Political Sociology of Central Europe
Section outline
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- topic and requirements to the exam
- introducing the concept of Central Europe
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democratic transition (1989) and post-communism
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European Union accession (2004) and the Europeanization process
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Students mustMark as done
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Students mustMark as done
Compulsory reading for the seminar!
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Students mustMark as done
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Students mustMark as done
Submit 3 discussion questions and a summary (300-word length) of Kundera's "The Tragedy of Central Europe". Due by February 27 (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.
A summary is a short overview of the main points of a text. If not sure what a summary is, this article might help.
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main political features of the democracies within the CE region
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patterns of participation and trust
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- associational sphere under communist regime
- challenges of post-communist civil society, foreign funding
- the case of environmental NGOs in the pre-accession period
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Students mustMark as done
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- current trends in the civic sector: professionalization of NGOs vs. informal activism, networking, anti-Soros sentiments
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Students mustMark as done
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Students mustMark as done
Submit 3 discussion questions and a summary (300-word length) of Polanska's “Going against institutionalization: New forms of urban activism in Poland”. Due by March 20 (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.
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public sphere and deliberative democracy, mass mediated political communication, Europeanization of national public spheres
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Students mustMark as done
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Lecture-free week for catching up with literature and completing the midterm test (via Moodle).
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Happy Easter!
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Students mustMark as done
Submit your topic for final essay till 24 April. List five academic resources you plan to use.
You are welcome to use background readings listed in the syllabus. Five compulsory readings from this course (Devaux, Howard, Koopmans, Kundera, Polanska) are possible to use but not counted.
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- the illiberal turn in Central Europe, democratic backsliding, threats to democracy
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Students mustMark as done
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Students mustMark as done
Important context:
On the 12th of September, the European Parliament (EP) took an unprecedented step of triggering a disciplinary procedure against Hungary. EP voted on the so called Sargentini Report, condemning the anti-democratic turn of Hungary and initiating the procedure related to Article 7 (1) of the Treaty. The sanctions that may follow would be the strongest action the EU can take when there is a clear risk that a Member State is seriously breaching fundamental values such as democracy, the rule of law or respect for human rights.
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Students mustReceive a grade
Read the article and watch the video below. Then, elaborate on these questions (min. 300-word length altogether):
- Who are the "new xenophobes" of the Visegrád group?
- What are the main arguments in Orbán's speech?
- What's your judgement of Orbán? What impression does he make on you?
Also include 3 questions for discussion!
Due by April 10 (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.
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Euroscepticism and Eurocriticism in Central Europe
- nationalism
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politicization of Europe
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the recent case of the “Refugee crisis” / “Schengen crisis”
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Students mustReceive a grade
Read the article and watch the video below. Then, elaborate on these questions (min. 300-word length altogether):
- Why the Visegrad countries refuse mandatory relocation of refugees?
- What are the main arguments in Kaczynski's speech?
- What's your judgement of Kaczynski? What impression does he make on you?
Also include 3 questions for discussion!
Due by May 1st (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.
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Students mustMark as done
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Students mustMark as done
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forms and types of populism
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Hungarian Case (Orbán)
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Students mustMark as done
This time, you do not have to read or watch anything. Just give us your thoughts on the following questions (min. 300-word length altogether):
- What is populism in your point of view? How would you define it? Can you name some examples?
- Does populism in CE differ from the West? What are the common features and what are the differences between them?
- How does populism threaten liberal democracy? And is it really a threat?
Do not forget to include your own 3 questions for discussion!
Due by May 8 (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.
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- feminism in CE
- the case of the Black Protest
- anti-gender movement
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Students mustMark as done
This time, your task is not so much related to the upcoming lecture. We want to ask you to write a commentary on the subject of the whole course - Central Europe. Considering the topics of the lectures, do you think it is reasonable to use the concept of Central Europe? Or is it outdated and irrelevant? What are the common features of CE today? Have you changed your view on CE during the course? (300 words)
Regarding the next topic of gender and feminism, please formulate three discussion questions or your own queries you are wondering about. What would you like to know about this topic in the context of CE?
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Students mustMark as done
Submit your final essay (min. 2000 words) by 17th June 2019 (23:59).
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