Central European Journal of Politics
Peer-Reviewed Journal
Central European Journal of Politics, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020)
Obsah / Content
ČLÁNKY /ARTICLES
Al Chukwuma Okoli & Sunday Orinya: Bureaucratic Executivism and the Erosion of Collegiality in Nigeria’s Nascent Federal Universities: Insights from a Vintage Case
Abstract: This paper examines the erosion of collegiality in Nigeria’s nascent federal universities against the backdrop of the rising bureaucratic-executivist tendencies in such institutions. On a vintage case of one of such universities, the paper observes that there has been a sustained systematic subversion of collegial ethos through gradual bureaucratic centralism and excesses. By means of a qualitative analysis that relies on a synthesis of primary and secondary data, the paper highlights aspects of these bureaucratic-excecutivist tendencies and underscores their implications for internal institutional autonomy and academic freedom. We find that the trend is tantamount to emasculation and usurpation of the collegial integrity of faculty and, in effect, negates the principles of academic sovereignty and freedom. To reverse this trend, the paper makes a case for an institutional reform aimed at devolving strategically university governance in a manner that restores the functional autonomy of the faculty alongside the sovereignty of the academia.
Keywords: Academic freedom, bureaucracy, bureaucratic executivism, collegiality/collegialism, institutional autonomy, university governance
How to cite: Okoli, A.C. and Orinya, S. 2020. “Bureaucratic Executivism and the Erosion of Collegiality in Nigeria’s Nascent Federal Universities: Insights from a Vintage Case.” Central European Journal of Politics 6 (2): 1–22. DOI:10.24132/cejop_2020_1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24132/cejop_2020_1
Pavel Maškarinec: Quality of Life and Women’s Descriptive Representation: Female Emergence and Success in the 2018 Czech Local Elections
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyse the effect of quality of life, together with other factors, on female candidates̕ willingness to run for office and women’s descriptive representation in the 2018 Czech local elections. We found that the effect of some variables was different in the case of women’s emergence and success. While the share of female candidates was higher in larger cities with lower quality of life and less nationalized local party systems, women were much more successful in smaller cities with lower quality of life, less nationalized local party systems and a more strongly gendered context in the sense of previous female representation, both in city councils and on corporate boards of firms owned by the city. While the positive effect of size on women’s emergence can be explained with the larger city’s context which generates more access points for emergence of women candidates, the negative effect of size on women’s success was due to the desirability of office effect. Furthermore, the very small effect of previous female representation on the share of female candidates can be explained by the existence of an incumbency effect, which may also underlie the different influence of the representation of women in municipally-owned firms’ management. Finally, the negative effect of quality of life (at the level of both candidacy and representation) can also be linked with the desirability hypothesis. The drive to win representation and make decisions about the life of the community can be expected to be much stronger in municipalities with higher quality of life.
Keywords: Quality of life, women’s descriptive representation, local politics, quality of democracy, Czech Republic
How to cite: Maškarinec, P. 2020. “Quality of Life and Women’s Descriptive Representation: Female Emergence and Success in the 2018 Czech Local Elections.” Central European Journal of Politics 6 (2): 23–43. DOI:10.24132/cejop_2020_2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24132/cejop_2020_2
Abstract: This paper deals with the foreign policy narratives of selected actors of Czech foreign policy. It focuses on narratives about all foreign countries mentioned by the examined actors during the initial phase of the problems related to COVID-19 in the Czech Republic (March 2020). The politicians (members of the government and the President) indicated their foreign policy ideas in specific narratives. The aim of the paper is to corroborate the thesis that in a crisis situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, selected politicians used foreign policy narratives to communicate their foreign policy ideas. It seeks to contribute to the understanding of the role played by narratives in the formation of foreign policy ties, of the actual content of those narratives, and of the ways their meaning is constructed. Narrative analysis of metaphors is the paper’s research method. The paper finds that the politicians’ narratives focused on the People’s Republic of China in particular. Using a narrative set in the “backdrop” of a global pandemic, they highlighted positive metaphors about China’s role and character while setting back any criticism. Other countries of the world were not in the narrative focus, they were only metaphorically framed to a lesser extent and in various meanings. The politicians, therefore, used the crisis to articulate a foreign policy leaning towards China. The given narrative was, in a sense, a part of the foreign policy of the Czech Republic because it contributed to its discursive dimension.
Keywords: Czech politics, narrative, foreign policy, metaphor, China, coronavirus
How to cite: Paleček, J. 2020. “Čínský zachránce? Narativní obrazy zahraničí ve vybraných projevech českých politiků v období první vlny coronavirové krize.” Central European Journal of Politics 6 (2): 44–72. DOI:10.24132/cejop_2020_3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24132/cejop_2020_3
Ondřej Hynek: Geopolitics of Central Asia: Between the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon
Abstract: The countries of Central Asia are driven by economic development. However, they are lacking financial resources, and a gap in cooperation among the countries is making the development stage even more problematic. The important geostrategic location is attracting the attention of global superpowers. Russia has been maintaining close ties with the countries since the disintegration of the USSR. Nevertheless, does Russia have enough possibilities and tools to satisfy these states? This paper inquires why the region represents a crucial point from the perspectives of global superpowers. In doing so, the study describes the most likely future of the region and of global actors’ involvement. It also outlines who is currently more dominant in the area, or possibly how the influence is divided between the territories. Lastly, the paper shows how the balance of power has changed with China becoming the main actor, or at least one with the highest potential. The process-tracing method and the geopolitical concept are anchoring the paper and shaping the course of the argument.
Keywords: Central Asia, Russia, China, geopolitics, energy
How to cite: Hynek, O. 2020. “Geopolitics of Central Asia: Between the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon.” Central European Journal of Politics 6 (2): 73–93. DOI:10.24132/cejop_2020_4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24132/cejop_2020_4
RECENZE / REVIEWS
David Mareček: Timothy SNYDER: Cesta k nesvobodě: Rusko, Evropa, Amerika
How to cite: Mareček, D. 2020. “Timothy SNYDER: Cesta k nesvobodě: Rusko, Evropa, Amerika.” Central European Journal of Politics 6 (2): 94–98. DOI:10.24132/cejop_2020_5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24132/cejop_2020_5