Publisher: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů

How to Communicate Europe? Communication and public attitudes towards the EU

Jak komunikovat Evropu? Komunikace a postoj veřejnosti k EU

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

Keywords: European integration; communication; public attitudes towards the EU; politics; 2005;

Dne 21. října 2005 se v Olomouci uskutečnila konference nazvaná „Jak komunikovat Evropu? Komunikace a postoj veřejnosti k EU“. Jednalo se o třetí z cyklu čtyř konferencí nazvaného „Evropská integrace a evropská veřejnost“. Mezi hlavní otázky konference patřily význam komunikace vůči veřejnosti v otázkách týkajících se evropské integrace (dále jen jako komunikace) a také současné problémy a možné strategie této komunikace. V tomto shrnutí nabízíme přehled hlavních myšlenek, jež na této konferenci zazněly. Připojujeme rovněž konkrétní doporučení, která byla na konferenci navržena a která by měla vést ke zmírnění přetrvávajících nedostatků komunikace.

How to strengthen the coherence of Czech policies for international development? Realistic approach in the areas of migration, trade and agriculture

Jak posílit koherenci českých politik pro mezinárodní rozvoj? Realistický přístup v oblastech migrace, obchodu a zemědělství

Author(s): Ondřej Horký / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: Czech policy; trade; agriculture; migration; development; brain drain;

I zdánlivě malé úpravy českých politik v oblasti migrace, obchodu a zemědělství mají velký vliv na rozvojové země, často větší než výrazné navýšení rozvojové spolupráce. Větší zohlednění zájmů chudých zemí v českých politikách je však mimořádně složité kvůli velkému počtu aktérů a jejich odlišným zájmům a institucionálním kulturám. Pokud má však mít česká rozvojová politika smysl, je nutné začít s posilováním koherence politik pro rozvoj co nejdříve. • V oblasti migrace je třeba pečlivě sledovat dopady pilotního projektu řízené migrace a reformovat program vládních stipendií pro studenty a studentky z rozvojových zemí tak, aby nepřispívaly jako dosud k „odlivu mozků“, ale je-li to uskutečnitelné, k jejich „oběhu“, tedy dočasné migraci. Také je nutné usnadnit zasílání remitencí přistěhovalců do rozvojových a transformujících se zemí a výhledově zapojit do rozvoje jejich diaspory. • V oblasti mezinárodního obchodu a zemědělství musí příslušné rezorty především plnit programové prohlášení vlády, které jim ukládá brát v potaz dopady obou politik na rozvojové země. Česká republika by měla prosazovat svoji spíše liberální pozici především také v bourání bariér na straně rozvinutých zemí. Společně je třeba přizvat Exportní garanční a pojišťovací společnosti k dialogu o mezinárodním rozvoji i proto, že v oblastech obchodu a zemědělství neexistuje shoda ohledně jeho významu.

How Should We Deal with the Discrimination and Dysfunction in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Towards a New European Approach

How Should We Deal with the Discrimination and Dysfunction in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Towards a New European Approach

Author(s): Tomáš Dopita / Language(s): English

Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovinaʼs internal structure; discrimination; dysfunction; EU integration; education; cargo and transport; private business and enterprise; agricultural production; trade;

Bosnia and Herzegovinaʼs internal structure is regarded discriminatory and dysfunctional. The process of European integration is stalled. There is an urgent need to increase both the top-down and the bottom up pressure on the local politicians so that they would pursue the necessary reforms. The top-down pressure on politicians can be enhanced by a rationalization of external institutional relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely by the closure of the Office of the High Representative. The bottom-up pressure on the local political representatives can be improved through societal integration in everyday life. The current trend of the disintegration of common institutions and material structures needs to be countered. Societal integration should be nurtured by improving the means for common education, cargo and transport, private business and enterprise, agricultural production, and trade.

EU-Iran Energy Relations: opportunities and barriers to gas supply

Energetické vztahy EU a Írán: příležitosti a překážky pro dodávky zemního plynu

Author(s): Lukáš Tichý / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: EU-Iran Energy Relations; gas supply; Czech Republic; Visegrad Groups; barriers;

Írán s největšími zásobami zemního plynu na světě představuje alternativního dodavatele plynu do zemí EU, která je jedním z největších spotřebitelů energie. Pro export plynu z Íránu do EU pomocí plynovodů či ve formě LNG zatím existují překážky technického, ekonomického, energetického, politického, regionálního a bezpečnostního charakteru. Po roce 2025 by pak Írán do zemí EU, včetně ČR, mohl postupně dodávat desítky miliard metrů krychlových plynu pomocí tankerů ve formě LNG. Evropská unie by si měla vymezit svoje priority energetické strategie pro dodávky plynu a posílit v tomto směru energetické vztahy s Íránem. Podobně ČR a země V4 by měly usilovat o zlepšení energetické spolupráce s Íránem.

Collective Defence in the Age of Hybrid Warfare

Collective Defence in the Age of Hybrid Warfare

Author(s): Benjamin Tallis,Michal Šimečka / Language(s): English

Keywords: Hybrid warfare; Donbas Conflict; Crimea annexation;

Over the past two and half years, ‘hybrid warfare’ has turned from an academic fad into an article of conventional wisdom. Russia’s March 2014 annexation of Crimea and aggression in the Donbas – and, even more importantly, the lessons collectively inferred from the conflict by US and European policy-makers – has fashioned a new lens through which security in Europe, particularly the Eastern flank of NATO, came to be imagined and pursued. This is despite the lack of either an agreed-upon definition or a consensus on the manifestations of hybrid warfare. This discussion paper provides a (critical) reflection on hybrid warfare – as both a concept and a practice – in the context of collective security in Europe, and discusses the role of the institutions and policies of NATO, the EU, and Member States. This introductory section presents an overview of the state of play. It outlines the core challenges of hybrid warfare for collective defense in the post-2014 context, especially regarding the Eastern flank of NATO, as well as the strategic assumptions that underlie them.

The nuclear weapons ban convention and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The nuclear weapons ban convention and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Author(s): Miroslav Tůma / Language(s): English

Keywords: NATO; Nuclear Disarmament;

This year, there will be an international conference in the headquarters of the UN in New York. The conference will have a mandate to negotiate an agreement to ban nuclear weapons. Besides being attended by member states of the UN, the conference will be attended by representatives of some non-specified international organizations and civic society representatives. The conference will be held on the basis of a resolution which has been adopted by the First Committee (the United Nations Committee on Disarmament and International Security) during the 71stUN General Assembly at the end of October 2016 (A/C.1/71/L.41) and subsequently adopted at a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2016 (A/RES/71/258). The resolution’s title Taking Forward Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations calls on the world to achieve progress in just that area. Its importance especially resides in the wording of some paragraphs of the operational part, which contain the decision to convene the above mentioned conference in 2017 to negotiate a legally binding instrument banning nuclear weapons, which should lead to their complete elimination. The content of the resolution has been influenced by recommendations of the final report of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), which held talks in Geneva in the first half of 2016. It was to assess new legal measures and the needed standards for reaching a world without nuclear weapons. (The article follows up the International Law Reflection #10, issued on November 10th 2016)

All’s wrong that starts wrong – withdrawals from the International Criminal Court

All’s wrong that starts wrong – withdrawals from the International Criminal Court

Author(s): Tamás Lattmann / Language(s): English

Keywords: International Criminal Court; Hague Tribunal;

The Hague-based International Criminal Court, the world’s first permanent judicial forum, created in 1998 by the adoption of the Rome Statute, has been living difficult times during the past months. After years of struggle since its operations have started in 2002, the second half of 2016 has brought withdrawals, threats for withdrawals, and even a visibly collective strategy for a mass withdrawal of African states from the system. What keeps states in a similar structure, what makes them seriously consider a withdrawal, and what is the possible future of the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

Where Two Are Fighting, the Third Has to Adjudicate – Ukraine and the Russian Federation at the International Court of Justice

Where Two Are Fighting, the Third Has to Adjudicate – Ukraine and the Russian Federation at the International Court of Justice

Author(s): Veronika Bílková / Language(s): English

Keywords: International Court of Justice; Ukraine against Russian Federation;

The first hearing in the dispute between Ukraine and the Russian Federation was held at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague on 6th-9th March 2017. The hearing did not relate to the substance of the dispute, but to the request by Ukraine for provisional measures under Article 41 of the ICJ. The decision on the request has not been issued yet. Despite this, it might be useful to briefly summarize the case and consider Ukraine´s chances to succeed in it.

Do Two Wrongs Make a Right? The Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria and the US Strike

Do Two Wrongs Make a Right? The Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria and the US Strike

Author(s): Veronika Bílková / Language(s): English

Keywords: Khan Sheikhoun; war in Syria; chemical weapons used in Syria;

On Thursday 6 April 2017, the US carried out a missile strike in Syria. It did so in response to the chemical attack which had taken place two days earlier in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, in the rebel-controlled part of the Idlib province, killing 80 and seriously injuring more than 200 civilians. The chemical attack has been uniformly condemned. The US attack, on the contrary, has attracted not only criticism but also statements of support and of praise. This is surprising provided that the two attacks both constitute a clear violation of some of the most fundamental norms of the international legal order. And that the latter attack may potentially threaten the stability of this order, and the values it protects, not less than the former one.

A promising beginning of negotiations of a convention banning nuclear weapons

A promising beginning of negotiations of a convention banning nuclear weapons

Author(s): Miroslav Tůma / Language(s): English

Keywords: ban of nuclear weapons; Red Cross;

The first round of talks regarding the negotiations of a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons (their use, production, ownership, etc.) took place on March 27–31, 2017, at the UN Headquarters in New York under the presidency of Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica. The second, and final round of talks, during which the finalization and adoption of the proposed convention is expected, should take place in New York from June 15 to July 7, 2017. The aforementioned first round was preceded by an organizational meeting in New York on February 16, 2017, in the presence of representatives of more than 100 countries, at which the provisional agenda and the rules of procedure for the general meeting of the UN General Assembly were agreed. According to these rules, a two-thirds majority is necessary for decisions on important questions and a simple majority of all present members is required for procedural issues. In contrast to consensus decision-making, which is valid, for instance, for the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, no country present at the UN conference can veto an adopted decision.The first round of negotiations was attended by around 130 countries, and representatives of several organizations, such as the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a number of non-governmental organizations, as well as surviving victims of the US-caused nuclear explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which are called Hibakusha in Japan. All countries that own nuclear weapons, as well as a large majority of Alliance states, including the Czech Republic, and partner countries relying on nuclear protection, especially protection by the US, boycotted the meeting. From the Alliance states, only the Netherlands attended, and from the European Union states, the already mentioned Netherlands, and also Austria, Sweden and Ireland participated. From the partner countries, Japan was present.

What future for Peace? The changing nature of democratic governance and the military organization.

What future for Peace? The changing nature of democratic governance and the military organization.

Author(s): Pauline Collins / Language(s): English

Keywords: effective Democracy; good governance; nation state;

The United Nations Charter (1945) sets forth in its preamble its raison d’être as saving “succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and […] to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors”. The reality that since 1945 the world has experienced more than 250 major conflicts, with many more than 100 million casualties, shows that these aims have been largely aspirational. While the nature of conflicts has changed since the end of the Cold War, with the focus turning to internal state conflicts rather than international conflicts, there have been at least three major international wars in recent times. In addition, we see a challenge to the concept of the nation state, key to the system of containment of violence in the international arena, with the rise of non-state actors such as armed groups supporting ideologies and commercial private military and security companies (PMSC) operating in some of the prior domains of state militaries. The fragmentation within states through/ differentiating ethnic and religious populations, and the existence of failed states, present challenges to the universal system and attempts such as the Geneva Conventions to constrain aspects of conflict.

Does the Negotiated Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Contradict the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)?

Does the Negotiated Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Contradict the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)?

Author(s): Miroslav Tůma / Language(s): English

Keywords: nuclear disarmament; Non-Proliferation treaty;

As regards nuclear disarmament negotiations, the year 2017 has been exception also far. The main reason for such praise is that this year, the historically unprecedented two-stage negotiations regarding the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons have begun at the UN conference in New York. The first round of the talks already took place on March 27–3, 2017, the second one began on June 15 and will finish on July 7, 2017.Moreover, in the first half of the year, the first meeting of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee for the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons took place in Vienna on May 2–12, which opened the Treaty’s review process. Within its framework, the Committee has scheduled another two meetings before the whole review process will reach its climax in 2020 with the 10th Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. After the failure of the preliminary Review Conference in 2015 due to fact that it did not come to a consensus or an agreement on the final report, the following review process is of the utmost importance, especially in the context of the future negotiations about the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Catalonia at the crossroads. Or taking the wrong Direction?

Katalánsko na rozcestí. Nebo na scestí?

Author(s): Veronika Bílková / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: Carles Puigdemont; Catalan independence;

On Friday, October 27, 2017, the Autonomous Community of Catalonia advanced to the long-awaited and very dreadful declaration of independence from Spain. It did so by approving the Declaration of Independence published by Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont on 10 October, two weeks earlier, but the document remained aside and served as a tool of pressure on the Spanish government. Rubikon has now been exceeded, and the Catalan Parliament has formally accepted the declaration. This was a very tight majority of 70 votes in the 135-ballot institution (10 MPs voted against, two absent, the rest of the party not taking part in the protest). The result clearly shows that significant dividing lines are currently not only between Spain and Catalonia, but also inside Catalan society itself.The Catalan question is very complex. It has political, economic, social, historical, cultural, legal and emotional aspects. This reflection is further analyzed only by the penultimate category; therefore, it contemplates the legal aspects of the declaration of Catalan independence. When reading a reflection, it must be borne in mind that law (both national and international) is just one of the pieces of a complex mosaic that, although it has an effect on the resulting picture, does not determine it in itself. In the case of Catalonia, this is all the more true that the law leaves many issues concerning the emergence of new states and the secession of part of the state territory deliberately vague so as not to conclude the path of different political agreements.

Kurdistan and Catalonia as new states? Caught between sovereignty and peoples’ right to self-determination

Kurdistan and Catalonia as new states? Caught between sovereignty and peoples’ right to self-determination

Author(s): Tamás Lattmann / Language(s): English

Keywords: Separatism; nation-state; ethnic independence;

During recent weeks, two major referenda have taken place with serious ambition: to create new states by secession, one in Catalonia in Spain, one in the Kurdish territory in Iraq. The current analysis sheds light to the international legal background of similar situations and their possible consequence under the current legal-political circumstances.

« Hot potato » Carles Puigdemont

« Horký brambor » Carles Puigdemont

Author(s): Veronika Bílková / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: Carles Puigdemont;

The American President Donald Trump and “The Worst” Deal

The American President Donald Trump and “The Worst” Deal

Author(s): Miroslav Tůma / Language(s): English

Keywords: Iranian Nuclear Agreement Review Act; Donald Trump;

In May 2015, that is, a month before the agreement was negotiated, the Iranian Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA) was approved by the Republican-led US Congress, and it required the President to periodically evaluate any agreement reached in the talks of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and Iran to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by the latter country. He was to give his opinion to Congress within a 90-day period enforced by law.On the basis of the above law, President Trump granted the required certification of Iran's compliance with the deal twice in the first half of 2017, i.e. in April and July. However, by the October 13 deadline, he still did not provide the expected third certification, leaving Congress to decide within a 60-day period on the US's further steps in relation to the deal. By failing to certify it, President Trump has not withdrawn from the agreement and has also not called Congress to resume the anti-nuclear sanctions, which would most likely lead to an end of the agreement. However, according to Suzanne Maloney, the Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, "that step undermines the legitimacy of the agreement, which may lead to its collapse."

The crime of aggression back on the scene

Zločin agrese znovu na scéně

Author(s): Veronika Bílková / Language(s): Czech

Keywords: International Criminal Court; ICJ;

Although there is consensus, since the post-war tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo, that the launch of the illegal war is one of the worst acts that can be committed, prosecution of the individuals responsible for this act, i.e. the so-called crime of aggression, is not possible on the international stage. It lacked not only the political will but also the definition of crime and also the body that would be competent to take charge of it. Over the last two decades, the situation has gradually changed. The International Criminal Court (MTS) was established in 1998, the definition of the crime of aggression was agreed in 2010, and finally, on December 14, 2017, MTS was given the opportunity to apply the definition and to prosecute on its basis. This is a significant shift, but it has significant limits that will undoubtedly affect its practical impact. This reflection first summarizes the development of efforts to prosecute the crime of aggression on an international level, and consequently represents some of the limits the current regime suffers.

A US Senate Supreme Statement Warrant to President's Permit to launch a Nuclear Assault

Varovné slyšení senátního výboru USA k prezidentově oprávnění zahájit jaderný útok

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

Keywords: Donald Trump; Nuclear strike;

Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel – acknowledging the obvious, or an illegitimate act?

Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel – acknowledging the obvious, or an illegitimate act?

Author(s): Veronika Bílková / Language(s): English

Keywords: Jerusalem as capital; Donald Trump;

On December 6, 2017, the US president Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of the State of Israel and announced his plan to move the American embassy there. The majority of States have reacted with condemnation or unease to this decision; a minority, including the Czech Republic, have expressed their understanding or, in some cases, even support for it. The divide within the international community demonstrated itself also in the UN General Assembly. The resolution criticizing the attempts to change the status of Jerusalem unilaterally was adopted by 128 votes in favor, with 9 States voting against and 35, including the Czech Republic, abstaining. In the UN Security Council, a resolution with a very similar content got support from 1 States but could not be adopted due to the US veto. What makes the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel such a controversial issue? Is it not after all, as Trump said, just the recognition of the obvious? What led the General Assembly to express its deep regret at the US decision and label it as legally problematic? These questions will be addressed in the following International Law Reflection of the Centre for International Law of the IIR.

Will the implementation of plans of Trump's nuclear weapons administration really reduce the threshold for the outbreak of a nuclear war?

Nepovede realizace plánovaných záměrů Trumpovy administrativy v oblasti jaderných zbraní ke snížení prahu možnosti vypuknutí jaderné války?

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

Keywords: US nuclear policy; Donald Trump; strategic concept;

At the end of the first year of its operation, the administration of President Donald Trump gradually acquainted the American and world public with the main doctrinal security papers. In December 2017, it published the "National Security Strategy of the United States of America" and in January 2018 the "Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America”. A "Nuclear Posture Review 2018" (NPR 2018) was presented by the US Department of Defense at a press conference on February 2, 2018.The planned nuclear-related measures are derived from Donald Trump's overall vision of preserving the leadership of the United States in the international order, especially from the position of power. An important role in the US's efforts to face geopolitical and regional threats will be played by the armed forces, including the modernization of military infrastructure and armaments. Doctrinal documents in this effort divide nuclear weapons, as part of strengthening the deterrent concept, an extraordinary place.