The Business Firm Model of Party Organisation: ANO 2011 and ANO

The thesis describes two political parties that have been established in Central Europe, namely ANO 2011 in the Czech Republic, and ANO in Slovakia, whose main common feature is that they are run as private business companies. The aim of the thesis is to conduct an analysis of these two political parties which builds on the "business-firm model" party theory. This theoretical concept was established in 1999 and is based on observations of FORZA ITALIA, an Italian political party. Although the business firm model is an emerging political concept, it has been growing in popularity recently in almost all European countries. The thesis introduces this theoretical concept in detail and applies it to the two cases present in the Czech and Slovak party system. Finally, the thesis compares the two parties with each other and identifies their similarities and differences