JJ 302, 8:25 – 11:00  

Compulsory readings (to be distributed via e-mail):

1. What are the common attributes of populism?
2. What political parties are labelled as populistic in the Czech Republic?
3. Can we find some different types of populism in the Czech Republic or in the Central Europe?
4. How do you define populism from your own perspective?