Issue published: 30 November 2005

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Geographical Proximity and Historical Experience as a Basis for Active Foreign Policy Strategy of Small European States – the Case of Austria and Slovenia regarding the Western Balkans

Ana Bojinović, p. 8-29

Abstract: The author tests the theory of a small (European) state’s active foreign policy of choosing to cooperate in a field where it could use its historical experience and geographical proximity to an area as a basis for its active foreign policy strategy. She claims that it is the change of external determinants of foreign policy which makes a small European state decide to use its historical experience or geographical proximity and a relevant area of cooperation, but in some cases selectively. The theory is verified on the basis of two small European states, Austria and Slovenia, and their historical experience, and geographical proximity to the Western Balkans.

Keywords: small states, foreign policy, history, geography, Europe

Czech Foreign Policy – Small State or Middle Power Approach?

Ladislav Cabada, p. 30-45

Abstract: The majority of countries in the world are small states. Their role grew up rapidly in the period after the Second World War and especially after the end of the Cold War. In this period new themes appeared in the international relations and small states profiled on them as so-called middle powers. Development aid and cooperation or support for human security were two such a themes. The Czech Republic too could in the near future aspire to become a medium-sized power. Czech foreign policy was formed in the dynamic period after the end of the bipolar conflict of the Great Powers and the disintegration of the Czechoslovak Federation. Nevertheless, since the very beginning the Czech Republic has been able to define its clear priorities, often with reference to the historical development of Czechoslovak statehood. The euphoric period when the Czech Republic was established could be one of the reasons why the first official concept of Czech foreign policy was presented as late as 1998. These policies, and later policies since 2002, represent a combination of small state and medium-sized power strategies. The article analyses which themes could be the vehicle for transforming Czech foreign policy from that of a small state towards the policy of a middle power.

Keywords: small states, middle powers, foreign policy, international relations, Czech Republic

Switzerland – From Splendid Isolation to Selected Cooperation

Tamara Ehs, p. 46-54

Abstract: For a small, landlocked country with a difficult geography and no natural resources to speak of, Switzerland has done remarkably well. Nevertheless, the Alpine republic faced some difficulties during the 1990s, even a crisis: Since the fall of the Iron Curtain its role as a neutral go-between was questioned. And as European integration was moving forward the Swiss found themselves quite isolated. As a result, Switzerland cautiously took steps towards international integration and joined the United Nations in 2002. But the country still abstains from joining the EU, disliking the idea of laws made in Brussels rather than in Bern. Therefore Switzerland found a compromise with the EU by negotiating bilateral agreements, including on security issues. Although Switzerland still prefers to go it alone, the country is looking for a replacement for its diminished political weight by adopting a new role of selected cooperation: providing assistance in the Balkans within the framework of the PfP and ESDP, and joining the Schengen/Dublin-Agreement etc. As a small, neutral country Switzerland traditionally wants to offer itself as a go-between in today’s conflicts and tries to balance between keeping a low profile in its own foreign and security policy without losing even more ground and to provide space for “Good Offices”. Up to now, the country has been quite successful in doing so.

Keywords: Cooperation, European Union, Good Offices, Identity, Neutrality, Security Policy, Switzerland

Cultural Patterns of Enlargement: Do Small Central European States Share Common Values?

Karin Liebhart, p. 55-68

Abstract: The ongoing process of Europeanization raises the question of citizen support. Political actors in the relevant states seek to promote the acceptance of civil society for this development. The political bid for consensus building around EU integration and the enlargement process is accompanied by public campaigns. Against this background this paper deals with selected images that figure prominently in these campaigns, using three small EU members of the Central European region – Austria, Hungary and Slovakia – as examples. Starting from the assumption that national and European images used in the respective campaigns refer to underlying cultural patterns as frames of political orientation one may analyse commonalities and differences in the perception of political roles of the respective states in the new Europe.

Keywords: EU integration and enlargement, political advertisement, public campaigns, images, cultural patterns, CEE, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia

Per Asper Ad Astra. Human Security in International Relations Practice: a Comparative Study of Foreign and Development Policies of EU/HSN Member States

Šárka Waisová, p. 69-92

Abstract: In the last 10 years “human security” has even become something of a buzzword, used by United Nations agencies, national development agencies, international as well as national NGOs and, last but not least, by international relations scholars. Besides the UN, there are other international forums where the incorporation of human security issues into foreign and development policy has been discussed – primarily in the Human Security Network (HSN) and the European Union. The main goal of this text is to analyse and compare the contemporary understanding of human security in EU/HSN member states and the human security strategies, instruments and approaches of these states. I argue that EU/HSN countries have based their human security conceptualization on strong developmental and humanitarian elements, and all of them have accepted security-development interdependence. However, the human security paradigm is not anything, what is in EU/HSN states’ policies embedded; these states have been accepting and using human security only as far as their national security strategy and EU membership makes it possible.

Key words: human security, Human Security Network, European Union, Austria, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia

A Small Power’s Strategy: Poland and the Ukrainian Crisis of 2004

Jerzy J. Wiatr, p. 93-103

Abstract: Political scientists discussed the role of the smaller states in several studies published in the 1960s and 70s. They focused on policy choices a small power faced when joining multinational alliances and within them. Recently, attention has focused on how many a small powers can influence political developments both within the alliances they belong to and outside them. Poland’s involvement in the negotiated solution of the Ukrainian political crisis of 2004 shows that a smaller power can use its assets to influence events. When the political scene in Ukraine polarized between two camps (respectively represented by Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych and the opposition leader Victor Yushchenko) Russia tried to influence the outcome by giving support to Yanukovych. The United States and the European Union remained neutral in the crisis, mostly due to their unwillingness to damage their relations with Russia. When the run-off election had been rigged and Yushchenko’s supporters began street protests, Polish public opinion solidly sided with the Ukrainian opposition. Poland’s President Aleksander Kwasniewski, in a series of visits to Kiev, helped both sides of the Ukrainian crisis to reach a negotiated compromise. The run-off results were declared void by the Supreme Court and in the repeated vote Yushchenko won the presidency. Poland was able to help her neighbour to chose a democratic solution to the crisis and continues to support Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union. In the long run such policy serves Poland’s interests but its immediate consequence has been a deterioration in Polish-Russian relations.

Key words: small powers, international strategy, presidential election, orange revolution, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, European Union

BOOK REVIEWS

Jerzy J. Wiatr: Contemporary Parliaments in a comparative perspective

Ladislav Cabada: Politics in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia

Přemysl Rosůlek: Ideologies and National Identities in South Eastern Europe

Šárka Waisová Czech Political Culture and the Rise of Communism in 1945–1948

Marek Ženíšek: Europeanisation of National Political Parties