Cílem je analyzovat formování současných levicových politických stran ve střední Evropě, zejména v ČR , a zasadit jejich proměnu do kontextu vývoje v západní Evropě, kde se pod hlavičkou %22třetí cesty%22 rozvinula teoretická i politická diskuse o změně sociálně demokratického paradigmatu.
The development of the political party system in Central Europe after the fall of the Communist regime has been viewed so far largely from the perspective of democratic transformation. We believe that this research perspective has become obsolete after the economic and political transformations in these countries were completed and the Central European countries went on to join the European Union. In our approach we intend the paradigm of the Third way to replace the old perspective with regard to the left wing parties as it allows specific formulations of the desired %22compromise%22 between the market and social justice. Our research will focus on the Central European region (with emphasis on the Czech political scene). The development of left-wing political parties will be placed into an overall European context which will allow us to identify the specific features of the post-communist democracy and the role which the new third-way paradigm plays in looking for responses to the challenges of global capitalism. The main outcome in terms of publication will be two monographs and articles published in academic journals. Other outcomes will include two workshops and one our conference and the participation on a relevant conferences abroad. (en)