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71. The Middle East and the Maghreb in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Marek Čejka, Jan Daniel, and Michaela Lubin
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
In 2017 the Czech foreign policy toward the Middle East and the Maghreb did not witness significant shifts and followed the wider goals established in the previous years. It continued to be oriented on the stabilisation of the states affected by the wars in Syria, Iraq and Libya, limiting the number of refugee arrivals to Europe, strengthening the business co-operations with promising regional partners and enhancing the co-operation and strategic partnership with Israel. Accordingly, economic diplomacy, security assistance and humanitarian relief remained the dominant modes of engagement with most of the countries in the region. Similarly to the previous years, the Czech policy mostly reactively followed the common EU positions, while being proactive regarding the issues concerning Israel and, to a lesser extent, also Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Libya. The Czech policy for the Middle East did not strongly enter the domestic public debate. The only exceptions were the conflicting positions on the issue of the Czech embassy’s relocation to Jerusalem and the role of the ambassador in Syria.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Economics, Migration, and Refugees
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, Israel, Libya, Syria, Jordan, Czech Republic, and Maghreb

72. Sub-Saharan Africa in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Kateřina Ženková Rudincová
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
The Czech foreign policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa can be characterised as continuous with aims of deepening the relations with traditional African partners in the fields of economy, defence, security and agriculture, and establishing new partnerships mainly with the Sahel countries. Similarly to the previous year, none of the themes connected to Sub-Saharan Africa were either politicised or polarised. The co-operation between ministries successfully continued with multi-sectoral visits on the continent by the representatives of the Czech Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Defence and Industry and Trade. The Czech Republic was also active on the European level, since it took part in the 5th EU-AU Summit and also worked actively on the negotiation mandate and draft of the post-Cotonou agreement with the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries. The Czech foreign policy towards Africa puts an emphasis on creating real partnerships with African states with the aim to achieve their sustainability and accountability.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Agriculture, and Economy
Political Geography:
Africa, Czech Republic, and Sub-Saharan Africa

73. The Czech Foreign Policy in the Asia Pacific

Author:
Rudolf Furst, Alica Kizeková, and David Kožíšek
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
The Czech relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC, hereinafter referred to as China) have again generated more interest than ties with other Asian nations in the Asia Pacific in 2017. A disagreement on the Czech-China agenda dominated the political and media debate, while more sophisticated discussions about the engagement with China were still missing. In contrast, the bilateral relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan did not represent a polarising topic in the Czech public discourse and thus remained largely unpoliticised due to the lack of interest and indifference of the public regarding these relations. Otherwise, the Czech policies with other Asian states in selected regions revealed balanced attitudes with both proactive and reactive agendas in negotiating free trade agreements, or further promoting good relations and co-operation in trade, culture, health, environment, science, academia, tourism, human rights and/or defence.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
China, Asia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and Asia-Pacific

74. Latin America in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Martin Hrabálek
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
Latin America is a distant region. Its political affairs do not play a really important role in the Czech foreign policy in general. The Czech interest in the region is primarily economic, as a number of countries in the region are already quite developed or on the way to becoming developed. The economic ties with Latin America are growing steadily, as is the volume of trade between the Czech Republic and countries in the region. Generally the Czech Republic pursues a rather neutral foreign policy towards Latin American countries, and the events there are unlikely to become subjects of politicization in the Czech Republic or to polarize the Czech political scene. Otherwise, on the part of the Czech Republic, an economically more proactive policy toward Latin America could be identified in 2017, with a growing perception of Latin America as an attractive region for both trade and investments.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Economy, and Trade
Political Geography:
Europe, Latin America, and Czech Republic

75. Foreign Security Policy of the Czech Republic

Author:
Lukáš Dyčka
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
The Czech foreign security and defence policy in 2017 was influenced mainly by the Russian threat, terrorism and migration – nevertheless, Brexit and the new US administration under President Trump were also important external drivers for it. These factors resulted in various steps taken within the Czech defence sector. The policy faced changes ranging from renewals of strategic documents, an increased defence budget, the high (yet still problematic) support from the public and rising numbers of Armed Forces personnel to problems with the age structure within both the military and the civilian part of the defence sector. Finally, the foreign security policy will likely be heavily influenced by the results of the parliamentary elections in October 2017 and also by the new government of Andrej Babiš, but this is rather to be expected in 2018.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Migration, Terrorism, and Armed Forces
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Czech Republic, and United States of America

76. The Economic Dimension of the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Štěpánka Zemanová and Miloslav Machoň
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
In 2017, the domestic support of the Czech Republic’s external economic relations (EER) maintained its continuity and corresponded with the recent developments in the world economy and the EU’s proactive policies in the internal market. It derived from the recent updates of the Export Strategy of the Czech Republic for 2012–2020 and the Map of Global Export Opportunities 2016/17 and profited from the improved relations between the relevant stakeholders and their ever-extending activities as well as newly introduced export and investment promotion tools. The period was successful in terms of performance as the Czech Republic achieved both an extraordinary increase in exports and a remarkable rate of GDP growth. This was combined with a growing emphasis on sustainable development. On the other hand, several questions relating to the institutional architecture remained. The adaptation of the system to the needs of a 21st century small open economy will be a challenge, and its possible failure one of the main risks in the future.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

77. Energy in External Relations of the Czech Republic

Author:
Lukáš Tichý
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
In 2017, the Czech Republic focussed mainly on the issue of strengthening energy security, both within the EU and the V4, and bilaterally in its relations with Germany, Austria, Russia, USA and France. In this context, the politicisation of the Czech discourse regarding the external dimension of energy security has been rather limited. Similarly, the polarisation of the Czech external dimension of the energy security discourse has also been limited. Despite this, the Czech government has relatively successfully tried to maintain a unified position in its energy policies, which is why in this case we can talk about a coherence within time, and across different players, as well as through the declared priorities of both the government and the EU. Last, but not least, the Czech Republic was supportive of creating common policies based on its proactive approach and co-operative position. The Czech Republic also adapted to external politics in the area of energy – which was the result of its reactive approach and neutral position.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and United States of America

78. Human Rights Dimension of the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Veronika Bílková
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
In 2017, the Czech Republic went through the third round of the Universal Periodic Review and, for six months, it assumed the chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the main European human rights organisation. These events might help promote the Czech human rights foreign policy both inside and outside the country. Yet, they were largely overshadowed, first, by the crisis in the government coalition, and, later on, by the parliamentary elections. The elections, resulting in the victory of Andrej Babiš’s ANO and the defeat of virtually all the traditional political parties, heralded potential changes in the Czech human rights foreign policy. Yet, since so far, ANO has been rather ambiguous in its approach to human rights, it is not easy to predict what direction such changes may take.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Politics, Governance, and Elections
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

79. The Development Dimension of the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Jan Werner
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
Following the European Year for Development 2015 and the transitional year 2016, 2017 promised to be the year when the Czech development agenda would find a new direction thanks to the introduction of a comprehensive sustainable development framework, new strategic documents, increases in funding and the evolution of the development institutions. Looking back, however, we can safely say it did not happen. While the new framework and strategies have been put in place and the institutions are evolving accordingly, most of the political scene seems to have once again lost interest in the agenda, or even question its utility. Amid growing pragmatism and polarisation, the main question increasingly faced by the Czech development policy is not whether and how it should relate to other dimensions of foreign policy (be it security, migration or business promotion), but rather whether, and to what extent, it will remain one of the country’s pursuits and priorities.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Migration, Business, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

80. Public Diplomacy: A Lack of Political Support and Long-Term Vision

Author:
Jana Peterková and Eliska Tomalova
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
In the field of Czech public diplomacy, the year 2017 did not represent an exceptional year that would bring new major topics or changes. It can be characterised as a transition period from a situation of instability and maybe even uncertainty about the future and leadership of the most visible actor of Czech cultural diplomacy – the Czech Centres (CC). In the second half of the year, however, we may identify new positive ways of strategic thinking about their future. 2017 also saw a continuous trend in the diversification of fields and practices in public diplomacy areas where new forms of diplomatic practice and fields of activity gained a greater place and more attention, such as sports diplomacy. Last, but not least, the Czech public diplomacy has remained dominated by a pragmatic view prioritising the economic potential of various public diplomacy activities without a stronger support for a longer-term vision.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Culture, Sports, and Economy
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic