Suchergebnisse

Obálka -- Obsah -- Úvod -- I. Kořeny, východiska, zdroje -- 1. Strategický význam Ukrajiny -- 2. Krym v rusko-ukrajinských vztazích -- 3. Vnitřní zdroje ruské agrese -- 4. Ukrajina, ruský svět a eurasijská integrace -- II. Anatomie hybridního válčení -- 5. Anexe Krymu -- 6. Válka na východní Ukrajině -- 7. Zemní plyn jako nástroj hybridní války -- 8. Informace, dezinformace, propaganda -- 9. Utváření vlivových struktur v Evropě: případ Front national ve Francii -- III. Dopady, reakce, třetí aktéři -- 10. Sankční politika EU a USA -- 11. Americká debata o vyzbrojení Ukrajiny -- 12. NATO, ruské menšiny v Pobaltí a "narvský paradox" -- 13. Společenský a politický vývoj na Ukrajině po Revoluci důstojnosti -- 14. Válka, oligarchie a ukrajinský fotbal -- Závěr -- 15. Rusko-ukrajinská válka jako konflikt hodnot -- Summary -- Seznam tabulek a grafů -- Seznam zkratek -- Výběrová bibliografie -- Rejstřík

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.

The article explores the energy relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation. The focus is, however, not on the technical and institutional aspects of the relationship, but rather on the discursive formations that determine the prevailing interpretation of the relationship by each party. Building on the discourse analysis of 74 textual units produced by EU leaders and institutions, the article discovers the three most salient discursive formations, which centre respectively around three concepts: a) integration, b) liberalization, and c) diversification. The text goes on to assess the main features of these formations, their possible overlaps, and their influence upon EU-Russian energy ties. Adapted from the source document.

Since the beginning of the second Chechen war, Russia has experienced several shifts in domestic policy. From the very start of his presidency, Vladimir Putin pursued a policy of consolidating power while facing both the external and internal enemy represented by Chechen rebels. As a side effect, this has brought about an outburst of xenophobia and racism that has turned against all Caucasians. The antiterrorist campaign has had broad consequences, even outside the security field. The campaign, which was based on economic arguments, began with attacks on the media tycoons Vladimir Gusinskii and Boris Beresovskii, and was later widened to other selected oligarchs. Another set of changes brought about reforms to almost every aspect of state organization, including everything from the parliamentary electoral system to the local representative elections. Although it had been planned for a long time, the core of the reforms was enacted after the tragedy in Beslan in September 2004.

The aim of the article is to introduce contemporary Russian discussion on the USSR and Russia in broader political and publicist context. Both positive and negative interpretations of the Russian/Soviet history will be presented. The text does not pretend to provide exhaustive list of the particular "schools" and "movements" nor does it offer historical dynamics or institutional background of the discussion. The author rather intends to single out certain basic schemes and arguments that circulate in the discussions, place them in broader frames and anticipate their potential political consequences. Particularly, the text concentrates on various versions of the patriotic thinking that has been receiving broad popularity in today Russia. As the author is convinced, due familiarity with the contemporary Russian debate may help to better understand Russian internal as well as foreign policy nowadays: as it becomes clear, rise of patriotism in academia, society and politics are inseparable phenomena. Secondly, some of the arguments promoted by the contemporary Russian authors may enrich Western (non-Russian) sovietology and debate on socialist experiments as such. Last but not least, both content and form of the Russian academic discussion convincingly point at cultural conditionality of social and historical sciences. To some extent the discussion reminds perpetual Russian debate on national identity; cardinally new context in which it takes place however justifies attention paid to it.

This article seeks to explain the significant variation of the levels of European NATO member states' contributions to Afghan combat and reconstruction operations. The first part presents the theories used in the study and six hypotheses, which are tested using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). This sophisticated method, which was introduced to the social sciences by Charles Ragin, uses a special software to find combinations of independent variables which may explain the dependent variable with a given probability. The findings are presented in the second part, followed by three short case studies of Greece, the Netherlands and Estonia which provide a further insight into the issue. The study concludes that the most plausible explanation of high level of involvement in Afghanistan is a conjunction of allegiance to the 'new Europe' and dependence on importation of Russian gas. Adapted from the source document.

The Central Asian region is often interpreted in European discourse as an arena of clashes between the "West" & Russia, particularly over energy resources. The significance of China in the region remains an underrated subject of research. At the same time China is expanding its influence in the region through "soft diplomacy" at the expense of Russia & (above all) other powers interested in local resources. The article analyses the Chinese presence in the region since 1991, emphasizing the first decade he Central of the 2111 century. The relations between Central Asia & China are researched from the Asian point of view & with a focus on the political, economical (stressing energy factors) & institutional (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) level. In sum, it seems that the growing Chinese influence over the region has its limits as well & that the "Chinese expansion" is overestimated to a large extent. Adapted from the source document.