Consultants: Andrew Arato, Jose Casanova

The general aim of this course is to reflect with students (teach students reflecting) upon the historical, political and social circumstances under which the current change in political regimes of East and Central Europe has occurred. The change will be examined in the context of the epochal situation (of late modernity), the guiding political ideal (of liberal democracy), and the dominant pattern of social culture (of individualism and welfare expectations). This should provide the basic framework for understanding of what is unique about the concrete political and social processes underway in the region, as well as of what are their actual possible consequences. At points, comparison will be made with countries of other geo-political regions (South Europe, South America).

The course will start with discussing the variety of perspectives from which the initial change of 1989 has been interpreted. Then it will proceed to examining the process of formation of a new political system and mechanisms of political participation. Here the strategies of major political subjects and the role of the public will be taken into account. The economic and social aspects of the transformation will especially be treated in relation to the most recent political developments in the region. Among the authors read in the course there will be Arato, Arnasson, Ash, Dahrendorf, Elster, Habermas, Michnik, Offe, Przeworski, Touraine et al.

Teachers of the Graduate Faculty have been among the leading scholars involved in the international discussion of the recent transformation processes in the East and Central Europe and elsewhere. The professional experience and erudition of professors Arato, Casanova, Goldfarb, and others guarantee a well-qualified guide provided in establishing a course based on a rich interpretative framework in the given field. Within such framework, various aspects of the political, economic, and social transformation will be presented to students of the region in theoretical perspectives that will contribute to their better understanding.

Consultants: David Plotke, Andrew Arato, Charles Tilly

The aim of the course is to present the current Czech political and academic discussion on (the political role of) civil society and citizenship in a larger historical and theoretical framework. The central question is: what sense does it make to speak about civil society and citizenship today? The two concepts will be discussed as distinctive political symbols of modern society. The context (of early modernity) in which they emerged will be confronted with the meaning and value they acquire in contemporary liberal democracy. Here the course will proceed by way of confrontation of more recent theoretical defenses of and polemics with the concept of civil society.

The course will especially focus upon the (mechanisms of) interaction between the agencies of political decision-making and social actors in liberal democracies. It will examine the historical roots of the modern distinction between the state and society, and the ways it is treated in various theoretical-political traditions or perspectives. The status of "the political" and "the private", in relation to the concept of citizenship, will also be discussed along this pattern. Special attention will be paid to the status and role of civic associations like political parties, social movements, trade unions, the Church, etc. Theoretical perspectives treated will be employed in interpreting the concrete process of (re-) building the public sphere in the Czech Republic and other countries of the region undergoing political transition. Besides classical texts by Locke, Rousseau, Tocqueville, Hegel, Marx, the class will read from among authors like Arendt, Bobbio, Cohen & Arato, Havel, Keane, Luhmann, Parsons, and /or others.

The course will be set up in a close cooperation with the recently established Committee for the Study of Democracy at the Graduate Faculty. The teaching experience and professional reputation of its members in the given field guarantee a high standard of tutorial provided to this course. The members' commitment to an engaged study of foundations of democracy, processes of democratization, different democratic models, and threats to democracy will help in introducing this type of interdisciplinary study in the region upon which they alone particularly focus.