1. Media influence

What methods are abused to influence opinions of the individual and of the public and how to recognize them? How is agenda set, built, developed and abandoned through media values or economic, power or other motivations, what incentives can play a role?

a. Propaganda, Advertisement, Manipulation & Censorship

b. Agenda-building & Agenda-setting

c. Media values

d. Gatekeeping

e. Priming

2. Manipulation

What fallacies are used in argumentation and media production, what role does framing play in our identification and understanding of events and to what misunderstandings can it lead to?

a. Manipulation tricks

b. Logical fallacies

c. Framing

3. PR and Spinning

How do actors influence the receipt and interpretation of events and messages, what are the differences in various approaches to influencing the public? What are the commonalities between selling an idea, an individual a product?

a. PR, Spin-doctoring & Political Marketing

b. Public space, Public sphere, Public marketplace

4. Transparency & Legitimacy

How does the introduction of non-state actors, NGOs and businesses into the legitimacy mix influence democratic processes? What role does lobbying play in policymaking and what legitimacy does it have? What means and methods does it utilize?

a. Non-classical theories of democracy (Popper & Schumpeter)

b. Lobbying

c. Non-state actors

5. Types of electoral campaigns

What are and aren’t electoral campaigns, what role do they play in different types of political regimes? What are negative campaigns, how to identify them, why are they predominant and what impact do they have on the political system?

a. Electoral campaign strategies in democratic and non-democratic systems

b. Negative campaigns

6. Content of electoral campaigns I.

What are the key 9 parts of an electoral campaign and how are they addressed in a professionally lead campaign?

a. Plan

b. Research

c. Message

d. Communication Plan

e. Strategy

7. Content of electoral campaigns II.

What are the key 9 parts of an electoral campaign and how are they addressed in a professionally lead campaign – continued 2^nd part?

a. Candidate

b. Team

c. Time

d. Resources

8. Presidential electoral campaigns

What are the main aspects of presidential electoral campaigns and how do they relate to the 9 aspects of campaigns? What did the key moments of US presidential elections look like as well as the most recent campaigns? What were the key features and differentiating factors in CZ presidential campaigns?

a. US presidential campaigns

i. JFK vs Nixon television debates

ii. TV ads

iii. Bush, Obama, Trump & Biden victories

b. CZ and three direct presidential elections

9. CZ electoral campaigns ‘90

a. HoR 1996

i. Personalization

ii. "We showed we can do it"

iii. Republicans of Miroslav Sládek

iv. Bus Zemák

b. HoR 1998

i. Anti-communist theme

ii. Opposition treaty

iii. "Burned country"

10. CZ electoral campaigns ‘00

a. HoR 2002

i. "Person first"

ii. Vaclav Klaus phone calls

iii. CSSD and "megaparties"

iv. Stolen microphone

b. HoR 2006

i. Professionalization

ii. Public Opinion Polls

iii. Negative campaign

iv. ODS plus / ODS minus

v. KSCSSD

11. CZ electoral campaigns ‘10

a. HoR 2010

i. Anti-Corruption

ii. TOP09 & VV

iii. Stopar game

iv. Swimwear billboards

b. HoR 2013

i. Necas case

ii. ANO

iii. Americanisation

iv. Jagr and chicken

v. Return of D2D campaign

c. HoR 2017

i. Pirates and SPD

ii. ANO – it will get better

iii. STAN and role of regionalism

d. HoR 2021

i. Spolu and PirSTAN pre-election coalitions

ii. Unification

iii. Babis’ high cost

12. Power of Language

How can language influence reality, how does it shape it, define it? What are historical and contemporary manifestations of such trends and their implications for democratic deliberation?

a. Totalitarian Language (Wittgenstein, Klemperer & Piper)

b. Dystopias (Orwell, Huxley & Zamjatin)

c. Political correctness