Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T23:41:36.909Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I am De Facto a Thief in this Matter’: Thesis Plagiarism Cases of Elected Representatives and the Concept of Political Accountability (Case Study of Slovakia and the Czech Republic)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2022

Marián Sekerák Open the ORCID record for Marián Sekerák [Opens in a new window]
Marián Sekerák*
Affiliation:
Centre for Higher Education Studies, Jankovcova 933/63, 170 00 Prague 7 – Holešovice, Czech Republic. Email: sekerak@csvs.cz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Numerous cases of thesis plagiarism by senior public officials in many European countries have attracted significant public attention in recent years. Such different cases, however, have had different political and legal consequences. This article elucidates some of the cases through the examples of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Based on the theory of political accountability, it is clarified that the reactions of politicians to the exposure of their plagiarism cases were fundamentally different. Almost no common pattern of reactions can be found in the two countries. It is explained that the only solution in both countries was to adopt legislation allowing subsequent withdrawal of a university degree once acquired.

Type
Article
Information
European Review , Volume 30 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 872 - 893
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Academia Europaea

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abalkina, A and Libman, A (2020) The real costs of plagiarism: Russian governors, plagiarized PhD theses, and infrastructure in Russian regions. Scientometrics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03716-x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Addink, H (2019) Good Governance: Concept and Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, RD (2004) Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability. New York: Russel Sage Foundation. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Batane, T (2010) Turning to Turnitin to fight plagiarism among university students. Educational Technology & Society 13(2), 1–12.Google Scholar
Bidner, Ch and Francois, P (2013) The emergence of political accountability. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 128(3), 1397–1448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BIS (2011) Výroční zpráva Bezpečnostní informační služby za rok 2010. 7 September 2011. Available at https://www.bis.cz/public/site/bis.cz/content/vyrocni-zpravy/2010-vz-cz.pdf (accessed 20 January 2022).Google Scholar
Cevárová, D and Ondria, P (2017) Fenomén politickej zodpovednosti vo väzbe na úroveň politickej kultúry. In Horváth, P and Pekník, M (eds), Kríza parlamentarizmu? Kam kráčaš demokracia. Košice: UPJŠ, pp. 131–141.Google Scholar
ČT 24 (2020) Matovič opisoval v diplomové práci, píše Denník N. ‘Nikdy jsem se svým titulem nechlubil’, reagoval premier. 16 July 2020. Available at https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/svet/3141887-matovic-opisoval-v-diplomove-praci-pise-dennik-n-nikdy-jsem-se-svym-titulem-nechlubil (accessed 14 September 2021).Google Scholar
ČTK (2011) ČSSD vyzvala poslance Svobodu, aby kvůli opsané diplomce složil funkce. 1 July 2011. Available at https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/cssd-vyzvala-poslance-svobodu-aby-kvuli-opsane-diplomce-slozil-funkce-98164 (accessed 20 January 2022).Google Scholar
Delsolová, Ch (2001) Politická odpovědnost, nástup vykonavatele spravedlnosti a postava spravedlnosti. Filosofický časopis 49(6), 931–942.Google Scholar
Dunn, J (1999) Situating democratic political accountability. In Przeworski, A, Stokes, S and Manin, B (eds.), Democracy, Accountability, and Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 329–344.Google Scholar
Ertl, H (2018) Plagiarism in doctoral theses as ‘occupational risk’ of government ministers? The debate on good academic practice in German doctoral education in the light of high-profile plagiarism cases. Oxford Review of Education 44(5), 616–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erkkilä, T (2007) Governance and accountability – A shift in conceptualization. Public Administration Quarterly 31(1/2), 1–38.Google Scholar
Eckert, S (2015) The Guttenberg plagiarism scandal: myths through Germany’s leading news magazines. Journal of Communication Inquiry 39(3), 249–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, J and Shotts, KW (2009) Delegates or trustees? A theory of political accountability. The Journal of Politics 71(4), 1225–1237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frye, BL (2016) Plagiarism is not a crime. Duquesne University Law Review 54, 133–172.Google Scholar
Gregory, JL (2021) Plagiarism as a social contract, a new way to approach plagiarism. Journal of Academic Ethics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-021-09409-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gajdošová, B and Orosová, O (2019) Vybrané psychologické faktory súvisiace s emigračnými zámermi trvalého odchodu vysokoškolákov do zahraničia. Československá psychologie 63(3), 249–264.Google Scholar
Geçer, E (2018) Political accountability, communication and democracy: A fictional mediation? Turkish Review of Communication Studies S1, 1–12.Google Scholar
Hanzelínová, L (2019) Czech academic etiquette. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences 5(1), 217–227.Google Scholar
Heckler, NC and Forde, DR (2015) The role of cultural values in plagiarism in higher education. Journal of Academic Ethics 13, 61–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrmann, M and Tepe, M (2018) Does exposure to stereotype-disconfirming politicians reduce the effect of stereotypes on voting? Evidence from seven plagiarism scandals in Germany. Political Psychology 39(2), 303–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
jum ČTK (2012) Udělování titulů na právech v Plzni zůstane bez trestu. Policie nenašla důkazy. 9 July 2012. Available at https://domaci.hn.cz/c1-56468580-udelovani-titulu-na-pravech-v-plzni-zustane-bez-trestu-policie-nenasla-dukazy (accessed 20 January 2022).Google Scholar
Kanárik, I (1995) Právny štát a politika. Právny obzor 78(5), 444–450.Google Scholar
Luke, B and Kearins, K (2012) Attribution of words versus attribution of responsibilities: academic plagiarism and university practice. Organization 19(6), 881–889.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacLeod, PD and Eaton, SE (2020) The paradox of faculty attitudes toward student violations of academic integrity. Journal of Academic Ethics 18, 347–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahmud, S, Bretag, T and Foltýnek, T (2019) Students’ perceptions of plagiarism policy in higher education: a comparison of the United Kingdom, Czechia, Poland and Romania. Journal of Academic Ethics 17, 271–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsden, H, Carroll, M and Neill, JT (2005) Who cheats at university? A self-report study of dishonest academic behaviours in a sample of Australian university students. Australian Journal of Psychology 57(1), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, B (2016) Plagiarism, misinterpretation, and exploitation by established professionals: power and tactics. In Bretag, T (ed), Handbook of Academic Integrity. Singapore: Springer, pp. 913–927.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moncrieffe, JM (1998) Reconceptualizing political accountability. International Political Science Review 19(4), 387–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moncrieffe, JM (2001) Accountability: Idea, ideals, constraints. Democratization 8(3), 26–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muránsky, M (2019) K dvojznačnosti pojmu zodpovednosť. Filozofia 74(3), 238–251.Google Scholar
Olsen, JP (2017a) Democratic accountability and the terms of political order. European Political Science Review 9(4), 519–537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, JP (2017b) Democratic Accountability, Political Order, and Change: Exploring Accountability Processes in an Era of European Transformation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palaščáková, D and Vlčková, V (2013) The role and status of universities in Slovakia. In SGEM 2013: 13th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Geoconference: Ecology, Economics, Education and Legislation: Conference Proceedings. Volume 2. Albena: STEF92 Technology Ltd, pp. 587–594.Google Scholar
Papadopoulos, Y (2001) Transformations du style de l’action publique et responsabilité politique. Politiques et management public 19(1), 165–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pecorari, D (2018) Can plagiarism be defined? In Pecorari, D and Shaw, D (eds), Student Plagiarism in Higher Education: Reflections on Teaching Practice. London: Routledge, pp. 12–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Persson, T, Roland, G and Tabellini, G (1997) Separation of powers and political accountability. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 112(4), 1163–1202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petriková, E (2021) Tlačová správa: Igor Matovič by mal dodržať slovo a vzdať sa magisterského titulu. 11 January 2021. Available at https://srvs.eu/2021/01/11/tlacova-sprava-igor-matovic-by-mal-dodrzat-slovo-a-vzdat-sa-magisterskeho-titulu/ (accessed 3 October 2021).Google Scholar
PS PČR (2015) Sněmovní tisk 460/0, část č. 1/6: Novela z. o vysokých školách. 15 April 2015. Available at https://www.psp.cz/sqw/text/tiskt.sqw?o=7&ct=464&ct1=0 (accessed 29 September 2021).Google Scholar
Robertson, D (2004) The Routledge Dictionary of Politics. 3rd Edn. London, New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roussel, V (2008) Scandales et redefinitions de la responsabilité politique: La dynamique des affaires de santé et de sécurité publiques. Revue française de science politique 58(6), 953–983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, M (2000) Accountability in the regulatory state. Journal of Law and Society 27(1), 38–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smolík, J (2019) Plagiátorství jako politikum. In Koziak, T, Ruman, J and Šutajová, J (eds), Kam kráčaš, Európa – Kam kráčaš, demokracia. Košice: UPJŠ, pp. 245–256.Google Scholar
Stan, L and Turcescu, L (2004) Politicians, intellectuals, and academic integrity in Romania. Problems of Post-Communism 51(4), 12–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trost, K (2009) Psst, have you ever cheated? A study of academic dishonesty in Sweden. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 34(4), 367–376.Google Scholar
Tudoroiu, T (2017) No, Prime Minister: PhD Plagiarism of high-level public officials. European Review 25(4), 623–641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ušiak, J (2011) European political culture and European community. In Maron, F and Pozarlik, G (eds), Identités, citoyennetés et démocratie: 20 ans après. Bruxelles: Bruylant, pp. 109–121.Google Scholar
Vaculík, R (2010) Kauza plzeňských práv: žádné obvinění se nechystá. 7 September 2010. Available at https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/kauza-plzenskych-prav-zadne-obvineni-se-nechysta-57079 (accessed 20 January 2022).Google Scholar
Veselý, A (2012) Institucionalizace neodpovědnosti, efektivity, nebo konformity? Reformy organizací veřejných služeb v teorii akontability. Czech Sociological Review 48(4), 757–784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webnoviny (2012) Vysokoškoláci žiadajú prešetrenie doktorátu Jána Figeľa. 11 August 2012. Available at https://www.webnoviny.sk/vysokoskolaci-ziadaju-presetrenie-doktoratu-jana-figela/ (accessed 2 October 2021).Google Scholar
Weyland, K (2007) How to assess plagiarism of ideas? PS: Political Science & Politics 40(2), 375–376.Google Scholar
Whitehead, L (2002) Democratization: Theory and Experience. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar