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The article examines the issue of the Czech Republic's (CR) membership in the European Union as regards the external dimension of security policy. The focus is on the participation of the CR in peace missions, both military & civilian, in the "out of area" zone. Military missions are a key aspect of foreign & security policy, & a part of the contemporary European Security & Defence Policy (ESDP). The framework of analysis utilizes the three-dimensional concept of politics -- polity, politics & policy. According to our analysis, the CR's participation in EU's missions is a predictable & natural outcome of Czech membership. The article also discusses the area of possible EU operations. The perimeter of the "closer neighbourhood" will play an important role in the future. However, other areas such as central Africa & some parts of Asia will also become the target of EU activities, mainly due to the nature of contemporary security threats. Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.

This article is divided into two parts. The first part describes the cartel party presented by R. Katz and P. Mair and the discussion about the new party type between the two and R. Koole. The second part compares the theoretical descriptions with practical features of Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and Slovak political system. While the system author finds cartel supporting and not yet cartelized, SDKÚ is not a cartel party but rather one of the new alike types. Author agrees with the demand of R. Koole on search for a scheme of similar party types rather than one perfect type. ; This article is divided into two parts. The first part describes the cartel party presented by R. Katz and P. Mair and the discussion about the new party type between the two and R. Koole. The second part compares the theoretical descriptions with practical features of Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and Slovak political system. While the system author finds cartel supporting and not yet cartelized, SDKÚ is not a cartel party but rather one of the new alike types. Author agrees with the demand of R. Koole on search for a scheme of similar party types rather than one perfect type.

The paper comments on issues of conceptualisation and typology of regional parties in Europe. Regional parties could be defined briefly as independent formations with regional identity, region–based legitimacy and region–based electoral resources. The territorial aspect of their identity and of their modus operandi is the crucial one in this respect. It should be reminded that a number of heterogeneous party phenomena could be subsumed under the label of regional parties. The existence of a genuine regional party family, which could be, eventually, included into the classic familles spirituelles scheme, is not obvious. It seems that recent attempts to conceptualise the regional (and/or ethno–regional) party family have only small chance to success. Moreover, it should not be taken for granted that invention of such party family would enhance the capacity for comparative research into the European regional party phenomena. It could be a counter–productive move. There is an implicit danger to be avoided: that of conceiving of the differences between regional parties and non–regional parties as the differences between party families. However, these differences are not of the same kind. The paper proposes to distinguish several types of regional parties according to their origins (genuine regional autonomist parties, regionalized branches of state–wide parties etc.) which could allow for a sophisticated explanation of their heterogeneity and of various combinations of the systemic properties of regional parties. It is also suitable to pay more attention to the differing opportunity structures and to the compounded nature of territorial–political operational space of regional parties. ; The paper comments on issues of conceptualisation and typology of regional parties in Europe. Regional parties could be defined briefly as independent formations with regional identity, region–based legitimacy and region–based electoral resources. The territorial aspect of their identity and of their modus operandi is the crucial one ...

The paper analyses the development of the EU energy policy since the beginning of the European integration and argues that the eastern enlargement and two gas crises in 2006 and 2009 have crucially impacted its evolution. Originally, the ES/EU dealt primarily with the formation and liberalisation of internal energy market, however after 2004 the focus has shifted towards issues of energy security and external energy relations in general. The paper uses the spillover concept to analyse the development of the EU energy policy. It argues that the development of internal energy market was caused by a spillover from internal market as such, while the progress in the area of energy policy after the eastern enlargement was an outcome of efforts to achieve energy security; efforts that resulted in further spillover effects in areas such as diversification, external energy relations or efficiency. The paper thus claims that common European energy policy in its internal and external dimensions started to evolve gradually after the Eastern enlargement.

This analysis focuses on the role of the federal Europe model in the present stage of the European integration. The European Union' appropriate constitutional form primarily depends on a political decision. Such a decision must be based on democratic legitimacy conferred by political nations of the member states, & not on a delusionary conception of the European demos. If the politicians decide to continue European integration, a federal structure for European decision making must be established, with its typical features: subsidiarity & a clear division of competences. Contrary to the traditional federative models, both German & American, the European federal model cannot be based on the concept of a federal nation. The individual political nations will remain the source of its sovereignty. As a result we can talk of federal elements without a federation, or of a consociative federation without a federal state concept. Adapted from the source document.