This thesis explores the relationship between literature and politics through a study of novels published by Diamela Eltit (1949-) and Alberto Fuguet (1964-) in the Chilean post-transition to democracy period (i.e.: after the year 2000). It attempts to demonstrate that Chilean post-transition to democracy literature foregrounds the socio-cultural legacies inherited from the dictatorship (1973-1990), which have been to a great extent endorsed by the Chilean neoliberal transition to democracy. This thesis considers the more recent narrative fiction published by these authors as representative of Chilean post-transition to democracy literature, that is, a literature that shares a politico-historical legacy inherited from the Chilean dictatorship, and highlights a social imaginary permeated by the contemporary neoliberal politico-cultural project imposed by the military and to a great extent endorsed by the transition to democracy. In doing so, this work focuses on questions related to the portrayal of contemporary Chilean society and the political status of women. Commitment in literature does not necessarily come from the author's subjectivity or intention, but from his or her study of society and the way in which s/he presents it. Literary commitment, whether overt or not, remains fundamental in the case of contemporary Chilean writers, who have inherited a neoliberal socio-cultural context imposed by a dictatorship, and who may deploy strategies to either disseminate, perpetuate or resist such a cultural model, creating new ones. Therefore, the values to which literature commits can be traced in the case of both the overtly politically committed author and the apparently apolitical one. This methodology allows us to reveal the way in which Eltit and FuguetÊ1⁄4s writing projects represent different but implicitly related views of Chilean society as well as two semi-canonical standpoints which are prominently representative of the twenty-first century Chilean literary sphere.

The aim of this investigation is to study the various cinematic and rhetorical strategies that Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán uses to construct a complex image of the postdictatorial Chilean society. By analyzing three of his documentaries from the late 1990s and early 2000s (Chile, Obstinate Memory; The Pinochet Case and Island of Robinson Crusoe), I argue that Guzmán's cinematic images expose the challenges of constructing a collective memory of the 1973 coup in Chile and its aftermath. In an attempt to interrogate the social, political and economic dynamics of the Chilean transition to democracy that began in the year 1990, Guzmán's documentaries also explore the consequences of the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1989) in the present. The historical conjuncture of postdictatorial Chile is connected to at least three geopolitical phenomenons: the Post-Cold War international arena formed after the dissolution of existent socialist regimes, the advent of neoliberalism as a transnational economic paradigm, and the struggle for global human rights. The documentaries of Patricio Guzmán are poetic responses to each of these geopolitical phenomenons that affect the constitution of the Chilean present. / Dissertation

This dissertation analyzes the presidencies of Askar Akaev (1991-2005) and Kurmanbek Bakiev (2005-2010) in Kyrgyzstan by looking at the referendums as well as the parliamentary and presidential elections held in this country in the post-Soviet era, with specific emphasis on the legitimacy of these two leaders as perceived by the Kyrgyz people. Based on the field research conducted in Kyrgyzstan, the study aims to shed some light on how the Kyrgyz people perceive issues of democracy, democratic transition, political leadership and political legitimacy in the post-Soviet era. The dissertation further focuses on how and why even the minimal requirements of democracy such as elections and referendums have been used in this country in order to increase executive power, despite the rhetoric of democratization promoted by the political leaders.

The thesis presents an analysis of the discourse of Transylvanian regional identity in Romanian newspaper from 1989 to 2014, opposing the hegemonic political and societal discourse promoting nationalism. In doing so, it emphasized inter-ethnic tolerance as a key principle that distinguished regional discourse from its centralist counterpart. The fact that the most important historical peoples of Transylvania were understood by the regional discourse as carriers of regional identity in the spheres of daily and political life not only confirmed the trans-ethnic inclusiveness of this construct, but also became its diversification factor. In addition to tolerance and acceptance of multiethnicity, regional discourse in the examined media relied predominantly on ideas of the region's essential democratic character, its cultural, social or economic specificities, as well as considerations of possible autonomy. These narratives, whether abstract or more pragmatic, represented the content of a discoursively constructed regional identity, conveyed its sharing by different ethnic groups, and defined Transylvania in the context of an era within Romania as a whole. The internal thematic composition of Transylvanian regional identity discourse was not entirely constant during the period under review, its shape...

KOCIÁN, Jiří. Transylvanian regional identity and its political reflection after 1989. The thesis deals with the question of reviving Transylvanian regional identity and its political use in Romania after 1989. It demonstrates that regional identity has gradually grown in political importance, and represents the content, actors and typology of models of its reflection. The Romanian Communist regime under Nicolae Ceaușescu followed longer-term centralizing tendencies that did not favor maintaining regional specificities. But regional identity, like other collective identities, is the result of a continuous process of daily interactions between its bearers and external actors, all of whom are involved in its construction. Because of that, it survived a period of suppression in its vernacular form. Contributing to its survival was the fact that the multi-ethnic region of Transylvania and its specificities, which represent the core of regional identity, have a thousand-year history. The thesis points, by applying a discourse analysis of the content of newspaper articles, to the fact that regional identity took the form of political discourse after 1989. This discourse rivaled the previous discursive hegemony of the country's centralist concept of state and nation in Romanian public sphere. At the same...

Transition to democracy have been a complex and difficult process for many thirdwave democratic countries across the globe. In Ghana, past military governments, role of political parties, rule of law, ethnocentrism and human rights abuses and have played a key role in Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and fourth attempt to democratic governance. In addition, eight successful national elections and five change of governments from 1992-2020 have made Ghana one of the shining examples of democracy in West Africa. The aim of this study has been tounderstand and assess the impact of national elections and change of government in Ghana’s transition to democracy from 1992-2020. To achieve this, I have selected secondary sources from academic books, journals, reports, and have implemented Samuel Huntington’s “Two-turnover test” theoretical concept to examine how national elections and change of governments have contributed to Ghana’s transition to democracy from 1992 -2020. My key finding is that national elections and change of governments have not completely contributed positively to the transition to democracy in Ghana.

The apartheid regime represented the official state ideology in South Africa in the time period from 1948 to 1994. The diploma thesis deals with the issue of South Africa's transition to democracy, in particular, it focuses on the role which was played by the United Nations in this process. Its activities can be sorted out into three main phases. The first phase dated between the years 1948 -- 1966 can be distinguished mainly by the key role played by the General Assembly. The second phase which took place in the period 1967 -- 1989 was primarily focused on the international campaign against apartheid and on the adoption of economic sanctions. The final and the most recent phase occurred in the early 90s (1990 -- 1994) and could be characterized by the role of the UN as a mediator of peace negotiations.

The master thesis "Latvia's transition to democracy and the challenges of democratic consolidation in Latvia" deals with the analysis of Latvian transition to democracy and the processes of democratic consolidation after regaining the independence in Latvia. The thesis focuses on the development of transformation processes in the late nineteen eighties and at the beginning of the nineteen nineties in this Baltic republic as well as it analyses the most significant problematic aspects of the development of Latvian democracy after regaining the independence till now.

The master thesis "The Fall of Ferdinand Marcos and the Transition to Democracy in the Philippines" deals with the analysis of politico-historical development of the Philippines and the aim is describe the fall of nondemocratic regime and the subseguent transition do democracy. The attention is paid to the role and tactics of opposition groups among which leadership stakes took place during democratic consolidation. To be place into the context the master thesis deals as well with historical development of political system and its practise.

The thesis "The fall of President Suharto and the consolidation of democracy in Indonesia" aims to characterize the circumstances of the fall of President Suharto and outline the developments that followed after his resignation. The work is divided into theoretical and analytical part. In the first part are characterized the conception of non-democratic regime, the conception of the transition to democracy, the theory of opposition and the theory of consolidation of democracy. The analytical part applied the theory to the Indonesian practice. The intention of the thesis is to introduce the undemocratic regime, circumstances leading to downfall of Suharto and evaluated subsequent developments. The aim of the work is to present the democratization process in Indonesia, find and analyze the causes of the difficulties that accompanied the process of consolidation of democracy.