Annotation Through the analysis of the alternation of the elites in the municipality of Studená and the after - February fates of two businessmen, I tried to describe the transformations of the small town in the course of the period of three republics and mainly during the high Stalinism. I substantiated, inter alia, the replacement of the small town elites by two examples of Jan Satrapa and Karel Bartušek whose fates appeared to be very applicable for this way approached case study. I also attempted to record the changes of the common cultural and ideological period trends within this municipality. Directed through the specific fates, I described the shape of the small town after February 25, 1948 and compared it with the specialised literature thereby I tried to place the case of Studená in the contemporary context. To acheive the needed results, I used the sources of personal data and the memory data (family and municipal chronicles), conversations with survivors, and likewise the books of Vlasta Javořická. They proved to be extremely valuable sources.

The diploma thesis studies specific features of the local politics in the Czech Republic. The focal point of this case study is the village Dolni Lhota and local elections in 2014, during which a change of the local political elites has occurred. The main aim of this thesis is to understand the factors having led to the victory of a new local representatives and to ascertain whether the citizens are satisfied with chosen political elites so far. The content is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter there is paid close attention to local democracy, local administration and to the introduction of Dolní Lhota. In the second chapter there are interpreted the results of the questionnaire survey, moreover it provides the reader with the analysis of interviews with the executive representatives elected in 2014. Finally, in the third chapter the research questions are evaluated.

Nowadays liberal democracy is faced with a crisis bought mainly by the liberal-democratic elites with their approach and the politics they established during the period of boundless triumphalism in the 1990s. Sand castles, whether it was the inevitability of progress or capitalism as a miraculous elixir to all the ills of society at the time, built during this period, began to crumble like a house of cards. Associated with the financial crisis that erupted in the United States in 2007 it spread practically all over the world. The period of the global financial crisis has shown that the creation of a legal framework, building of a conscious civil society and the system of values on which the society is built and identifies with them, or the construction of a liberal-democratic identity fell behind economic transformation and economic growth after 1989 and the people's relationship to liberal democracy was built primarily on economic aspects. This created space for those who for many years hid rather in the shadows, on the edge of the spectrum of political power. A fraction of the liberal-democratic elites, with their approach and politics of a kind of arrogance of power and the style of labeling their opponents, have turned against them even those who a priori did not have a negative attitude...

The thesis examines the process of recruiting new political elites, which is considered as an essential prerequisite for the restoration of a democratic society in the Czech Republic. The work examines the civic society and its involvement in the political life and activities on the municipal political level. The case study concerns the village of Dolní Břežany where the significant processes have taken place since the year 2002 in order to strengthen the transparency of politics. A questionnaire was distributed in Dolní Břežany where the questions dealt with the citizens´ life satisfaction in the village, their participation in public life and it investigated whether their involvement is or is not connected with an interest in politics or it is just connected with the existence of problems and their solution. Furthermore, the interviews with the executive representatives (between the years 2002 and 2014) gather their views on politics, the public and political participation in general. The aim was to find out what inspired the new political elites to enter the politics and stay politically active for such a long time. The work confirms a hypothesis that a goal of the new political representatives, who were elected in Dolní Břežany in 2002, was to improve their life conditions in the village. The elites remained politically active due to their clear conception of the future village development. The citizens´ confidence in political leaders and a high satisfaction with the community life increased also their interest in politics and public affairs.

The main objective of this thesis is the identification and understanding of the mechanisms of recruiting local political elites and their role in the process of democratization of local politics, and in the process of strengthening local civil society on concrete example selected municipality. The case study concerns with the municipality Semily, which was chosen to work as a community with exemplary transparent and open manner of governance. In 2006 there was a significant change in political representation when recruiting new political elites was a top down process led by a particular person according to predetermined priorities.

The Political and Military Elites in the Emirate of GranadaThe Political and Military Elites in the Emirate of GranadaThe Political and Military Elites in the Emirate of GranadaThe Political and Military Elites in the Emirate of Granada (Ph.D. thesis)(Ph.D. thesis)(Ph.D. thesis)(Ph.D. thesis) PhDr. Josef Ženka Abstract The Ph.D. thesis deals with the political elites in Granada and analyzes them as a social group within its own dynamics. It is focused on their influence on political decision-making process, which is expressed by the influence of elite on reigning Naṣrid dynasty. It examines the elite denomination in contemporary Arabic written sources, their links and delimitations. These were mainly common economic and power interests. On the basis of the ǧāh pyramid it focuses on each aspect: Sovereign as a source of legitimacy of political power, the vizier as a major counterpart to the ruler, the inner circle of emir in which was concentrated the remaining part of the political elite, and also the Naṣrid women. Vizier, as the most significant part of this group, was eventually transformed to the role of regent and ruler's public representative. From the early 14th century with his power he began to tie the sovereign's power itself and he took over it almost permanently in the 15th century. The emphasis...

This thesis addresses identity issues of the Ukrainian elites using two parallel Ukrainian narratives. In search for conflict lines, we look at 20th ct. milestones which played a major part in the formation of the Ukrainian elites. An emphasis is placed on the modernization of Ukrainian society in 1920s and 1930s. We also analyze the impact of these two Ukrainian narratives on the formation of the Soviet nation using strong historical ties between the Ukrainian and the Russian nation. These ties still have an impact on the formation of Ukrainian identities; however, the conclusion of this thesis suggests that it will be possible to assess the definite shape of the Ukrainian identity only after a new supranational identity - similar to the Soviet one - has been shaped. KEY WORDS: ELITES MODERNIZATION NARRATIVE IDENTITY RUSSIAN UKRAINIAN SOVIET

Master's thesis focuses on stability of local elites and their influence on the development of municipalities in Czech Republic. The stability of local elites is for the purposes of this thesis defined as the number of election of the same representatives in communal elections in between 1994 and 2010. There are three main objectives in the thesis. Firstly, to prove a dependence between stability of local elites and population of the municipality. Secondly, to find if there is statistically significant dependence between stability of local elites and selected development factors. Thirdly to identify spatial patterns of high and low stability of local elites in the Czech Republic. To complete this objectives required to design methodology and calculate stability of local elites for the municipalities of Czech Republic and then to categorize it according to its level of stability (low, medium, high). On behalf of several quantitative analyses the indirect dependence between stability of local elites and the municipality population has been proven as well as the dependence between the selected development factors (intensity of flat construction, unemployment and percentage of undergraduates). Significant clusters with high and low stability of local elites were identified by the method of spatial...

Master's thesis focuses on a role of regional councillors in process of regional development at the case of Karlovy Vary region. The aim of the thesis is to determine how the process of regional development is influenced by the stability of regional elites in terms of their territorial distribution in the region and their time stability in the subsequent regional elections. The thesis is based on theoretical background related to regional development with emphasis of soft factors of development in context of institutional approaches. The important part of the thesis represents analysis of inner differentiation of the model area and explanation of its causes. The original research consists of two parts. The outcome of the first part is an extensive database of candidates elected into regional assemblies of the Czech Republic in periods of 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012; and analysis of changes in membership structure of those regional assemblies. In the second part regional identity, attitudes and motivation of current regional councillors of Karlovy Vary region and their influence on the development of the region were examined by a questionnaire. The research conclusively proved a relatively high stability of regional elites of Karlovy Vary region in time, but a very low stability of their territorial...

The aim of this diploma thesis is to scrutinize the story of life of Eleonora Mendlova, the wife of Bedrich Mendl, the first professor of economic history at Charles University. The thesis enables the reader to give a closer look at the Mendl family who, undoubtedly, belongs to the cultural elites of the Czechoslovakia. With the analysis of the extant sources, it is providing a thorough image of the life of Eleonora Mendlova and her family at the background of the dramatic events of the last century. Eleonora Mendlova, born Mrackova, started her study career at the private comprehensive school Minerva and then she continued with her study at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Charles University which she did not finish. She got married to Bedrich Mendl who worked for the National Regional Institute. His work required visiting various Czech and European archives. Thanks to the travels, we can follow the story of life of a woman in the shade of a big man during the unsettled political situation. The life of Eleonora Mendl was marked considerably by the both World Wars, especially by the death of her husband during the period the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia because of his Jewish origin. She spent her old age living with her three children. She participated greatly on the publication of the...