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Selective adjustment to EU regulatory provisions in new member states : the case of electricity market liberalization in Bulgaria and Czech Republic
Neofitov, Alexander ; Weiss, Tomáš (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
The present work aspires to provide a comprehensive analysis of the policy developments through which European-level prescriptions regarding the liberalization of national electricity markets have been accommodated within the domestic policy contexts of two new member states of the European Union: Bulgaria and Czech Republic. Despite being subjected to uniform demands, adaptation to community regulatory provisions in the two countries has prompted divergent patterns of policy change, resulting in full compliance in the Czech Republic and a failure to meet EU objectives in Bulgaria. In order to address the observed inconsistency the envisaged research identifies a causal link between the outcomes of regulatory compliance and the influence of utility regulation as a sector-specific EU governance pattern on the dynamics of resource re-distribution at the domestic level. A major concern of the research is how contextual factors, such as incumbent power balances across actor populations in the target policy area condition the impacts of EU inputs on domestic policy decisions. In this respect the work hypothesizes that due to transition "sediments" in the new EU member states external rules may be selectively applied in order to match the existing realities and lead to outcomes that diverge from the...
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Defence cooperation in the small states of Central Europe : a discourse analysis of reality through the neorealist paradigm
Szentpetery, Dalma ; Weiss, Tomáš (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
In the following dissertation I seek to highlight some of the key aspects to defence cooperation in the region of Central Europe. The neorealist paradigm will be the guiding foundation through which I will explore the present circumstances and the potential for further alignment on cooperation. I aim to explore whether aspects of reality correspond to the expectations of neorealist paradigm in the small states of Central Europe. I have chosen to focus my dissertation on small state security because of its unique nature. Cooperation is a way for small states to be heard, and a way for them to shape policy. By working together, small states could increase the relative power they have within the system. They would also be able to avoid some of the expensive and potentially ineffective overlapping of military resources which exist in the European context. Budget cuts in the last few years have reduced the resources allocation of most military operations and therefore countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, already operating under limited resources, are faced with even more restrictions. Despite factors which encourage the creation of joint-military structures, the small states of Central Europe continue to maintain their own military presence. The sovereignty of the state is tied in...
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Beyond Charlemagne's legacy: Normative Empire and the Independence of the Judiciary in Conditionality
Vienne, Cassiopee ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
Accession negotiations to the EU since 2004 brought significant changes to European enlargement customary law and exacerbated the reliance of the Commission on conditionality to impose its leverage on present and prospective member states. The subsequent development of European norms in the pre-accession phase was transposed onto current member states and led to the edification of a Normative Empire. This research reformulated the concept of Normative Empire while resting on factual and contemporary evidence. It investigated why the increasingly significant role in conditionality of the principle of independence of the judiciary contributed to the metamorphosis of the EU into a Normative Empire. The argumentation of this research rested on the study of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. In addition to their geographical kinship, these three cases share issues of rampant corruption, notably in the political and judicial structures, which remain the main obstacles to their accession or full membership. The analysis of the Commission's influence in judicial reforms during the pre and post-accession phases was supported by a thorough study of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and the progress reports from 2004 till present. In conclusion, the Commission's post-accession monitoring in Bulgaria and...
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The capacity of the European Union to form a common foreign policy: The approach towards Russia during the crisis in Ukraine
Grycová, Adéla ; Rolenc, Jan Martin (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
The thesis deals with the issues of framing and europeanization of the foreign policy of the European Union in the context of an actorness of the EU. These two theoretical concepts are applied on the case of an approach of the Czech Republic and European Union towards Russian Federation during the crisis in Ukraine. The aim of this thesis is to find out if the European Union is capabble of affecting the behaviour of a member state in order to create unified and operational foreign policy. The first chapter deals with teoretical definition of the two concepts and detailed description of the stances of Czech Republic and European Union follows in the second one. On the basis of these chapters the assessment is conducted. The last part firstly concludes if any attempt of influecing is present and secondly the success rate of the attempt is evaluated.
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Propaganda v mezinárodních vztazích: Případová studie rusko-ukrajinského konfliktu
Kadlecová, Veronika ; Kratochvíl, Petr (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
The thesis identifies and further examines the role of propaganda in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, more specifically in the period around the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation in March 2014. Critical discourse analysis is employed in order to analyse selected speeches of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, relevant to the topic and in the period under investigation. The first chapter introduces a theoretical framework on propaganda in international relations, its definition, history and research. The methodology is described in detail in the second chapter. The historical context of the conflict is provided at the beginning of the empirical part of the thesis closely followed by a detailed analysis of the selected speeches. The findings support the prediction that there is a presence of propaganda identified within the speeches of both political leaders, thus in the conflict itself, and offer valuable insights into the hidden meanings and possible motives behind its use. The study advances our understanding of the phenomenon and helps us to expose and confront propaganda further.
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EU-Ukraine Energy Dialogue
Simotová, Olga ; Cibulková, Petra (advisor) ; Dubský, Zbyněk (referee)
This work deals with the energy dialogue between the European Union and Ukraine and assesses the role of EU's energy interests in Ukraine in Ukraine's integration into the EU. Ukraine is a key transit country for Russian gas to the Western Europe and has the power to influence its transport. The gas crisis between Ukraine and Russia in 2006 and 2009 increased EU's interest in the potential of Ukraine as a transit country. Lately, in the context of deepening energy cooperation, EU has also interest in the modernization of the Ukraine's transport infrastructure.
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Russia in foreign policy of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Lojanová, Jana ; Druláková, Radka (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
The main objective of the thesis is to analyse different presence and perception of Russia in discourse of political figures in Slovakia and the Czech Republic since accession of both countries to European Union till 2013. First part of the work is theoretical and introduce main methodological foundations of the thesis, i.e. basics of discoursive analysis and selected approaches to discoursive analysis. In second part of the work, the author identifies main individual discourses intepreting Russia in various positions, which can be found in public discourse in selected countries. Third part of the work provides chronological overview of development of discourse on Russia in relation to various historical events explicitly or implicitly concerning Russia. Final chapter then provides comparative analysis between the discourse in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
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The Russian Geopolitics of Energy
Vlčková, Kateřina ; Maslowski, Nicolas (advisor) ; Cibulková, Petra (referee)
This Thesis is titled The Energy Geopolitics of Russia and its main purpose is to analyze the energy geopolitics of Russia and the country's shifting energeopolitical pivot to Asia, especially to China. The Thesis is divided into three respective sections -- a theoretical approach, Russian geopolitics of energy, and one descriptive and exploratory case study. It strives to answer three main research questions considering Russia's shifting energeopolitical pivot, Ukraine crisis, and the development of Russia's foreign policy in regard to her energy geopolitics.
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