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20 FUTILE SEARCH FOR A STRATEGIC DIMENSION: CZECH FOREIGN POLICY IN 2015 advocated by Jiří Dienstbier, among others. Quarrels within ČSSD on migration only highlighted the disuni of the par on foreign policy. There was still a visible split between the European social democrat wing and the dubitable national conservative orientation. It was not until the second half of the year that the Prime Minister began to more forcelly shape foreign policy, all the while distancing himself from the President – especially in his view of regees – and to a considerable degree even silencing his Minister of the Interior. ČSSD’s coalition partners fared no better. The ANO movement was visible thanks to its leader Andrej Babiš, who joined the debate on regees with some fairly absurd views, rthering social frustration. His voice was not the only one at ANO, as shown by the statements by Minister Pelikán and other deputies of the movement who presented an entirely different view. Mixed opinions were also on record within KDU-ČSL. Opposition parties were also more active on foreign policy issues. The topic of Czech foreign policy ultimately permeated all political par conventions, assemblies and congresses that took place in 2015. In the majori of cases, however, the debate focused on the regee crisis without developing into more strategic thinking. Strategy In the past year, a number of strategic texts were adopted. These included both extensive government materials – the Foreign Policy Concept of the Czech Republic, Securi Strategy of the Czech Republic, Czech Strategy in the EU, as well as departmental documents such as the Concept for Promotion of Human Rights and Transformation Cooperation or the Communication Strategy for European Affairs. The Securi Strategy of the Czech Republic is an elaborate document that clearly describes the changes in the securi environment and ways to promote the interests of the Czech Republic in this area. It must be added that in response to external threats, the government also decided to increase securi nding. Incomprehensibly however, part of this nding was not directed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although the strategy emphasized the role of the Foreign Service in ensuring national securi. The Concept of the Czech Republic’s Strategy in the EU did not bring any revolutionary changes, which could not have been expected, given the need to find an intersection of interests among coalition parties. At the same time however, it is not a lackluster document that merely summarizes general positions. The paper clearly identifies priorities and above all examines the needs of Czech socie in Europe across the board. In an effort to be firmly grounded in Europe, it also addresses other topics that have been neglected in the past,
FUTILE SEARCH FOR A STRATEGIC DIMENSION: CZECH FOREIGN POLICY IN 2015 21 such as multilingualism, education as it relates to creating a European identi, and the Europeanization of public administration. The document examines the creation of national positions in detail and places an emphasis on discussion of the priorities of Czech European policy. However, the most attention was understandably focused on the new foreign policy concept. It is clear from the approved document that the original draft, leaked to the media, was gradually watered down. The result of efforts to find common ground between the original intent and the voice of the broader communi is normative dilution in key parts of the document. The paper emphasizes a “change in the geopolitical balance of power and a shift towards a multi-polar world order”, but is unable to say how our value system is to come to terms with this as a “member of the Euro-Atlantic area”. While the previous concept clearly claimed that it was in the interest of the Czech Republic to maintain the influence of Euro-Atlantic civilization in creating the world order, the new document leaves this question unanswered. This is not merely an academic discussion, because the formulation of an effective foreign policy strategy is essential to determining the ndamental ideal of international order. Issues The main foreign policy issue was clearly the regee crisis. The Czech approach was in many respects unsystematic and self-absorbed. As already mentioned in the introduction, this is also an issue which attracted enormous public interest, and therefore the way it will be handled will be essential for shaping Czech socie in the ture. The Czech Republic has been unable to come to terms with the negative trends that have become evident in recent years. Certain declared strategic relations – such as the relationship with Washington and Warsaw – yielded no meaningl results over the past year. Elsewhere, the Czech Republic attempted to develop strategic relations without really discussing what it wanted to achieve. The expectations with regard to deepening relations with Austria or China are unclear, and the new strategic partnership with autocratic Azerbaijan is difficult to comprehend. In certain important questions, the Czech Republic remains divided, without any real progress made towards a clear solution during the past year. A pical example is entry to the euro area, where the Czech Republic stubbornly clings to the clichéd “yes, but not until we’re ready”. This is all the more reason to continue communication between the broader foreign policy communi and the executive branch which intensified during the initial preparation phase of strategic papers. Likewise, a central role must be played by public diplomacy and efforts aimed at raising public awareness. After all, socie is finally taking an interest in international politics! In this context,
Page 1: FINAL GRADE FOR THE CZECH FOREIGN P
Page 4 and 5: The publication was supported by th
Page 6 and 7: AGENDA FOR CZECH FOREIGN POLICY 201
Page 8 and 9: List of Abbreviations ANO AV ČR CE
Page 10 and 11: 10 AUDIT OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN 2015
Page 18 and 19: 18 FUTILE SEARCH FOR A STRATEGIC DI
Page 22 and 23: 22 FUTILE SEARCH FOR A STRATEGIC DI
Page 24 and 25: 24
Page 26 and 27: 26 GRADING METHODOLOGY We utilized
Page 28 and 29: 28 GRADING METHODOLOGY assessment f
Page 30 and 31: 30 EUROPEAN POLICY Strategic Dimens
Page 32 and 33: 32 EUROPEAN POLICY and NATO, but al
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Page 36 and 37: 36 VISEGRAD COOPERATION Visegrad Co
Page 38 and 39: 38 VISEGRAD COOPERATION initiative,
Page 40 and 41: 40 KEY BILATERAL RELATIONS Germany
Page 42 and 43: 42 KEY BILATERAL RELATIONS Although
Page 44 and 45: 44 KEY BILATERAL RELATIONS by most
Page 46 and 47: 46 EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS R
Page 48 and 49: 48 EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS i
Page 50 and 51: 50 EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS W
Page 52 and 53: 52 MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA War
Page 54 and 55: 54 MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA The
Page 56 and 57: 56 ASIA China Activity Determinatio
Page 58 and 59: 58 ASIA Last year’s visit by the
Page 60 and 61: 60 HUMAN RIGHTS AND TRANSFORMATION
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Page 64 and 65: 64 SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY Czec
Page 66 and 67: 66 SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY and
Page 68 and 69: 68 ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY Economic Dipl
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70 ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY focus on bett
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72 DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AND HUMA
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76 CLIMATE POLICY Climate Policy Ac
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80 SUMMARY OF RATINGS Note that the
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84 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2016 1. The
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86 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2016 approac
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88 ABOUT PUBLISHER ASSOCIATION FOR
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