Ústav mezinárodních vztahů

Mezinárodní Politika's Report: Capitalism, environment, and our world
World where money is everything. Our society currently leads a torment debate about global political economy and financial crisis, which is one that touches each and every one of us. Concepts like capitalism, imperialism and communism are relevant more than ever because they can offer fascinating insights into the way we function today. With the help of Professor Bond and his background in political economy, environment and social policy, we can explore more about this vast topic.

The Czechs and Elections: Looking for Leaders, Surprised at What They Find
Is the EU a ‘bad socialist project’ or a ‘bad neo-liberal project’? And can there be a Czech vision of European integration?  Petr Kratochvíl answered the questions of Lucia Najšlová about where we are heading now, after the elections.

Mezinárodní Politika's Report: The challenges of participatory research
Wadi Allaqi is an unremarkable, dry riverbed in Upper Egypt, just one of many in Africa. It is inhabited by the Bedouins, indigenous nomadic tribes, who have been able to keep a unique way of understanding the world around them until today, which is what a European research team set out to study. But very soon it encountered a serious obstacle – since the society was Muslim, women would not talk with the male researchers. In order to progress, the team had to be expanded. Understandably, by a woman.

A Scandal Affected Czech Reputation
Scandal involving former government has affected the reputation of the Czech Republic abroad.

Statt Fanfaren gibt's zum Abschied bittere Satire
Vyjádření Petra Kratochvíla k odchodu prezidenta Václava Klause "Statt Fanfaren gibt's zum Abschied bittere Satire" na ARD-Hörfunkstudio Prag.

NATO in Afghanistan: There and Back Again
Three weeks after Obama delivered these moving words, the question of how to end NATO’s largest out-of-area operation to date dominated the Alliance’s summit in Chicago. Some 130,000 troops remain on the ground and the Alliance has suffered 3,000 casualties thus far, as well as costing thousands of Afghan lives. Instead of a bright future, however, it seems far more likely that an even darker one awaits Afghanistan when NATO troops leave the country in 2014.

The euro crisis and Germany’s role through Czech perspective
Czech policy does not have a uniform line on Germany and its European policy. On one hand, there is relatively broad agreement on Germany’s significance for the Czech Republic: Germany accounts for 31.5% of Czech exports and 25.6% of its imports, and is thus by far the country’s largest trading partner. Additionally, since the Czech EU presidency at the latest, Germany has been seen as the most important and mostly also the most accommodating EU member state. This is why the Foreign Policy Concept of the Czech Republic (2011) lists Germany for the first time as a “strategic partner” (!) and emphasises its key role in European politics, European security and the global economy.

Reinventing Europe: Czech lessons for small countries
In recent years the Czech Republic has gained a reputation as a reluctant European. It waited until the last moment before ratifying the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, did not join last year’s Euro Plus Pact, and stayed away from the EU fiscal compact. This seems puzzling. Although not alone in dragging their feet or staying away from some European projects, this is unusual for relatively poor new members who view the EU as guarantor of democracy and prosperity.