Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a topic that has been widely researched and is still a progressing and important subject to study. Many researchers have focused on the importance and risks of CSR but have been unsuccessful in conducting research that brings forth managerial implications regarding the challenges and complexity that comes from contextual differences. Furthermore, little attention has been assigned to consumer awareness, perception of CSR as well as analysing differences in related markets such as developed Western European countries (WECs) and emerging Post-Communist countries (PCCs) of Eastern Europe. This research is essential as theoretical ground and for managers to be able to successfully adapt and implement their CSR strategies to various markets, something that is beneficial for gaining a long-term competitive advantage. This study wishes to fill the existing research gap by gaining an insight into the differences in perceptions of CSR between consumers from WECs and PCCs. The outcomeof this study contributes to the existing frame of research regarding consumers’ perceptionson CSR and the importance of adapting a firm's CSR strategies to differentiating perceptions when operating in various international markets. The research was executed by using a qualitative method, carrying out three focus groups with participants originating from the two different regions respectively, and later mixed in a third group. The outcome from these focus groups was analysed using relatedtheoretical frameworks such as Carroll’s pyramid for corporate social responsibility (1991)and Dhanapal, Vashu, and Subramaniam (2015), who explores influencers affecting consumer perception. The findings conclude that CSR is gaining awareness among consumers across both regions, who agree that companies should be engaged in CSR, whereas members from PCCs desires a higher commitment than is currently done. Consumers are willing to pay a higher price when they know that the companies implement philanthropic projects. However, for WECs, this depends on the price of the product, and for PCCs, on whether the activities are locally implemented or not. Finally, this study concluded that companies can gain a competitive advantage by concentrating on social CSR in the PCC region and environmental CSR in the WEC region since the findings indicate that these are the most prioritised issues in each region. Furthermore, managers should adapt their CSR strategies based on these findings in order to relate to the consumer, create legitimacy, and gain trust.

This dissertation investigates the nature by which social class membership and identity figure in judgements of transition institutions for the citizens of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. Using a unique dataset and a series of novel conceptual frameworks, it argues that social class is, in effect, an operationalisation of socioeconomic risk and vulnerability-a premise from which several important implications derive. Drawing on social identity theory, it presents and tests a model of self-conceptualisation, grounded in the belief that individuals variously identify with their social classes, depending on their perceptions of shared socioeconomic risk. From this, it follows that strong identifiers should derive more relevant information about the emerging market system from class-level economic experiences, and therefore accord these cues greater weight in judgements about transition institutions. Beyond testing this theory of interpersonal variation, it invokes signal detection theory from cognitive psychology to determine whether cross-group differences in economic vulnerability are responsible for observed class differentials in reliance on class-based economic cues. It then takes a wider view of class-based economic cognition by considering how the process of transition, itself, influenced the evaluative calculus of post-communist citizens. Building on cognitive mobilisation theory in political science, it is posited that on-going exposure to the prevailing economic system endows these citizens with the ability to link their class-level economic experiences to the effects of the market mechanism. The analysis largely supports the constituent hypotheses, as well as the larger notion that perceptions of shared socioeconomic risk led social class experiences to figure prominently in the minds of post-communist citizens.

Notre doctorat se propose d'étudier les bases de construction du système partisan dans les pays post-communistes et les facteurs externes ou internes de son évolution. Les transformations après 1989 étaient supposées suivre une logique séquentielle comprenant quelques étapes incontournables - l'organisation des élections libres, l'adoption de nouvelles Constitutions, la réforme du corpus juridique et des administrations, l'harmonisation européenne, etc. Les attentes étaient que l'intégration européenne soit la force motrice pour une stabilisation graduelle des institutions et des normes juridiques et qu'elle contribue, à terme, à une progressive convergence des façons de faire est-européennes par rapport aux règles et pratiques en vigueur au sein de l'Union européenne. La présente recherche de thèse a pour objectif d'aborder la construction des systèmes de partis politiques dans les pays de l'Europe centrale et orientale dans un triple logique: celle des caractéristiques structurelles des arènes politiques, des jeux stratégiques des acteurs politiques et du rôle de la variable européenne. Or, malgré l'avancement de l'intégration dans l'Union européenne, l'atmosphère d'une crise permanente se développe au sein des PECO, ainsi que des cycles de désillusion qui accroissent les chances pour les partis non traditionnels et populistes de trouver leur place sur les scènes politiques nationales. Notre recherche est menée de façon comparative et son champ couvre trois pays: la Bulgarie, la Roumanie et la Slovaquie. / Our research work proposes to study the basis of the construction of the political party systems in post-communist countries and the internal and external factors affecting their evolution. The post 1989 changes were supposed to follow a sequential logic comprising certain inevitable steps - organization of free elections; the adoption of new constitutions, judiciary and administration reform, European harmonization etc, The expectation being that European integration would act as the driving force towards a gradual stabilization of the institutions and of the legal standards and that it would contribute, ultimately, to a progressive convergence of East European practices with those already in place within the European Union. The objective of this research thesis is to tackle the construction of the political party system in Central and Eastern Europe in the triple logic of: the structural characteristics of the political arena, the strategy of the main political actors and the role that the European variable played. Despite the progresses of the integration within the European Union, the atmosphere of permanent crisis and the "cycles of disillusionment" within the CEEC increase the chance that non-traditional and populist parties find a place within the national political scenes. Our research is conducted in a comparative way and its scope covers three countries: Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.

Education systems are influenced by belief systems. Russia has throughout its history been guided by two rigid dogmatic belief systems: • the Russian Orthodox Church • the Communist ideology While other influences also prevailed, notably autocracy, humanism and nationalism, these were secondary to the dogma of the Church in the centuries preceding the Revolution in 1917. Autocracy could be regarded as an outflow of the dogma of the Church, which had established its links with the ruling elite early in its history, whereas the others originated from other sources and for other reasons. This study in the history and development of the Russian education system traces its origins back into the inchoate beginnings of the Russian nation and attempts to show how: • the Zeitgeist of a particular era led to the development of a particular dogmatic belief system • the Zeitgeist and the dogmatic beliefs influenced the figures who determined educational policies and reforms / Onderwysstelsels word be"invloed deur 'n bepaalde denksisteem. So byvoorbeeld is Rusland deur die geskiedenis deur rigiede dogmatiese denksisteme gelei. Gelyklopend daarmee was daar ook ander denksisteme wat 'n invloed op die Russiese denke uitgeoefen het. lnvloede soos outokrasie, humanisme en nasionalisme was egter sekonder tot die dogmatiese invloede van die Kerk in die eeue voor die Rewolusie van 1917. Outokrasie kan weliswaar as 'n uitvloeisel van die dogma van die Kerk , wat vroeg in die Russiese geskiedenis 'n verbintenis met die regerende elite gesmee het, beskou word. Die onderhawige studie oor die ontwikkeling en verloop van die Russiese opvoedstelsel vind sy oorsprong in die beginjare van die Russiese volk en poog om aan te toon hoe: • die Zeitgeist van 'n bepaalde era tot bepaalde dogmatiese denksisteme gelei het • die Zeitgeist en dogmatiese denksisteme 'n invloed op die opvoedingsdenke en onderwyshervormings van bepaalde historiese figure in die Russiese verlede uitgeoefen het. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

The diploma thesis focuses on women in politics, specifically on the cases when a woman is running for a president. For a purpose of the thesis 3 candidates were chosen, Radičová, Tymoshenko and Grybauskaite, i. e. one successful and two unsuccessfull ones. These case were chosen intentionally among countries of postcommunism space, where we can expect role of gender stereotypes, especially when running for the position of head of state. This thesis's object is to compare all the women candidates and explore possible causes of their success/ unsuccess based on the conditions and stereotypes dominating in a country. Thesis focuses on election campaign, party affiliation or support of each candidate and their effect on voters.

共黨國家雖為一黨專政，但在最高領導層常形成具有二元領導的意涵的集體領導。二元領導體制是有兩位行政領導人的體制；由於二元領導體制符合許多政治狀況的需要，全世界有四分之一以上的國家採取二元領導體制，其中多為半總統制。本文認為東歐後共國家普遍形成半總統制的原因，在於共黨統治時期採取二元領導，以使統治菁英的集體領導得以鞏固。在此二元領導體制下，黨書記通常主管黨務、軍事，總理主管行政、經濟。 本文的重點在於第三章第二、三節的分析。第二節首先從黨內權力制衡的需要分析，指出共黨國家在初期的強人政治或單一領導之後，制度的要求與交易上的精英集體的利益極大化，共同促成一種展現為國家與黨的領導人和行政領導人的分立的二元領導體制。其後從權力繼承制度化與幹部年輕化的重要性進行分析，指出共黨國家二元領導體制要走向成熟，必須破除領導職務終身制。 在第三章第三節，本文引入國際政治學結構現實主義的觀點，強調權力結構的「二元」穩定性，同時分析共黨國家領導層的職務分配可能性，將之區分為單一領導、典型二元領導、非典型二元領導、多元領導等類型，並以蘇聯與中國大陸的政治菁英的職務分配作為範例加以介紹，說明典型二元領導是共黨國家領導體制的趨勢。 在此分析之後，本文在第四章分析蘇聯的領導體制變化，在第五章分析中共的職務分配趨勢。本文結論認為，中共幹部年輕化的制度壓力，使中共現任軍委主席江澤民必須盡快退休，而依據本文對典型二元領導體制的建構與利弊分析，中共政治菁英的共識將是讓胡錦濤接任中央軍委主席職務。倘若中共政局果真如此發展，則中共的典型二元領導將進一步強化。此種趨勢的進一步發展，將使中共民主化後傾向於採取半總統制。

Alternative food networks in a post-communist context:: Farmers' markets and farm shops in Czechia Marie Syrovátková ABSTRACT The emergence of farmers' markets (FMs) and farm shops (FSs) in Czechia is a follow-up of the expansion of alternative food networks (AFNs) from Western Europe and North America where they have been developing for several decades. AFNs are an up-to-date topic as they respond to the growing concerns about the negative effects of the globalized conventional food system on social, economic and environmental aspects of food production, distribution and consumption. Each form of AFNs emphasizes a different aspect of the food system sustainability. FMs and FSs should primarily enable direct selling of quality local products made by small producers to support local economy, rural development, environmental protection and to improve quality of life. Based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the aim of the dissertation is to explore the emergence and development of AFNs in Central Europe. Using the example of Czechia, considering the communist past of the region, the work evaluates the contribution of AFNs to build a more sustainable system of food production and consumption and the weak points of the phenomenon in Czechia and, using a comparison of the AFN evolution...

Les partis politiques macédoniens ont été relativement peu étudiés. Les problèmes de la construction du nouvel Etat, à la fois dans un environnement difficile et quant à l’intégration de l’importante minorité albanaise, ont éclipsé ceux du nouveau système politique. L’attention portée à l’ingénierie constitutionnelle y a contribué. Pourtant, les partis sont au cœur de la démocratie pluraliste.En dehors de la problématique commune de la formation des partis politiques dans les transitions post-communistes, le cas macédonien présente des originalités par le rôle des racines historiques pour les partis relevants et l’importance des partis ethniques, qui ont évolué entre la contestation de l’Etat et du nouveau système et l’intégration politique par la participation grandissante au jeu démocratique, y compris au niveau gouvernemental. / Macedonian political parties have been relatively little studied. In Macedonia, political system transformation has been mainly dominated by state building issues, problems related to Albanian minority integration and the process of designing a new constitutional arrangement. Nevertheless, political parties are considered to be key actors in pluralist democracy. Macedonian parties have their own particularities when compared to general models of post-communist party development. The originality of the Macedonian parties thus lies in the importance accorded to historical legacies in party formation, as well as in the role played by ethnic actors in the process of democratization.

This project explores the impact of a mobile website (MWS) designed to enhance knowledge and interest in local history among residents of Eberswalde as a sample for an Eastern German post-communist city. It aims to strengthen the sense of regional identity and attachment, potentially affecting their decision to remain in or leave the region. The MWS features digitised old postcards, new images, audio memories, short films, and text about historical locations preceding communism in East Germany. Building on previous research showing that interest and engagement in local history can raise, i.a., individuals 'place attachment', 'local identity', and 'regional pride', the research's theoretical frame joins Stefaniak et al.'s (2017), Twells et al.'s (2018) and Pearson and Plevyak's (2020) research outcomes. It groups them into six spheres of effects (SoEs) and reorders them into six individual personal growth dimensions (IPGDs). While the SoEs represent a researcher's bird's-eye view, the IPGDs aim to understand individuals from a frog's-eye viewpoint. The MWS was developed using WordPress with the Divi Editor. A local choir of approximately 35 members critically accompanied the development process, from naming the domain to creating and initial testing a prototype for a location page, which then served as a template for subsequent locations. Subsequently, the MWS was evaluated on-site by five participating local individuals who were not part of the initial testing by the choir members and had at least one family member who experienced the region under communist rule. They were observed during this process, and audio notes were taken. Approximately one to two weeks later, each participant was interviewed using a retrospective semi-structured interview exploring their experiences and any possible perceptual changes regarding their local history. The results show that despite the temporal and scope limitations of the project, the short engagement with local history via the MWS has enriched participants' attachment to the city. It shows further that the worth of local history in this process lies in that sites and monuments of local history are perceived as accomplishments of the local community. This perception fosters an emotional connection and a sense of pride in being part of the locality. In contrast, the presence of natural beauty, as exemplified by the surroundings of Eberswalde, elicits appreciation. Even though nature, not being a human achievement, is admired by participants, it does not evoke the same emotional expressions or pride in belonging to the location. Both are essential for establishing a lasting bond and participation in the city's public and social life.

Cette thèse propose une analyse des transformations postcommunistes en Roumanie à partir d’une étude de la structuration de trajectoires familiales. La réflexion sur les itinéraires très variés de ces trajectoires familiales met en valeur les pratiques développées par les familles dans la construction de leur mode de vie quotidienne après la chute du communisme. L’approche utilisée privilégie deux axes d’analyse. Le premier vise les aspects socio-structurels concernant les cadres de la vie incluant les aspects matériels, alors que le deuxième, l’axe socio-symbolique, concerne les aspects subjectifs liés au vécu des acteurs en corrélation avec le contexte social en mutation. L’analyse est fondée sur des éléments issus de la théorie de la structuration qui ont contribué à la construction du cadre conceptuel. Elle s’appuie aussi sur la méthodologie qualitative qui comprend des récits de vie obtenus à partir des entretiens semi-dirigés réalisés avec les membres de 11 familles. Les thématiques retenues après l’analyse du corpus de données nous ont permis d’identifier des stratégies que les familles ont mises en place et les projets familiaux qui ont orienté leur parcours de vie durant la période de transition postcommuniste. Ces deux concepts révèlent des éléments liés à l’ordre général permettant ainsi la mise en évidence des tendances structurelles de la société postcommuniste. / This thesis presents an analysis of the process of post-communist transformation in Romania, through a study of the structure of family trajectories. An examination of the wide variety of family trajectories highlights the practices developed by families in rebuilding their way of life after the fall of communism. The approach adopts two axes of analysis. The first is the socio-structural framework for life including material aspects, while the second axis, the socio-symbolic axis addresses subjective aspects related to the experiences of actors within their changing social context. The analysis draws on the theory of structuration in its conceptual framework. It is also based on qualitative methodology which includes life stories obtained from semi-structured interviews conducted with members of 11 families. The themes selected after analysis of the data corpus allows us to identify strategies that families have put in place and family plans that have shaped their life course during the post-communist transition. These two concepts reveal elements related to the general order allowing the identification of structural trends of post-communist society in Romania.