Josef Mlejnek
Curriculum Vitae
PhDr. Josef Mlejnek, Ph.D.
Date of birth: 19. 1. 1969
Education:
Political science, Charles University (Mgr., graduated 1998);
Ph.D. Dissertation: Comparison of political transformation in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic after 1989 in terms of constitutional and electoral engineering. Charles University, 2005.
Occupation:
Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies, Department of Political Studies - lecturer.
Specialization:
Transitions to democracy; constitutional and electoral systems; communism and totalitarianism, history, culture and politics of Central and Eastern Europe; the relationship between politics, culture and religion.
Josef Mlejnek has long focused his research on the region of Central and Eastern Europe, its history and present, on the search for links between political systems, society, culture and religion. In recent years, he has focused his attention on Ukraine and the formation of Ukrainian national identity, especially in relation to the complicated religious and ecclesiastical scene in Eastern Europe. However, the communist past and its overlaps into the present, as well as the role of different forms of political systems, remain at the centre of his attention.
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2758-2269
Courses taught at IPS FSV UK:
JPM146 Transition to Democracy in Theory and Praxis
JPM147 Transition to Democracy in Theory and Praxis II
JPM150 Semi-Presidential Regimes in Post-Communist Europe
JPM158 Opposition in Totalitarian Regimes
JPM279 Totalitarianism and literature
JPM765 Ukrainian religious scene: politics, nationalism and identity
JPD036 Religion and politics - problems of research I and II.
PhDr. Josef Mlejnek, Ph.D.
Date of birth: 19. 1. 1969
Education:
Political science, Charles University (Mgr., graduated 1998);
Ph.D. Dissertation: Comparison of political transformation in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic after 1989 in terms of constitutional and electoral engineering. Charles University, 2005.
Occupation:
Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies, Department of Political Studies - lecturer.
Specialization:
Transitions to democracy; constitutional and electoral systems; communism and totalitarianism, history, culture and politics of Central and Eastern Europe; the relationship between politics, culture and religion.
Josef Mlejnek has long focused his research on the region of Central and Eastern Europe, its history and present, on the search for links between political systems, society, culture and religion. In recent years, he has focused his attention on Ukraine and the formation of Ukrainian national identity, especially in relation to the complicated religious and ecclesiastical scene in Eastern Europe. However, the communist past and its overlaps into the present, as well as the role of different forms of political systems, remain at the centre of his attention.
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2758-2269
Courses taught at IPS FSV UK:
JPM146 Transition to Democracy in Theory and Praxis
JPM147 Transition to Democracy in Theory and Praxis II
JPM150 Semi-Presidential Regimes in Post-Communist Europe
JPM158 Opposition in Totalitarian Regimes
JPM279 Totalitarianism and literature
JPM765 Ukrainian religious scene: politics, nationalism and identity
JPD036 Religion and politics - problems of research I and II.
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Books by Josef Mlejnek
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The book focuses on selected key moments, features and tendencies of the Ukrainian history, precisely from the perspective of their artistic (literary and cinematic) depiction and also the contradictory reception of this artistic reflection - not only in the Ukrainian artistic creation and collective memory, but also among Ukrainian neighbours, especially the Poles and Russians. It does so by analysing specific selected works of art and their cultural and historical context – Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol, the novel With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewicz and its 1999 film adaptation, the poem Poltava by Alexander Pushkin, the novel The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov, the Polish film Volyn by director Wojciech Smarzowski, two Ukrainian novels about the Stalinist famine from the 1930s (Ulas Samchuk: Marija and Vasyl Barka: The Yellow Prince) and the novel Temple by Oles Honchar.
It focuses on how the clash of specific historical concepts and identities is manifested in these works of art, whether and how they actually co-create or reinforce specific narratives, "shared ideas" according to Benedict Anderson, concepts or interpretations – Ukrainian, Russian and Polish and whether they therefore, intentionally or unintentionally, act as a specific weapon on the battlefield. Perhaps on the most important one, the battlefield for human souls or, more specifically, for beliefs, for value attitudes, which have a huge overlap with politics and are closely related to it because they potentially legitimise a particular political entity, especially the nation state, or other political or even directly military actions.
The book thus – in the specific manner indicated above – focuses on the complex relations between Ukrainians, Russians and Poles (between Ukraine, Russia and Poland) in the space of the borders of today's Ukraine and also in the "mental hyperspace" or "mental hyperspaces" that have no clear borders.
Other major „religious player“ in Ukraine is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which is not directly affected by the struggle for autocephaly, but indirectly most importantly affected. Although it is subordinate to the Vatican, it shares both the form of the ceremony (liturgy) and the historical origin (to which it professes intensively) with the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. The origin is derived from the Christianization of medieval Kievan Rus' by Prince Vladimir the Great in the late 10th century.
The controversy over the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy is a controversy within one branch of Christianity, although it also has a significant impact on the Greek Catholic, and hence the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, it is not a doctrinal conflict. It primarily concerns issues of national identity and state sovereignty. After all, religion forms a significant part of Russian and Ukrainian historical or national narrative.
This book focuses on the long-term struggle for autocephalous status for the Ukrainian Orthodoxy, both its historical roots and current stakeholders, and on the links between religion and nationalism.
Theoretically, it is based primarily on Rogers Brubaker's concept of „religion as overlapped or intertwined with nationalism“. However, particular forms of intertwining are modified by the author, given the nature of the case being researched. Identified forms of overlapping and intertwining appear to be essential, important to understanding the actions of major stakeholders. The book highlights that the ideological basis of the conflict over the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy is a clash of historical-religious mythologies, which are an example of intertwining of religion and nationalism. They also have the potential to significantly shape not only the ecclesiastical or religious scene of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but also the concept of national identity and value attitudes of inhabitants of both countries. The loss of Ukraine can seriously weaken the ROC and jeopardize the validity of some of the historical-religious concepts underpinning the ROC. With implications for the international political position of the Russian Federation.
The strong confluence of Orthodoxy with a national or state identity (according to some even the “Babylonian captivity” of Orthodoxy in statism and nationalism) generally hinders the acceptance of the Orthodox version of Christianity by members of nations that lack a similar religious tradition. Thus, it hinders evangelization and prevents Orthodoxy from becoming a true global player in a global struggle of ideas.
In any case, the concept of the interconnection of religion and nationalism appears to be a promising topic for further research, definitely in Central and Eastern Europe where national and religious identities are often closely interconnected in many ways. The relationship between religion and conservative national and political values certainly deserves greater attention.
Book chapters by Josef Mlejnek
Studie se zaměřuje na legendární volební autobus Miloše Zemana „Zemák“ z volebních kampaní v letech 1996 a 1998 a jeho problematické dědictví v české politice. Zároveň se snaží obrátit pozornost politologie k dosud přehlíženému fenoménu volebních vozidel, která mohou mít významný vliv na volební výsledek.
The reflection on the decision-making and attitudes of people in the twentieth century introduces the interpretation of selected ideas of the Russian philosopher and theologian Vladimir Solovyov, which then specifically illustrate selected moments or attitudes of prominent figures of Czechoslovak history of the 20th century. The text was written for the publication Moment of Decision - Life Choices at the Breaking Moment of 20th Century History.
A chapter from the book Dark Paths of Bright Tomorrow. A small syllabus of the phenomena of communism (Ostrava 2017). Written together with Petruska Šustrová.
The referendum as a problematic way of deciding on the example of the 1986 Spanish NATO membership referendum. The chapter from the book: Josef Mlejnek: Kuře v hrnci a křeček v kole. Česká politika a její transformace v kontextu civilizační krize. CDK, Brno 2015, s. 118–125.
"The position and role of the Ukrainian president since independence to presidential election in 2010"
This chapter analyzes the position of president in the political system of Ukraine. It also addresses the influence of the Orange Revolution on the institution of the president.
Papers by Josef Mlejnek
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Vladimir Putin ve své eseji „O historické jednotě Rusů a Ukrajinců“, ideovém základu současné ruské imperiální politiky, Skoropadského Hetmanát spolu s Ukrajinskou lidovou republikou interpretuje jako příklady skutečnosti, že ukrajinská samostatnost prý vždy znamenala umělou záležitost, podřízenou zájmům západních národů, Němců či Poláků. Bez ohledu na Skoropadského závislost na Němcích však Ukrajinci na sklonku první světové války a v letech po ní rozhodně prokazovali velkou vůli po samostatné existenci, a tedy i svojí historickou, kulturní a politickou svébytnost.
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In his essay “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians”—the ideological foundation of contemporary Russian imperial policy—Vladimir Putin interprets Skoropadsky’s Hetmanate, along with the Ukrainian People’s Republic, as examples of the fact that Ukrainian independence has allegedly always been an artificial construct, subordinate to the interests of Western nations, such as the Germans or Poles. Regardless of Skoropadsky’s dependence on the Germans, however, Ukrainians at the end of World War I and in the years that followed certainly demonstrated a strong desire for an independent existence, and thus their own historical, cultural, and political identity.
A monstrous Palace of the Soviets with a large statue of Lenin on top was to be built on the site of the cathedral. However, due to the war, the building was never constructed.
The construction of a replica of the cathedral, which took place in the 1990s, was criticized from the outset as an overly expensive, even megalomaniacal project that benefited construction companies with corrupt ties to the Moscow City Hall and the clan around then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
However, Yeltsin was also motivated by political considerations and an effort to fill the ideological vacuum left after the end of the communist regime. "It is a Russian national sacred site and must be reborn," the Russian president said in 1994, explaining the restoration of the cathedral. Yeltsin thus paved the way for Vladimir Putin to continue at full force. The alliance between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state is one of the main ideological and political pillars of Putin's regime and Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
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Bylo to pro carskou říši velké ponížení. Dne 30. března roku 1856 skončila podpisem Pařížské smlouvy krymská válka, jedno z největších válečných střetnutí poloviny devatenáctého století. Rusko, které se předtím, díky napoleonským válkám, dostalo do pozice „četníka Evropy“ a představovalo jednu z hlavních světových mocností, v ní utrpělo fatální porážku. V konfliktu se totiž výrazně projevila technologická převaha Velké Británie a Francie a rovněž řada dalších rysů pozdějších moderních válek, včetně mediálního zpravodajství s velkým vlivem na veřejné mínění.
Román Herberta George Wellse The World Set Free neboli Osvobozený svět sice knižně vyšel již roku 1914, avšak jeho autor v něm plasticky vylíčil příčiny i důsledky globálního jaderného konfliktu. Ale třeba též sociální krizi, kdy většinu lidských pracovních pozic nahradí strojová výroba, poháněná (v románu) levnou atomovou energií.
Does the direct election of the Czech president strengthen his real power, or are other factors decisive? The article compares two indirectly elected Czech presidents, Václav Havel and Václav Klaus, with the first directly elected president, Miloš Zeman. It attempts to highlight factors and facts that could provide answers to the above question.