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Despite their similar contexts, the Czech and Slovak memberships in the EU have developed in fundamentally different ways. Whilst Czechia has cast itself as a somewhat half-hearted, reluctant EU member state, Slovakia’s approach to the union has been more positive, with enthusiasm for deepening integration with the EU. Our analysis reveals that, despite some similarities, these differences also pertain to the patterns of discursive legitimisation of the EU within the official Czech and Slovak governmental discourses, underscoring the complexity and multifaceted nature of these processes in post-communist contexts. Working with a comprehensive dataset of official Czech and Slovak government documents, we investigate how, and interpret the ways in which, the EU has been discursively legitimised in the two countries between 2004 and 2023. To that end, we draw on insights from discursive institutionalism theory and adopt the general orientation of discourse historical analysis. We show that while the procedural legitimisation of the EU is a key element in the discursive practices of both the Czech and Slovak governments, the ideational dimension of legitimisation manifests especially within the Slovak discourse.

Despite their similar contexts, the Czech and Slovak memberships in the EU have developed in fundamentally different ways. Whilst Czechia has cast itself as a somewhat half-hearted, reluctant EU member state, Slovakia’s approach to the union has been more positive, with enthusiasm for deepening integration with the EU. Our analysis reveals that, despite some similarities, these differences also pertain to the patterns of discursive legitimisation of the EU within the official Czech and Slovak governmental discourses, underscoring the complexity and multifaceted nature of these processes in post-communist contexts. Working with a comprehensive dataset of official Czech and Slovak government documents, we investigate how, and interpret the ways in which, the EU has been discursively legitimised in the two countries between 2004 and 2023. To that end, we draw on insights from discursive institutionalism theory and adopt the general orientation of discourse historical analysis. We show that while the procedural legitimisation of the EU is a key element in the discursive practices of both the Czech and Slovak governments, the ideational dimension of legitimisation manifests especially within the Slovak discourse.

The process of European integration in the case of Kosovo has shown a domestic transformation which tries to be built on European values and standards. Henceforth, this paper tries to analyze the impact of European standards on the public administration of Kosovo through the lens of the Europeanization theories. In this study we attempt to analyze the degree of Europeanization of Kosovo‟s public administration by assessing the EU Progress Reports and SIGMA assessments. Later, in this paper we assess the main obstacles (veto points) hindering this process by weighting them with the factors of willingness and capability. The main goal of this study is to provide an understanding on the changes that have taken place, the pace of the changes, the direction of the changes, and the speed of the changes as well as factors affecting this change. From the conclusions we can say that Kosovo‟s public administration shares European features, but it has a long way ahead to reach the entrance doors of the EU.

The process of European integration in the case of Kosovo has shown a domestic transformation which tries to be built on European values and standards. Henceforth, this paper tries to analyze the impact of European standards on the public administration of Kosovo through the lens of the Europeanization theories. In this study we attempt to analyze the degree of Europeanization of Kosovo‟s public administration by assessing the EU Progress Reports and SIGMA assessments. Later, in this paper we assess the main obstacles (veto points) hindering this process by weighting them with the factors of willingness and capability. The main goal of this study is to provide an understanding on the changes that have taken place, the pace of the changes, the direction of the changes, and the speed of the changes as well as factors affecting this change. From the conclusions we can say that Kosovo‟s public administration shares European features, but it has a long way ahead to reach the entrance doors of the EU.

This article studies the issue of a typological categorization for the Czech party system. The author works from Sartori’s concepts of moderate and polarized pluralism; the reasons for using this concept are laid out in the theoretical part of the text. An analysis of individual phases of development of the Czech party system shows that until the middle part of the last decade the Czech party system could not be fit into a single type. However, analysis of the current form of the Czech party system at the electoral and parliamentary levels shows that the today’s Czech multi-party system displays the characteristics of a moderate pluralism.

The article deals with the potential impact of the electoral system on the party system. The general discussion, based on Duverger’s and Sartori’s electoral rules, concludes with an assessment of the Austrian case. Austrian party system development is examined with regard to the evolution of the country’s proportional representation electoral system. The author tries to find more relevant explanations for the changes within the Austrian party system’s logic of functioning other than the electoral system, such as the de-alignment of voters and the changing structure of cleavages. In order to show another factor shaping the Austrian party system arrangement, the author tries to discuss not only recent development since the mid 1980s, but he also evaluates the Austrian First Republic and the period from 1945 to 1986 . The article concludes with the argument that Duverger’s and Sartori’s electoral rules could be useful in discussing party system format but they have very little to say when party system mechanics is concerned.