How do authoritarian stales foster civil society growth while keeping unruly organizations in line? This governance dilemma dogs every state that attempts to modernize by permitting civil society to pluralize while minding its potential to stir up restive social forces. This dissertation's main finding is that the Chinese party state the world's largest and arguably the most resilient authoritarian regime-has engineered a flexible institution of state control in which the "rules of the game" arc created, disseminated, and enforced outside of institutionalized channels. This dissertation demonstrates how the coercive apparatus improvises in an erratic manner, unfettered by accountability mechanisms. The regime does not necessarily pull the levers of hard control mechanisms-the tanks, guns, and tear gas-whenever dissenters cross a line of political acceptability. Instead, in keeping with its decentralized political system and its tradition of experimental policy-making, the Chinese state continually remakes the rules of the game which keeps potential rabble-rousers on their toes. Although the regulatory skeleton of state corporatism remains intact, flexible repression is the informal institution-the set of rules and procedures-that structures state-civil society interactions. Specifically, this institution is made up of three key practices: a) decentralization b) ad-hoc deployment c) mixed control strategies. These three practices manifest in two concrete strategies used to govern aboveground and underground civil society: fragmented coercion and controlled competition. Flexible repression enables the Chinese party-state to exploit the advantages of a flourishing third sector while curtailing its threatening potential. Through participant observation, interviews, and comparative case studies of aboveground and underground independent labor organizations, this dissertation accomplishes three goals. First, it identifies the within-country variation in state control strategies over civil society, which includes the above-ground sector as well as the underground sector of ostensibly banned organizations. Secondly, it traces the patterns of interactions between the state and civil society, generating hypotheses about the mechanisms of change. Finally, it identifies new concepts relevant for studying organized contention in authoritarian regime.. .... Overall, this dissertation contributes to the study of authoritarian state control and civil society contention, with an emphasis on the nexus between the two.

The thesis deals with the topic of operating space for civil society organizations in the Republic of Moldova during the period from March 2017 to February 2019. The main aim of the thesis was to determine whether the case of Moldova corresponded to the concept of shrinking space for civil society defined by Saskia Brechenmacher in her paper Civil Society under Assault in 2017. Shrinking or closing space, which occurs more and more frequently in different countries throughout the world, can be defined on the basis of three main areas: tactics, impact and international reaction. The operational space for the civil sector in the Republic of Moldova differed from Brechenmacher's concept partially in the areas of tactics and international reaction and more significantly in the area of impact due to fact that that the restrictive legislation remained in the phase of a bill. As Brechenmacher's concept does not cover all aspects of operating space in Moldova, a supplementary chapter has been added. The main difference from Brechenmacher's concept was the aspect of "simulated collaboration". State officials pretended that the civil society was involved in the decision-making process, but in fact they ignored its views.

The late Ming artist and poet Xu Wei (1521-1593) is most well known for his self-representation as a cultured "mountain hermit" and "eccentric", pursuing the literary ideals of originality, simple language and direct emotional expression. His wild ink-brush paintings, mental instability, numerous suicide attempts and the murder of his third wife all helped to consolidate Xu's image as China's Van Gogh. However, later hagiographies of Xu as the "patron saint of eccentrics" have led to a one dimensional view of Xu. This thesis presents Xu as someone who explored and wrestled with different and sometimes contradictory self-representations against a thorny political and social backdrop. It moves away from Xu's "eccentric" persona, instead examining his writings within the political context of the 16th century. Against the backdrop of Mongol and pirate invasions, Xu's close friend Shen Lian was executed by the Chief Grand Secretary Yan Song and his clique. Yet only a month after his friend's execution, Xu switched sides and worked as a ghost-writer for Hu Zongxian, a protégé of Yan Song. Yet with the fall of Yan Song in 1562 and the arrest of Hu Zongxian, this became an embarrassment for Xu. Fearing that he would be implicated with the Yan Song clique, Xu distanced himself from his flattering ghost-written poems. Overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, he explored the complexities of loyalty and identity in his poetry. Xu's career is representative of many Ming scholars who were frustrated by examination failure and the inability to find an official post. His literary ideals contradicted with lived reality. Xu is unique among Ming literati in voicing these contradictions.

The diploma thesis deals with the journalistic work of the theatre critic Josef Träger in the period of the so-called Third Republic (1945-1948). It describes the process of forming attitudes of the journalist towards post-war theatre, presents a representation of the dominant discourse and its transformation during the given period. This thesis focuses on the content analysis of theatre papers, conceived as a kind of "case study", it relates to the basic themes and problems of Czech post-war theatre. It is argued that this approach enables the analyst to pose questions concerning the ideological character of theatre criticism. This thesis discusses ideas of avant-garde creators and theorists, in whose public work it identifies the main source of inspiration for the revolutionary transformation of Czech theatre in 1945. It explores the influence of the Communist Party in the given period, targeted interventions in the Czech media and theatre system and manipulative practices leading to the strengthening of its power in the post-war state. The text also deals with the manifestations of the emerging socio-political disposition in theatre journalism, the form of the reception of post-war hegemonic formation by the journalist, and to structure the results of the analysis into a broader political-media...

The topic of the thesis are so-called "new ecclesiastical laws" accepted in 1949, that had served as one of the power tools for the oppression of the Churches and the control over the society. Within the chapters in sequence I deal with the description and genesis of these new ecclesiastical laws, received by Czechoslovak communist regime in 1949 and their importance not only for the confessional law of the following period until now. In this context I ask the question what are the extent effects not only for the life of the Churches, esp. the Catholic Church, but also for the mentality of the contemporary Czech society in relationship with the Church. This thesis is concerned with three spheres that are necessarily interconnected: First, the legislation of these laws themselves, second, the social reception of the Church interlinked with these laws, and third sphere is also the projection of these laws into the political rhetoric nowadays. The goal of the thesis is to reveal the deep interconnection and dynamics of the three spheres given, and explore how the way they were manifested in the past, and have consequently been manifested until these days. Keywords Czechoslovakia, 1949, ecclesiastical laws, the power and the law, present time: law, society and politics.

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&ldquo / Information-Based Economy&rdquo / , which is today&rsquo / s economy that is a proof and indicator of development level for the countries now on, comes on the scene with its new organizing model on the infrastructure of its own, which is called &ldquo / Information Society&rdquo / . The phenomenon of administration introduces to &ldquo / e-Government&rdquo / for reinforcing the roots of &ldquo / Information-Based Economy&rdquo / now. The objective of this study is to research the transformation of state, authoritarian and dominant power, that &ldquo / Information-Based Economy&rdquo / gives direction in the environment of &ldquo / Information Society&rdquo / and to determine the locus and focus of &ldquo / e-government&rdquo / as a new organizing model especially in the dilemma between administration and management, and in the dilemma between politics and administration by using the theories of public administration, keeping the variance of culture in mind. In addition, to have a systematic knowledge of the relation between &ldquo / Information-Based Economy&rdquo / , &ldquo / Information Society&rdquo / and &ldquo / e-Government&rdquo / as a whole composes of the theme of this thesis. For this purpose, questionnaire has been conducted in the Ministry of National Education, which is responsible for forming the society of the future, to understand whether there is a systematic knowledge on the relation between &ldquo / Information-Based Economy&rdquo / , &ldquo / Information Society&rdquo / and &ldquo / e-Government&rdquo / as a whole. Moreover, it has been aimed to discover what the mental formulations of participants are. Questionnaire results reveal that there is no systematic knowledge on the relation between &ldquo / Information-Based Economy&rdquo / , Information Society&rdquo / and &ldquo / e-Government&rdquo / as a whole in the Ministry of National Education, and that the participants are apt to perceive &ldquo / e-Government&rdquo / within the context in which they are in terms of professions, status and backgrounds. Questionnaire results also show that the responses given by the participants concerning &ldquo / e-Government&rdquo / are more or less the same due to the hierarchical organization of knowledge and official knowledge in particular.

Des formes d’organisations sociales traditionnelles de l’Afrique au Sud du Sahara, en passant par les luttes de libération nationale jusqu’à la naissance du Sénégal contemporain, les droits de l’Homme ont souvent occupé une place importante dans la société et joué un rôle fondamental dans le processus de construction de l’État de droit et de la démocratie. L’ouverture graduelle vers le pluralisme politique des années 1980 et 1990 a ainsi constitué dans ce pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest, une occasion pour les acteurs des droits de l’Homme, notamment les ONG (RADDHO, ONDH, Amnesty International/Sénégal), de s’étendre progressivement, de participer à la construction de la société civile, à l’éducation à la citoyenneté et au renforcement des acquis démocratiques. Cependant, l’arrivée de la première alternance politique en 2000 marque un moment régressif du respect des droits de l’Homme et le renouveau des formes de militantisme qui, en nous renseignant sur la trajectoire des militants, l’organisation et les stratégies de fonctionnement des ONG de droits humains ainsi que les nouvelles configurations de l’espace public, traduisent les enjeux sociaux, culturels, économiques et politiques auxquels le Sénégal fait face. Une situation qui recentre l’interrogation sur l’impact des nouveaux militantismes politiques observés dans la sphère des droits de l’Homme et dans l’espace public plus généralement au cœur de cette étude. / In the traditional social organizations of Sub-Saharan Africa, the struggle for national liberation and the emergence of contemporary Senegal, Human Rights have held an important place in society and they have played a pivotal role in the process of constructing the rule of law and democracy. The gradual opening to political pluralism in the 1980s and 1990s proved to be an excellent opportunity for people working on behalf of Human Rights in Western Africa and for NGOs such as RADDHO, ONDH, Amnesty International/Senegal to progressively expand and participate in the building of civil society, education, citizenship and the reinforcement of democratic acquisitions. However, with the arrival of the first wave of political change in 2000 came a regression in the respect of Human Rights. This renewal of militancy taught us about the trajectory of the militants themselves, the organization and operational strategies of Human Rights NGOs and new configurations of the public arena which were translated into the social, cultural, economic and political issues faced by Senegal. This situation has refocused attention on the impact of political militancy on Human Rights and the public arena and it is the core of this study.

The object of this study is the creation, activity and termination of Občanské fórum (OF) in the central Bohemia city Slaný. The OF in Slaný was established after the general strike on 27th November 1989 at home of one of the founders. Other OF were created spontaneously in the workplace and in schools and gradually merged into the urban OF. In the early days the dialogue was the priority, members of OF Slaný called for discussion by their deputies in the local national committee. The main objective is to clarify the activities of OF and its influence on events in Slaný in November and the days following. Many different people with different interests, motivations and desires came and left the OF. And it influenced his future direction and impact on the political scene in Slaný. Without the establishment of the OF it would be more difficult to put pressure on city officials to allow access to the administration for the non-communist parties. The parties and movements have been isolated. The OF was able to unify the parties and joint efforts have produced results. The functions of the OF were primarily informational, coordination and control. Strategy that both parties (the Communist Party and Občanské fórum) chose was a compromise. It took place the so-called round table and finding the program...