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The diploma thesis Language and totalitarianism deals with the relation between these two phenomena. On the basis of key thinkers dealing with totalitarianism it formulates its own definition of totalitarianism. It presents the communication theory of Karl Wolfgang Deutsch, on which basis it points to the close relation between communication and political systems, concretely between language and totalitarianism. Language is analysed mainly on the thoughts of Ferdinand de Saussure and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Totalitarian language is explained using mainly Orwell's totalitarian language newspeak in 1984. A practical analysis of a sample of Rudé právo form the era of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia in the years 1948-1989 shows its manifestations in real use. At the end of the thesis political correctness is introduced as an example of totalitarian tendencies in liberal democracies.

Dissertation Title Polish Workers in Czechoslovakia: Unwelcome Friendship Specific features of temporary labor migration in the socialist system Author Ondřej Klípa Summary The aim of the dissertation is to study the case of Polish workers in Czechoslovakia who were employed on conditions set by intergovernmental treaties. Most of them were women. This case had two specific features. First, it was highly regulated by both of the co-operating states. Second, the state bodies tried to control intensively both the workers in order to isolate them from local population and the public discourse of this topic. In this study I argue that both of the features arise from fundamental elements of socialist system, which are "economy of shortage" and totalitarianism. These elements were identified in the work of Hungarian economist János Kornai. Instead of totalitarianism as a coherent concept I use only certain totalitarian practices that were exercised with variable intensity, depending on circumstances. In the dissertation I examine causality between these two fundamental elements (independent variables) and both regulation and control (dependent variables). For this purpose I consider the studied case as a specific model of temporary labor migration in socialist system. The case is also situated in a broader...

Master thesis The film and politics. Propaganda and political agitation in Czech feature film 1948-1956 regards form and range of political, respectively communist ideology in chosen successful Czech feature motion pictures of the above mentioned time period. Investigates how and how far communist ideology influenced the examined films, even e.g. how much open or hidden agitation and propaganda it was. Main question of the thesis is why these films - which are often designated as propagandistic, agitation or at least ideologically tendentious - were so attractive for their viewers at that time. The thesis is theoretically based on supportive literature on history, totalitarianism and Czech film and practically on analysis of particular movies, which are absolutely essential for that time period.

The diploma thesis Modern Dystopias and Theories of Totalitarianism deals with comparation of this two phenomena. The thesis is based on the concept of Giovanni Sartori. He understands the phenomenon of totalitarianism as ideal ending of the axis totalitarianism- democracy. Extreme points of this axis fulfill the role of unrealizable ideal regimes. In reality we can only move closer to them but modern dystopias may represent these ideal regimes. The diploma thesis is divided into theoretical and practical section. There is the analyse of five books in the theoretical section which deal with the theory of totalitarianism. The analysis contains the work of Sigmund Neumann, Hannah Arendt, Carl J. Friedrich and Zbigniew K. Brzeziński, Giovanni Sartori and Juan J. Linz. Each theory of totalitarianism is supplemented by reflection from other authors. There is the analyse of five dystopias (J. Zamjatin - We, A. Huxley - Brave New World, G. Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-four, M. Atwood - The Handmaid`s Tale, A. Moore, D. Lloyd - V for Vendetta) in the practical section. The analysis contains the storyline of the book, elements of totalitarian regime in the dystopia and inspiration of author for the world of dystopia. There is elaborated final comparation between theories of totalitarianism and modern dystopias...

The main aim of this diploma thesis is analysis of the surveillance and the power relationships in the Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. The thesis attempts to contribute to understanding of the surveillance operation and the power technologies in the Auschwitz by comparison of the Michel Foucault's theoretical concept of power and surveillance with the totalitarian power according to Hannah Arendt. These two concepts will constitute the main theoretical base of this thesis. The thesis attempts to characterize Nazi politics of possible visibility and displayability on the basis of Didi-Huberman's reflection of the Auschwitz-Birkenau visual representation. Keywords: Discipline. Surveillance. Hannah Arendt. Michel Foucault. Power. Totalitarianism.

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This thesis examines the topic of representation of totalitarianism in videogames. It aims to show how the totalitarianism is depicted in selected games and whether the videogame as a medium has some influence on this depiction. Theoretical part introduces and examines all sorts of different approaches, based on which one can study videogame as a medium. An argument about the videogames as a medium of control is presented further on and is also discussed in relation with totalitarianism. Second half of theoretical chapter focuses on definition of totalitarianism which is used in the case studies later on. Empirical part analyzes four games - Half-life 2, Papers, please, Wolfenstein: the New Order and BioShock with focus on representation of totality or dystopia. The games are analyzed both with regards to their rules and fiction. The conclusion shows that totalitarianism was represented mostly by its outer activities rather than ideology which were usually represented rather marginally. However, in all cases there could be found some examples of how was the representation of totalitarianism used to merge with system of control in games.

Der vierte Band der Potsdamer Textbücher bringt erstmals den klassischen Text der Politikwissenschaft zum Thema diktatorische Herrschaftssysteme in deutscher Sprache. Juan Linz reflektiert darin die Debatten um Totalitarismus und Demokratie und beschreibt die autoritäre Herrschaft als eigenständige Form politischer Machtausübung. Es ist eine exzellente Auseinandersetzung mit den politischen Phänomenen des 20. Jahrhunderts, die sich durch theoretische Tiefe, empirische Fülle und methodische Klarheit auszeichnet.

Zugl.: Dresden, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2006