Suchergebnisse

Neuman, Marek (2015). Too Small to Make an Impact? The Czech Republic's Influence on the European Union's Foreign Policy. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 308 pages.

The article centres on research into paradiplomacy, the international involvement of sub-national units. It aims at finding appropriate concepts for use in research into the paradiplomacy of Czech regions. The main international scholarship on paradiplomacy is reviewed and the most popular concepts and typologies are introduced. Subsequently, several contradictions and deficiencies are revealed. Then, contemporary research into paradiplomacy in the Czech Republic is summarized. The article argues that Czech research has already identified genuine regional paradiplomacy, but lacks definition with respect to its specifics. The main argument is that, although it was appropriate to apply some concepts from research into federal states for the identification of paradiplomacy, extensive use of these concepts and typologies cannot bring results in research into the content of Czech paradiplomacy. Thus, a step back is suggested. Brian Hocking's approach, which perceives non-central governments as genuine actors of international politics, is suggested. Keating's typology seems the most appropriate for empirical research. In addition, it is argued that further research should focus mainly on the content of the paradiplomacy of Czech regions. The final part of the article proposes the application of such a research strategy on the example of the South Moravian Region. Its expected merits and benefits are then summed up in the conclusion.

The Czech election result seems worrying at first: Yet another populist leader has been catapulted into power in Central Europe. But billionaire Andrej Babiš and his populist ANO party, which received almost 30 percent of the vote, is not necessarily going to push the Czech Republic into an illiberal and anti-EU direction.