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Comparison of the EU accession process of Croatia and Serbia: chapters 23 and 24
Trunečka, Adam ; Martinková, Viera (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
Although most countries of the Western Balkans are in various stages of the EU accession, their progress is slow compared to that of the Central and Eastern European countries that have joined so far. Many indicators and authors point to the deteriorating state of democratic institutions in Montenegro and Serbia - the frontrunner candidate countries in the Western Balkans. This raises questions about the functionality of applying conditionality on these countries. The European Commission regularly evaluates the accession countries' advancement in Progress Reports. The aim of this work was to assess how the Commission evaluates the progress of Montenegro and Serbia in Chapters 23 and 24, which are closely linked to the issue of democratic institutions and the whole principle of conditionality. Using quantitative content analysis, individual pieces of information on the interannual progress of these countries in 2012- 2020 were coded and converted into corresponding positive (indicating improvement) and negative (indicating regression) values. Their averaging then resulted in a group of indexes for individual aspects described in the relevant Chapters as well as indexes for the Chapters as a whole. At the same time, a special Democratic Institutions Reform Index (DIRI) was calculated. The relevant...
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International Monetary Fund: Trends in the Scope of Activity in 1989-2014
Szabo, Jakub ; Parízek, Michal (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
The main goal of this bachelor thesis is to evaluate possible ideological changes inside the IMF in the time period from 1989 to 2014. This goal is achieved by examining annual reports published by the IMF, with attention on the most important tools of the IMF. Issues discussed through the IMF's surveillance and conditionality are the main indicator of possible reforms and changes. Based on the existent literature and example of the reform of the World Bank four hypotheses are formulated. Those hypotheses are dedicated to monitoring changes in perceived importance of welfare state, small government, good governance and fiscal policy. Firstly, current literature is presented with definition of the main concepts used in this thesis. Secondly, important tools of the IMF are described. Thirdly, collected data is described and this thesis concludes with data evaluation. With application of the methods of descriptive statistics and content analysis this thesis concludes with statement, that important shift from emphasis on weak state to strong state occurred and good governance became important theme of IMF's interest. However importance of the theme fiscal policy persisted.
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The Influence of EU Conditionality on Serbian Politics towards Kosovo
Krulichová, Zuzana ; Šístek, František (advisor) ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (referee)
The aim of this bachelor's thesis is to analyse the influence of EU conditionality on the 'Kosovo question' in Serbian policy. Its focus is on the period between 2008 and 2015. It analyses the shift in Serbian politics with the use of the external incentives model. The core of the analytical part is the dialogue held between Serbia and Kosovo, mediated by the EU. Key agreements are examined as well as the Serbian shift towards the EU membership. Moreover, the text focuses on the factors which affect the effectiveness of EU conditionality. The thesis concludes that Serbian compliance was strongly influenced by the prospect of membership. Serbia still refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. However, several technical and political agreements were reached.
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The impact of IMF financial aid on economic growth and inflation
Covalenco, Valeri ; Horváth, Roman (advisor) ; Mejstřík, Michal (referee)
The International Monetary Fund was created to promote financial stability, global monetary cooperation, high employment, international trade and sustainable economic growth. Together with the World Bank, IMF has a "monopoly" on offering loan programs for countries in deep crises or for development projects. In this thesis, we examine the effect of IMF, i.e. loan size and quotas, on the economic growth and inflation rate, by applying a dynamic panel regression on our dataset. In addition, we look at how the IMF Quotas influence the size of the loans. Our empirical results display significant evidence that IMF loans influence the GDP growth in a positive manner, in the medium term. Both Control of Corruption and Voice & Accountability have a negative influence on the economic growth. In other words, less corruption and stronger civil rights will halt the growth level of the economy. We also determined that IMF Quotas is not a robust indicator of the loan size. It is only driven by the past loan levels. Regarding Inflation determinants, IMF loans are not affecting the Inflation in a significant manner, while FDI and Control of Corruption - do. FDI exercises a positive influence on the CPI, while perception of less corruption has a negative effect on Inflation rate. JEL Classification D73, E31, F12,...
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EU Conditionality and the Russian-speaking Minority in the Baltic States: Problems of Integration During and Beyond EU Accession
Gaziev, Farkhod ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (advisor) ; Váška, Jan (referee)
Since its inclusion in the Copenhagen criteria, the protection of minority rights has been an important political condition set by the European Union (EU) for candidate states. This thesis examines the effectiveness of EU conditionality on the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to change their ethnic policies and its affect on the Russian-speaking minority of the states. The main argument of this thesis is that the European accession process has promoted minority rights in the three Baltic states, following which the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltic States have been partially integrated. However, the domestic opposition and the potential threat from Russia hindered EU's efforts to influence outcomes of the domestic policies.
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The Influence of EU Conditionality on Serbian Politics towards Kosovo
Krulichová, Zuzana ; Šístek, František (advisor) ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (referee)
The aim of this bachelor's thesis is to analyse the influence of EU conditionality on the 'Kosovo question' in Serbian policy. Its focus is on the period between 2008 and 2015. It analyses the shift in Serbian politics with the use of the external incentives model. The core of the analytical part is the dialogue held between Serbia and Kosovo, mediated by the EU. Key agreements are examined as well as the Serbian shift towards the EU membership. Moreover, the text focuses on the factors which affect the effectiveness of EU conditionality. The thesis concludes that Serbian compliance was strongly influenced by the prospect of membership. Serbia still refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. However, several technical and political agreements were reached.
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The Politics of European Union Enlargement: Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia
Hach, Tomáš ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Karlas, Jan (referee)
Tomáš Hach - The Politics of EU Enlargement: Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia Abstract The diploma thesis deals with the topic of the politics of EU enlargement and perspectives of future developments in this area. Its main objectives are to define the politics in theory, to introduce it in the context of the Western Balkans and apply it to the three selected cases - Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. The work considers the historical development since 1990's as an important factor with a huge influence on current negotiation, and therefore the thesis pays high attention to that. Besides the historical excursion, the thesis deals with topics of political development, introduces the status of current negotiations and the relationship between the European Union and certain countries since the establishment of the first official contact. Through the comparative case study, despite differing positions of states within the framework of negotiations, it is highlighted that all countries share common problems. The method of compliance and non-compliance generates common problems as well as underlines the particular specifics. An important contribution is also the comparison of individual countries based on fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria in the context of current affairs.
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International Monetary Fund: Trends in the Scope of Activity in 1989-2014
Szabo, Jakub ; Parízek, Michal (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
The main goal of this bachelor thesis is to evaluate possible ideological changes inside the IMF in the time period from 1989 to 2014. This goal is achieved by examining annual reports published by the IMF, with attention on the most important tools of the IMF. Issues discussed through the IMF's surveillance and conditionality are the main indicator of possible reforms and changes. Based on the existent literature and example of the reform of the World Bank four hypotheses are formulated. Those hypotheses are dedicated to monitoring changes in perceived importance of welfare state, small government, good governance and fiscal policy. Firstly, current literature is presented with definition of the main concepts used in this thesis. Secondly, important tools of the IMF are described. Thirdly, collected data is described and this thesis concludes with data evaluation. With application of the methods of descriptive statistics and content analysis this thesis concludes with statement, that important shift from emphasis on weak state to strong state occurred and good governance became important theme of IMF's interest. However importance of the theme fiscal policy persisted.
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Democratisation aspects of Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean
Kolek, Lukáš ; Weiss, Tomáš (advisor) ; Tomalová, Eliška (referee)
The bachelor thesis deals with the democratization aspect of newly introduced Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean. The European Union in the Southern Mediterranean has for a long time prioritized its security and economic interests. After the Arab Spring the European Union redefined its regional policy and declared its intention to support democratization of the region, which the new partnership supposed to symbolize. In the form of case study focused on Egypt in a period from March 2011 to January 2013 this paper addresses the question of whether the EU's ambitions to democratize the region reflect its actions. The first chapter of this thesis introduces the relations between the EU and the Southern Mediterranean in its historical context. The second chapter is devoted to the creation of the new Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean and analyzes its aims, mechanisms and benefits in the context of democratization. The last part of my paper answers the two sub questions. The first evaluates, whether the EU applied the principles of "more for more" and "less for less" considering the Egyptian progress in democratic transition. The second one focuses on whether the benefits offered by the EU reflect the needs of...
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EU conditionality in non-candidate countries of Eastern Partnership, case in point Moldova
Eftode, Alexandru ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (advisor) ; Weiss, Tomáš (referee)
A number of recent studies suggest that EU conditionality is a weak mechanism for democracy promotion to third countries if EU does not offer the reward of membership. EU democratic conditionality has been criticized for many shortcomings even in the context of enlargement, especially for unclear demands, vague benchmarking, moving targets, and politicized decision-making. Present thesis discusses whether the view that conditionality has exhausted its potential for democracy promotion still holds true in one country of Eastern Partnership, Moldova. The EU explicitly offers only carrots short of membership. I find that, among these, visa free regime is the most rewarding. But while visa liberalization coupled with tactics of "half opened, half closed doors" seems potent enough to drive democratic change and consolidation, it is evident that EU did little to address the shortcomings of democratic conditionality of 2004-2007 enlargement. The pattern of ill specified demands and unclear benchmarking perpetuates and is a major source of disappointment.
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