Ústav mezinárodních vztahů

Anti-Gruevski Rally in Skopje
After the opposition released what seemed to be sensitive covert recordings of illegal ministerial activities, the anti-Gruevski rally broke out. Despite the government claims that try to raise the fear of the possibility of an ethnic conflict the Macedonians and Albanians stand side by side and protest together. Michal Šimečka from the Centre for European Security of the IIR commented on the current situation.

Europe’s Migration Crisis: Central Europe’s Dangerous Game
Should a serious migration crisis erupt as a result of conflict escalation in Ukraine, the odds are that the V4 would need assistance through exactly the kind of EU solidarity mechanism they now oppose. That is the opinion of Michal Šimečka and Benjamin Tallis presented in their joint article for the server openDemocracy.

Europe’s Migration Crisis: An Alternative View from Central Europe
"European Union needs a debate on migration" is the starting message of an article written by the members of the Centre for European Security of the IIR published by the Visegrad Insight which reacts on the article published by the think-tank Evropské hodnoty.

Mediterranean Migrant Crisis
Benjamin Tallis, Co-ordinator of the IIR’s Centre for European Security, appeared two times on CT24’s ‘Horizont’ programme to discuss the migration situation in the Mediterranean.

The Island at a Loss
„The Ukraine crises pointed out the fall of influence that Britain has over the world events. That is important news, for the Czech Republic as well.” That is how the Respekt article begins and it further focuses on scrutinizing the current position of the Great Britain in the international relations. The analysis quotes also Benjamin Tallis, the Co-ordinator of the Centre for European Security of the IIR and at the same time the Editor in Chief of the IIR journal New Perspectives.

20 ans de mutations de la diplomatie tchèque
Entre la position à adapter sur le dossier ukrainien, la mise de côté de la politique de défense des droits de l’homme héritée du président Havel au profit d’une approche plus pragmatique des relations internationales ou encore les divergences de vue entre le château de Prague, siège de la présidence, et le gouvernement, les mutations de la diplomatie tchèque sont au cœur des débats. Pour y voir plus clair sur les évolutions de la politique étrangère tchèque depuis 1989, Radio Prague a sollicité Ondřej Horký-Hlucháň, lequel dirige la section recherche de l’Institut des relations internationales de Prague.

Ukraine, Syria and Much More
We bring you short overview of our researchers' recent media acitvities.

What will 2015 hold for Central Europe?
The Visegrad Four (V4) countries are coming off a difficult last year in which divisions over their differing attitudes towards Russia and the sanctions policy were made public for all to see. These divisions have created serious concerns about the unity of the region and its reliability in carrying out EU and NATO policies. The year 2015 will therefore be considered a do-over. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to a complicated Budapest earlier this week, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit on 17 February, represent the first steps of this pivotal year for V4 countries, which have a lot to prove to each other and to their European partners.

Czech Foreign Policy: Shift in the Values?
Over the last couple of months, the Czech Foreign policy attracted substantial attention of both domestic and foreign media. This concerned not only the reaction to President Miloš Zeman´s official visit to China, but also the ambiguity of the Czech political elites towards sanctions imposed on Russia in reaction to the conflict in Ukraine. To discuss these issues, as well as the position and role of the Visegrad Group, Vera – Karin Brazova from The Virtual Forum for Visegrad+ Studies met with Petr Kratochvíl.

Czechs to announce defence spending increase at NATO summit
„President Miloš Zeman is set to announce an increase in the Czech Republic’s defence budget at the NATO summit in Wales on Thursday. Czech leaders also support plans to create a rapid-response military force.“