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Gas security in Central and Eastern Europe - A comparison between Czech Republic and Hungary's approach to gas
Langvad, Elias ; Ludvík, Jan (advisor) ; Cheskin, Ammon (referee)
t I I I r I I I r r I t t t r r r Abstract The primary purpose of this study is to determine why two countries coping with a position of gas import dependence, Czech Republic and Hungary, have different gas security strategies. This thesis utilises Mill's method of difference, together with the securitisation theory and rational choice theory, to explore this conundrum. A qualitative research method is adopted, where face-to-face elite interviews were carried out in Prague and Budapest with Czech and Hungarian energy experts. The thesis aims to fill a gap in the literature by looking at transit and supply diversification, companies operating in the countries, and the gas storages capacities in Czech Republic and Hungary, through an identity-based perception of Russia. Moreover, the importance of gas price regulations as well as the impact domestic factors have on gas contracts will be analysed. The research showed that Czech Republic and Hunglry have both securitised several factors in gas security, primarily because of the identity- perception of Russia as either a threat or pragmatic business partner. lt also showed the extensive influence both Russia and the EU have over the two countries regarding their gas security. The two countries have adopted different approaches to the role of the state. The...
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Joining the Community: Montenegro's Path to NATO Accession
Pavlovic, Nicolas Jako ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
On 5 June 2017, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Duško Marković, deposited the instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty of Montenegro in Washington DC, making the accession of this country to the Atlantic Alliance official. Montenegro, one of the smallest of the post-Yugoslav Western Balkans republics, was thus welcomed into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as its 29th member. This thesis analyzes the process Montenegro has been undergoing throughout its path to NATO accession and the underlying conditions which have impacted this process. It argues that the relationship between Montenegro and NATO, which started in the early 2000's and has been revolving primarily on the integration process, which started soon after the independence of the country in 2006. This integration process has profoundly modified the security and defense sectors in Montenegro, has impacted the politics of the country and is embedded within what has been a larger strategic approach of NATO to the Western Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe in general. The Montenegrin integration process, as analyzed in this thesis, is considered to have revolved around three dynamics. The first has been an endogenous dynamic linked to the political attitude of the Montenegrin Government since the 1990's which has put...
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Afghanistan as an insulator of regional complexes? Sectoral analysis of Afghan security
Haringová, Ingrida ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The goal of master thesis Afghanistan as an insulator of regional complexes? Sectoral analysis of Afghan security was to analyze security of Afghanistan based on sectors and from the viewpoint of Regional security complex theory developed by Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver. The purpose of the thesis was to review categorization of Afghanistan as an insulator and identify factors which undermine his status as such. Afghanistan's location is very much unique because it lies among three different regional security complexes - Central Asia, The Middle East, and South Asia. The analysis was conducted through combination of a) discourse analysis of statements and speeches of president Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah (2014 - ) and added with information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and b) material relations in regions, such as trade routes, military aid etc. and c) history. Analysis is based on military, political, and economic sectors. The discursive analysis pays attention to the perception of Afghanistan on itself with focus on institutional discourse and broader debate in the English-speaking afghan media.
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Prevention of Risks in International Trade
Punčochářová, Hana ; Sato, Alexej (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
Doing business is always accompanied by risks. International trade usually brings new types of risk or at least increases the frequency and intensity of the current ones. The main objective of this thesis is to identify the risks that may arrise for Czech exporters in international operations and to present the possibilities of risk management (especially management of credit and country risk). The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides a classification of risks. The second one describes phases of international business operations and provides a detailed explanation of selected instruments (bank guarantees, letters of credit, insurance, purchase of receivables etc.). Last chapter consists of two business cases inspired by contracts of Solar Turbines.
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Why do states decide for or against the intervention in other states? Case Study: Libya and Syria
Vacková, Kateřina ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The master thesis on the topic Why do states decide for or against the intervention in other states? Case Study: Libya and Syria is focused on analysing the motives of states, which are crucial for deciding to intervene or not to intervene in the territory of a foreign state. The whole issue is assessed from the perspective of two major theories of international relations - liberalism and realism. As the first research case was chosen the international community's intervention in Libya in 2011. The case was analysed from the perspective of Sweden, which took part in the operation by the deployment of eight fighters Jas 39 Gripen. As the second case was chosen the civil war in Syria, which has been underway since 2011 and whose situation would have required similar interference by the international community. However, this has not happen until that time, although the states are militarily involved in Syria. This case was analysed from the view of Russia, which did not take part in operation in Libya, but since September 2015 has been involved in fighting on the ground in Syria. As a last case was chosen Great Britain, which has militarily participated in both conflicts. For the analysis itself was used Ortega's typology of interventions, which was adapted for the purpose of this work. The different...
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Police Democratization in the Countries of the Visegrad Group
Červ, Filip ; Ludvík, Jan (advisor) ; Stejskal, Libor (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the democratisation of the police in the four post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe - the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The interest of the thesis is focused on the transformation of the regular police with regard to the personnel issue. Using the theories of transition three hypotheses are verified. The first one presupposes that the police are the pillar of a nondemocratic regime and the transition to democracy takes a long time in this institution. The other considers the police to be the reflection of society, so its transition is not different from the rest of society and state institutions. The last of the hypotheses says that the police are too important and it is the priority of the new regime to make its quick transformation. At the time of transition to democracy, there is a change in leadership, verification of police officers, the dismissal of compromised individuals, the appointment of new senior policemen, and the recruitment of the rest of the police force. The perspective of personnel changes is thus an appropriate indicator of the events that the police have undergone in connection with the transformation of the country. Despite a number of different factors and processes, an analysis of the democratisation of the four...
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U. S. Maritime Security - Strategies and Measures Applied
Herout, Jakub ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
National security of the United States of America is dependent on secure use of the world's oceans. U. S. security interests are bound to international trade which is carried out primarily by ships (80 percent of world trade by volume of which 20 percent is bound to U. S. maritime trade). Vastness of maritime domain brings about many security issues which threaten interests of the United States. Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 9/11 caused rapid intensification of security measures. These measures have been implemented to deal with maritime related threats such as terrorism, piracy, drug smuggling, human trafficking, arms trade, computer criminality or natural disasters. This work proceeds from widened concept of security pioneered by authors representing the Copenhagen school.
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States without Armed Forces: A Comparative Case Study of Demilitarization in Panama and Costa Rica
Sponták, Tomáš ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
This thesis is focused on countries which do not have their own armies, especially those which had an army in the past but decided to abolish it. The main part of the thesis is a comparison of two particular countries - Panama and Costa Rica - having undergone a process of demilitarization in the last century. The thesis aims to identify factors which conditioned a contradictory post-demilitarization development of the respective countries and clarify their motivation to abolish their armies. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first one is to introduce the contemporary army-less countries to a reader. Second chapter, the theoretical one, deals with praetorianism - a situation when an army becomes a dominant element of the executive and the society as a whole. Chapters number three and four are detailed case studies of Panama and Costa Rica.
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Legal status of medical personnel, especially of the International Committee of the Red Cross in armed conflicts
Bejdák, Matěj ; Pulgret, Miroslav (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to describe the legal status of medical personnel in armed conflicts. An emphasis is laid upon the medical personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The scope of the first part of the thesis is the legal framework governing armed conflicts which is the international humanitarian law; its essential principles, applicability and branches are mainly covered. Further, the thesis describes the status and tasks of the International Committee of the Red Cross within international law. Lastly, the legal status of medical personnel in armed conflicts is described. Since the medical personnel belong among persons protected under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the vast majority of this part is dedicated to the protection which the international humanitarian law grants to the personnel. The primary (related to the medical personnel themselves) and secondary (related to medical buildings, symbols, etc.) protection is distinguished.
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