Referendum in the Czech Republic’s Law System

The article discusses the use of the Czechs one of the most significant forms of direct democracy – the referendum. The Czechs are not supporters of national popular vote. They still have not worked out a law on a national referendum. Only once a referendum was held at the national level – the EU accession referendum. The citizens of the Czech Republic and the ruling parties are supporters of representative democracy. The situation is slightly different at the local level, where statistics on the numer of organized local referenda are much richer, and the results of the popular vote show the systematically increasing public awareness of the citizens.

Celem artykułu jest analiza zależności pomiędzy procesami migracyjnymi zachodzącymi na obszarze państwa a jego „otwartością”. Poziom „otwartości” zostaje zdeterminowany, w zaproponowanym ujęciu, ściśle określonym układem relacji zachodzących na linii religia – społeczeństwo – państwo, które prowadzą do ukształtowania jednego z trzech porządków: asymetrycznego (Polska), pozasymetrycznego (Czechy) i symetrycznego (Niemcy). Zestawienie oraz porównanie trzech sąsiadujących ze sobą krajów członkowskich Unii Europejskiej (metoda komparatystyczna i systemowa) pozwala na uchwycenie i potwierdzenie obustronnych zależności. Pokazuje, że skala i dynamika procesów migracyjnych staje się predyktorem „otwartości” współczesnych systemów demokratycznych. Zdecydowanie najwyższym poziomem tak definiowanej „otwartości” cechują się Niemcy, będące, z jednej strony, przykładem symetrycznego układu relacji religia – społeczeństwo –państwo, a z drugiej, architektem europejskiej polityki wobec masowych ruchów ludności z Bliskiego Wschodu i Afryki Północnej.

Niniejszy tekst dotyczy genezy słowackiej świadomości narodowej, która narodziła się w XIX wieku w warunkach nasilającej się polityki madziaryzacji ze strony władz węgierskich. Miała ona miejsce najpierw w ramach monarchii austriackiej, a po ugodzie dworu austriackiego w Wiedniu z elitami węgierskimi i powstaniu Austro-Węgier nasiliła się w ramach Królestwa Węgierskiego. W odpowiedzi na politykę madziaryzacji narody niemadziarskie, w tym Słowacy – a ściślej ich niewielkie elity polityczne i kulturalne – podjęły próbę przeciwstawienia się polityce władz węgierskich. W tekście autor ukazał proces kształtowania się słowackiej świadomości narodowej, rolę Ľudovita Štúra, Jána Kollara i kolejnych działaczy, politycznych, ludzi kultury w tym procesie do 1918 r. Omówił też współpracę Słowaków z innymi narodami niewęgierskimi, mieszkającymi w Królestwie Węgierskim w walce o swoje prawa, przeciwko nacjonalistycznej polityce władz węgierskich, w tym okoliczności związania się Słowaków z Czechami w okresie poprzedzającym wybuch pierwszej wojny światowej i w latach jej trwania – zwłaszcza na przełomie 1917 i 1918 r., co ostatecznie doprowadziło do proklamowania w Pradze 28 października 1918 r. Republiki Czechosłowackiej jako jednego z nowych państw Europy Środkowej, powstałego na gruzach Austro-Węgier.

About Poland in the Czech Republic in the context of Central and Eastern Europe

Polish studies have a long tradition in the Czech Republic. The Congress of the Polish Studies, held in Prague in 2013, attempted to present the current state of research on Polish issues. Two monographs were published as the proceedings of the congress. This paper discusses the second one, i.e., The Czech studies on Poland in the context of Central and Eastern Europe.

Would Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave have ruled if it had not been for Muhammad? Arabic trading system and the political economy of Central and Eastern European societies in the tenth century

The paper looks at the impact of the Arab trading system on the processes of state formation unfolding in the eastern part of Central Europe in the tenth-century; it discusses the cases of Wielkopolska and the Czech lands.

Dies of the Czech tenth-eleventh-century coinage as a source for the history of the Czech lands

The paper seeks to determine the origin of Emma, whose name was mentioned on coins bearing an inscription ENMA REGINA, and of denarius episcopi, minted by an unnamed bishop. The author concurs with the hypothesis of the French roots of Emma and presents the results of his reading of the inscription on the episcopal coin.

Confirmatory documents issued by the rulers for the Bohemian and Silesian cities until 1419.

The author has attempted to provide a holistic view of the practice of confirming the documents for the royal and princely towns in the area of Bohemia and Silesia (the area of Moravia has already been explored in this respect) by the ruler. Confirmatory documents formed an integral part of the production of the writing offices of the rulers of both examined territories, i.e., the Czech kings and the princes of Silesia. Whilst in the case of Bohemia the issuer is unambiguous (the King of Bohemia), the issuers from the region of Silesia could have included the Silesian princes (including the Bishop of Wrocław), the Czech king and the royal starosts (governors) in the principalities directly subject to the Czech ruler as issuers. Generally, confirmatory documents are deemed to have been diplomatic acts which confirmed the existence of a legal reality. These included not only documents (alternatively confirmatory documents issued in the form of a mandate), whereby the rulers confirmed the prevailing legal acts of their predecessors, but also those which confirmed acts of their subjects. A selection of merely one group of recipients was deliberate, notwithstanding the resultant, apparently incomplete image. Such an approach has its advantages, inasmuch as it allows the examination of the resources in a more compact form, and what is more, throughout two territories to some extent shaped by various traditions. The author focuses largely on several issues related to confirmatory documents, notably on the differentiation between confirmatory and dispositive documents. Both types are to some extent convergent, and sometimes the dispositive formula is present in some confirmatory documents. Furthermore, dispositive documents are sometimes deemed to be one of the degrees of confirmation. Nevertheless, in most cases notable is a variance in the usage of both types of documents. First, the author presents a quantitative review of the number of documents issued for particular towns. Was there a direct principle saying that the more important and richer the town, the more confirmative documents are found? How can we measure the ‘validity’ and ’wealth’ of each of the analysed towns? Which towns can boast of confirmations issued by the majority of successive rulers and which have to be satisfied with merely a few acts? This question needs to be explored also from a different point of view: we need to determine the role of confirmatory documents in the policy of the rulers towards the towns as well as how it was reflected in the different phases of the duke’s (king’s) reign. The motives behind issuing individual acts of confirmation and the question what forced the towns to make efforts to have their privileges confirmed are essential elements of the author’s inquiry. The reasons might have been both external, namely the position of the town’s ruler, and internal – problems inherent in the functioning of a given centre.

Jan de La Croon (1600–1665). Insight into the problems of the Czech society after the Battle of White Mountain (Bílá hora)

This article is about Jan de La Croon from Werth. At the end of the war he was commander in Plzeň but during five years of service he raised to prominence as one of the most significanat individuals in the imperial army. This article presents the changes in the Imperial Army during the Thirty Years‘ War by resorting to the example of Jan de La Croon (1600-1655).

Czechs and Slovaks on the road to an independent state (1914–1918)

The following article describes the struggle of Czechs and Slovaks for independent Czechoslovakia during World War I and explains why Austria-Hungary could not survive.

Češi a Slováci na cestě do samostatného státu (1914–1918)

The proto-industrial family and the perspectives of its demographic research in the 18th and the first half of the 19th century (an example of the village Stružinec in north-eastern Bohemia)

Proto-industrialization is an interesting phenomenon that has been discussed for more than half a century. The most disputed part of this theory is the demographic aspects. The submitted article focuses on research opportunities of the proto-industrial family in the 18th and 19th centuries; the research focuses on Stružinec u Lomnice nad Popelkou, a village in north-eastern Bohemia. Only a comprehensive study of demographic indicators makes it possible to establish the basic differences between the family in proto-industrial and agriculture-based areas.

Why is it so good when it is so bad – integration activity of local government units in agglomerations in the Czech Republic and Poland

When pursuing the aim of the paper – to determine the sustainability of cooperation between local governments in agglomerations – an attempt was made to establish: What is the future of cooperation between agglomerations in the Czech Republic and Poland? Do partnerships under Integrated Territorial Investments foster a culture of cooperation? What kind of barriers must be overcome by local governments in connection with integration activities in agglomerations? The paper uses the comparative and diagnostic survey methods (an online survey in the Czech Republic and a postal survey in Poland). The empirical research was conducted among the members of the structures of Integrated Territorial Investments. It was found that integration problems in agglomerations include: financial difficulties of smaller municipalities, dominant position of the main city/cities, leadership style, trust, authorities’ fears about limiting their independence in the field of cooperation, influence of political views on relationships.

Religiousness and the sense of identity of students from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia

The subject matter explored in the article include the issues related to religiousness of university students. This category comprises their denominational structure, their attitude to religion, their self-evaluation of the essence of religion in life, the frequency of participation in religious practices. These categories are shown in relation to their sense of identity. The research with the use of the survey method was conducted among students from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia who live in culturally diverse territories. The research results show the ongoing changes in Polish and Slovak societies. Young people take advantage of the possibility of making choices and their choices concern not only education and professional paths, but also the beliefs, behaviour and activities in the religious sphere. The surveyed students’ freedom of choice is manifested, among others, in their sense of a multidimensional identity and in the consciousness of belonging to the Church. Among the surveyed university youth – in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia – one can observe the individualization of religiousness in the form of the departure from religious affiliation, as well as in “belonging without faith”.

Structures and transformations of aristocratic self-presentation in northwestern Bohemia in the Pre- and Post-White Mountain period. The example of newly arrived upper nobility. Autorzy w swoim artykule odnoszą się do przemian obrazu arystokracji z północno-zachodnich Czech w dobie przed bitwą pod Białą Górą (1620) i po bitwie.

This article investigates the transmission and influence of the idea of crusade in Bohemia and Poland, pivotal in shaping East Central Europe’s religious, cultural, and political landscape during the Middle Ages. Exploring cultural exchanges, political alliances, and ecclesiastical influences, it reveals the mechanisms of this ideology’s dissemination and absorption in the Piast realm. It examines the nuanced transformation in attitudes and policies following the reception of the idea of crusade, contributing to a deeper understanding of the interplay between ideology and regional dynastic dynamics and its enduring impact on the Christian world.

Mobility of young adults from Central and Eastern European countries – a Polish-Czech-Slovak-Ukrainian comparative study

The young generation is treated as the future of society. This generation’s size, skills and knowledge, as well as economic activity, socio-cultural involvement, marital intentions and family (procreation) plans determine the quality of society. Thus, an important issue is the outflow of young people who decide to migrate abroad. It is therefore important to recognize both the current experiences and the life plans of the young generation in this field. In post-communist countries, the fall of the communist system had a major impact on the increase in mobility. Political, sociocultural and economic changes have contributed to the emergence of new migration-related phenomena and the so-called fluid migration, characterized by free movement of labour, massiveness, diversity and plasticity. The surveyed youth from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have experiences related to functioning within open borders, unlike the youth from Ukraine, where the borders are closed. Wioletta Danilewicz notices the existence of the so-called migration culture, i.e. the acceptance (by the participants of migration processes) that these are phenomena constituting an inherent element of their lives, despite their awareness of the unfavourable co-occurring elements. The research results presented in the text indicate that the surveyed young adults do not fully follow this trend.

The Visegrád Group (V4) countries in the face of the war in Ukraine. Defense diplomacy during the first year of the war

Tense Russian-Ukrainian relations, sparked by the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Ukraine’s pro-European and pro-NATO ambitions, led to a Russian invasion on the country, significantly undermining the sense of security in the region. Especially the countries in close proximity to Ukraine, including Visegrad Group states, felt the threat from Russia and took a series of actions to provide a solid and decisive response to Moscow’s neo-imperial actions. The support extended had a multidimensional character, encompassing political, diplomatic, military, financial, and humanitarian areas, playing a fundamental role in sustaining Ukraine’s functioning and its military capabilities, particularly in the initial period after the invasion. The aim of the article is to synthetically depict, from a Polish perspective, the engagement of Visegrad Group countries in implementing the ideas and tasks of defense diplomacy in the first year of the war in Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, to February 24, 2023.