This study analyses the genesis, implementation and application of direct presidential elections ... more This study analyses the genesis, implementation and application of direct presidential elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It deals with the reasons and circumstances that led from indirect to direct elections, with emphasis on differences in both analyzed countries. The object of study is not to argue for or against the direct election, but to put the appropriate constitutional and political reform in the broader framework of the Czech and Slovak post-1993 developments.
The authors explored the research methods of the manifold studies on online political communicati... more The authors explored the research methods of the manifold studies on online political communication published in nine selected scientific journals over an 8-year period stretching from the beginning of 2009 to March 2017 and systematized the results into a comprehensive, methodological, “state-of-the-art” report. The main findings are that the most frequent method of researching online political communication is the quantitative or qualitative content analysis. Still, recurrent is the combination of methodological approaches, where the quantitative and qualitative techniques complement each other. Moreover, the research of political communication in general, but online especially, has become more an interdisciplinary field. Yet the collection and analysis of data from new media and social networks requires more and more advanced expert skills.
The quantitative analysis focuses on the effects of a single nationwide electoral district on pro... more The quantitative analysis focuses on the effects of a single nationwide electoral district on proportionality of seats–votes shares (Least Squares Index) and proportionality of territorial representation (advantage ratio index at the individual level and an adaptation of distortion index at the aggregate level) in the Slovak parliamentary elections. The case study concludes that the metropolitan area (the Bratislava Region) is strongly over-represented in the Slovak parliament while other regions are under-represented. At the same time, the analysis showed that seats - votes proportionality and proportionality of territorial representation are not necessarily opposing principles. For example, the mechanism of the electoral system to the German Bundestag makes clear that it is possible to maintain a high degree of both of them
Modern democratic political systems are hardly conceivable without political representation. This... more Modern democratic political systems are hardly conceivable without political representation. This also applies to the European Union, a unique international organisation with a directly elected and fully-fledged assembly representing the EU citizens. Because geography is central to the operation of almost all electoral systems and the European Parliament is the first transnational assembly based on the Member States representation, the paper explores the spatial aspect of the composition of the European Parliament resulting from the 2019 election. The representation in the European Parliament may be degressively proportional, which implies malapportionment of seats across the EU Member States. The paper, thus, seeks to quantify the malapportionment in the 2019 election at both the aggregate level (by the adaption of Loosemore and Hanby´s distortion index) and individual level (advantage ratio and the value of a vote). It concludes malapportionment was just below 14,5% of the total s...
Předložený text představuje diachronní analýzu procesu rozdělování křesel v Evropském parlamentu ... more Předložený text představuje diachronní analýzu procesu rozdělování křesel v Evropském parlamentu od okamžiku jeho vzniku až k nadcházejícím volbám, a sice s cílem kvantifikovat princip sestupné poměrnosti a zodpovědět, zda existuje poměrné sestupné zastoupení v Evropském parlamentu. Analýza využívá statistických metod běžně užívaných pro měření volební disproporcionality; hodnotu hlasu (průměrný počet hlasů na mandát) a index zvýhodnění (míra nadreprezentace/podreprezentace jednotlivých členských zemí) na individuální úrovni, a míra nerovnoměrnosti (nepoměrnosti) rozdělení křesel na agregované úrovni (pomocí adaptace indexu distorze). Článek dochází k závěru, že od roku 2004 není poměrné sestupné zastoupení v Evropském parlamentu. Přerozdělení křesel v důsledku Brexitu nicméně přiblížilo rozdělení křesel principu poměrné sestupnosti, jakkoli nadále zůstává jedna výjimka v důsledku neformální dohody o tom, že žádná členská země nebude mít nižší počet poslanců v Evropském parlamentu, ...
Political Communication and European Parliamentary Elections in Times of Crisis, 2017
It was in 1983 that one of the earliest comparative European studies on election campaigning was ... more It was in 1983 that one of the earliest comparative European studies on election campaigning was published. The study was initiated by Jay Blumler, and the authors included in the edited volume analysed the 1979 European Parliament (EP) election campaign (see Blumler 1983). Fifteen contributors focused on campaigning, and especially on the role of television broadcasting, in all the nine European Community member states in the 1979 EP elections. One of the leading ideas was that European elections, as a simultaneous and common event, offered a unique opportunity for a cross-national comparative analysis of campaigning in Western European democracies. Since then, analyses of European elections campaigning have been an important and integral part of both political communication and European election studies.
The paper explores and analyses processes of electoral reforms in selected Central European count... more The paper explores and analyses processes of electoral reforms in selected Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia) in post-transitional period. The qualitative analysis focuses “only” on the enacted changes in electoral systems and its purpose is not to evaluate the impact and political consequences of individual changes but rather to concentrate, through a theoretically-informed detailed contextual analysis, on the electoral reform process itself. It is therefore concerned with contextual factors affecting, underlying, initiating and/or controlling these changes. The paper identifies political elites as the main actors of electoral reform processes in selected countries, and it tries to explain both motivations of political elites for changing status quo electoral systems and other circumstances of electoral reform processes in Central Europe as well. The analysis also suggests that processes of electoral reform in post-transitional period i...
The case study presented in this paper applies the business-fi rm party concept to two political ... more The case study presented in this paper applies the business-fi rm party concept to two political entities active in the Czech party system aft er 2010: the Public Aff airs Party (VV) and the Action of Dissatisfi ed Citizens (ANO 2011) movement. We assess whether these actors meet the criteria of the business-fi rm party model and, thus, whether they can be considered representatives of this type of political party in the Czech Republic. The study concludes with a comparison of VV and ANO 2011 as two possible variations on what is known as the business-fi rm party model.
After the relatively turbulent development of the Slovak party politics in the 1990s, as a result... more After the relatively turbulent development of the Slovak party politics in the 1990s, as a result of which it was possible to conclude in the middle of the 2000s that the crystallization of the Slovak party system was still not completed, the party system began to gradually settle since the 2002 parliamentary elections. However, this trend was more seriously disturbed by the results of the most recent parliamentary elections held in March 2016, which have been even characterized as a political earthquake. Thus, the overarching goal of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of Slovak party system since 2002 regarding its size and stability, with a special focus on the most recent elections. The paper employs a multi- component conceptualization of party system stability, in terms of effective number of parties, party system continuity, and electoral volatility. The analysis largely confirmed the thesis about the political earthquake in Slovakia in the connection with 2016 parliamentar...
This study analyses the genesis, implementation and application of direct presidential elections ... more This study analyses the genesis, implementation and application of direct presidential elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It deals with the reasons and circumstances that led from indirect to direct elections, with emphasis on differences in both analyzed countries. The object of study is not to argue for or against the direct election, but to put the appropriate constitutional and political reform in the broader framework of the Czech and Slovak post-1993 developments.
The authors explored the research methods of the manifold studies on online political communicati... more The authors explored the research methods of the manifold studies on online political communication published in nine selected scientific journals over an 8-year period stretching from the beginning of 2009 to March 2017 and systematized the results into a comprehensive, methodological, “state-of-the-art” report. The main findings are that the most frequent method of researching online political communication is the quantitative or qualitative content analysis. Still, recurrent is the combination of methodological approaches, where the quantitative and qualitative techniques complement each other. Moreover, the research of political communication in general, but online especially, has become more an interdisciplinary field. Yet the collection and analysis of data from new media and social networks requires more and more advanced expert skills.
The quantitative analysis focuses on the effects of a single nationwide electoral district on pro... more The quantitative analysis focuses on the effects of a single nationwide electoral district on proportionality of seats–votes shares (Least Squares Index) and proportionality of territorial representation (advantage ratio index at the individual level and an adaptation of distortion index at the aggregate level) in the Slovak parliamentary elections. The case study concludes that the metropolitan area (the Bratislava Region) is strongly over-represented in the Slovak parliament while other regions are under-represented. At the same time, the analysis showed that seats - votes proportionality and proportionality of territorial representation are not necessarily opposing principles. For example, the mechanism of the electoral system to the German Bundestag makes clear that it is possible to maintain a high degree of both of them
Modern democratic political systems are hardly conceivable without political representation. This... more Modern democratic political systems are hardly conceivable without political representation. This also applies to the European Union, a unique international organisation with a directly elected and fully-fledged assembly representing the EU citizens. Because geography is central to the operation of almost all electoral systems and the European Parliament is the first transnational assembly based on the Member States representation, the paper explores the spatial aspect of the composition of the European Parliament resulting from the 2019 election. The representation in the European Parliament may be degressively proportional, which implies malapportionment of seats across the EU Member States. The paper, thus, seeks to quantify the malapportionment in the 2019 election at both the aggregate level (by the adaption of Loosemore and Hanby´s distortion index) and individual level (advantage ratio and the value of a vote). It concludes malapportionment was just below 14,5% of the total s...
Předložený text představuje diachronní analýzu procesu rozdělování křesel v Evropském parlamentu ... more Předložený text představuje diachronní analýzu procesu rozdělování křesel v Evropském parlamentu od okamžiku jeho vzniku až k nadcházejícím volbám, a sice s cílem kvantifikovat princip sestupné poměrnosti a zodpovědět, zda existuje poměrné sestupné zastoupení v Evropském parlamentu. Analýza využívá statistických metod běžně užívaných pro měření volební disproporcionality; hodnotu hlasu (průměrný počet hlasů na mandát) a index zvýhodnění (míra nadreprezentace/podreprezentace jednotlivých členských zemí) na individuální úrovni, a míra nerovnoměrnosti (nepoměrnosti) rozdělení křesel na agregované úrovni (pomocí adaptace indexu distorze). Článek dochází k závěru, že od roku 2004 není poměrné sestupné zastoupení v Evropském parlamentu. Přerozdělení křesel v důsledku Brexitu nicméně přiblížilo rozdělení křesel principu poměrné sestupnosti, jakkoli nadále zůstává jedna výjimka v důsledku neformální dohody o tom, že žádná členská země nebude mít nižší počet poslanců v Evropském parlamentu, ...
Political Communication and European Parliamentary Elections in Times of Crisis, 2017
It was in 1983 that one of the earliest comparative European studies on election campaigning was ... more It was in 1983 that one of the earliest comparative European studies on election campaigning was published. The study was initiated by Jay Blumler, and the authors included in the edited volume analysed the 1979 European Parliament (EP) election campaign (see Blumler 1983). Fifteen contributors focused on campaigning, and especially on the role of television broadcasting, in all the nine European Community member states in the 1979 EP elections. One of the leading ideas was that European elections, as a simultaneous and common event, offered a unique opportunity for a cross-national comparative analysis of campaigning in Western European democracies. Since then, analyses of European elections campaigning have been an important and integral part of both political communication and European election studies.
The paper explores and analyses processes of electoral reforms in selected Central European count... more The paper explores and analyses processes of electoral reforms in selected Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia) in post-transitional period. The qualitative analysis focuses “only” on the enacted changes in electoral systems and its purpose is not to evaluate the impact and political consequences of individual changes but rather to concentrate, through a theoretically-informed detailed contextual analysis, on the electoral reform process itself. It is therefore concerned with contextual factors affecting, underlying, initiating and/or controlling these changes. The paper identifies political elites as the main actors of electoral reform processes in selected countries, and it tries to explain both motivations of political elites for changing status quo electoral systems and other circumstances of electoral reform processes in Central Europe as well. The analysis also suggests that processes of electoral reform in post-transitional period i...
The case study presented in this paper applies the business-fi rm party concept to two political ... more The case study presented in this paper applies the business-fi rm party concept to two political entities active in the Czech party system aft er 2010: the Public Aff airs Party (VV) and the Action of Dissatisfi ed Citizens (ANO 2011) movement. We assess whether these actors meet the criteria of the business-fi rm party model and, thus, whether they can be considered representatives of this type of political party in the Czech Republic. The study concludes with a comparison of VV and ANO 2011 as two possible variations on what is known as the business-fi rm party model.
After the relatively turbulent development of the Slovak party politics in the 1990s, as a result... more After the relatively turbulent development of the Slovak party politics in the 1990s, as a result of which it was possible to conclude in the middle of the 2000s that the crystallization of the Slovak party system was still not completed, the party system began to gradually settle since the 2002 parliamentary elections. However, this trend was more seriously disturbed by the results of the most recent parliamentary elections held in March 2016, which have been even characterized as a political earthquake. Thus, the overarching goal of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of Slovak party system since 2002 regarding its size and stability, with a special focus on the most recent elections. The paper employs a multi- component conceptualization of party system stability, in terms of effective number of parties, party system continuity, and electoral volatility. The analysis largely confirmed the thesis about the political earthquake in Slovakia in the connection with 2016 parliamentar...
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Papers in English by Jakub Charvát
Papers by Jakub Charvát