The subject of this diploma thesis is the analysis of statements about the authors and works of the Brussels World Exhibition in 1958 in the Czechoslovak specialized, cultural and professional press. As the first world exhibition after World War II, EXPO 58 was also the first cultural confrontation of the newly organized world. But in the turbulent year of 1958, standing at the very top of the "atomic age", it wasn't a superpower, but Czechoslovakia who was unexpectedly awarded the highest competition award and recognition. This success was one of the greatest breakthroughs of domestic cultural history, and fundamentally influenced the lifestyle and aesthetics of the following decades. The thesis focuses on magazines whose specialized focus informed the professional public about the events of the exhibition, while the selection of fields of these magazines copies the award-winning parts of the pavilion and program. The thesis also includes a historical excursion focusing on cultural and political events between the years 1948-1958 and setting the analyzed event in the context of world exhibitions with an emphasis on the 20th century. The detailed research of the articles follows the method of qualitative content analysis in the texts firstly reflecting on the success of Czechoslovak participation. It also...

Presented thesis discusses the relationship between the Eastern bloc and Libya, using the Czechoslovak model as an example. On the basis of analysis of archive documents this text describes the cooperative process between socialist states and the regime of Muammar Qaddafi within the period of 1969-1989. The emphasis is put on political, economical, military and, to some extent, cultural aspects of mutual relationship between said countries. The purpose of this thesis is to present Czechoslovakia as a so called "small player" in the context of international politics of the Cold war. The author is aiming to show that, contrary to the orthodox explanations of the Cold war as a conflict of two monolithic blocs, Czechoslovakia was capable of limited autonomy within the frame of her foreign policy, especially towards third world countries. Therefore, more than simply presenting the Cold war as an East-West process, this thesis works with a North-South view. The point of this perspective is that the Cold war itself was not just a clash of superpowers, but was also comprised of acts of international help from Eastern bloc states to, among others, the North African countries such as Libya. To complete this task, the author worked with archive materials of Czech provenance, as well as domestic and foreign...

Keywords: AIMA, museum history, agricultural history, International NGO history, Cold War This research focuses on the emergence and development of agricultural museum practice and theory in 20th -century Europe, with special attention to the establishment of knowledge networks between different transnational actors; contributing to the identification of theoretical change and methodological trends in the development of this museological field. The Skansen Open-Air Museum in Stockholm, a folklore museum, and the Hungarian Agricultural Museum in Budapest, a national museum with a markedly technical character, both founded in the 1890s, were the two pioneer institutions of this kind, acting as role-models for later initiatives around Europe and beyond. This bipolar ancestry reflects the variety of approaches possible, still today, in the realm of agricultural museology: one can find agriculture-related museums focused on technical matters, food and nutrition, folklore, specific industries or sectors, etc. Furthermore, the museographic approaches and curatorial options of these institutions can vary considerably from re-enactment of traditional practices to the science-centre-inspired display of environmental matters. At a time when environmental, agricultural, and food related matters gain increasing...

Abstrakt Målet med denna kunskapsöversikt är att kartlägga tidigare forskning i synen på sovjetkommunism och Sovjetunionens roll under kalla kriget och hur det skildras i historieundervisningen. Översikten kommer även att kartlägga forskning i hur och varför detta ämne skiljer sig i länder som i dagsläget är icke-kommunistiska baserat på skillnader i historiekulturer från 1933 till nutid. Majoriteten av de källor som använts i denna kunskapsöversikt har tagit utgångspunkt i tre perspektiv: historieläroböcker, lärare och historieundervisning, samt historiekulturer. Databaserna som användes för att hitta källor var följande: Swepub, EBSCO, Libguide och DIVA. Databaserna användes i syfte att hitta både engelska och svenska källor eftersom källorna inom detta område var mycket begränsade och källor skrivna på engelska skulle öppna upp för ett mer internationellt perspektiv. Slutsatsen som kan dras av denna kunskapsöversikt är att synen på sovjetkommunism och den roll som Sovjetunionen spelade under kalla kriget skiljer sig mellan länder som i dagsläget inte är under kommunistiskt styre. Både synen på kommunism och Sovjetunionens roll i kalla kriget kommer med en viss tvetydighet vilket skildras i kunskapsöversikten. Vidare påverkas historieläroböckerna av politik och tenderar att vara mindre analytiska än historielärarna. Historielärarnas syn på kommunism och kalla kriget påverkas av historiekultur som kan visa ett lands historiska koppling till kommunism och sovjetkommunism.

This diploma thesis named "The media image of the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympic Games in the Czechoslovak contemporary press" follows the media coverage of the XVI. Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 and the XVII. Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960, in selected Czechoslovak periodicals. To establish a media image, the diploma thesis utilises a qualitative content analysis, comparing the transformation of Olympic news reporting in Melbourne and Rome. It focuses on media content and its permeation through the communist ideology. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and methodological part. The theoretical part begins with the historical development of Czechoslovakia after 1948, when the Communists seized power, and then characterizes the "melting period". The thesis also inquires into the development of media in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s with an emphasis on media legislation, including the introduction of selected periodicals: Rudé Právo (Red Law), Svobodné slovo (Free Word) and Československý sport (Czechoslovak Sport). The methodological part maps how the Czechoslovak press informed its readers about the Olympic events in Melbourne and in Rome. Both Olympic Games are divided into subchapters according to the topics that most resonated in sports news reporting. The conclusion of the thesis...

German question and Ostpolitik within the years 1963-1966 Petra Matějů MATĚJŮ, Petra. Německá a východní politika v letech 1963-1966. Praha, 2011. 103 s. Diplomová práce (Mgr.) Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd, Institut mezinárodních studií. Katedra německých a rakouských studií. Vedoucí diplomové práce PhDr. Tomáš Nigrin, Ph.D. The master thesis German question and Ostpolitik within the years 1963-1966 is focused on the attitudes of the parliamentary parties in the Federal Republic of Germany - CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party of Germany), FDP (Free Democratic Party) and SPD (Social Democratics Party of Germany) - to the policy towards the countries of the Eastern Bloc and with the changes in these attitudes in the period from 1963 to 1966, when the Federal Cabinet of Ludwig Erhard held rule. The main thesis of this study is the premise that in all the parliamentary parties in the Federal Republic of Germany a significant shift in the approach to the German question and Ostpolitik within the years 1963-1966 occurred. This thesis should be verified or refuted by means of a detailed chronological description and analysis of the progress of the issue, followed by the comparative analysis of the attitudes of the parties in view to the policy towards the Soviet...

The period of late Stalinism (1948-1953) witnessed sharp rise of anti-Jewish animosity and discrimination from the part of the Soviet regime. These tensions were caused by both domestic factors (ideological diversification of Soviet intellectual elite, escalation of Jewish nationalism, struggle for power among highest nomenclature) as well as international factors (transformation of the Soviet-Israeli relations, rise of the Cold War). The thesis analyzes, how these circumstances were reflected at that time. Therefore it tries to identify, how the image of "The Jude" was formed by the Soviet propaganda and how it changed in the given time period. As a general framework for this analysis the concept of "The Enemy" will serve which is considered to be one of the basic elements of totalitarian ideologies. The thesis examines by means of semiotic method two significant propaganda campaigns of that period, namely campaign against the "cosmopolitism" in January - March 1949 and campaign accompanying "The Doctors' Plot" during January - March 1953. It would try to identify, how the image of "The Enemy" was connected at that time with the notion of "The Jew".

The PhD. dissertation The Lands of the Free: Thailand in the Foreign Policy of the United States, 1945-1975 deals with the relationship between Thailand and the United States in the era of Cold War and of the bipolar division of the world. In the years following World War II, Thailand (previously also known as Siam) became one of the main allies of the United States in Southeast Asia. Thailand sent military units to fight in the Korean War, joined the SEATO pact and repeatedly declared her willingness to support the struggle against the spreading of communism in Southeast Asia, which was the major objective of the policy of the United States in the region in this particular time period. The relationship between both countries, however, had started to develop already before World War II and the subsequent emergence of the bipolar world order. When analyzing and assessing the dynamics of the relationship between the United States and Thailand after 1945, it is thus necessary to take into account not only the immediate concerns and priorities of Washington and Bangkok, but also the long-standing trends and underlying tendencies and currents in their foreign policy, as well as socio-cultural factors of this relationship. It is beyond any doubt that the Cold War has played a crucial role in forging and...

The idea that the United States is bequeathed the special mission of leading mankind toward liberty has dominated U.S. foreign relations since the American Revolution. It remains the most pervasive theme in Americans' thought about the world to the extent that over time, it has become firmly embedded in the nation's historical and cultural consciousness. A study of diplomatic, intellectual, and cultural history, America in the World: Ideology and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1944-1950 examines the impact of this exceptionalist vision on the policies and public debates that influenced Americans' thinking about their role in the world from the beginning of their efforts to design the global post-World War II order to the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. Believers in Lockean progress and advocates of modernization, the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman sought to establish a one-world order based on American liberal political and economic ideals. At the heart of this American-designed postwar world stood the United Nations, created to ensure collective security and foster a spirit of international collaboration, and transnational institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, envisioned to protect the global economy and promote free trade. These institutions served as concrete articulations of U.S. national interests yet at the same time they were intended to inaugurate a "New Deal" and a "Fair Deal" for the world. Interpreting American post-war and Cold War policymaking through the lens of exceptionalism provides a complementary methodological framework to the national security or economic theses more commonly employed to describe this period. When the Soviet Union refused to accept the American-designed one-world order, the American response - inside and outside of government - was overwhelmingly shaped by ideology. While economic considerations and national security influenced U.S. Cold War policy, this dissertation demonstrates that it was the challenge posed by Moscow's universalist aspirations and Communism's inherent teleological ideology that caused Americans to turn the Cold War into a battle for a way of life.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate possible reasons Sweden might have had to motivate the start and end of its nuclear program during the Cold war. This investigation will be conducted using a qualitative research method and making a comparison between the theories realism and liberalism’s ability to explain the decisions.   The question this paper is based upon is as follows: Can Sweden’s creating and shutting down of a nuclear weapons program during the Cold war be explained by the international events and actions that were taking place during this time period?   The result consists of liberalism pointing out several failures on the international level that might explain the cynical decision from Sweden to create the nuclear weapons. Realism considers the decision to make perfect sense at this point in time, to protect Sweden on the anarchy that was going on at that time according to this theory. The ending of the nuclear weapons program is being explained largely by the rise of the MAD-concept which renders the acute need of nuclear weapons in Sweden void.  Liberalism on the other hand considers this a logic step due to the better established UN that is playing a larger role now than in the 1940s. In conclusion, realism does a better job explaining the start of the nuclear weapons program, while liberalism explains the end of it more efficiently.   The contribution this thesis has to the research of political science can be seen mainly in three areas. Firstly can the information gathered here be useful when negotiating with other countries regarding the possible shutting down nuclear programs in other states. Secondly has the decision not to develop nuclear weapons in Sweden surely effected 50 years of military strategy. Thirdly does the thesis contribute in the ongoing debate between liberalism and realism.