Obstructionism in Czech Legislative Process

This Diploma Thesis deals with obstructions within the legislative process of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, more precisely in hearings at the Lower House. The aim of the thesis is to describe the phenomenon of obstructions and their importance in the legislative process. In the beginning, the author establishes three basic research questions, which he then tries to answer through quantitative methods. Firstly, the author answers the question whether either site of the ideological spectrum tends to use the tactic of obstruction more often. Secondly, he inquires whether there are any differences between the obstructions of a right-wing or a left-wing party. Finally, the author aims to clarify if the long-established parties in the Chamber of Deputies have an advantage in the practice of obstructions and thus are more successful in it than new parties are. The text is divided into three separate chapters with a logical structure starting from theoretical themes and continuing with an empirical analysis. The first part, which is purely theoretical, is followed by a chapter dealing with the legislative process which can be considered as a transition between the theoretical and empirical parts. The following chapter is based on empiricism and analyses stenographic records and interviews with the representatives of political parties. The carried out analyses suggest that it is impossible to state clearly which site of the ideological spectrum tends to use the tactic of obstruction more often, as in the majority of cases parties using this tactic find themselves in the opposition. However, while obstructing, both left-wing and right-wing parties use almost identical tools. Ultimately, it can be stated that parties represented in the House of Deputies for a long period are not more successful in practicing obstructions than other parties, even though they use strategies that are more sophisticated.