CSD-Report 33 - Extortion racketeering in the EU: vulnerability factors

Author(s): Atanas Rusev,Lorella Garofalo,Elena Sciandra,Andrea Gimenez-Salinas,Carmen Jorda,Manuel de Juan Espinosa,Tihomir Bezlov,Margarita Gasparinatou,Irene Stamouli,Sofia Vidali,Marina Marchiaro,Valentina Giampietri,Radu Nicolae / Language(s): English

Extortion racketeering has been long pointed out as the defining activity of organised crime. Although in recent years this crime has not been among the top listed organised crime threats in the strategic EU policy documents, it still remains ever present in European countries. The seriousness of the phenomenon has been recognised at the EU level and the crime has been listed in a number of EU legal acts in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The report Extortion racketeering in the EU: vulnerability factors analyses extortion racketeering forms and practices in six EU member states. The analysis disentangles the risk and the vulnerability factors for enterprises in two business sectors – agriculture and hospitality – as well as in the Chinese communities. Drawing on the results of the analysis, the report suggests new policies for tackling extortion racketeering in the EU. This report has been produced with the joint efforts of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses y de la Seguridad – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Transcrime – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano and Vitosha Research and with the support of Guardia Civil in Spain.

CSD-Report 11 - Corruption, Trafficking and Institutional Reform

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

The present report summarizes researches and discussions conducted by members of the expert group within the framework of the Bulgarian anti-corruption initiative Coalition 2000 established in 1997. The report is dedicated to one of the most serious problems of the Bulgarian transition towards market economy, stable democratic institutions and legal state. The exploding growth of trans-border crime during the last 12 years has led to the emergence of criminal infrastructure, developed and maintained by criminal groups and semi-legal "power groups," which have appeared in the mentioned period. The trans-border crime in Bulgaria is a part of the new network of international organized crime, which was established after the end of the Cold War and which is closely connected to the regional channels of smuggling and trafficking. Smuggling (including drug smuggling) and trafficking are in particular the main sources of income for organized crime in the country.

CSD-Report 14 - Българският износ на оръжие: оценка на контролния механизъм върху експорта на малки оръжия и леко въоръжение (Bulgarian version)

Author(s): Philip Gounev,Emil Tsenkov,Bernardo Mariani,Larry Attree / Language(s): Bulgarian

The report concludes that despite the evolution of Bulgaria’s arms export controls and its relatively clean record, compared to most of the 1990s, there is still room for improvement. The best approach to tackling all the issues raised in this report is through stricter implementation of the new export control mechanism adopted in 2002. // The report is divided into five parts. Part one provides an analysis of the social and economic reasons that have contributed to the reluctance among Bulgarian politicians to strengthen arms controls. It describes the transformation of the defense industry in the post-Communist transition period, as well as its current state. Part two provides an analytical description of Bulgaria’s arms control mechanism. Part three examines the factors contributing to illegal arms exports from Bulgaria and offers some data from recent cases. Part four focuses on the potential social, economic, and political effects of stronger arms controls. The last section offers a number of recommendations for the improvement of the export-control system.

The Uses and Abuses of Neoliberalism and Technocracy in the Post-totalitarian Regimes in Eastern Europe: The Case of Macedonia

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova / Language(s): English

BOSANSKOHERCEGOVAČKO DRUŠTVO I SAVREMENOST

Author(s): Abdel Alibegović,Ibrahim Bakić,Sarina Bakić,Adnan Džafić,Mirza Emirhafizović,Šaćir Filandra,Nezir Krčalo,Asim Mujkić,Jusuf Žiga / Language(s): Bosnian

Social reality appears ordered to the members of society only because they are actively involved in its design. This period of order and arrangement of social reality enables that reality to be understandable to its members. In order to survive, they must constitute a world of meaning and live within it. Without symbols there would be no human interaction and no human society. But the task of sociology is the "deconstruction" of symbols and their meanings and the construction of the world of meanings adopted by members of society on the way to building a community that strives for the "common good". So that new meanings do not become an "ideological network" for individuals and collectivities, the basis of sociological research should be focused on three levels of their analysis: epistemological-logical, structural-historical, anthropological-ontological. On this path, fundamental knowledge of social sciences and humanities is necessary. The choice of knowledge of scientific disciplines and their methods in deciphering the symbols of social reality will be conditioned by the need of the moment. According to Spasić (Spasić 2004), sociology faces the following disciplinary tasks in the modern world: to reject the man-nature dichotomy, since there is less and less certainty in both the natural and social sciences, the complex, temporal and unstable are increasingly emphasized; reject the state as a self-evident framework for theorizing and research and focus on the local, regional and transnational levels; to accept the tension between the universal and the particular; understand objectivity in a new way – the crisis of Western scientific objectivity cannot be resolved by adopting subjectivity, but by accepting pluralism, discussion and learning. Within sociology, three shifts are discussed: no institutional order is taken as a given anymore, but the process of their "construction" is followed through the actions of the actors involved; it is emphasized that social actors are not passive products of patterns and structures, but are autonomous participants in their formation; the importance of power and the aspect of symbolic construction of reality in shaping institutional orders. The "new" sociology follows these changes in social reality, on the other hand it reflects the changed theoretical environment. Within everyday behavior, one actually tries to find answers to the questions of how decisions are made, how routines are created and how rules are followed or broken. Valid rules – routines and regularities in behavior are studied in such a way as to show us how the circumstances in which we live and act are socially organized. Looking beyond the surface and the seemingly observable, to discover the meanings behind it. Why do we have rules for different situations, how are these rules formed and why do we follow them? (Scott 2009) The "turn" made by M. Heidegger with his concept of being beinghere (German: Dasein) seriously called into question one of the central concepts of classical philosophy, the concept of the subject: Heidegger denies the identity of the subject, i.e. the notion that it represents a set of permanent and unchanging properties that make it the same. Instead, being-heremeans a constant self-determination in a social context. The notion of a subject completely conditioned by the external world, which is otherwise at the basis of positivism, was seriously contested. This also highlights the considerable emptiness and lack of meaning of that "mathematical" picture of the world that positivism, following the example of the natural sciences, tries to create about society. What we could distinguish today as operative from the legacy of classical sociology are the following attitudes: soften the boundaries towards other related sciences, reject the man-nature dichotomy, and deal with the reality of social facts. Only sociology, whose epistemological basis is phenomenology, can speak about the laws of nature and society, about "social matter" and its negation, about man and his spiritual ascent, and psychological states and frustrations, weak and correct intuitions, etc. social facts" phenomenological reduction through which the essence (eidos) of things is known. Because, only through their own spiritual reflection can sociologists bring scientific knowledge into harmony or unity with the original human nature, which by itself strives for that goal, and said harmony would be reflected in knowledge that would be a testimony of a unique "picture of the world" in man and in the cosmos. In Hegel's language, the same mental basis pervades all Reality, both natural and social. The theoretical basis of the manuscript includes the main ideas of theories of action and modern historical sociology adapted to the historical and cultural peculiarities of Bosnian society. Briefly stated, Sztompka's explanation of social development and action through the concept of social change within modern historical sociology explains that historical transformations include not only actors, structures and actors, not only actions, operations and practices, not only environments of 181 nature and consciousness, but also connections between all these, the ways in which they combine to create social dynamics. Over time, the very principles of work, the way of functioning and changes in human society undergo significant transformations. Not only does action change in the course of its own practice, but social becoming changes its way in the course of history (Sztompka 2004). However, there is always a core of tradition, which is passed down from generation to generation, for long periods of time. As a result, the process is endowed with significant continuity and cumulativeness.

XXIII. mezinárodní kolokvium o regionálních vědách: Sborník příspěvků

Author(s): / Language(s): Slovak,English,Czech

The conference proceedings consists of papers presented at the 23rd International Colloquium on Regional Sciences that was organized by Department of Regional Economics and Administration FEA MU. It contains 71 articles arranged by topic. The individual articles deal with e.g. socioeconomic disparities among regions, regional policy, territory attractiveness, tourism or regional public administration.

Finansal Gelişim, Demokrasi ve Beşeri Sermayenin Gelir Dağılımına Etkisi

Author(s): Gamze Destek,Gökçen Sayar / Language(s): Turkish

Although there are many empirical studies examining the effects of financial development on economic growth performance of countries, the impact of the increased national income as a result of financial development on the low-income segments of society and income distribution is mostly ignored. In addition, it is also well-known fact that there are contradictory arguments about the impact of financial development on income distribution. However, according to the hypothesis called "financial Kuznets hypothesis" which has been introduced in recent years, in the initial stages of financial development, high asymmetric information and the high cost of accessing financial resources deteriorates the income distribution. Along with the maturation of the financial system, access to financial resources of the low-income segment is facilitated therefore income distribution is positively affected. To sum up, according to this hypothesis, an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between financial development and income inequality. This study aims to examine the validity of the financial Kuznets hypothesis for the period of 1990-2013 for 23 developing countries. In this direction, it is aimed to examine the effects of economic growth, democracy, human capital and financial development on income inequality. For this purpose, panel unit root, panel cointegration, panel FMOLS long-run coefficient estimator and panel causality tests are utilized to examine the relationship between mentioned variables. As a result of the empirical analyses, it is seen that when the findings are evaluated on the basis of the panel, increasing national income, democracy level and human capital accumulation reduces income inequality. Furthermore, it is found that there is Ushaped relationship between financial development and income inequality and therefore the existence of financial Kuznets hypothesis is not confirmed.

Ekonomi ve Finans Politikaları Üzerine Çalışmalar

Author(s): / Language(s): Turkish,English

This book titled "Studies on Economics and Financial Policies" is an editorial work which examines the theoretical and practical issues related to various economic and financial policies that are currently carried out and will be carried out in the future in many developed and developing countries of today, and recommends various policy studies that may be applied in the future to researchers and policy makers. Undoubtedly, the literature of economics and finance includes a very comprehensive and broad body of theoretical infrastructure, the systematic foundations of which date back to the 15th Century. However, since it is not possible to cover all of the theoretical and applied economic and financial theories of the areas mentioned in this work, the areas that are mostly highlighted in the aforementioned literature are discussed in this work within the frameworks of specific subjects. These discussions are handled in a holistic and compatible way within the scope of the work, and this integrity is supported by theoretical and applied studies. In this respect, we would like to thank all our authors who contributed their valuable time for the preparation of this book, and, as editors, we are proud to put a stone, albeit a small one, to the ever developing economy and finance literature. We hope that this work will be beneficial to all interested readers. As always, the merit belongs to all contributing researchers, and to the best of our knowledge, there are no errors; however, if there are any, the responsibility is ours.

Sosyal Bilimler Üzerine Araştirmalar: Ekonomi & Politika

Author(s): / Language(s): Turkish

This book includes research conducted in the fields of economy and politics. Each chapter discusses topics such as land consolidation, agricultural input price index, female employment, income distribution, environmental Kuznets curve, blockchain technology, green logistics practices, Islamic economic thought, financing methods of participation banks. The chapters aim to contribute to the solution of problems in the economy and politics by discussing policies and strategies. The research presented is offered from both academic and practical perspectives, in a format suitable for a wide audience. This book provides a valuable resource for those interested in the economy and politics, as well as a reference source for academics, students, and professionals working in these fields.

Sosyal Bilimler Üzerine Araştırmalar I

Author(s): / Language(s): Turkish

Kapitalist düşünce teorik çerçevede, ekonomide tam rekabet piyasasının işlerlik kazanmasının, ekonomiyi etkin bir şekilde yönlendireceğine, arz ve talep birlikteliğini tam istihdam dengesinde sağlayacağına inanır. Bu sebepten dolayı devletin hiçbir şekilde ekonominin işleyişine müdahale etmemesi gerektiğini söyler. O halde iktisadi mantık, fizik kanunları vb. örneklerde olduğu gibi evrensel geçerliliğe sahiptir ki bundan dolayı yürütülecek iktisat politikasının amaç ve araçları da, gelişme düzeyine bakılmaksızın bütün ekonomiler için aynıdır. Ancak meseleye gerçeğin gözünden baktığımız zaman, insanların ekonomik menfaat düşüncesinin haricinde bazı sebeplerden dolayı irrasyonel davranabileceğini söylemek mümkün hale gelmektedir. Kaldı ki bu davranışların, bireyin yaşamını sürdürdüğü toplum dinamiklerinden soyutlanabilmesi mümkün değildir...

Polityka państwa na rynku pracy w warunkach transformacji i integracji gospodarczej

Author(s): Wacław Jarmołowicz,Magdalena Knapińska / Language(s): Polish

Książka w nowatorski sposób opisuje zagadnienia dotyczące polityki przeciwdziałania bezrobociu w Polsce, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem aspektów związanych z integracją z Unią Europejską. Autorzy, odwołując się do dorobku i ustaleń teoretycznych oraz wykorzystując wyniki własnych badań terenowych, dokonali analizy i oceny roli państwa w zwalczaniu zjawiska bezrobocia zarówno w obszarze ogólnokrajowym, jak i regionalnym.

Lucrările conferinţei de cercetare în construcţii, economia construcţiilor, urbanism şi amenajarea teritoriului

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Romanian,French

Includes full papers presented in the research conference on constructions, economy of constructions, architecture, urbanism and territorial development.

Niepewność zatrudnienia wśród pracowników na przykładzie banków

Author(s): Jerzy Kaźmierczyk / Language(s): Polish

Głównym celem monografii jest identyfikacja i pomiar powiązań niepewności zatrudnienia z wybranymi aspektami pracy (stresem, zaangażowaniem organizacyjnym i subiektywnie postrzeganą efektywnością pracy, z uwzględnieniem wpływu takich mediatorów organizacyjnych jak zaufanie i relacje interpersonalne oraz wpływu postrzeganej zatrudnialności i kontroli nad pracą). Przeprowadzono pogłębioną analizę literatury przedmiotu, opartą na blisko 700 pozycjach dotyczących niepewności zatrudnienia na gruncie ekonomii i finansów. Badania autorskie pozwoliły zapełnić część luk, zarówno tych dotyczących technik i metod badawczych, jak i samego meritum niepewności zatrudnienia. Badanie empiryczne przeprowadzono wśród pracowników polskich banków na dużej próbie badawczej ponad 2400 osób, co jest istotne ze względu na brak do tej pory takich badań w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej. To pierwsza w Polsce praca całościowo traktująca zagadnienie niepewności zatrudnienia (przyczyny, skutki, metody pomiaru, subiektywna niepewność zatrudnienia, ilościowa i jakościowa niepewność zatrudnienia). W warstwie empirycznej bazuje na bankach, jednak zarówno rozważania teoretyczne, jak i wnioski w dużym stopniu mają charakter uniwersalny i mogą zostać wykorzystane w odniesieniu do niepewności zatrudnienia w innych sektorach gospodarki.

Sustainable food. Production and consumption perspectives

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

Sustainable food security is a pressing global challenge, requiring research and advocacy for both production and consumption practices. On one hand, the focus of research lies in the development of technologies and processes that enable the production of food with minimal losses and a reduced negative environmental impact. On the other hand, e orts are directed towards strengthening positive attitudes among food consumers, promoting environmentally friendly diets, and reducing food losses. This book aims to address this challenge by exploring sustainable food systems from production to consumption. Through literature reviews, original research, and perspectives, the book seeks to disseminate the concept of food sustainability to scientists, researchers, and practitioners. We hope this monograph will contribute, albeit modestly, to making food processes more sustainable.

Rentowność i płynność finansowa przedsiębiorstw w kontekście programów rozwojowych gospodarki. Uwarunkowania Polskiego Ładu

Author(s): Cezary Kochalski,Dawid Szutowski / Language(s): Polish

Celem monografii jest rozpoznanie możliwości posługiwania się narzędziami analizy ekonomicznej przy ocenie rentowności i płynności finansowej przedsiębiorstw w kontekście programów rozwojowych gospodarki. W warstwie empirycznej publikacji odwołano się do uwarunkowań programu Polski Ład. W badaniach nad oddziaływaniem realizacji programów rozwojowych na kondycję finansową przedsiębiorstw sięgnięto zarówno do tradycyjnych metod analizy finansowej, jak i coraz powszechniej wykorzystywanych niedeterministycznych systemów uczących się, to jest sieci neuronowych. Zwrócono uwagę na potencjalny związek wdrożenia Polskiego Ładu z sytuacją finansową przedsiębiorstw, scharakteryzowano możliwości posługiwania się danymi mikro i makro przy ocenie rentowności i płynności finansowej przedsiębiorstw, zidentyfikowano związki między zmiennymi makroekonomicznymi a wymienionymi zjawiskami finansowymi oraz przedstawiono wyniki badania obejmującego lata 2003–2021. Publikacja dofinansowana ze środków budżetu państwa w ramach programu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki pod nazwą „Nauka dla Społeczeństwa”, nr projektu NdS/543640/2021/2022, kwota dofinansowania 12 000 zł, całkowita wartość projektu 699 200 zł.

Česká zahraniční politika v roce 2008: Analýza ÚMV

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

The book Czech Foreign Policy in 2008: Analysis of the IIR in all regards follows the analysis from last year, namely in its content and in the structure of individual contributions. This continuation of the series that began last year thus enables us to trace and compare the development of the Czech foreign policy in its political and ideational background, in its priorities, and in its execution and implementation, as well as to observe the influence and impact of particular relevant actors and the media con-text of the Czech foreign policy. Compared to the last edition, however, minor changes were made. The first parts of the individual chapters are not so much concerned with the conceptual basis of the Czech foreign policy (which did not undergo any progress). Instead, they focus on political discussion and the general political background of foreign policy. Certain changes were also made in the second chapter, which now solely analyses (audiovisual) media and their informing of foreign policy. This way, we were able to enhance our ability to capture the mutual relationship between issues that have the potential to initiate political and media debates on the one hand and actual foreign policy making and execution on the other. Another goal of the second chapter is to identify issues and agendas that stay beyond the media and political horizon. The year 2008 confirmed that only a small fraction of the Czech foreign policy agenda attracts a broader (public, media or political) interest, while the overwhelming majority of foreign policy is made by administrative and executive actors. Just like last year, the book is divided into six broader parts that reflect several distinctive dimensions of the Czech foreign policy, and these parts are in some cases further divided into separate chapters. The opening part, which is divided into two chapters, captures the continuing change of the political context of the Czech foreign policy making in 2008. It analyses the participation of different actors in the foreign policy making (the government, the president, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the parliament) and the media coverage of the Czech foreign policy. A special emphasis is put on the worsening of the Czech political milieu and its relation to foreign policy making. The following parts deal with the European and security dimensions of the Czech foreign policy. Both reflect those developments that were determining for the year 2008. These developments were namely the process of preparation for the upcoming Czech presidency of the European Council and issues connected to the reform of the Lisbon Treaty in regard to the European dimension and negotiations over the stationing of the U.S. anti -missile defense radar and Czech military missions abroad in regard to the security dimension. These more general parts are followed by several chapters analysing the Czech foreign policy towards selected countries and regions (central European countries, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, eastern European countries, Balkan countries, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and sub -Saharan Africa). We decided not to broaden the spectrum of the countries analysed as our goal is not to provide a complex overview of the Czech external relations. Instead, our goal is a deep analysis of the most relevant realms and issues of the Czech foreign policy. However, it is possible that the Czech policy towards the Latin American region will be newly included in the edition for next year. After the regionally and bilaterally oriented part comes a chapter dealing with the multilateral dimension of the Czech foreign policy. This part mostly focuses on the U.N. agenda and on the international law framework of the Czech foreign policy. As this international law view is relatively strong, the multilateral chapter mentions some issues that naturally fall under other parts of the book as well (e.g. Kosovo’s independence or the Russia -Georgian conflict). The last part of the book is devoted to a series of issue -based analyses. It begins with the Czech economic diplomacy and then goes on to discuss human rights, development aid and the cultural and public diplomacy dimensions in the Czech foreign policy. Finally, the book is concluded with a summary and a critical contemplation of the ideational and political background of the Czech foreign policy, also focusing on the questions of internal political communication and coordination in the foreign policy making and on the Czech foreign policy stereotypes. To secure a strong sense of continuity, the team of authors underwent only very partial changes. We believe that the second volume of Czech foreign policy analysis produced by this team will confirm our ambition to give rise to a tradition of deep and meaningful annually produced studies. Their assets should consist of both an up-to-date evaluation of the Czech foreign policy and building and providing a rich empirical and analytical database for later scholarship.

Czech Foreign Policy in 2007–2009: Analysis

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

What was the Czech foreign policy like during the years 2007–2009 and why? The team of authors from the Institute of International Relations (IIR) and other partner institutions has been looking for answers to these questions for three consecutive years. For three years the IIR also has been producing Czech written thorough analysis of the Czech foreign policy. The book Czech Foreign Policy in 2007–2009: Analysis in-tends to become the first volume of regularly presented deep analyses of the Czech foreign policy in English which builds on the findings and analysis of the previous three Czech language analytical books and presents their synthesis. The English edition thus aims to offer a long-term and continual observation of the development of the Czech foreign policy in various areas: its ideational background, its concrete agenda and events that occurred in a given period, the influence and involvement of various actors and the overlap of the Czech foreign policy with the media and public spheres. These referential points are built into the structure of each chapter, so that the analysis enables the reader to differentiate and trace the various ways in which the Czech foreign policy is contemplated, produced, executed, implemented and reflected. This concept, among others, promises to disclose the changes in the process of the Czech foreign policy making with respect to different issues and different actual political contexts. As the issue area approach to the study of foreign policy suggests, a specific agenda tends to attract different sets of actors. Thus the process of foreign policy making is not constant and does not remain the same in regard to various issues and agendas. Our approach enabled us to enhance our ability to capture the mutual relationship between issues that have the potential to initiate political and media debates on the one hand and actual foreign policy making and execution on the other.

Česká zahraniční politika v roce 2011: Analýza ÚMV

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

Ever since 2007, the Institute of International Relations in Prague has been publishing deep and far reaching analyses of the Czech foreign policy (CFP) in book form every year. In each book the team of authors asks several fundamental questions about the CFP: What was the foreign policy in the previous year like and why? What actors were making the CFP and in what ways? How did the Czech media inform about foreign policy and how did their reporting contribute to the overall context for the CFP making? What have been the main trends of the CFP in the past few years and how does the last year relate to these trends? Can we assess the CFP as successful, where does its potential lie and where can we find the biggest problems? This year’s edition is comprised of twenty-one chapters written by twenty-three authors from the Institute of International Relations and other cooperating institutions. The book focuses on the majority of the principal dimensions of the CFP in 2011. The structure of the book underwent only very few changes since the last edition. Unlike last year we decided not to include a summarizing chapter that would cover the Czech bilateral relations to the Western European countries as a whole; instead, we went back to the original model of analysing only the relations with France and Great Britain and doing so in two separate chapters. Plus, for the first time, there is a chapter specifically oriented to the issue of energy in external relations while, unlike in previous editions, we did not include a chapter on the region of Latin America in this edition.

Česká zahraniční politika v roce 2013: Analýza ÚMV

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

Since 2007 the Institute of International Relations continuously monitors the Czech foreign policy, and it has released seven analytical monographs about it, which have always corresponded to the same unified analytical framework. The books’ structure is and always has been as follows: The first two chapters analyze the overall domes-tic political and media context of the Czech foreign policy and identify the influence and involvement of each of the main actors in it. The second part focuses on the most important thematic areas of the Czech foreign policy, specifically the Czech impact on the European Union and the Czech security and defense policy. The third part shows the main trends and dynamics of the Czech activities in the region that is geographically closest to the Czech Republic – Central Europe. The fourth section maps out various important bilateral and regional relations, and the fifth part analyzes the participation of the Czech Republic in other multilateral and thematic areas. Alongside this composition, all the chapters follow a unified analytical structure. Each chapter works with the Czech Republic’s political and conceptual context as a basic internal basis for the Czech foreign policy. In the second part of each chapter, a specific agenda and some events of the examined year, as well as their impact and relevance for the Czech foreign policy, are analyzed. Most of the authors also included an analysis of the involvement of the different actors in the monitored area and also the media coverage of the given topic. The team of authors emphasizes continuity in both conceptual and thematic matters. For this reason, the analysis can build on a robust empirical basis and deepen people’s understanding of the Czech foreign policy. In the yearbook for 2013, there are two significant shifts from the above described concept. First, partly due to a three-year grant of the Grant Agency of the Czech Re-public, the team of authors has enriched the conceptual framework by adding several further analytical categories that would allow them to qualitatively improve the theoretical knowledge of foreign policy-making in the future. Secondly, thanks to the deepened cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the long-discussed plan of the Ministry to replace the regularly published Czech Foreign Policy Report with a new output that would preserve the statistical level of the Report but would also include evaluations and analyses has been put into practice, as this book is precisely this kind of output. On the basis of these discussions, a new concept has materialized this year for the first time. In accordance with this concept, the Institute of International Relations’ foreign policy analysis now includes, for the first time, parts dealing with statistics and surveys, and these parts were prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. English versions of the yearbook will also be prepared with the support of the Ministry in the future. Regarding the overall conceptual framework, there have been several changes in terms of the main questions that we are asking, as well as in how the above described concept will be fulfilled. The aim is to develop a new conceptual framework for explaining the foreign policy of small and medium-sized states, as well as a more general explanation of the Czech foreign policy as such.

Česká zahraniční politika v roce 2010 Analýza ÚMV

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

What was the Czech foreign policy in 2010 and why? A team of authors from the Institute of International Relations in Prague and other Czech partner institutions have been looking for answers to these questions for four consecutive years. The book Czech Foreign Policy in 2010: Analysis of the IIR is the fourth volume of a series focused on the Czech foreign policy. In 20 chapters by 19 authors, the book provides a deep exploration of the Czech foreign policy based on an unchanged analytical framework. The book begins with an analysis of the general political context of the Czech foreign policy. The basic argument is that despite the fact that the government of Petr Nečas had a considerable majority, the Czech foreign policy during this time partly remained hostage to two basic features of the Czech foreign policy of the previous years: indifference and turbulent and unstable political conditions. Yet, several positive tendencies in it were recorded, such as, for example, the general calming down of the foreign policy debate, the more coherent foreign policy program declaration of the new government, or the beginning of work on a new foreign policy conception which had been promised since 2006. The second chapter adds an important analysis of the media context of the Czech foreign policy making, proving that there is a long term tendency to-ward excessive selectivity in the major media while this selectivity is determined not by the relevance of particular issues but by other, less relevant factors. This selectivity goes hand in hand with the rising personalization and more emotional framework of Czech news making. The rest of the book is divided into several chapters, and each chapter reflects a selected dimension of the Czech foreign policy. Each chapter follows the same unifying structure: in the first part, the chapter analyses the nature of the political context of the given foreign policy dimension in order to illuminate the link between the political background and the actual foreign policy outputs, which are then explored in the second part. The third part focuses on the roles and involvement of particular actors participating in the foreign policy, and the fourth part aims at describing the media coverage and media context of a particular foreign policy agenda.