Czech Foreign Policy in 2017: Analysis

In the Eleventh Volume in the Czech Foreign Policy: an IIR Analysis series, Czech Foreign Policy in 2017: Analysis, twenty-seven scholars contribute to the debate about Czech foreign policymakers’ efforts within an increasingly unpredictable international environment.
The volume includes eighteen chapters that analyse the important areas of Czech foreign policy throughout the defined period. Globally and regionally, 2017 was characterised by the end of the era of widespread confidence in the US’s willingness to pursue an internationalist foreign policy and provide reassurances for its allies. It was replaced by a more unilateralist and nationalist agenda, which puts “America First”, and has encouraged the rise of other major powers, while making it less clear what sort of world order the power transition might bring. The Czech Republic also faced major challenges in Europe, where debates about the future of the European Union have been taking place in light of the ongoing migration crisis and Brexit talks. In some aspects, the foreign policy elites have shown signs of disunity, especially in dealings with Russia. At the same time, the diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to stabilise the situation and make the Czech position vis-à-vis the rest of the world more predictable.