The thesis analyses the activities which are realized within the preparation and organization of the EU Council Presidency, namely both at the general level and also in the concrete case of the Czech presidency, with the priority focus on logistic and promotional aspects. The subject matter of the thesis is also an evaluation of the presidency, which presents the important part of its organizational support. The principal aim of the thesis is to stress the cardinal importance of the preparation and organization for the successful execution of the presidency.

The aim of this Master thesis was to find out whether the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union was able to exert influence in EU's external relations after the Lisbon Treaty has entered into force. Thesis was looking on two post-Lisbon Council Presidencies- Hungarian Council Presidency and the Polish Council Presidency and their influence in Eastern Partnership-the flagship initiative of both of these presidencies. Through the identification of the informal roles of the rotating presidency-agenda setter role and broker's role, the influence on the development of Eastern Partnership of both Council Presidencies was determined. The other factors such as the reputation of the presiding country, stable domestic political situation, ability to deal with unexpected developments have been considered as important pre-requisites for the Council Presidency to be able to exert influence through its informal roles.

This thesis – Shooting the President: Screen Depictions of the American Presidency from John F. Kennedy to Josiah Bartlet – examines the depiction of the presidency in American film and television from 1960 until the present day. In this study I explore the relationships between the presidency and Hollywood, particularly in the context of genre structures. I examine the constructions of specific presidential mythologies based on the real presidencies of Kennedy, Nixon and Clinton and the construction of fictional presidencies in the television series The West Wing. In four sets of case studies, I will chart the changing significance of each president through different genres, looking particularly at how each presidential mythology is affected by the anxieties and fashions of the contemporary political and social world. I also examine the ways in which the appearance of presidentiality is created within each text by various means including set design, the choice of actor, the use of dialogue and the framing of particular characters. The aims of my thesis are to demonstrate how a telegenic style of politics formed during and after the Kennedy presidency can be seen to be both represented and enhanced in genre films and television series. I chart the relationship of this new mediated style of presidency through my case studies as it faces challenges such as Watergate, Clinton’s sex scandals and the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001. Finally, I aim to demonstrate through a close reading of the latter seasons of The West Wing how the American public can be seen to be prepared by its popular media for the success of the first black president, Barack Obama.

A number of presidents have aided the auto industry, protected it from external threats, or saved it from collapse, while presidential rhetoric about the industry is positive and consistent across political parties and over time. I conduct rhetorical analyses of the entire history of presidential speech about the industry to explain the evolution of the relationship between these two institutions. I argue that this relationship is an example of the institutionalization of speech; perfunctory campaign praise became habitual and eventually coalesced into a rhetorical legacy that entailed rhetorical and material resources and constraints for the institution of the presidency. In the case of the auto industry, presidents sought political support from the auto industry as a constituency, erased blameworthy aspects of industry history, and created an industry identity that was exceptional, which served as justification for defense of the industry and intervention during periods of economic recession, regulatory stress, foreign competition, and imminent collapse of an automaker. Such cases of institutionalized speech between the presidency and other institutions are special, but not unique; this case provides an instructive example of how speech becomes legacy over time, and of what the consequences of such legacies might include for this case and for possible others.

This thesis tracks the direction of the development of unilateral executive power from Nixon to Clinton. The thirty-two-year process saw a mostly continuous growth of the power of the president to act unilaterally through a variety of mechanisms seizing the ability to act first from the other branches of government and the bureaucracy. The ability to enhance presidential power depends on many factors such as one time shocks (such as Watergate) and congressional support. The minority presidency of Richard Nixon responded to democratic control of Congress by aggressive assertions of presidential power via unilateral decrees. In fights such as impoundment, wage and price controls, and affirmative action plans, Nixon attempted to increase the power of the presidency while also laying groundwork for future regulatory reforms. Nixon’s resignation and Watergate crated stiff headwinds for the development of the unilateral powers of the presidency with Congress passed meaningful attempts to claw back presidential powers that had accumulated over time. Nevertheless, the Ford and Carter presidencies still saw the groundwork laid for the next major expansion of presidential authority. Under Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush, the “Reagan Revolution” saw the Presidency gain new powers to aggressively combat the growing state. The assault on government saw the creation of modern signing statements, and harsh anti-regulatory actions. Clinton’s presidency saw a continued evolution of executive power albeit shaped by the significantly different ends trying to be achieved than under the two previous Republican presidents while also seeing new innovations in the mix of powers.

This diploma thesis analyzes the position of the Czech Republic in the European Union, particularly whether is considered as an equal partner or plays as a new member less important role. More emphasis has been put not only on an initial status within the process of transformation and association with the European Union, but also on the contemporary position of the Czech Republic in the European Union including the intended integration in the euro area and the past Czech Presidency of the European Union.

Dinah Mayo-Bobee will lead discussions on issues raised by the movie Lincoln in connection with the traveling exhibition "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War," which will be at the Johnson City Public Library through Oct. 16.

In this dissertation I advance a new, regime style, governing cycle theory to account for the constitutional origins and political dynamics of new majority formation. It is these periodic attempts to reorder politics and overcome conditions of entropy that I argue best account for the broad contours of American political development. Using a historical institutional approach, I argue that the U.S. Constitution’s durable separation of powers design interacts with America’s two party system to unintentionally structure political conflict in ways that makes it almost impossible for anyone to address the inevitable build up of entropy in the political system. Recurrently, this challenges partisan leaders to renew politics via the formation of a new governing majority. Partisan leaders accomplish this goal by completing three tasks: 1) shifting the main axis of partisan conflict; 2) assembling a new majority coalition that allows for effective control of federal governing institutions; and, 3) locking-in partisan priorities and advantage through institutionalization of a new governing regime. Through case study analysis, I demonstrate that the dynamics of new governing majority formation can play out in either a straightforward or a protracted manner depending on whether or not partisan leaders initially succeed or fail to accomplish these tasks. This leads to new interpretations of the crucial “System of 1896” and “Reagan Revolution” cases, which allows me to argue for the superiority of my new cyclical theory and to conclude that the governing cycle contains the American polity’s best opportunity to reorder and revitalize itself. / text

Though scholars have assessed the unilateral presidency with renewed interests, the literature remains weak in three important areas. What relation, if any, exists between the public and presidential unilateral actions? What impact does the judiciary have on unilateral presidential power? To what extent do presidents use the many tools in the unilateral policy toolchest? The three essays in this dissertation address each of these questions in term. Results have implications for both the unilateral presidency and broader works in executive decision-making and democratic governance.

Pirmininkavimas Europos Sąjungos (ES) Tarybai yra vienas iš būdų įgyvendinti bendrą ES politiką, bet valstybės narės siekia pasinaudoti šia pareigybe sprendžiant savo šaliai ar regionui aktualius klausimus. Besiplėtojantys ekonominiai, politiniai ir kultūriniai ryšiai Baltijos jūros regione gali atskleisti bendrus kaimyninių valstybių prioritetus formuojant ES Tarybos darbotvarkę. Šiame tyrime Baltijos jūros regionu laikomos Danija, Švedija, Suomija ir Lietuva. Šiaurės valstybės (Suomija, Švedija, Danija) ir Lietuva turi gana skirtingus socialinio ir ekonominio vystymosi modelius, todėl tai gali reikšti, jog jų regioniniai ryšiai gali būti ne tokie stiprūs kaip ryšiai su kitomis ES valstybėmis. Tai gali turėti įtakos valstybių laikysenai pirmininkaujant ES Tarybai. Šiame tyrime siekiama patvirtinti arba paneigti hipotezę, kad Baltijos jūros regiono valstybės pirmininkaudamos ES Tarybai sureikšmina vienus ir tuos pačius regionui svarbius klausimus. Tiriami Baltijos regiono valstybių paskutiniai pirmininkavimai (Suomijos 2006 m., Švedijos 2009 m., Danija pirmininkauja šiuo metu, 2012 m., o Lietuva pirmininkaus 2013 m. antrojoje pusėje). Pasirinktos energetikos, aplinkosaugos ir susisiekimo, sritys, kaip pagrindinės probleminės sferos skatinančios regioninį bendradarbiavimą. Remiantis šiomis politikos sritimis siekiama išsiaiškinti pirmininkavimo prioritetų ir regionalizmo ryšį bei išanalizuoti valstybių keliamų prioritetų bendrumus ir skirtumus. / The Presidency of the Council of the EU can be conceived as the one of tools implementing common policy of the EU. Member states try to profit this position meeting the issues relevant for their own country or region. Evolving economic, political and cultural relations in the Baltic Sea region may reveal a number of priorities of neighboring countries in shaping the agenda of the Council of the EU. In this research the Baltic Sea region means Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Lithuania. Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark) and Lithuania have quite different social and economic development models, and this may cause that their regional ties may not be as strong as the relationship with other EU countries. This can affect the attitude of the country in presidency of the EU. This investigation aims to confirm or refute the hypothesis that the Baltic Sea region states chairing the EU Council at the central room put the same and one of the most important regional issues. It is analyzing the most recent presidencies of the Baltic Sea region states (Finland in 2006, Sweden in 2009, Denmark is chairing currently, 2012, and Lithuania will hold presidency in the second half of 2013). Particular policy areas are chosen, precisely energy, environment and transport, as the main problems leading to regional cooperation. Based on these policies the aim is to find the link between the presidency priorities and regionalism and to describe the commonalities and differences of it.