Suchergebnisse

The article deals with the interpretations of development aid that can be found in the Slovak official development discourse. From the theoretical point of view, I build on the social-constructivist approach to the study of international relations as well as on the conceptualization of the logic of appropriateness and the logic of consequences as put forward by March and Olsen (1989). In the first part of the article, I address the theoretical and methodological issues of the research. In the following parts, I analyze official documents of the Slovak ODA policy and my own interviews with its stakeholders with a focus on the different interpretations and logics of action behind the policy. In the concluding part, I summarize the main research findings. Adapted from the source document.

This study aspires to harness the impulses of the critique of international peace initiatives (IPIs) up to this point for the purposes of improving the practical inquiries into them. In the study, attention is given namely to the questions of the initial normative and epistemological premises of the research. The study argues, in agreement with the precepts of critical political theory, that the inquiry into IPIs should first of all strive to emancipate people in postconflict situations. With respect to the IPIs' general aim of transforming the target countries into stable, independent and prosperous states and societies, the focus is directed at the influence the IPIs exert upon social structures in the postconflict societies. With the aim to conceptualize a basic framework for the research, the contemporary thinking on the IPIs is interpreted with respect to International Relations theories and the fundamental metatheoretical questions of social theories. Consequently, in keeping with the philosophy of scientific realism, a critical constructivist position is formulated for the given purposes. Adapted from the source document.

The essay takes a look at twinning, a phenomenon left largely unexplored by European studies & international relations scholars. The author deals with twinning through the institutional prism, focusing on institutional change as a result of non-instrumental change of institutional actors' preferences. Twinning is a secondment of experts from EU member states administratives to the candidate countries. Its aim is to help the applicant countries with institution building for successful & effective implementation of the acquis communautaire. The author seeks to identify processes & mechanisms of institutional changes in the public administration of a given candidate country within the context of twinning projects, aiming to formulate framework conditions for unconditioned institutional change & test these hypotheses on the data collected during research. The essay focuses on institutional change caused by a change of administrative identity through deliberation (of alternatives), argumentative persuasion & social learning as alternatives to instrumental change mechanisms. References. Adapted from the source document.

This essay addresses the issue of how to transcend the long-lasting stalemate between positivism and various forms of post-positivism. The main assumption rests in the belief that one of the possible solutions to this stalemate can be offered by replacing the positivism versus postpositivism debate by a discussion between scientific realism and pragmatism. The article thus starts with a brief characterization of logical positivism, which is followed by a more thorough deliberation on the issue of pragmatism and scientific realism. The text raises questions of the mutual incompatibilities of both positions, as well as their respective influence on the discipline of International Relations. It is also argued that by adopting one or another of these philosophies of science, we can bring about specific consequences for actual research practices. Adapted from the source document.

This article summarizes the main contemporary theoretical approaches to international institutions as well as significant theories of institutions, which build upon those approaches. In line with the existing overviews, I focus on realism, neoliberalism & constructivism. All three approaches differ in regard to both the origin & impact of institutions. Whereas, the basic realist perspective regards state interests & power to be the main source of the institution's origin; the basic perspective of neoliberalism emphasizes the structure of state interests & collective action problems, which result from it. Many constructivists presume that so-called general institutions determine the origin of specific institutions. According to realists, the impact of institutions is dependent on state interests & power; institutions only regulate state behavior in a limited way. The neoliberal conception of institutions infers that: institutions significantly regulate state behavior since they help states resolve collective action problems. According to constructivists: institutions even constitute state identities & interests. Adapted from the source document.

Despite the growing intensity of international trade in the last decades and the work of global economic institutions, we still face a global poverty problem. Almost half of the global population lives in poverty. Moreover, there are many examples of growing poverty in developing countries during the 1990's. In the first part of this article, I will analyze the change in the global poverty situation between 1990 and 2001. The truth is that in many cases developing countries are themselves responsible for their underdevelopment. Yet there is some evidence that the developed world bears a certain amount of responsibility for global poverty, too. The purpose of this paper is not to analyze the concrete roots of poverty in specific developing countries, because the variability of possible factors is infinite. I will therefore try to identify only the most important (the most common) roots of poverty in developing countries -- this is why I use the term "global poverty" (meaning the poverty as a global problem). I will focus more on the international (external) causes of poverty in the developing world than on the internal ones. In the final part I will explore the arguments in favor of poverty reduction. Adapted from the source document.

This article explores the question of whether the increasing importance of religion in international relations is also reflected in the role the Roman Catholic Church plays in the formulation of Czech foreign policy. In the first half of the study we will briefly investigate in what ways the role of the Church is described in the key documents of Czech (foreign) policy and how the Church-politics relationship is interpreted in the Czech media discourse. Our attention will be dedicated primarily to the thematic analysis and the actorness of the Church. In the article's second half, we will focus on the way(s) the Church is trying to change the situation of its relation to Czech politics, which is currently unfavourable to it. We will identify three fundamental strategies that can be used by the Church as a reaction to its expulsion from the public sphere and also assess their empirical presence in the Czech milieu. Adapted from the source document.

This article attempts to portray basic aspects of Czech-Cambodian relations from the 16th century until the present day, 2006. It deals with the first reports of Czech missionaries in the 17th & 18th century as well as globetrotters, students, diplomats & specialists from the 19th & 20th century. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in 1956. Mutual cooperation in the fields of economy, culture & education developed dynamically for the next 14 years, only to be violently interrupted by the Lon Nol's coup d'etat in 1970 followed by the genocidal regime of Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. When the Cambodian United National Salvation Front assisted by Vietnamese troops overthrew Khmers Rouges, the communist government of Czechoslovakia & the leftist regime in Phnom Penh continued to maintain an active relationship. After the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989, mutual economic & trade cooperation fell considerably. Recently, Czechs & Cambodians try to reestablish these past ties of cooperation. The Czech program for developmental aid was favorably received by Cambodia & presently, future joint commercial projects are being discussed. Adapted from the source document.

The article addresses issues related to the growing importance of non-governmental organizations & social movements in world politics. The key question that the article deals with is whether there are structures of global political activism in the making? In other words, is a "global civil society" being constituted? If yes, how does this "global civil society" relate to local actors? Are global actors partners in the building of local activism? In addition, how do the actors of the "global civil society" relate to states? Do they transcend the confines of the state? In order to answer these questions, the article first describes the evolving debate around the issue of transnational relations. During the last decade this issue has become an important research problem in at least two social scientific disciplines -the theory of international relations & the theory of collective action. Moreover, the attention paid to transnational social movements & net-works of non-governmental organizations has influenced debates in certain fields of political theory where actors described as "global civil society" came to be perceived as the manifestation of reformist hopes associated with globally organized civic activism. This activism is believed to hold the promise of future global democratization. In sum, the issue of transnational relations & transnational political action is an interdisciplinary problem. The aim of this article is to answer the specified questions above. It reflects the most important aspects of the debate on transnational political action. The ambition of the article is to critically assess both empirically oriented approaches & normatively motivated explorations of the possibilities for global democratization through political involvement of transnational movements & non-governmental organizations. The paper maintains that the concept of "global civil society" is applicable for the description of political action "beyond borders" only under the condition that it is not understood as an alternative to the institutions of the modern state & that it is not used in an ideological way. References. Adapted from the source document.

Contemporarily human rights are ranked among the most crucial foreign policy priorities in many countries. At the same time numerous states are forced to consider the human rights agenda under growing international pressure. The substance of foreign policy in the field of human rights, its intensity & instruments vary in many different aspects. The paper focuses on foreign policy in the field of human rights analysis. Its aim is to comprehend & extend prevailing methods in order to obtain an analytical scheme applicable to almost every country. To fulfill this aim it includes several steps, the most important of which are: examining the essence of analyzing foreign policy in the field of human rights as a specific part of the foreign policy agenda, introduction & elaboration of the so called Mower's apparatus, interpretation of foreign policy in the field of human rights using different levels of analysis & developing methods of its evaluation. In the end the paper summarizes the current state of research & makes some recommendations for the future. Adapted from the source document.

A review essay on books by (1) George Lakoff & Mark Johnson, Metafory, kterymizijeme (Brno: Host, 2002); (2) Francis A. Beer & Christ'l De Landtsheer [Eds], Metaphorical World Politics (East Lansing: Michigan State U Press, 2004); (3) Andreas Musolff, Mirror Images of Europe. Metaphors in the Public Debate about Europe in Britain and Germany (Munchen: Iudicium, 2000); (4) Rainer Hulsse, Metaphern der EU-Erweiterung als Konstruktion europaischer Identitat (Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2003); & Hans Verboven, Die Metapher als Ideologie: Eine kognitiv-semantische Analyse der Kriegsmetaphorik im Fruhwerk Ernst Jungers (Heidelberg: Universitatsverlag WINTER, 2003).

The article argues for a new strategy for Czech IR research which would stimulate local scholars to produce innovative contributions to the international IR discipline. The strategy is supposed to go beyond the emulation of the Anglo-American IR, which currently prevails & which, despite occasional successes, failed in its goals. It aims at innovative contributions with a maximum utilization of the Czech domestic conditions which embed the research. The strategy argues that the relations between Czech IR & the international discipline need to be sustained & even strengthened. At the same time, the Czech research should focus on the Czech political experience by examining the political phenomena by which this experience has been constituted & drawing on the traditions of Czech political thought. Adapted from the source document.

The EU Council Presidency is considered a very influential & suitable tool for domestic communication of European integration & its agenda. The article analyses the last ten EU Council Presidencies & their impact on public support to the key elements of European integration. The hypothesis of the article is the argument that the EU Council Presidency in its current form increases support for the European integration (and its key elements) & increases the level of knowledge about European integration among the public. Adapted from the source document.

The discussion of the energy security of Europe is focused mainly on Russia. However, Russia -- Central Asia energy relations became very important in Eurasia after the dissolution of the USSR. While its reserves of strategic raw materials (especially gas) are not comparable with those in Russia, Central Asia could be an additional source for supplying these raw materials to Europe. Europe should be involved in "The Great Game" for Central Asian gas. The significance of Central Asia regarding the increasing demand for gas in Europe cannot be overestimated. On the other hand, due to the growing interest of China & other Asian powers in Central Asia, maintaining a local gas pipeline network which would move gas in the direction of Europe (rather than in the direction of other Asian countries) should be a priority for both European countries & Russia. The rivalry between Russian & non-Russian pipeline projects for delivering gas is secondary in this context. Adapted from the source document.

This article deals with the rules of power distribution and the delegation of power in international security organizations. More specifically, the paper describes and evaluates the delegation of power in the security regimes of the UN, NATO, and the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The paper proceeds from a hypothesis drawing on existing research. According to this hypothesis, the security regime of the UN is marked by a substantial delegation of power, but we can observe only weak power delegations in NATO and the CFSP. So while the UN's security regime can be considered supranational, NATO and the CFSP represent intergovernmental regimes. The analysis carried out in this paper confirms the hypothesis. In comparison with existing literature, however, the paper submits much more precise and concrete findings. Moreover, the paper also forwards a rather unique conceptual and methodological approach for studies of power distribution in international organizations (IOs). In this way, it contributes towards the general study of IOs, which is currently rather stagnant. Adapted from the source document.