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541. The Eastern Partnership States in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Karel Svoboda
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
In 2017, the Czech foreign policy towards the Eastern Partnership countries continued in the trends of the preceding years. Nevertheless, both the Czech parliamentary elections and the pre-election campaigns for the 2018 presidential elections seriously limited the interest of Czech politicians in the problems of foreign policy. As in previous years, the Czech Republic conducted its foreign policy towards the Eastern Partnership countries through three basic channels: the EU, bilateral relations and the civil society sector. On the EU level, the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels was the main event of the year regarding the EaP, with the Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka taking part in it. In the bilateral relations, Moldova’s Prime Minister Pavel Filip visited Prague, while unlike in the previous years, the Prime Minister did not pay a visit to any of the EaP countries (this was the case with both the original Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and his successor Andrej Babiš). Moreover, Miloš Zeman also did not carry out any official visit to the EaP countries during the year. As a result, the main burden of the EaP policies was, as in the previous years, laid on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Civil Society, Bilateral Relations, European Union, and Partnerships
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

542. The United States in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Jan Hornát
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
The year 2017 was mainly a transition year for Czech foreign policy towards the United States, as the Czech side was gradually getting acquainted with and monitoring the positions and perspectives of the new administration. President Trump’s often ambivalent rhetoric regarding transatlantic relations and various multilateral frameworks has brought increased uncertainty as to what role Washington intends to play in the world and how it plans to co-operate with its global partners. Due to personnel changes in key offices in the executive branch of the US government, higher-level bilateral security, foreign policy and economic dialogues between the Czech Republic and the US did not take place during the year, albeit with a positive outlook for their resumption in 2018. During 2017, a part of the bilateral agenda consisted of preparations for the commemoration of one hundred years of official ties between the two countries, which will be celebrated throughout 2018. The bilateral trade with the US increased but ended with a deficit for the Czech side. The two countries’ defence and security co-operation can also be rated as strengthened mainly due to the continuing activities of the Czech Republic in the Middle East.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, North America, Czech Republic, and United States of America

543. Russia in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Petr Kratochvil and Karel Svoboda
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:
Amid the ever-higher tensions between the West and Russia, the Czechs became more active on the political level in 2017, with the highlight being the official visit of President Zeman to Russia. However, several structural factors prevented this flurry of political activity from turning into tangible political or economic results. First, the ongoing sanction regime and Russia’s aggressive stance in the neighbourhood rendered any deeper economic or political co-operation difficult to achieve. Second, the focus on internal issues (the then upcoming presidential elections in both countries) made foreign policy a mere pawn in the domestic political games. Third, while President Zeman confirmed his role as one of the most vocal advocates of President Putin, the continuing polarisation of the public opinion as well as the re-grouping of Czech anti-Kremlin forces limited his influence on the day-to-day Czech policy vis-à-vis Russia.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, Politics, and Domestic politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Czech Republic

544. 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

545. Sub-Saharan Africa in the Czech Foreign Policy

Author:
Kateřina Ženková Rudincová
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
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

546. 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

547. 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

548. 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

549. 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

550. 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