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After 1989 some of CR citizens of German nationality wanted to leave the organization, which represented them during a period of communism (Cultural Association of CSSR Citizens of German Nationality). This was the reason why, after complex process, in 1992 there came into existence Assembly of Germans in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Its representatives cooperate also with the Sudet Germans in the Federal Republic of Germany. They try to play an active role in Czech-German relations. In 2001 the Assembly asked the CR Parliament, in form of petition, to cancel the discriminatory, in relation to German citizens, measures of the Beneš decrees. So far, they have not been successful. ; After 1989 some of CR citizens of German nationality wanted to leave the organization, which represented them during a period of communism (Cultural Association of CSSR Citizens of German Nationality). This was the reason why, after complex process, in 1992 there came into existence Assembly of Germans in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Its representatives cooperate also with the Sudet Germans in the Federal Republic of Germany. They try to play an active role in Czech-German relations. In 2001 the Assembly asked the CR Parliament, in form of petition, to cancel the discriminatory, in relation to German citizens, measures of the Beneš decrees. So far, they have not been successful.

The aim of this article is an analysis of the Iranian policy towards the region of Western Balkans, mainly the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, since the early 1990s until present days. The security and political dimensions of mutual relation between Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina are examined. This country has been on the focus of Iranian foreign policy for decades. The article maps Iranian political, religious and cultural activities in the country during and after the civil war. One of the main outcomes of the text is the analysis of stagnation, and we might say even fall of Iranian influence in the region caused by changing of the international atmosphere, Iranian regime itself and the decline of Iranian money flow to Bosnia and Herzegovina caused by problematic economic situation in the Islamic Republic suffering the lack of sources.

Energy security is one of the most topical and important issues, both at the EU and member states level. This is a fact, not only in the context of climate change policy and common energy market design, but also in the light of the dynamics of EU external energy relations, with the latter recently gaining in importance. The Czech discourse on energy security is no exception and mirrors the development in the EU-wide debate. This claim is based not only on the analysis of events and the subsequent debate on energy security in the Czech Republic regarding the period from 2006 to 2010 (e.g. the natural gas crisis, Presidency of the Council of the EU, the question of energy import dependence), i.e. the period between the last two parliamentary elections with minor overlaps, but also on the three applied criteria of national interest – relevance, consensus, and external acceptability. The discourse on external energy relations of the Czech Republic is relevant, shows signs of consensus, and, from an EU perspective, could be considered as acceptable. Therefore, the external energy relations meet the criteria of the Czech national interest.

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.

The article analyses the evolution of the Slovak political party "Smer" (Direction) and its position in the party system of Slovak Republic. The article focuses on the shift of the party program from the "Centrist Populism" towards "Social Democracy." According to the first program documents the Party of "Smer" (Direction) was designed as pragmatic, non-ideological party. In the persistent conflict between authoritarianism vs. democracy "Smer" identified itself as the pro-democratic and pro-market force. Party policy before 2002 contained only few social democratic components; it was closer to the conservative or right-wing populist parties. After the parliamentary election 2002 and the failure of non-communist left "Smer" decided to become a member of the Socialist International (SI) and Party of European Socialists (PES). The process of the institutional approach to the international Social Democratic Party structures was accompanied by the substantial changes in the social and economic program of the party. The process was completed on the institutional level in May 2005, when Smer joined both SI and PES, and on the level of political program on the Party Congress in December 2005. In the process of so called "socialdemocratisation" of "Smer" the international factor played crucial role, especially the need to have an international partner in the European Parliament. "Smer" met the standards of the Social Democratic identity only in the social and economic affairs. The other five dimensions - environmental policy, participative democracy, cultural and human-rights dimension, supra-national dimension and the dimension of equality and freedom "Smer" met only partially or not at all, so these process remains unfinished. According to some political declarations "Smer" remains the populist party and the uncompromising critic of the right-wing government of Mikuláš Dzurinda, on the other side the official documents of the party anticipate only the moderate corrections of the economical and social reforms, ...

This paper aims to review the existing debate on the relations between national and European levels in the EU and identify existing gaps. It aims at showing the current compartelization of the academic debate and suggesting a possible remedy. It discusses the current trends in Europeanization studies and shows that one of the dimensions (bottom-up) remains understudied. Similarly, the concept has been applied in the area of foreign policy in a very limited way to the detriment of our understanding of reality. Following these findings, the article suggests, firstly, that the relationship between the adjustment to European integration and the ability to pursue one's interest should be studied, both in terms of form and results, and, secondly, that foreign policy should be included in this research framework. ; This paper aims to review the existing debate on the relations between national and European levels in the EU and identify existing gaps. It aims at showing the current compartelization of the academic debate and suggesting a possible remedy. It discusses the current trends in Europeanization studies and shows that one of the dimensions (bottom-up) remains understudied. Similarly, the concept has been applied in the area of foreign policy in a very limited way to the detriment of our understanding of reality. Following these findings, the article suggests, firstly, that the relationship between the adjustment to European integration and the ability to pursue one's interest should be studied, both in terms of form and results, and, secondly, that foreign policy should be included in this research framework.

The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration between territorial, societal and political aspects. The conclusion presented in this article might be used as a lesson learnt from previous mistakes in work dealing with ethnically divided societies, for which it is not sufficient to provide institutional structures without an adequate socio-political reconstruction of existing conditions. If a society is not adequately adapted to the newly-established situation, the institutional structures will not be able to fulfil their key functions completely. Furthermore, it has to be clear that any possible reconstruction of institutional bases must be attempted only with a deep consideration of specific local conditions; otherwise its sustainability is doubtful. ; The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration ...

In this article its author wanted to treat the history and presence of the system constitutional institutions competent for the area of conception, execution and control of security and defence policy of the Czech Republic and also addresses in short the function and content of the main security documents of the country. The author tried to sketch the institutional and documentary framework of the Czech security policy and to explain roles, relations and obligations of the highest-level constitutional bodies in the process of creation and carrying out of this policy (especially positions of the President, the Parliament, the Government and its so called power ministries and other important institutions). This text does not take a lot all this theme in detail, but it is more aimed at basic information and its target is to expound these problems to those interested, especially to foreign students. ; In this article its author wanted to treat the history and presence of the system constitutional institutions competent for the area of conception, execution and control of security and defence policy of the Czech Republic and also addresses in short the function and content of the main security documents of the country. The author tried to sketch the institutional and documentary framework of the Czech security policy and to explain roles, relations and obligations of the highest-level constitutional bodies in the process of creation and carrying out of this policy (especially positions of the President, the Parliament, the Government and its so called power ministries and other important institutions). This text does not take a lot all this theme in detail, but it is more aimed at basic information and its target is to expound these problems to those interested, especially to foreign students.

The article examines the positions of the Czech, Hungarian and Slovak social democratic political parties on the introduction of the permanent European Stability Mechanism as a means of addressing the economic and debt crisis in the EU. Using the categories of frames used by political parties in relation to the EU (utilitarian and cultural) introduced by Helbling et al., the political parties' representatives' speeches and written statements are analyzed. The analysis showed that all three of the parties use similar arguments and they tend to frame their opinions in both utilitarian and cultural terms with the category of "political efficiency" being the most frequent. While the most extensive debate about the issue was in Slovakia as the only Eurozone member of all three given countries, the Hungarian MSzP was able to conceive the topic in a broader context. The similarity of the positions of all three examined parties may indicate an ability of national political parties to constitute one of the key pillars in developing a supranational political system in the EU. ; The article examines the positions of the Czech, Hungarian and Slovak social democratic political parties on the introduction of the permanent European Stability Mechanism as a means of addressing the economic and debt crisis in the EU. Using the categories of frames used by political parties in relation to the EU (utilitarian and cultural) introduced by Helbling et al., the political parties' representatives' speeches and written statements are analyzed. The analysis showed that all three of the parties use similar arguments and they tend to frame their opinions in both utilitarian and cultural terms with the category of "political efficiency" being the most frequent. While the most extensive debate about the issue was in Slovakia as the only Eurozone member of all three given countries, the Hungarian MSzP was able to conceive the topic in a broader context. The similarity of the positions of all three examined parties may indicate an ability of ...

Since the time of its foundation (1990) the Slovak National Party (SNS) has been able to pool approximately 5-10 % of votes. During most of its 15 years existence there was a permanent crisis in the party and one could observe numerous clashes between particular groups in the Slovakian party system. As a result of this in-party fragmentation the SNS disintegrated in 2001. Following the division of supporter's votes between two successor parties, the SNS lost its parliament representation. This was the main impulse for the antagonized leaders to change their relations and start a process of integration which was successfully finished on March 3rd 2005 – the 15th anniversary of the party. From the beginning of 2005, the SNS has been enjoying growing popularity (7%) and has a good chance to succeed in the next parliamentary elections in autumn 2006.

Příspěvek je věnován zjišťování vlivu determinantů z oblasti sociodemografických proměnných na kognitivní a afektivní aspekt environmentální gramotnosti žáků druhého stupně Základní školy Žatec, nám. 28. října 1019, okres Louny. Výzkumný vzorek byl tvořen 87 respondenty z 6. až 9. ročníků. Studie předkládá výsledky týkající se vlivu pohlaví, bydliště, věku respondentů a realizovaných volnočasových aktivit na naměřené hodnoty environmentálních vědomostí a proenvironmentálních postojů, k jejichž zjišťování byl využit výzkumný nástroj složený z testu MSELS a dvoudimenzionální škály 2-MEV. Vztah mezi vědomostmi a postoji byl identifikován jako nepříliš těsný na rozdíl od středně silné pozitivní korelace mezi oběma faktory škály 2-MEV. V případě pohlaví a velikosti bydliště nebyl prokázán signifikantní vliv těchto proměnných ani u jednoho ze zkoumaných aspektů. Totožné závěry byly potvrzeny u věku respondentů a volnočasových aktivit ve vztahu k vědomostem, ovšem u postojů byl zaznamenán významný vliv obou determinantů. Nejpříznivěji se z volnočasových aktivit projevily aktivity zaměřené na pobyt v přírodě a sport. ; The contribution is devoted to investigating the impact of sociodemographic variables of the area on the cognitive and affective aspect of environmental literacy among 12-15 years old students in Žatec, Square 28 October 1019, district of Louny. The author tested two research instruments: MSELS and two-dimensional scales of 2-MEV on the research sample consisting from 87 respondents from 6 to 9th grades of these school. The study presents the results regarding the influence of gender, domicile, age of the respondents and their leisure time activities on the measured figures of environmental knowledge and proenvironmental attitudes. The relation between the knowledge and the attitudes was identified not too tight in contrast to medium-strong positive correlation between the two factors of 2- MEV scales. In the case of sex and place of residence (village/city) no significant effect was proved, either in one of the aspects. The identical conclusions were confirmed concerning the age of respondents, and leisure time activities in relation to their knowledge. However, talking about attitudes there was a significant effect of both determinants. Leisure time outdoor and sports activities in the nature manifested the most positive influence on the affective component. Even if these results are not representative, the new research questions for wider survey are offered in the conclusions.

Election laws regulate the number of deputies who are elected in individual electoral districts, and set them in relation to the population, respectively to the number of voters participating in elections in individual regions. Elected deputies could thus be regarded as political representatives of citizens living in electoral districts. However, under systems of proportional representation, current deputies represent the ideology of the party to which they belong rather than the region. Nevertheless, it makes sense to study the spatial distribution of the places of origin and residence of members of parliament and their changes over time, because it suggests much about the political system and the system of representative democracy in the country. The spatial distribution of places of residence of candidates and elected members indicates not only the territorial proportionality and geographic representativeness, but also the shifting centers of political power. The analysis clearly confirms the gradual decentralization and regionalization of political power in the country, which stands in contrast to the centralization of power in the economy, this latter trend apparent from the concentration of economic management and decision-making in the largest cities, especially in Prague.

The paper concentrates on attitudes to the enlargement and the future of EU held by relevant political parties in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia in 2002. With respect to the Czech Republic, three basic approaches to the issue of EU enlargement are identified, thus classifying the Czech political parties as "consistently" pro-European, pro-European "with reservations" and anti-European. It will be argued that in Slovakia the relevant political parties acted as "consistently" pro-European with the exception of the anti-European Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). The dividing line was however rather between the parties whose representatives could be viewed by international partners as an obstacle to Slovakia's admission to EU and the parties that were "acceptable" for foreign countries, which played an important role in rallying voters to opt for "acceptable" political subjects. ; The paper concentrates on attitudes to the enlargement and the future of EU held by relevant political parties in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia in 2002. With respect to the Czech Republic, three basic approaches to the issue of EU enlargement are identified, thus classifying the Czech political parties as "consistently" pro-European, pro-European "with reservations" and anti-European. It will be argued that in Slovakia the relevant political parties acted as "consistently" pro-European with the exception of the anti-European Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). The dividing line was however rather between the parties whose representatives could be viewed by international partners as an obstacle to Slovakia's admission to EU and the parties that were "acceptable" for foreign countries, which played an important role in rallying voters to opt for "acceptable" political subjects.

The role of unilateral and collective sanctions in international has been increasing after\nthe ending of the "Cold War".New regimes of "smart" and "targeted" economic, financial and personal\nsanctions have been developed. Quite a new phenomenon is the impact of sanctions on non-State\nactors. The term "sanctions" is traditionally employed to indicate measures taken by the SC Art. 41 and\n42 of the UN Charter."Sanctions" according to prevailing views differ from the notion "countermeasures"\nas stipulated by the ILC Draft Articles on Responsibility of States.Regional organizations may\ntake sanctions against their own members, if their statute presumes it. Against third states they may\nimpose sanctions legally with authorization of the UNSC. It is controversial whether third states may\nresort to sanctions in case of a violation of obligations erga omnes, if this violation is not of serious\ngravity. The legal content of sanctions stricto sensu remains still to be seriously analyzed, especially\nwith regard to "countermeasures" and the practice of states.

The relation between the working of democratic systems today and the exploitation of "modern" forms of politically motivated extreme violence, especially the different types of subversive terrorism, has been an object of thorough study and discussion at most varied levels in the course of recent decades, often with contradictory results. This is not a surprise bearing in mind the diversity of bases for such study and discussion, as well as the complexity and changing nature of the subject matter itself, and last but not least, also the deforming impact of different political factors which in many a case predetermined both the horizon of discussions and the character of "politically correct" or at least acceptable conclusions. This does not apply just to decayed political and propagandist writings displaying a remarkable dose of cynicism and lack of shame in serving the interests of power which decided who would be labelled "terrorist" or "freedom fighter", or else. There is a number of scientific works defending the principles and values of democracy which also display apparent effort to a priori exclude raising a particular problem in full in order to prevent any doubt being cast on the purposefulness and justifiability of traditional approaches to and standpoints regarding the assessment of political violence and extremism. At the same time, polemics regarding terrorism had a large impact. Discussions about terrorism changed the way the public felt about both terrorism as a particular category of extremist violence, and politically motivated violence and extremism as such, propagating and reinforcing the view of political violence (acceptance of violent methods of political fight including terrorism) as an utterly undemocratic and anti-democratic behaviour and as a key characteristic of extremism. There is a growing tendency in substantial part of the public in democratic countries today to a priori associate manifestations of extremist orientation with acts of politically motivated violence, and to identify ...