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Czech Civil Sector – Transition, Consolidation, Perspectives

Class at Faculty of Arts |
AAN500033

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Aims:

The main aim of the course is to give students a critical understanding of the role of civil sector in the process of political transformation and modernization in the Czech Republic during the last 24 years. Following the fall of Communism in 1989 the civil sectors in the Czech Republic were re-established after the several decades of communist totality. The most obvious evidence of that is the rapid growth in the number of civil society organizations (CSOs) during the last decade of 20 century. In spite of this impressive growth, the size and society position of civil sectors in the Czech Republic remains relatively limited. The lecture gives answers on the questions what are the origins of CSOs proliferation and why is the process of civil sector consolidation so difficult? What was the role of outside (western) assistance in the sector consolidation? What effects of "Path Dependence" have decisive impact on the shape of the sector internal structure and on the consolidation processes as such? What are the anomalies in civil sectors development in the Czech Republic in comparison with their western counterparts? What are the main achievements of the civil sector consolidation and what are the main failures? What are the effects of learning within civil society on active citizenship? As theoretical background for identification and explanation of the mentioned factors, effects and problems will be used set of economic, sociological and politological theories (Theory of the (Market / State) Failure, Theory of Confidence, Welfare State Theory, The Resource Mobilization Theory, The Theory of Political Opportunity Structure, The Collective Identity Theory…)

Objectives: By the end of the course, you will have acquired: 1. understanding of the theoretical background of the organized civil society development. 2. an awareness of the key issues of the political developments in the Czech Republic and its influence on civil society consolidation. 3. understanding of the Path Dependence Effects on Civil Society internal structure and consolidation process 4. knowledge of how to analyze and compare the basic parameters of Civil Sector development.

Teaching & Learning Methods: Number of Hours:

Lectures + seminars 20

Essays writing 6

Assessment: 80% examination; 20% coursework.

The coursework consists of essays writing.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 1. Participation on lectures 2. Mandatory literature reading 3. Essays writing a. topic: an analysis of particular aspect of civil society in the Czech Republic b. size: 5 pages c. date of delivering: the last lecture d. form: electronic 4. Oral exam

Core Mandatory Texts:

Frič Pavol and Goulli Rochdi and Toepler Stefan et. al. (1999)

The Czech Republic. In: Salamon Lester M. et al. Global Civil Society: Profiles of the Nonprofit Sector. Baltimore: MD, Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, pp. 285-303. (ISBN 1-886333-42-4)

Frič, P., Goulli R. and Vyskočilová O. (2004).

Small Development within the Bureaucracy Interests. In A. Zimmer, E. Priler (eds.), Future of Civil Society. Making Central European Nonprofit-Organisations Work, VS

VERLAG Für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp. 601-633.

Frič, P. (2009). The third sector and the policy process in the Czech Republic: self-limiting dynamics. In: Kendall J. Handbook on Third Sector Policy in Europe: Multi-level Process and Organized Civil Society. Cheltemham: Edward Elgar, pp. 184-208.

Vajdová, T. (2005). An Assessment of Czech Civil Society in 2004: After Fifteen Years of

Development. Civicus Civil Society Index Report for the Czech Republic. Praha: NROS and Charles University.

Selective Mandatory Texts:

For each lecture the students should reed one text according their own choice in the following list of litrature:

Course Structure 1. Historical Roots of the Czech Civil Sector - The Main Historical Periods, Historical Discontinuity, Communist Darkness, Patterns of Civil Society Life, Dissidents and Fall of Communism, Civil Sector Structure (Old and New CSOs).

Frič P., Deverová L., Pajas P. and Šilhánová H. (1998)

Defining the Nonprofit Sector: The Czech Republic. The Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, Institute for Policy Studies, JHU, Baltimore, Working Paper No. 27.

Pospíšil Miroslav (2009)

History of the Czech Nonprofit Sector. Brno: CVNS.

Potůček M. (2000)

The Uneasy Birth of Czech Civil Society. Voluntas, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 107-121.

Skovajsa Marek (2008)

Independent and Broader Civil Societyin East-Central European Democratizations. Taiwan Journal of Democracy, Volume 4, No.2: 47-73 2. Consolidation of Civil Sector after 1989 - Achievements in Size (employment, membership, number of CSOs), Theories of CSOs Origins, Market Failure, State Failure, Contract Failure, Resources mobilization, Political Opportunity Structure, Collective Identity, Structural Consolidation an Structural Anomalies, Legal Environment.

Frič Pavol (2004)

The Third Sector in Central and Eastern Europe. In: European Foundations and Grant-Making NGOs. London and New York: Europa Publications, Tailor and Francis Group, 10-15s.

Kuti E. (1999)

Different Eastern European countries at different crossroads. In: VOLUNTAS, Vol. 10, No. 1.

Leś E. (1994)

The Voluntary Sector in Post-Communist East Central Europe. Washington DC, CIVICUS

Potůček M. (2000)

The Uneasy Birth of Czech Civil Society. Voluntas, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 107-121.

Siegel D. and Yancey J. (1992)

The Rebirth of Civil Society: The Development of Nonprofit Sector in East Central Europe and the role of Western Assistance. New York: The Rockefellr Brothers Fund.

Howard Marc Morjé, Postcommunist Civil Society in Comparative Perspective. DEMOKRATIZATSIYA. 3. Political Developments after 1989, their Impact on the Civil Sector - Building Democracy after 1989, Totalitarian Regime Comeback Threat, Politicians and CSOs Coalition, Building the System Of Political Parties, Dissidents Political Failure, Representative vs Participatory Democracy.

Anheier, H. - Seibel, W. (Eds.) (1990)

The Third Sector: Comparative Studies of Nonprofit Organizations. Berlin - New York: De Gruyter

Dvořáková V. (2003) Civil Society in the Czech Republic: "Impulse 99" and "Thank You, Time To Go". In: Kopecký P. and Mudde C. eds. Uncivil Society?: Contentious Politics in Post-Communist Europe. London: Routledge.

Fagin, A. (1997)

"Transition to Democracy in the Czech Republic: The Concept of Civil Society." The Practice of Civil Society. pp 573-580. Middlesex University.

Frič P. (2005)

The third sector and the policy process in the Czech Republic. LSE, Centre for Civil Society: Third Sector European Policy Working Papers, No. 6, June 2005.

Antoni Z. Kaminski and Bartlomiej Kaminski (2009) Trajectories of Transition from Communism: Bumps, Exits and Deviations. Paper prepared for the conference "1989: Twenty Years After" to be held at the University of California, Irvine, on November 5-8, 2009. 4. Public Policy and Civil Sector - Three Main Policy Dilemmas, Legal Framework Building, System of Public Funding, "State Nonprofit Sector", Policy Inconsistency, Lack of Political Will, Failure of Big Politics.

Frič Pavol and Martin Bútora (2003)

The role of Non Profit Sector in Public Policy. In: Potůček Martin, Leloup Lance T., Jenei György, Váradi László, Public policy in Central and Eastern Europe: Theories, Methods, Practices. Bratislava: NISPACEE.

Frič P. (2005)

The third sector and the policy process in the Czech Republic. LSE, Centre for Civil Society: Third Sector European Policy Working Papers, No. 6, June 2005.

Potůček M. (2003)

Policy Coordination: Government, Markets, and the Civic Sector. In: Potůček Martin, Leloup Lance T., Jenei György, Váradi László, Public policy in Central and Eastern Europe: Theories, Methods, Practices. Bratislava: NISPACEE.

Potůček M. (2000)

The Uneasy Birth of Czech Civil Society. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 107-121. 5. Government - Civil Sector Relationships - Main Theories, Civil Society Diversity, Institutionalization of Co-Operation, Partnership Models, Problems of Partnership, Informal model of Co-Operation, Negative Stereotypes.

Simone Chambers, Jeffrey Kopstein. 2008. Civil Society and the State. In: The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory, pp. 364-380. http://individual.utoronto.ca/kopstein/publications/civil_society_and_the_state.pdf

Frič, Pavol. 2008. The Uneasy Partnership of the State and the Third Sector in Czech Republic. In: The Third Sector in Europe: Trends and Challenges. Edited by Stephen P. Osborne, Oxon: Routledge, s. 230-255. ISBN 0-415-42339-2 (hbk)

Jordan P. (1997)

Non-governmental organizations and the Public Administration: Cooperation or Separation? Known- Unknown Sector Roczniak, 1: 79-84. Warsaw.

Rymsza, M. and Zimmer, A. 2004. Embededness of Nonprofit Organizations: Government - nonprofit Relationship. In: Zimmer A., Priler E. (Eds.) Future of Civil Society. Making Central European Nonprofit-Organizations Work. Wiesbaden: VS VERLAG Für Sozialwissenschaften, pp. 169-197.

Salamon, Lester M.-Anheier, Helmut K. (1994)

The Emerging Sector. The Nonprofit Sector in Coparative perspective - An Overview. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University.

Salamon L. M. et. Al., (1999)

So What? The Impact of the Nonprofit Sector in Comparative Perspective. Paper prepared for presentation at the 28 the Annual Conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit organizations and voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Arlington, VA, November 4-6. 6. Civil Sector Community Development - organizational structure, split between old and new organizations, infrastructure, coalition formation, plurality of coalitions, umbrella