Publisher: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů

Gender Parity in the making. Promoting equal and inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems

Gender Parity in the making. Promoting equal and inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems

Author(s): Elisa Fornalé,Riccarda Heepen / Language(s): English

Keywords: Women in Decision-Making Systems;

This paper draws attention to the hurdles that women face in achieving inclusive representation and participation in decisionmaking processes. It delves into the nuanced dimensions of economic empowerment, exploring how trade, finance, and investment policies impact gender equality. Gender considerations increasingly permeate discussions on international trade, investment, and finance policies. The paper emphasizes the need for a holistic analysis in this respect. It highlights the main results of the International Conference on Promoting Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems, held on 23 February 2024 at the World Trade Institute (Bern, CH) and co-organized with the Institute of International Relations Prague in the framework of the Swiss National Scientific Foundation project Gender Equality in the Mirror: Clothing the Invisibility of Women’s Participation at International Level and the Horizon Europe project HRJust. The conference brought together experts and stakeholders to address key challenges faced by women in political leadership roles. Together, they reflected on the multifaceted challenges and opportunities surrounding women's economic empowerment and its intrinsic connection to achieving gender parity. The discussions focused on the importance of achieving gender parity and the role of international law in advancing this goal.

The third Czech National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Addressing local and global Security Challenges

The third Czech National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Addressing local and global Security Challenges

Author(s): Kateřina Krulišová,Míla O'Sullivan / Language(s): English

In times of multiple security crises and increased threats to women’s rights across the world, the need for a commitment to an active implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda is ever more pressing. The Czech Republic’s upcoming third National Action Plan on WPS represents an opportunity to further advance WPS into domestic and foreign policies and practices while reflecting on the shifting geopolitical circumstances at local, regional and global levels. Although the Czech WPS Agenda is now well institutionalized, it needs first and foremost a higher political priority which would be linked to budget allocation, and more localization, as well as a transformative and in-depth engagement in its implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Each of the four pillars of the NAP – participation, gender mainstreaming, prevention and protection, and relief and recovery – should mainstream crosscutting issues of intersectionality, localization, leadership, budget allocation and qualitative monitoring and evaluation. These are much needed steps along with the renewing of the position of a Special Commissioner for Gender, which could support the Czech regional WPS leadership and effective responses to the gendered impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including through the lens of long-term conflict prevention.

Anatomy of the Civil War in Myanmar. Causes, Actors, Perspectives, Developments

Anatomie Občanske Valky v Myanmaru. Přičiny, Akteři, Perspektivy, Vyvoje

Author(s): Miroslav Nožina / Language(s): Czech

The civil war in Myanmar/Burma has been destabilizing the situation in the Asia-Pacific region for a long time. After the military coup in February 2021, it underwent significant structural changes and gained new momentum. Its main actors today are the military junta and its supporters, the democratic opposition and ethnic organizations. These actors are characterized by different goals, strength and support from abroad. The course of the war so far demonstrates the gradual increase in the strength of the resistance movement. This has its limits due to the persistent disunity of the opposition forces and the technical superiority of the Myanmar army. It is in the interest of the Czech Republic to support activities aimed at ending the war in Myanmar and returning the country to building democracy. The Czech Republic needs to help expand the economic embargo against entities linked to the military junta and enforce a consistent ban on arms exports to Myanmar. It should cooperate with the opposition Government of National Unity and promote its international recognition. As part of the Indo-Pacific strategy, support the ASEAN Peace Plan. Continue to engage in humanitarian and development assistance to Myanmar.

Breakdown of Social Science Research in Russia. Impact on the Capacity for Understanding Russia in the West

Breakdown of Social Science Research in Russia. Impact on the Capacity for Understanding Russia in the West

Author(s): Dimitry Kokorin / Language(s): English

Keywords: Social Sciences in Russia;

While the Russian regime is keen to create intentional informational asymmetries and wage propaganda campaigns, the impact of such actions is being reinforced by the deterioration of independent research in Russian academia, the emigration of social scientists, and diminishing possibilities for collecting data in Russia, which affect scholars worldwide. The unintended consequences of measures aimed at isolating the Russian state-owned academic institutions triggered the cancellation of scientific cooperation at many levels. These processes bring a risk of diminishing opportunities for building a better understanding of events happening in Russia and the development of subsequent evidence-based policy responses. These implications can be partially mitigated by creating refuges for ‘scholars at risk’, monitoring which valuable research projects were cancelled, recreating these projects in new institutional settings, supporting groups of independent scholars, and keeping some channels of scientific communication open.

The Rise of Chinese Influence in the Middle East. Rejection of the West, or political and economic Pragmatism?

Narůst Činskeho vlivu na Blizkem Vychodě. Odmítání Západu, nebo politický a ekonomický Pragmatismus?

Author(s): Jan Daniel / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: China in Middle East; Silk Road;

China has significantly increased its economic role in the Middle East over the past decade, and has strengthened its political position among local states. China's engagement in the region has brought finance and know-how that have responded to the demand of Middle Eastern states for development and modernization projects. Middle Eastern states do not necessarily share the view of China as a systemic rival and do not share the need to choose sides in the rivalry between individual blocs. Beijing's involvement varies significantly from country to country, and the motivations for cooperating with China also vary. The European Union and the Czech Republic may be able to take advantage of the efforts of Middle Eastern states to diversify their foreign policy partnerships, but they must be able to understand the interests of regional states and have sufficient capacities to operate in the region.

“Bidenomics” and the EU. The Impact of the Adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act on the European Geoeconomic Debate

„Bidenomics“ a EU. Vliv přijeti inflation reduction act na Evropskou geoekonomickou debatu

Author(s): Tomáš Petříček / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: Inflation Reduction Act;

The new US economic program, known as “bidenomics”, has been met with mixed reactions from its American partners from the beginning. This was particularly evident in the case of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has raised considerable concerns about its geoeconomic impacts on the EU’s position. The European debate on the impacts and options for responding to the IRA reveals that significant differences in attitudes towards key geoeconomic instruments on the EU side persist. The policy paper focuses primarily on divergent approaches to industrial policy, which weakens the EU’s capacity to respond to the significant geoeconomic challenges of today. It is also a risk to its future competitiveness and to the success of two transformation processes underway in parallel – decarbonisation and digitalisation.

The Rule of Law Issues in the context of the European Union Enlargement Debate

Problematika Pravniho Statu v kontextu debaty o Rozšiřovani Evropske Unie

Author(s): Jan Kovář,Jakub Eberle / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: Rule of Law;

The question of the rule of law is a secondary issue in the Czech context, but it is a key topic for EU institutions, a number of member states, and civil society in candidate countries. There are fierce political disputes in the EU about the definition of the rule of law, but in recent years the institutions have managed to define the rule of law and to a lesser extent enforce it. The rule of law is directly linked to enlargement, both as a necessary condition for joining the EU under the so-called Copenhagen criteria, and as a permanent shared value of the EU under Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty. The Czech Republic should closely monitor the debates on the rule of law within the EU and formulate a constructive position. An ally here can be, for example, civil society in candidate countries. The Czech Republic should advocate for the enforcement of clear standards for assessing the state of the rule of law in candidate countries, as well as their consistent enforcement towards all candidates (i.e. avoiding double standards).

Russia in Central Asia after 2022 and the Central Asian Region's Prospects in Energy

Rusko ve Středni Asii po roce 2022 a Perspektivy Středoasijskeho Regionu v Energetice

Author(s): Martin Laryš / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: energy from Kazakhstan; energy from Uzbekistan; energy from Turkmenistan;

Despite the erosion of Russian influence, Moscow is managing to maintain the economic and energy dependence of the individual Central Asian countries, although in the long term these dependencies will be disrupted by other actors, primarily China and, to a lesser extent, Turkey. The leadership of the Central Asian countries does not support Russian aggression in Ukraine, but does not protest against it significantly either, as it is trying to maintain neutrality and avoid possible Western sanctions and Russian aggressive reactions. In the energy sector, the Central Asian countries, primarily Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are oriented towards Russia and China for pragmatic reasons, which, thanks to the better technological background in both countries, have shares in the extraction of oil, natural gas and uranium. The energy potential of Central Asia is not essential for the Czech Republic, as it does not offer greater opportunities for the emergence of new, stable and (relatively) cheap supply chains in the field of oil, natural gas or uranium beyond the existing possibilities and infrastructure. This policy paper aims to assess the political, economic and security influence of Russia in Central Asia (especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) and to analyse the energy policy of these countries with regard to the potential for the EU, and therefore the Czech Republic. Regarding the issue of Russian influence, the text examines whether and in which specific areas this influence is noticeably decreasing. In the next part of the paper, the paper analyses the energy potential of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for the EU and the Czech Republic.

How to communicate Foreign Development Cooperation. Narratives, Tools, Contextualities

Jak komunikovat Zahranični Rozvojovou Spolupraci. Narativy, Nastroje, Navaznosti

Author(s): Ondřej Horký-Hlucháň,Michal Procházka / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: foreign development cooperation;

Direct communication of foreign development cooperation (FDC) and humanitarian aid by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MFA) and the allocation of the relevant budget is a necessary condition for maintaining the declining support for its financing from public budgets: the absence of communication is a bigger problem than its quality, a quick analysis of the current sample of media outputs arouses positive or neutral sentiments. Solidarity narratives may be implicit, but pragmatic arguments do not work for the majority of the Czech, skeptical public. The key to positive messages seems to be to show the specific impact of Czech aid on the basic needs of active, self-sufficient recipients as well as the expertise and financial supervision of Czech entities. A number of modified and newly identified narratives and attitudes towards Czech development aid need to be tested in focus groups and subsequent representative surveys. The main tools are primarily television and news servers. The MFA needs to systematically insert the government's position into the insufficient information and supplement it with expertise from the OECD international network of development communicators.

Western Sahara. An Unfrozen Conflict with Global Implications

Western Sahara. An Unfrozen Conflict with Global Implications

Author(s): Clément Steuer / Language(s): English

The Western Sahara conflict has become a pressing issue since 2020. It has increased regional tensions, and it threatens to get internationalized with an alignment on the East/West confrontation. In the last couple of years, several states – including some EU member states – decided to switch from neutrality regarding the conflict to backing the Moroccan position. They seem motivated primarily by economic interests and concerns over the stability of the Southern neighbourhood. Yet, in the long term, the stability of the region requires a solution that would conform to international law and be acceptable to all concerned. Moreover, such a solution would be crucial for global food security due to the fact that Morocco controls more than 70% of the world’s supply of phosphate (including the share in the Western Sahara territory), a required component in the production of synthetic fertilizers. Czechia should remain neutral in this conflict, support the UN-led process, and develop a trade and scientific cooperation with Morocco on the basis of the Green Partnership.

Approaches of Northern and Western European Countries towards the Phenomenon of Migration. A Shift towards Restriction?

Přistupy zemi Severni a Zapadni Evropy k fenomenu Migrace. Posun k Restrikci?

Author(s): Sylvie Burianová,Jan Kovář / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: migration policy;

The aim of this policy paper is to outline the reasons for the shift towards restriction in the migration policies of Western European states in recent years, especially in the context of increasing immigration from non-EU countries and the Ukrainian refugee crisis. To this end, it presents factors that have an impact on the growth of anti-immigration attitudes among European citizens and, as a result, on the rhetoric of political representatives and the formulation of policies. These factors include the depletion of material capacities for immigrants, the economic costs associated with their arrival and subsequent integration into the host society, the perceived connection between immigration and an increase in crime, and the normalization of the far-right in the political mainstream. The above facts play a crucial role in formulating a new form of European immigration policies in the post-crisis period after 2015. Their importance is particularly evident in countries where, although it was always possible to observe a very open and welcoming approach to immigration, there has been a significant sharpening of migration rhetoric. Sweden and Germany can be included among these countries.

Review of Human Rights Treaty Bodies 2020: How to improve Monitoring and Oversight of Compliance with global Human Rights Standards?

Revize lidskoprávních smluvních orgánů 2020: Jak zlepšit monitorování a kontrolu dodržování celosvětových standardů lidských práv?

Author(s): Jan Lhotský / Language(s): Czech

Human rights treaty bodies are committees of experts that monitor compliance with human rights conventions at the universal level. For more than three decades, there has been a debate about the need to improve their functioning. In 2014, certain measures were introduced, with a review to be carried out in another six years. In 2020, another round of debates is underway on how to reform the treaty bodies. // The measures discussed include the introduction of a fixed calendar that would allow for regular reviews of all states regardless of their level of cooperation, and a number of other proposals. The final form of the system will be approved by the UN General Assembly, which will significantly affect the effectiveness of the functioning of the mechanism, the purpose of which is to pressure compliance with international human rights standards in all parts of the world. // The Czech Republic is forming its positions in cooperation with the member states of the European Union. First and foremost, it should support the introduction of a fixed calendar, including the provision of financial resources required for the implementation of the given measure. In addition, a number of quality measures were identified during the discussions to simplify the work of the committees, reduce the backlog or improve the quality of outputs. The Czech Republic should also help to include in the final text of the UN General Assembly resolution a provision for a further review in the next six years. It is likely that the growth of the system will require deeper institutional reform.

Czech Balancing of the Chinese and Taiwan Agenda: No need for Improvisation

České balancování Čínské a Tchajwanské agendy: Improvizací netřeba

Author(s): Rudolf Fürst / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: China vs. Taiwan; Prague-Beijing treaty;

The contradictions surrounding the terminated Prague-Beijing treaty and the planned trips of Senate Presidents Jaroslav Kubera and his successor Miroslav Vystrčil to Taiwan have unexpectedly problematicized the view of Czech policy balancing between Taiwan and China. Will our Taiwanese contacts disrupt relations with the politically more important China and damage our economic interests in the PRC? The well-managed practice of simultaneously balancing Czech interests in Taiwan and China, lasting over two decades, has unexpectedly become complicated and has become the subject of sharp disputes about supporting Taiwan and defending national dignity from pressure from the Chinese embassy. The following text recaps the experience of the Czech Republic's dual diplomacy towards the PRC and Taiwan and identifies a crisis of confidence in the use of options that are easily offered, that have proven successful, and that the Czech Republic learned to manage already in the 1990s. The escalation of the Czech domestic debate is observed in connection with the split in Czech policy towards China and its domestic politicization. Taiwan has become another example of how the Czech public debate in mediatized abbreviations shifts to identity stories that distract attention from the essence, which is the common pragmatic need of the state's foreign policy. The conclusion recommends a return to proven practice and consideration of strengthening the positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government, which should not be exposed to the role of bystanders. Visits by Czech state representatives to Taiwan at the highest level - the President, Prime Minister, line minister and chairmen of both chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic - for substantive and relevant reasons, it is not necessary to reject them a priori, but to proceed with them as exceptional steps subject to the consensus of politically responsible actors. In this context, the trip of the President of the Senate to Taiwan is insufficiently justified.

Dilemma of Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Syria: Time to expand European Humanitarian Engagement?

Dilemata post-konfliktní Rekonstrukce Sýrie: Čas na rozšíření Evropského humanitárního Zapojení?

Author(s): Jan Daniel / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: war in Syria; reconstruction; Syrian government; humanitarian needs; European countries; Czech Republic; political reforms;

The policy paper summarizes the ongoing international and European debate on the form of reconstruction of the territory under the control of the Syrian government and suggests a possible form of involvement for the EU and the Czech Republic. Humanitarian and reconstruction needs in Syria exceed the capabilities of the Syrian government and its allies. Moreover, their approaches to reconstruction are primarily focused on restoring government control over the Syrian population and economic profit. European countries are thus faced with a dilemma between the financial support for reconstruction that has been advocated so far, conditional on more significant political reforms that are rejected by the Assad government, and the existing humanitarian needs in the country. However, there is also the possibility of a third way between completely refusing to cooperate with the Syrian government and engaging in the reconstruction of Syrian infrastructure by expanding humanitarian assistance and testing the Syrian government's willingness to make potential concessions. In this context, the text also identifies possibilities for involvement for the Czech Republic, which arise from its long-term diplomatic presence in Syria.