Capacities of Governance in the Czech Republic

This is a book on the problems and perspectives of governance in the Czech Republic. Here the focus is on the specific internal factors that influence the quality and capacity of governance in the Czech Republic as well as on the international context, where apart from the globalization processes the major factor is the inclusion of the Czech Republic in the institutional structures of the European Union.

Strategic Choices for Czech Society: Theoretical Solutions

The book offers theoretical solutions enabling a more thorough definition of the strategic challenges and implications facing the Czech Republic. Firmer foundations are provided for the probe in the impact of globalization and European integration on the Czech Republic as well as the delineation of its inner roles and development trends. The focus is on the dynamically developing correlation of three key regulators of people and institutions: market, state and the civic sector. The book identifies the resources and capitals the society has to find adequate responses to key challenges. The social and cultural factors of development are discussed. An explanation of the complex coexistence of the public and the elites is provided. The book specifies the criteria of desirable development of Czech society, namely the quality and sustainability of life (whereby the criteria of desirable development of Czech society are given priority, namely quality and sustainability of life including economic growth, social justice in conjunction with social cohesion, and ecological responsibility and safety). Finally the book discusses the nature and pre-requisites of strategic governance as a tool to implement strategic choices.

Leadership of Czech Elites

"Leader" and "leadership" evoke unpleasant reminiscences in the large part of the Czech population of the two totalitarian regimes that ruled the country for the best part of the 20th century. One of them was fascism with its "fuehrerprinzip", and he second was socialism with its infamous cult of proletarian leaders. Thus, leadership seemed to have been forever stigmatized by the likes of Hitler and Stalin. But few people deny that a prosperous company needs well-doing elite while citizens willingly and obediently follow their leaders of their own free will. The Czech elites also want but fail to be leaders of society. In public eyes, they are not the right elites as they lack the image of competent and incorruptible people in the right place.

Czechs love to see their elites brought down to their knees in plebeian dirt and nobody seems to be in a position to join the elite rank of leader. Elites are happy pretending leadership while the general public excuses its shortcomings by the bad example put out by the elites. Both sides are in fact happy to share a less-demanding environment.

Mental Health Care Reform in the Czech and Slovak Republics, 1989 to the Present

This book is a result of a longterm cooperation of the Center for Social and Economic Strategies of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University in Prague with The School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley. Since 2002 both institutions have been cooperating on project "Finance and Delivery of Mental Health Services in Central and Eastern Europe", which aim is realization of highly qualified interdisciplinary studies in the USA for post-doctoral economists, sociologists, psychologists, physicians, or post-doctoral students of other social and political sciences from the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania.

• The Forgotten Problem of Mental Illness: Lost Opportunities and Glimmers of Hope

• The History of Mental Health Care in Czechoslovakia

• Mental Health Status of the Czech and Slovak Populations

• Mental Health Policies and Legislation

• Organizational Structures

• Promotion, Prevention and Treatment

• Financing Mental Health Care

• Advocacy, Stigma, and Self-Help

• Human Resources and Training

• Research and Evaluation

Chapters on Security

The book Chapters on Security takes the broad context to study the process of ensuring the security of the Czech Republic on national and international level. Its chapters deal with the theoretical aspects of security, the legal and economic dimensions of providing security and the functional structure, mutual relationships and components of a security system. Attention is paid also to the international security framework, especially in view of the Czech Republic's membership in the EU and NATO.

Analysis and Creation of Public Policies: Approaches, methods and practical solutions

The book is intended for those who analyse and shape public policies and look for ideas to hone their craft. In its first part, the book discusses the foundations of public policy as a scientific discipline: the reader will discover how this discipline originated, what documents can result from the political process, and what theories actually make the process of shaping policies roll. The reader will receive guidance on how to analyse and

formulate a public policy and what makes a public policy analyst. The second part of the book, devoted to the methods and methodologies of analysing and creating public policies is structured along the basic model of the policy analysis process – ranging from problem delineation to selecting a solution to implementation and evaluation. Nor is there forgotten the important question of general methodology of research in public policy and a survey is provided of the basic methods of data collection and analysis.

The book addresses the following issues:

What is an internal policy problem and how it should be solved?

How best to define public policy goals and criteria?

Where to find variant solutions of problems?

How to forecast the results and effects of certain policies?

How to compare variant public policies?

How best to implement approved policies?

How to measure and evaluate outcomes of public policies and programmes?