The insignificant trends of political thought. Contradictions and understatements

The main issue of this article are the insignificant trends of political thought and their contradictions and understatements. The article describes the following trends of political thought: anarchism, communism, nationalism, monarchism, transhumanism, primitivism, ruralism and also National anarchism, National Bolshevism and Slavophilism. These trends of political thought are characterized by internal contradictions and opposition to democracy.

Contemporary terrorist threats in the Czech Republic

Terrorism has been evolving and taking different forms since the beginning of the XXI century. It is closely related to the geopolitical situation in the world. The development of research of safety indicates evidently that terrorism currently constitutes one of the biggest threats to the security of countries. That is why the analysis of terrorist threats in Central European countries, including the Czech Republic, seems to be indispensable. It is the Western European countries that are struggling today with intrastate terrorism whose effects lead to destabilization of national integrity and jeopardise social security. This situation is also important for neighbouring countries and international organisations to which they belong, such as the European Union or NATO. Data collected between 2014 and 2019 shows that the Czech Republic has improved its terrorist threat combating system and it is constantly reducing the impact of threats on the situation in the country. Terrorism as a phenomenon, and at the same time a kind of weapon for the increasing number of its proponents, needs to be acknowledged immediately. Its complexity imposes determining ways of countervailing it in the future. The presented analysis is a sort of study on cases in the context of threats with the characteristic of terrorism in the Czech Republic.

Radykalizm, zajmując pozycje negujące postulaty i rozwiązania związane z układem władzy, stoi jednocześnie w opozycji do elit politycznych ją reprezentujących. Należy zauważyć, że radykalizm o różnych orientacjach doktrynalnych niejednoznacznie definiuje elity polityczne, z jednej strony zawężając je do ścisłej grupy decyzyjnej, a innym razem traktując je szeroko, jako liderów niemal każdej grupy społecznej mającej jakiekolwiek znaczenie i wpływ na to, co dzieje się w tym społeczeństwie i w społeczeństwie globalnym. Lewica skupia się na negacji elit politycznych, ekonomicznych i kulturowych. Krytykuje istniejący system, w tym wspierające go i będące jego produktem elity. Wskazuje i ocenia działania i cele tej grupy (elity). Koncentruje się na ocenie obecnej polityki i poszukiwaniu argumentów przeciwko systemowi i tym, którzy go tworzą, wspierają i wykorzystują do własnych celów. Radykalna lewica dąży do obalenia „starych” elit. Grupy tego typu, wypowiadając się przeciwko istnieniu elit, same stwierdzają, że są awangardą zmian i całego ruchu, co paradoksalnie oznacza, że uważają się za elitę ruchu radykalnie lewicowego. Radykalna prawica podobnie ocenia i neguje istniejące elity, jednak w ogólnym dyskursie w swoich mediach postuluje tworzenie nowej, „lepszej” elity, co wynika z doktryny politycznej radykalnej prawicy. Obie postawy - zarówno negacja elit, jak i delegitymizacja „obcej” elity z postulatem zastąpienia jej „lepszą” - wynikają z doktrynalnego charakteru zarówno radykalnej lewicy (egalitaryzm), jak i prawicy (hierachizm).

Extremist movements and radicalism in Australia against the background of tensions between the policy of multiculturalism and the domination of Anglo-Saxon culture

In multicultural Australia everyone, regardless of language, nationality or culture, has the right to express themselves openly. However, despite its official commitment to diversity, contemporary Australian society continues to experience tensions between multicultural politics and the domination of Anglo-Saxon cultural heritage. Right-wing politicians have described multiculturalism as a harbinger of a social conflict that would lead to an ethnically divided Australia. Following the events of September 11, 2001, some regulations were introduced to expand the catalog of tools used by the police and law enforcement agencies to effectively prevent acts of violent extremism. These restrictions on civil liberties are being used by Australian extreme-right movements as an argument to undermine confidence in the government’s “oppressive” policies. The Covid-19 pandemic and its effects has also revealed negative shifts in the landscape of brutal Australian extremism. This raises the question of how serious danger to the national security could an Australian nationalism be left unchecked, capable of transforming into racially and religiously excluding ideas of belonging to society. The paper shows that failure to react decisively to the continued undermining of trust in democratic institutions and exploiting the cracks in social cohesion may lead to Australia no longer being perceived as a defender of the principles of liberal democracy. Instead, it will come to be regarded as a „colonial bastion of white settlers,” and such a poor racial reputation of the country will undoubtedly make it difficult for Australia to navigate in an increasingly tense regional geopolitical environment in the future.