|
|
The New Regionalism and the institutional framework of the regional cooperation in the Western Balkans
Šindelář, Jan ; Králová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Šístek, František (referee)
The presented thesis is analyzing the regional cooperation in the Western Balkans (WB) focusing on interactions of local actors. Theoretical background is based on the new regionalism, a theoretical approach to regional interactions. Contemporary studies on New Regionalism (NR) actually do not consider the Western Balkans to be part of this process and as a result we lack sufficient information about the basic characteristics of this region. The author proves that the WB is engaged in the process of the new regionalism and in fact by focusing on the institutional structure he demonstrates that several parallel processes are ongoing in the region as for example regional cooperation, integration or cooperation with another region. For the purpose of this research two projects of regional cooperation were chosen, South Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) which are regarded as the main pillars of the political cooperation in the WB. By examining their structure we may understand the relevance of the region as an independent actor and the general aims of the regional cooperation.
|
|
|
Reception of Strategic Economic Narratives: Case Study of the Kenyan News Discourse.
Řehák, Vilém ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Horáková, Hana (referee) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
Strategic narrative is a communicative tool for political elites to construct a shared meaning to the international politics, to articulate state's interests, to change the discursive environment, and to shape the behaviour of other actors. It has three different dynamics, which proceed simultaneously and reinforce each other: formation of the narrative within the given state, its projection in the international arena, and its reception in other states. Theory of strategic narratives fits well into the framework of new regionalism, which tries to analyse relations between the processes of globalization, globalism, regionalization, and regionalism. Until recently, such analyses were conducted from state-level and positivist perspective. As a result, the dimension of reception remained understudied. The presented thesis is an attempt to fill this gap. It analyses global political economy from the interpretivist constructivist perspective: it uses the leading local newspaper as a data sources and analyses media (news) discourse as one form of a broad societal discourse. Such an analysis can help us to analyse how local society assesses and reacts to strategic narratives and their internalization or rejection by local elites. In my thesis, I focus on narratives of the three superpowers (the US, the EU,...
|
|
|
The position of England in the context of the regional organization of Great Britain
Kimelová, Anna ; Kasáková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Váška, Jan (referee)
The diploma thesis "The position of England in the context of the regional organization of Great Britain"deals with the issue of establishing a regional level of governance in the eight regions of England in the period between 1997 and 2004. This policy was promoted by the New Labour government as an answer to demands for democratisation and responsibility of governance in the regions as well as an answer to demands for improvements in economic performance of the regions. The aim of the thesis is to respond to the question of why the public in the regions does not support plans for strengthening of the regional level of governance and for establishing elected regional assemblies in the regions and why this policy was rejected in the referendum held in 2004 in the region North East. The research was carried out using the theory of new regionalism and the concept of construction of regions. Specific criteria are set and are used as a basis for analysis of the situation in the English regions in the selected time period. The first criterion is the territorial framework of the English regions, the second criterion is the institutional framework and the last criterion is the regional identity. It clearly emerges from the analysis that the English regions are not institutionalised as distinctive units...
|
|
|
New regionalism and the institutional framework of regional cooperation of the Western Balkans
Šindelář, Jan ; Králová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Šístek, František (referee)
ŠINDELÁŘ, Jan. Nový regionalismus a institucionální rámec regionální spolupráce Západního Balkánu. Praha, 2013. 101s. Rigorózní práce (PhDr.) Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd, Institut mezinárodních studií. Katedra ruských a východoevropských studií. Vedoucí diplomové práce PhDr. Kateřina Králová, Ph.D. Abstract The presented thesis is analyzing the regional cooperation in the Western Balkans (WB) focusing on interactions of the local actors. Theoretical background is based on the theory of new regionalism, a theoretical approach to regional interactions. Contemporary studies on new regionalism (NR) actually do not consider the Western Balkans to be part of this process and as a result we lack sufficient information about the basic characteristics of this region. The author proves that the WB is engaged in the process of the new regionalism and in fact by focusing on the institutional structure he demonstrates that several parallel processes are ongoing in the region, as for example regional cooperation, integration or cooperation with another region. For the purpose of this research two projects of regional cooperation were chosen, South Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) which are regarded as the main pillars of the political cooperation in...
|
|
|
Strenghtening European Commission's external actorness through internationalisation of SMEs: An institutional analysis of Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), 2002-2009
Trnka, Jan ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (advisor) ; Kasáková, Zuzana (referee)
European Union faced several external challenges in the beginning of the 21st century. Its enlargement to 24 member states led to a state of dissimilar and not well interconnected economies in need of a new model of external competitiveness. Finding the model and, more importantly, delivering it on community level, was a new task of the European Commission, especially after re-launch of the Lisbon strategy in 2005. Yet, there was another challenge for EU that was not so easy to address by the Commission: the relative weakening of EU's external economic action comparing to new increasingly assertive policies of other international players, especially BRICs. Was it possible for the Commission focus only on supporting EU competitiveness without any external action, as was expected by articles of the Treaty of Nice? As the thesis argues, indeed there was an external action of the Commission before the Lisbon treaty, through its public support of SME internationalization within the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). A neoinstitutional analysis of the issues on two levels is carried out: Firstly on the level of European institutions (motives, relevant contexts and institutional rules), secondly, on the level of secondary actors (SMEs, NGOs, CIP executive agency EACI), where the...
|
|
|
New regionalism in practice : a strategic partnership between European Union and Mercosur.
Fanturová, Anna ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Jeřábek, Martin (referee)
This thesis deals with the interregional relations between the European Union and Mercosur. It is approached as a single case study where the examined case is defined as "the strategic partnership between the European Union and Mercosur in the context of new regionalism". The thesis consists of three main chapters. The first chapter explains the phenomenon of new regionalism and interregionalism and deals with two theoretical approaches to regional integration - neofunctionalist and intergovernmental. The subject of the second chapter is the development of regional integration within Mercosur and the analysis of the relations between the EU and Mercosur from the early 1990's till present. The current negotiations between the two regions are aimed at the conclusion of the Association Agreement creating free trade area and consisting of three pillars: political dialogue, cooperation and trade. The negotiations were officially launched in 1999, later suspended in 2004 and re-launched at Madrid Summit in 2010. The thesis seeks to find out how the EU and Mercosur are motivated to sign the agreement and what are the main obstacles blocking the successful conclusion of the negotiation process. To this end, the third chapter analyzes the three pillars of the Association agreement under negotiation paying...
|
|
|
New Regionalism and Sub-Saharan Africa
Řehák, Vilém ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Lukáš, Ivan (referee)
The diploma thesis "New Regionalism and Sub-Saharan Africa" deals with the question of economic integration in Africa and its theoretical reflexion. First chapter deals with the question whether different integration theories are applicable to African reality or not. Author subsequently analyzes Pan-Africanism as a specifically African ideology, classical economic integration theories, classical theories of political science on integration and modern theories of political science, with the conclusion that neither of these theories provides explanation of speeding up African integration in recent years. Chapter two deals with the phenomenon of so-called "new regionalism" as a process in world economy, second part deals with different theoretical conceptions and theories trying to describe and theorize about this process. Chapter three briefly describes evolution of African integration from its colonial starts to the newest initiatives connected with the transformation of Organization of African Unity into African Union. Chapter four offers five case studies of integration in different regional organizations. Each case study outlines starting position in 1991 in the sense of creation of organization, its aims and evolution of integration up to signing of the Abuja Treaty creating African Economic...
|
|
|
Reception of Strategic Economic Narratives: Case Study of the Kenyan News Discourse.
Řehák, Vilém ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Horáková, Hana (referee) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee)
Strategic narrative is a communicative tool for political elites to construct a shared meaning to the international politics, to articulate state's interests, to change the discursive environment, and to shape the behaviour of other actors. It has three different dynamics, which proceed simultaneously and reinforce each other: formation of the narrative within the given state, its projection in the international arena, and its reception in other states. Theory of strategic narratives fits well into the framework of new regionalism, which tries to analyse relations between the processes of globalization, globalism, regionalization, and regionalism. Until recently, such analyses were conducted from state-level and positivist perspective. As a result, the dimension of reception remained understudied. The presented thesis is an attempt to fill this gap. It analyses global political economy from the interpretivist constructivist perspective: it uses the leading local newspaper as a data sources and analyses media (news) discourse as one form of a broad societal discourse. Such an analysis can help us to analyse how local society assesses and reacts to strategic narratives and their internalization or rejection by local elites. In my thesis, I focus on narratives of the three superpowers (the US, the EU,...
|
|
|
New Regionalism in the Foreign Relations of Chile
Skopalová, Klára ; Hnát, Pavel (advisor) ; Sankot, Ondřej (referee)
This bachelor thesis focuses on the foreign economic relations of Chile. The first chapter, provides information about position of Chile in global market and analyses, commodity and territorial structure of the foreign trade. The second chapter goes on to describe bilateral free trade agreements between Chile and its biggest trading partners, their evolution and content. The last chapter is dedicated to analyzes and comparative development of economic relations between Chile and the US, as well as, Chile and China. This main objective of this thesis is to find out how specific commodity and territorial structure of the foreign trade of Chile influences its approach to new regionalism.
|
|
|
Regions through time and space: Problem of regionalization
Semian, Michal ; Chromý, Pavel (advisor) ; Anděl, Jiří (referee) ; Daněk, Petr (referee)
The thesis is rooted in the new regional geography paradigm that gained strength in geographical thought since the 1980s. This approach is characterized by emphasizing the socially constructed nature of regions; thus, regions are scrutinized as a historically contingent process. A region is formed, reproduced and eventually disappears in time. The thesis works with the assumption that a plurality of regions, that exists in changing time- space contexts of different mechanisms and meanings, can be experienced de facto in any particular area. In simpler terms, it can be understood as a plurality of regional images produced on the one side by regional actors to fulfil their particular goals and on the other regional images produced by inhabitants in and outside the region in order to understand the outside world and position themselves within it. Motivation for the production of images can vary, from a simple manifestation of one position in the regional system, through the attempt to attract attention towards the region to exploitation of the regional potential in order to fulfil particular power-oriented aims. The general idea of a region can be sought throughout the synthesis of the many regional images that can be understood as somewhat layers of a region. The thesis contributes to the discussion...
|
guest ::
