The diploma thesis entitled The Atheization Policy of the Czechoslovak Republic from the End of 1940s to the Mid-1950s Illustrated on the Example of the Historical Regional Media introduces to the reader how Marxist-Leninist ideologies approached the topic of atheism and the process of atheization, and how they presented this worldview to the popular masses. The reader will also learn about the region of Teschen Silesia (where the research is based), its media and the media system established in Czechoslovakia at the time under discussion. The work also reflects on the post-war rise of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and its coup in 1948. The practical part of the thesis then reflects how the editors of the selected media (the widely available regional daily Nová svoboda, the newspaper of the Polish minority Głos Ludu and the company magazine Třinecký hutník) published topics that were supposed to lead their readers to secularization from 1948 to 1952. However, it is clear from the conclusions of the individual editions that the promotion of scientific atheism had minimal space, and the editors focused primarily on international, domestic social and political events. As time went on, however, even these contributions dwindled. Judicial monster trials of inconvenient clerics were also...

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This study examines the reintegration of South African political returnees into South African society from a sociological perspective after the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1990. It specifically looks at the role of liberation movements, government, the International Organization For Migration (10M), the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in the pre- and post- 1994 period. This study contends that for refugee reintegration to succeed, primary prerequisites include a relatively good and sustainable economy and, most significantly, positive governmental intervention. A central argument of the study is that the ANC-Ied government has played a significant role in the repatriation and long-term reintegration of political returnees. Of significance is the economic dimension of this process since it facilitates reintegration at the social level. The assessment of the role of the ANC-Ied government in the political returnee reintegration process is undertaken primarily through the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996 which constitute the focal point of analysis of this study. The findings of this research are that the International Organization For Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and the South African Council of Churches played a significant role in the repatriation and early reintegration of political returnees in South Africa in the pre-independence phase. In the post-independence period, the ANC led government played an important role in long-term reintegration through legislative means, namely, the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996. The recommendations of the study are that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should continue conducting large scale political refugee repatriations because of its expertise in international repatriation, programmes and processes of this magnitude. More research on the long-term socio-economic implications of the refugee reintegration process needs to be conducted in view of the fact that this area of study has not been sufficiently problematized. Finally, from a policy perspective, there is a need for governments with returning refugee populations to be more proactive in addressing this problem through legislative measures. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

This thesis explores the shifting political culture of inter-war Scotland and Britain via an examination of political identities and practice in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. Drawing on the local and national archives of the Labour movement and the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) alongside government records, newspapers, personal testimony and visual sources, relations on the political Left are used as a means to evaluate this change. It is contended that, as a result of the extension of the franchise and post-war fears of a rise in political extremism, national party loyalties came to replace those local political identities, embedded in a sense of class, trade and place, which had previously sustained popular radicalism. This had crucial implications for the conduct of politics, as local customs of popular political participation declined, and British politics came to be defined by national elections. The thesis is structured in two parts. The first section considers the extent to which local identities of class and established provincial understandings of popular democracy came to be identified with an appeal to class sentiment excluded from national political debate. The second section delineates the repercussions this shift had for how and where politics was conducted, as the mass franchise discredited popular traditions of protest, removing politics from public view, and privileging the individual elector. In consequence, the confrontational traditions of popular politics came to be the preserve of those operating on the fringes of politics, especially the CPGB, and, as such, largely disappeared from British political culture. This thesis thus offers an important reassessment of the relationship between the public and politics in modern Britain, of the tensions between local and national loyalties, and of the role of place in the construction of political identities.

本論文主要研究目的在於探討中共四部害法之演變與社會變遷的互動關係，主要參考 文獻中外所出版的社會變遷理論書籍；中共方面所出版的「憲法」論文選；香港方面 所出版的中共「憲法」論文集；與中華民國方面所出版的有關研究中共「憲法」之書 籍與文章。本論文所採取的研究方法主要是以「社會變遷理論」與「比較憲法」研究 途徑為主，來分析並評述中共憲法之演變及其特性。本論文要研究內容重點為探討社 會主義憲法的特性及與一般自由世界憲法之區別；中共四部憲法制定過程；中共四部 憲法條文之演變及其所代表的意義；及中共憲法在法理上的規定及實際運作之間的差 距……等各部份。本論文研究結果顯示﹕社會主義憲法與一般自由世界憲法最大的差 別，在於社會主義憲法是以馬列主義學說為依據的，共產黨人將它視為階級鬥爭的總 結，是統治階級的意志表現和專政工具；社會主義憲法的內容是隨著階級力量的對比 關係的演變而變化，因而乃產生不斷更換憲法與修改憲法的現象。作為社會主義類型 憲法的中共憲法，其最大的特色，在於它是做為偽裝民主的「必需品」，憲政精神從 未真正貫徹，從研究中共憲法演變與社會變遷的過程中吾人得知，中共憲法所具體表 現的特性為「黨」大於「法」，「人治重於法治」，「權責不明，憲政不分」等現象 。

數十年來，中國共產黨對於儒家主義的文化價值產生巨變。不似四十年前的革命，當時共產黨欲拔除儒道深植的價值，孔夫子成為國家反革命的代表形象。相反的，近年來黨內開始重塑孔夫子的地位，藉由每年慶祝孔子誕辰，立孔子像以彰顯他的貢獻，塑造成中國偉大的聖人。這大膽假設過去以馬克思主義的基本意識形態可能在改變，產生共鳴的對象從馬克思主義蛻變成儒家主義。另外一說：中國共產黨意圖採用普世的儒家價值來合理化其作為。因此我們應如何看待這個黨與過去其眼中的「魔」共舞？黨對於儒家主義的真正意圖為合？本文研究重點將解釋以上問題。 首先，本文將透過理論去探討儒家主義如何合理化政治行為。接著將透過重要的歷史背景因素證明一開始的中國共產黨對儒家主義的深惡痛絕。其後將透過第一手的文件和歷史文獻佐證在1980年代儒家主義復甦以後，黨轉變為尋找與大眾價值的共識──與儒家主義共存的立場。儒家主義的再次興起帶來了民族尊嚴，進而使黨更容易透過國家主義統一整個國家。另一方面，中國共產黨也試著傳播精心塑造的儒家主義，去蕪存菁的挑選出最利於黨的儒家元素架構。後段將提到中國共產黨如何選擇性的篩選儒家主義元素來支持獨裁統治，向國際營造中國穩定社會的形象；而非摒棄過去基本意識形態──馬克思主義卻選擇西化。最後駁斥某些立場：如中國共產黨正準備脫離現下的基本意識進而靠攏儒家主義。 因此，儘管過去中國共產黨批評儒家主義是製造階級化的淵藪，但現在卻一步步採用同樣思想，合理化獨裁統治。這種五十步笑百步的行為，挑選了利於黨的儒家元素，將存在中國兩千年的儒家主義的這甕舊酒，裝到中國共產黨統治下的這個新瓶裡。 / Over the last few decades, the Chinese Communist Party’s attitude towards the most profound determinant of the traditional Chinese culture – Confucianism – changed significantly. Not even 40 years ago, Confucius was represented as an anti-revolutionary enemy of the state, while the party tried to root out every sprout of Confucianism amongst the population. Contrarily, nowadays, the party seems to have re-instated Confucius to the position of ‘great Chinese sage’, for which it organizes his annual birthday parties, raises statues for him and praises his contributions to humanity. This leads some observers to the bold conclusion that the party might even be prepared to change its ideological basis from Marxism – which lost its resonance amongst the population anyways – to Confucianism. Others disagree, and argue that the party is just widening its legitimacy basis in a populist way by using all kinds of means, amongst which Confucianism. Thus, how should we assess the party’s dance with the former devil? What is actually the party’s plan with Confucianism? Giving an answer to the latter question is the main purpose of this research. First of all, as most authors relate this phenomenon to the party’s quest for political legitimacy, a basic theoretical overview will be given, showing possible causality between Confucianism and political legitimacy. Secondly, the most essential historical background will be provided in order to explain why the party was initially so malicious towards Confucianism. Subsequently, based on literature, and based on an analysis of primary sources, it will be argued that the party, after witnessing a popular revival of Confucianism in the 1980s, on the one hand sought consensus with the population by co-opting this revival – a revival which led to national pride, enabling the party to capitalize on its nationalist legacy as unifier of the country – while it on the other hand tried to channel this development into a meticulously constructed form of Confucianism – by selecting some elements and discarding others – that would benefit the party. The latter refers to a fragmented version of Confucianism which supports authoritarian rule, enhances social stability, shows a gentler face of China to the outside world, presents an attractive cultural alternative to Westernization, but - most importantly - doesn’t present an ideological alternative to Marxism. The latter refutes the claim that the CCP is preparing to depart from its current ideological base towards Confucianism. Concluding, despite the fact that the party previously vigorously blamed Confucianism for having facilitated the subjugation of the population, it now more or less uses Confucianism in a similar manner. The pot seems to have called the kettle black. Therefore, the role of Confucianism in the CCP’s legitimacy strategy is old wine – symbolizing the way in which dynastical China has used a selection of Confucian teachings to enhance its authoritarian rule for two millennia – in a new socialist bottle.

On 1st September 1931, the most serious mutiny affecting the Chilean Navy in nearly two centuries of existence broke out. The various books and articles which have examined this subject have used as their sources the local press and the participants´ own stories. Just in a few cases, historians have had access to official documents, because they were seldom published or access was restricted until now. This has led to gross factual mistakes in the existing historiography, leading to questionable interpretations and to the creation of legends still alive in Chile and elsewhere. This thesis discusses these topics. The Chilean Navy has in its archives a collection of 35 volumes (about 9,200 pages) of Courts Martial official documents and proceedings never studied by historians. The author used these sources under a special authorization for academic purposes. The following theories of the causes of the mutiny commonly expounded by contemporaries and subsequent historians have been researched: a. Participation of Marxist groups in the origin of the mutiny and exploitation of it. b. Participation of the two Chilean populist political groups in the movement’s generation (headed by the former presidents Arturo Alessandri and Carlos Ibáñez) c. Army and Navy officers’ participation in politics during 1924 to 1931 and the consequence in the behaviour of the mutineers. Examination has also been made of connections with the mutiny on board HMS Lucia in Devonport in January 1931 which occurred while the Chilean battleship Latorre was being refitted at that port. Months later and being anchored in the port of Coquimbo, Chile, serious mutiny or revolt started on board Latorre and spread to other naval units as well as other Navy’s, Army’s and Air Force’s shore establishments. One week after the Chilean mutiny, the Invergordon mutiny started in the Royal Navy Atlantic Fleet. This thesis also compares both mutinies because they had many aspects in common.

Main goal of this thesis is research of everyday life specifics in Cheb region as a region on the west border of the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and eventual interception of these specifics in regional or national press in last twenty years before the Velvet Revolution. The base for the research became the weekly magazine Hraničář as the only regional newspaper published throughout the whole studied period and the research was conducted using searches of the sample chosen in advance (years 1970, 1971, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1990). Any predicative facts about the local newspapers, the composition of the editorial staff and possible editors impact (respectively presumed inability to influence) on the newspaper content in a system of directive management and reflections of the Chebsko region as a border region in the immediate vicinity of the Iron Curtain were of interest of the research. The core of the work is to draw a picture of everyday life of "ordinary" citizens of the region with regard to the above facts and focusing on different aspects of life in society such as the local economy, agriculture or cultural, sport and social life in the city. The thesis also deals with the editions and contents of the newspaper during the periods of anniversaries of essential historical events (e.g....