faq

Think tanks are public-policy analysis and engagement organisations that generate policy- oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, thereby enabling policy makers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy. Think tanks may be affiliated or independent institutions that are structured as permanent bodies, not ad hoc commissions

The Institute for Politics and Society, or IPS, analyses important economic, political, and social areas that affect today’s society. Created in October 2015, the Institute’s external activity was established in February of 2015. With the inception of this activity, the very first conference, “Acute Problems of Europe”, was held and was attended by Guy Verhofstadt, Andrej Babis and Pavel Telicka.

The Institute hosts various debates, round table discussions, business breakfast events, and regularly issues policy papers on a wide range of issues.

Notably, in October of 2014 IPS became a member of the ELF (European Liberal Forum). The ELF consists of 46 think-tanks throughout Europe.

Our partners include the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Ceska sporitelna, Czech Industry Magazine, and many others.

One of our main goals is the cultivation of the Czech political and public space through relevant open discussion and providing a living platform focusing on a variety of issues and solutions. These platforms consists of international conferences, workshops, public debates, and political and social analyses. We aim to make all of this available to the Czech society. Our belief is that through open discussion we can provide the necessary conditions for successful political and social solutions.

We currently employ a closed group of employees of up to 5 people. Nevertheless, there is an available growing base of independent consultants. These external experts engage in the wide range of fields which define our mission statement.

A think tank is defined as an institute or group organized to study and provide information, education, ideas, and advice on particular areas of issue. The Institute for Politics and Society does just this. Through public debates, we are able to educate our society on the political, economic, and social issues facing today. The Institute hosts a number of business breakfast events with a variety of top political representatives of the Czech Republic, and with some of the most significant representatives of domestic Czech companies. The Institute also regularly provides policy papers to its supporters on various selected themes, typically focusing on domestic and international issues. We do so by outsourcing the extensive part of our analyses to our external experts. Additionally, we regularly work and cooperate with other Czech and international think tanks.

We primarily focus on international and security politics, defense, European issues, education, digitization, economics, energy, urbanism, issues related to the values within politics, and human rights both locally and globally.

We have been established as a think tank that is close to the ANO movement. However, we are an independent organization, and our ties with ANO are open and unbiased. We involve experts, independent consultants, and politicians from the whole political spectrum. Our events are open to all interested persons regardless to political inclusion.

We are funded by sponsorship from various companies. Our funding is transparent and can be seen in our website, www.politikaspolecnost.cz, under the section “Partners”.

We are currently the only think-tank within the Czech Republic that is a member of ELF (European Liberal Forum), where we work in a range of activities including debates, round-table discussions, and educational events. These activities particularly reflect liberal and European themes. In addition, the Institute covers a variety of issues that are not addressed by ELF, as discussed above.

In contrast, many other think tanks and similar organizations within the Czech Republic are focused predominately on international issues or the European Union. These events become highly repetitive in both topics discussed and solutions offered. The main purpose of IPS is to educate and influence the affairs within society, and both domestic and international politics. All of our events and policy papers are publicly accessible.

The answer depends on the type of hosted activity. For instance, the MPs are particularly interested in the internal events of the Institute – round table debates and business breakfast events.

They do, and we are open to such challenges. These requests may consist of writing policy papers on specific topics they are interested in, arranging for a debate where they may attend as a speaker, or engaging in a work group in which they can meet other experts and discuss issues at hand.

We do, especially regarding the activities which are initiated by politicians’ own proposals (see the question n. 10).

There are several ways; such as becoming a sponsor, an intern or an independent consultant. For more information, please send an email to office@politicsandsociety.cz, nejlépe s konkrétním návrhem, jak byste se chtěl(a) zapojit., preferably with a certain suggestion for your proposed role within the Institute for Politics and Society.

Liberalism is a broad political ideology characterized by an emphasis on individual freedom, the autonomous moral value of the individual, and The responsibility to oneself. The required freedom is guaranteed by unquestionable civil and political rights (freedom of speech, religion and assembly, equality before the law, active and passive suffrage, etc.), which belong to every citizen, regardless of their gender, race or social status.

Two terms that are close to each other, but by far not the same. Liberal democracy is a specific form of democracy. One that guarantees its citizens unquestionable rights and is characterized by elected government officials, free and regular elections, universal suffrage, the right to run for office, freedom of expression, the right to alternative information and freedom of association.

The term liberalism then refers to an ideology, i.e. a systematized political doctrine formed by a complex of theories about man and society, which seeks not only to explain the real world, but also to change it.

The ANO movement is a liberal party, especially in the European Parliament, where it is part of the European faction Renew Europe.

In national politics, ANO is a broad-spectrum movement that combines liberal political and economic fundamentals with conservative attitudes, technocratism, developmentalism, etatism and social-democratic elements, such as social sensitivity to vulnerable groups or the policy of active redistribution.

These include the homogenisation of the business environment, the fight against corruption or the separation of the state from the church, the emphasis on low taxation and low indebtedness, the reduction and rationalization of the state administration, the removal of tax exemptions and the fight against barriers to cross-border trade.

The liberal groupings are Piráti (social liberalism with emphasis on equal opportunities and personal freedom), followed by ODS (primarily neoliberalism supplemented by value conservatism), TOP 09 (neoliberalism and elements of political liberalism) and partly STAN (elements of economic and political liberalism). The Trikolóra shows neoliberal tendencies on economic issues, otherwise it is strictly conservative. From the non-parliamentary parties Zelení (environmentalism combined with social liberalism) and Svobodní (economic ultraliberalism to anarcho-capitalism).

Due to the long development of liberalism, it has acquired different connotations in different parts of the world. Simply put, liberal ideology is reflected in the political-cultural (liberalism-conservatism axis) and the economic dimensions (liberalism-socialism axis). In the US, liberalism is understood as a rather left-wing political orientation, i.e. social liberalism and its main representative is the Democratic Party, in Europe it is, for example, the Dutch Democraten 66. In Europe, especially in Great Britain, the economic dimension of liberalism is emphasized with emphasis on central individualist politics, personal freedoms, and liberal economic practices (typically the British Liberal Democrats, the German Freie Demokratische Partei, or the Swedish Liberalerna).

Liberals clearly support European cooperation but are aware of the limits of the current form of the European Union, which is why they associate in the European faction Renew Europe, which is the third strongest grouping with 98 MEPs. Rather than federalist, it tends to strengthen economic cooperation, complete the single European market and remove trade barriers. In European politics, they emphasize the rule of law and reject authoritarian tendencies in individual member states. In recent years, Renew has committed itself to environmental and sustainable policies and commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Classical liberalism understands freedom and equality as the building blocks of a free society. However, equality is strictly limited to the public sphere, where individual citizens have identical equal rights and obligations. On the contrary, they consider inequalities in economic, cultural or other spheres to be natural, as they are precisely the result of freedom. Liberals are therefore alien to the concept of group social rights based on Marxism.

Contemporary liberalism is more centralized on the issue of the conflict between freedom and equality. They understands freedom and equality as supporting principles which, together with the third element - togetherness - form the basis of ethical individualism, thus creating a connection between individual freedom, order, moderation with the benefit of society as a whole.

The essential individualism of liberal ideology does not make it possible to define man on the basis of his external differences (ethnicity, nationality or race). Although some liberal parties (especially professing social liberalism such as the Democratic Party in the US or the Czech Piráti) have integrated the above elements into their programs, they have little to do with liberalism. The freedom of an individual is derived from citizenship and the relationship of the free individual with others and the state, not according to the subjective classification of the population into certain groups.

No. The current struggle against "nationalism" has Marxist roots and is unrelated to liberal ideology. Liberalism understands the state as a requisite but necessary evil. Its existence is essential in order for the sovereignty of the people to be fulfilled. National feelings and pride are not excluded with the freedom of the individual, as it is a personal matter for each of us. E.g. in the case of the establishment of Czechoslovakia, national emancipation enabled the establishment of a liberal and humanistic society.