Sociologists studying the renewal of local government in post-communist Central European countries have formulated a hypothesis that local politics are becoming increasingly politicised. Political scientists focusing on local coalitions have provided a tool for examining this politicisation. This article is based on a secondary analysis of research to date on local political elites and compares their outcomes with the conclusions of the author's recent study of a panel of municipalities that was previously studied by Czech researchers in the early 1990s.The structure of local representation, the attitudes of municipal representatives, and the structure of local coalitions have not fulfilled the expected increased politicisation. The most important determinant is still the size of a municipality. Nevertheless, its influence can be modified by other factors, for example, institutional variables. Detailed observations on the origins of local coalitions and how they change indicate the scope and limits of this method for analysing the behaviour of local political elites.
In my thesis I covered the topic of biblical and Christian „silence and speaking“ tradition and also the question of communication between men and God. As the biblical tradition shows, word in Christian tradition has a central meaning: It not only creates everything but it is the actual God. Generally we can say that both man’s and God’s speaking are stressed at the beginning of a Christian spiritual way, and in my opinion the God - man communication happens in the unconscious (colletive) -conscious (personal) sphere. Gradually the verbal (man-initiated) and later also the nonverbal - sensual and thought-communication withdraws. The following way of communication is very difficult to describe or explain because even people themselves can’t explain how they communicate with God. According to God’s words man „simply is“ with him (or in him?). This state is described as contemplation. It is thought to be the aim of a Christian life, therefore I think that to evaluate Christianity as a „spirituality of speaking" is quite superficial and not exact. The question of unsufficiency of natural language is connected with contemplation. Its awareness has been present in Christianity from the beginning.
The article deals with the conceptualisation of the issue of European integration from the perspective of cleavages. First, the author presents 'post-Rokkanian' politics as a metaphor for the current composition of European societies and subsequently more fluid ties between parties and voters in the political space. The effects that lead to the re-conceptualising of the cleavage concept are discussed within this context. In agreement with Bartolini and Mair, cleavages are seen as the combination of a societal division, a value element and an element of political organisation, but more emphasis is put on the active structuration of social and political conflicts by political parties. Second, the author analyses European integration observed in terms of its cleavage-producing potential. The main argument is based on a specific feature of 'European' cleavages, which combine both functional and territorial dimensions that reflect social and political structures. Only in cases where different aspects of these dimensions are reinforced do 'European' cleavages emerge.