Freedom of Press in Political Regimes: the Case of Thailand
Abstract: Article updates the research on the development of media in political regimes. Freedom of the media, one of the basic civil liberties, is understood to belong to everyone, without restrictions on the right to freedom of expression (ie. The freedom of speech), the right to appoint media operators and the right to be informed. Applicable in Thailand limit media freedom in part are located in the directory of commonly accepted in democratic regimes. Thus, for example, restrict freedom of speech similar arrangements for the good of the legal, ie. Dobrom common law, such as public safety, legal order and security of the state and the individual’s personal property occurring, their interpretation and strict enforcement go far beyond the practice of democratic regimes. There is present therein in Thailand closure and suspension of the operation of media entities without a court order, to influence the structure of the business media, widespread censorship, criminalization of defamation, and especially imposing draconian penalties for committing this crime. The aim of this article is to determine the scope of the effect of restricting media freedom in the Thai media market.

For the past decade in many countries in Europe and its close neighborhood we have observed different types of processes which can be named as “de-democratization”. The aim of the article is to analyze the state of elections as the crucial democratic institution which fairness and competitiveness have a substantial impact on the political regime. While Turkey as a “role model” for our analysis remains a main focus of the article, three European countries were selected for a comparison based on their relative similarity to Turkey – Hungary, Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia. The following questions are posed: Are elections in these countries free, fair and competitive? Can some types of electoral malpractice and irregularities be identified? How does the state of elections in terms of their fairness and competitiveness influence the political regime? The main hypothesis is that in the analyzed countries elections competitiveness limited by incumbents can become a factor deciding about the change within the political regime in the long run (loss of democratic quality) and also change the regime (to a less democratic one).

The article aims to formulate a theoretical category of neo-militant democracy that applies to study the nature and dynamics of democratic regimes after the 2008 economic crisis. It conducts an empirical test to verify the analytical effectiveness of the redeveloped category. The test takes a form of the case study of the Hungarian political system. Apart from a verification-objective, the research aims to identify and account for the dynamics of the Hungarian regime in terms of the neo-militant democracy principle. The qualitative method of source analysis serves to collect data on the processes of becoming neo-militant democracy. The selection of sources is deliberate and oriented on finding information about the implementation of neo-militant democracy measures in Hungary (2008-2019). The technique of qualitative content analysis applies to identify the nature of these processes. The theoretical tool is the category of neo-militant democracy, which simultaneously undergoes the empirical test. The main argument is that the process of becoming neo-militant democracy took a traditional form since the Hungarian neo-militant democracy principle drew on the traditional means introduced by Loewenstein rather than innovations advanced by the current research

In this paper I would like to present an interpretation of David Hume’s political theory. Therefore, a method of investigation can be recognized as hermeneutical one. Main threads which I would like to emphasize are: concept of stability, distribution of power, role of an opinion in political dimension and a conservative attitude toward a change. I claim that important lesson for political science can be taken from his theory. Generally speaking, this lesson consists in refusing the so-called political regime fetishism and focusing on the relevant issues of social stability. These issues are strictly determined by the opinions, hence the proper subject-matter of political science is identified with them. As one of the conclusions I propose a thesis that politics is, and ought only to be slave of opinions, what is an allusion to a famous sentence from A Treatise of Human Nature that the reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions.

The article analyzes the specificity and distinctiveness of authoritarian regimes operating in a global network of complex and multidimensional international relations. The author of the article asks the question: to what extent the dynamically changing paradigm of authoritarian ideology is responsible for the occurrence of various types of tensions, rivalries, and antagonisms caused by authoritarian regimes, the effects and consequences of which affect not only national and regional political conditions but also cause severe international repercussions? The applied research method allows exposing the complex particularity of authoritarian regimes in the context of the multidimensional dynamics of recent geopolitical changes. It is crucial when a number of modern ideological trends often downplay the brutal nature of many authoritarian systems and even treat the “authoritarian model” – especially in the form of socialist autocracies – as a “specific historical phenomenon” trying to resolve many complex and multiple political and economic issues.

Efficiency and quality of democracy in comparative politics: definitive and conceptual options of analysis

The article is dedicated to analyzing the historiography and conceptualization of the phenomenon of efficiency and quality of democracy. The author of the research outlined the definitive and conceptual parameters of comparative analysis of efficiency and quality of democracy, argued that different political regimes are more or less democratic. The article highlights various approaches, theoretical and empirical features of studying efficiency and quality of democracy, represents the most systemic/holistic indicators and methods of operationalization of democracy quality and efficiency. On this basis, the author actualized a unified approach to the analysis and conceptualization of quality and efficiency of democracy and argued that quality and efficiency of democracy is expedient to be mentioned not in a holistic continuum of political regimes, but when a certain state is actually democratic. As a result, the research confirmed that democracy is a multi-piece category and is able to expand its efficiency and quality.

The Media in the Service of the Regime. The Example of Russia and Challenges to Democracy

The subject of the article are the media. The activity of the media was analyzed in the context of their use to achieve the goals of the undemocratic regime. Considerations were also made on the admissibility of limiting the freedom of the media in democratic regimes. The relationship between the activities of the media and state security was adopted as the leading context. Answers were sought to the following questions: is freedom of the media the main value in the state?; can the freedom of the media be limited in a democratic regime?; if we consider that the freedom of the media may be limited, what conditions must be met for this? As a hypothesis, it was assumed that: freedom of the media is an undeniable value of democracy, but it cannot be a superior value over securing the survival of the state. The following methods were mainly used: institutional and legal, comparative and systemic. One of the main conclusions is that: freedom of action of the media can be their privilege only during the normal, i.e. safe functioning of the state, and the actions of the media cannot be contrary to the supreme values of the Nation and threaten the survival of the state.