Roles and Ideologies in the Czech Foreign Policy: the Case of European Migration Crisis

This edited volume investigates the Czech response to the European migration crisis of 2015. Focusing on the discourses and practices the book analyses the foreign policy ideas which were guiding the Czech foreign policy in the period from 2014 to 2019. The chapters offer a variety of methodologies (discourse analysis, content analysis, and case study) and perspectives (decision-makers, NGOs, emotions, foreign policy practice, and European partners). All the chapters rely on a common conceptual framework that operationalises foreign policy ideas as ideologies (Atlanticism, Europeanism, Internationalism, and Sovereignism) and roles (Democracy Supporter, Protectee, Faithful Ally, Regional Collaborator, Reformer, and Prosperity Builder). The main benefit of the book consists in using a unique conceptual framework to produce new empirical insights into the Czech foreign policy making. The book will be of particular interest to the students of the Czech politics and it can be also used as a case study in foreign policy-making. It also offers a nuanced perspective on the Central and Eastern Europe decision-making during the EU migration crisis which goes beyond the usual ideological classifications of those countries in the West European public discourse.   

Petr Drulák is a Professor at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the Faculty of Arts of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, and a guest professor at the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA). He served as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He published extensively on Central Europe, national interest, and theory of international relations (e.g., in European Journal of International Relations, Journal of European Public Policy,Geopolitics, Journal of International Relations and Development, and Osteuropa).