Reflections on the Czech Discipline of IR

This article deals with the Czech discipline of International Relations addressing its recent historical evolution as well as its current state. It relies on the concepts of field, capital, doxa and habitus developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It argues that the discipline was founded in the late 1950s as a part of the political field, entering the field of science as late as the 1990s. Therefore, the main dichotomies of the field were defined politically for most of the time, e.g. reformist communists vs. orthodox communists or anti-communists vs. communists. Nowadays, the dichotomy refers to the role of theory, which splits empirical and descriptive research from theoretically oriented research. This analysis also takes into account the professional trajectory of the author and his embedded position within the discipline

Forget Emulation, and Start Creating! The Future of Czech IR Research

The article argues for a new strategy for Czech IR research which would stimulate local scholars to produce innovative contributions to the international IR discipline. The strategy is supposed to go beyond the emulation of the Anglo-American IR, which currently prevails and which, despite occasional successes, failed in its goals. It aims at innovative contributions with a maximum utilisation of the Czech domestic conditions which embed the research. The strategy argues that the relations between Czech IR and the international discipline need to be sustained and even strengthened. At the same time, the Czech research should focus on the Czech political experience by examining the political phenomena by which this experience has been constituted and drawing on the traditions of Czech political thought

Problem strukturnih sprememb v družbeni teoriji mednarodne politike Alexandra Wendta

The article discusses how Social Theory of International Politics (STIP) by Alexander Wendt deals with the problem of structural change. It is argued that Wendt provides better theoretical framework for addressing structural change than his neo-realist foils. But at the same time his theory suffers from some remnants of neo-realist historicism. The article shows two ways in which a more dynamic framework can be developed while keeping most of the same premises of the STIP The former introduces explicit hermeneutical elements into the meta-theory of the STIP, while the latter abandons its state-centrism, taking into account a broader variety of actors.Članek proučuje, kako knjiga Alexandra Wendta Social Theory of International Politics (STIP) obravnava problem strukturnih sprememb. Po avtorjevem mnenju Wendt zagotavlja boljši teoretični okvir obravnave strukturnih sprememb kot njegovi neorealistični zgledi. Obenem pa njegova teorija boleha za nekaterimi ostanki neorealistične nezgodovinskosti. Članek kaže dve smeri, kjer je mogoče razviti bolj dinamičen teretični okvir in obenem ostati znotraj večine izvornih premis STIP. Prva vpeljuje izrecne hermenevtične prvine v metateorijo STlP, druga pa odpravlja njegov državocentrizem z upoštevanjem večje raznolikosti akterjev

A Reply to Critics

Reply to reactions on Petr Drulák: Forget Emulation, and Start Creating! The Future of Czech IR Research

Human Rights as a Danger in Foreign Policy

Die Idee der Menschenrechte ist unbestreitbar eine Errungenschaft. Nach den schrecklichen Grausamkeiten, die tyrannische Diktaturen im 20. Jahrhundert ihren Bürgern angetan haben, ist kaum zu bestreiten, dass jeder Mensch Anspruch auf Schutz seines Lebens, seiner Würde und seines Eigentums hat und dass jeder Staat dies gewährleisten muss. Und dennoch ist dies eine verhängnisvolle Idee, die grundsätzlich abgelehnt werden muss.The idea of human rights is undeniably an achievement. After the terrible atrocities that the tyrannical dictatorships of the 20th century inflicted on their citizens, it can hardly be denied that every human being is entitled to the protection of his or her life, dignity, and property, and that every state has to ensure this. And yet, this is an ominous idea that must be rejected as a matter of principle

The International Relations (IR) Scholarship in Central and Eastern European Countries: On Its Way to Cross the Regional Boundaries

The discussion gathered acknowledged researchers from the region and countries of the West who for years have been engaged in the development of International Relations in the Central and Eastern Europe. The academics analyse strong and weak points of the discipline regarding heritage, organization, research methods and human resources. They deliberate what epistemological and methodological choices should be made in order to implement Western standards of learning

Úvod do studia politiky

Tato učebnice je určena zejména vysokoškolským studentům sociálních a humanitních věd bakalářského a magisterského stupně. Jde o práci kolektivní a svým pojetím i rozsahem v českém prostředí ojedinělou. Je rozdělena do čtyř částí. V první části je politika vykládána očima nejrůznějších disciplín - od politologie přes filosofii, psychologii, antropologii, právo, geografii a ekonomii až po historii. Obsahem druhé části jsou úvody do vybraných subdisciplín politické vědy, jako je komparativní politologie, teorie mezinárodních vztahů a správní věda. Ve třetí části jsou zpracovány úvody do kvantitativních a kvalitativních metod v politické vědě, včetně tzv. kvalitativní srovnávací analýzy. Čtvrtá část pak pojednává o některých velkých tématech politiky, jako jsou stranické a volební systémy, národy a nacionalismus nebo demokracie a nedemokratické režimy. Učebnice tvoří vnitřně propojený celek, i když se názory, pojetí nebo hodnocení autorů jednotlivých kapitol od sebe mohou poněkud lišit