{"title":"More Weapons than Windmills: Japan’s Military and Energy Policy Response to Russia’s Attack on Ukraine","authors":"Ulv Hanssen, Florentine Koppenborg","doi":"10.32422/cjir.733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/cjir.733","url":null,"abstract":"Russia’s attack on Ukraine was a shock to both the international security architecture and global energy markets. This article examines Japan’s response to these shocks. It finds that the Ukraine War spurred dramatic policy changes in Japan’s defense policy, but only moderate ones in its energy policy. The war has so far had a particularly weak impact on Japan’s green transition despite the potential renewable energy has for Japanese energy security. We argue that the main reason for the discrepancy between Japan’s responses in the defense field and energy field is found in its increasingly strong tendency to securitize “the China threat”. Strengthening Japan’s defense policy as a response to Russia’s aggression is seen by Japanese policymakers as compatible with counterbalancing China. However, a full-blown transition to renewable energy is not, due to the Japanese fear of becoming further trade-dependent on China, which dominates renewable energy markets.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121709112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine and its Impact on Climate Politics","authors":"Chad M. Briggs, Miriam Matejová","doi":"10.32422/cjir.745","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/cjir.745","url":null,"abstract":"The Russian invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 represented not only attempts to erase Ukrainian sovereignty but were also linked to a larger campaign by the Kremlin to undermine trust in democratic institutions, scientific data, and resilience of Western societies. This form of hybrid warfare has long taken a particular focus on energy systems, both in attempts to maintain Russian oil and gas exports, and to target energy infrastructure in invaded states like Ukraine. This article briefly traces the origins of the Russian government’s “assault on truth,” revealing how the information battlespace has affected global climate politics. The disruption of climate politics has long been a goal of the Kremlin and its allies – we argue that the ongoing energy crisis must be approached carefully, with particular attention to countering anti-science and anti-climate efforts.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117082270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On Current Armed Insurgencies in the Sahel and the Role of Climate Change: Merging Political Ecology and Environmental Security","authors":"M. Schmiedl","doi":"10.32422/cjir-mv.116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/cjir-mv.116","url":null,"abstract":"The Sahel region currently faces various social, political, security, and environmental issues. However, the scientific and media discourse tends to oversimplify the underlying causes of these issues. While some authors attribute them to the heavy impact of climate change-induced scarcity, others focus on political factors such as bad governance. This article aims to merge the perspectives of Environmental Security and Political Ecology into one framework to provide a more holistic explanation of the problems in the Sahel. It shows how local political inequalities, marginalization, economic problems, military coups, corruption, and climate change mutually intersect in a mechanism that creates conflicts and insecurity. This is exacerbated by the geographical character of the Sahel states and their type of governance, which provides an operational space for many armed groups. By understanding the intersection of these conditions, the article contributes to the empirical understanding of the mechanism of conflicts in the Sahel and better conceptualizes the relationship between scarcity, climate change, and conflict.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"128 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128118030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Examining the Czech Presidency’s Role in the Convergence of the EU’s Energy-Climate Agenda","authors":"Izabela Surwillo","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.613","url":null,"abstract":"The Czech presidency of the Council of the EU faced a challenging term, commencing just months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Its priorities were to maintain the unity of the European bloc against Moscow, manage the energy crisis, and adhere to the ambitious climate agenda. During its term, the Czech presidency significantly improved the EU՚s energy security by promoting energy solidarity, cooperation, and reaching key agreements on issues such as the windfall tax or reduction of gas demand. Although the climate policy remained in sight, the revisions of the Renewable Energy Directive and Energy Efficiency Directive not only lacked momentum and important commitments, such as an agreement on reducing energy demand, but also strong compulsory measures. Despite the Czech presidency’s prioritization of security of supply over ambitious climate goals, its overall successful performance in both areas has contributed to aligning energy and climate policies between Western and Eastern Europe in the long term.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121762068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rule of Law and the 2022 Czech Presidency: Strengthening Resiliency and Avoiding Conflicts","authors":"Ivo Šlosarčík","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.705","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.705","url":null,"abstract":"The insertion of “resiliency of democratic institutions” into the five key priorities of the 2022 Czech presidency indicates a political commitment to focus on the rule of law agenda. The following text aspires to map the practice of the Czech presidency in the domain of democratic institutions and rule of law and explain the reasons behind its (in)ability to deliver the expected outcomes. Firstly, the article analyses the specifics of the EU regulatory framework for the rule of law, and the impact of the Czech internal political situation after the 2021 parliamentary elections on the presidency’s performance. Secondly, the text covers four key policy issues that required the presidency’s attention in the second half of 2022: the evaluation of the judicial systems of member states, the formation of new EU rules for media freedom and the fight against disinformation, the amendment of the EP election process, and the judicial response to the crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124063836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The 2022 Czech EU Council Presidency: Performance in the Fields of Security, Energy and Rule of Law","authors":"J. Kovář, T. Weiss","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.241","url":null,"abstract":"By the end of December 2002, the Czech EU Council presidency came to an end. Czechia was holding the rotating Council presidency for the second time and like in 2009 its presidency trio was rounded out by the preceding French presidency and the following Swedish one. The key difference between the two Czech presidencies was the changed institutional context. While the 2009 presidency took place on the verge of the entrance into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Treaty nevertheless only came into effect in December 2009, a couple months after the Czechs passed the presidency baton to the Swedes. The 2022 Czech presidency was thus the first that the country held under the Lisbon rules. These rules curtailed the role of the rotating presidency in terms of presiding over the European Council as well as the Foreign Affairs Council. Most importantly, the practicalities of the Czech presidency were affected by the suddenly changed international context following the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Czech presidency as well as the presidency trio had to revise their priorities and the entire EU was primarily focused on the war in Ukraine and its consequences. This special forum containing seven articles provides an early analysis that engages the existing scholarly literature on the performance of Czechia at the helm of the EU.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"158 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127650608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Czech Presidency and the Rule of Law: Not Hungary’s Satellite Anymore","authors":"Sonja Priebus","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.703","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.703","url":null,"abstract":"This article assesses the achievements and failures of the 2022 Czech presidency in one of its priority areas, namely democratic resilience and the rule of law. By analysing the two inherited Article 7 (1) procedures against Poland and Hungary as well as the rule of law conditionality mechanism against Hungary, I argue that the Czech presidency’s major achievement was the successful completion of the conditionality procedure despite Hungary’s hostage policy. Besides, the Czech presidency’s handling of the rule of law procedures had crucial symbolic implications. The government managed to distance itself from the notion that Czechia is a member of the ‘illiberal’ Visegrád bloc and instead demonstrated its pro-democratic and pro-European orientation.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"154 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122871341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Towards a New Era of the Czech Journal of International Relations","authors":"Michal Kolmaš","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.730","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.730","url":null,"abstract":"The Czech Journal of International Relations enters a new era. What will become of it?","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133866279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Czech EU Presidency: Strengthening Energy Security Amidst the Crisis","authors":"Martin Jirušek","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.702","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.702","url":null,"abstract":"The Czech Republic took over the presidency of the European Union Council from France during a deep crisis ignited by the aggressive Russian invasion of Ukraine. In fact, as a result of the invasion, the Czech presidency had to deal with a multitude of crises: not only the actual security crisis, that is, Russian forces attacking a country at the EUʼs border, but also an energy crisis manifested by price hikes and supply insufficiency, and an economic crisis caused by both of the above. As energy was among the priorities of the presidency, the article focuses on this area, assessing the presidencyʼs performance in strengthening the blocʼs energy security. The text focuses on electricity and natural gas markets, given the impact of the crisis on these areas and the fact that their functioning is communitarized. Retrospectively, it also takes on the topic of what the presidencyʼs main message and legacy were when it passed the proverbial baton to Sweden at the end of 2022. The research found that the agreements reached under the Czech presidency can increase the Unionʼs energy security, namely the availability and affordability of energy supplies. The presidency also showcased the Czech Republic’s ability to achieve broad agreement even on controversial points.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"127 18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126102582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"McGlynn, Jade — Jones, Oliver T. (eds.): Researching Memory and Identity in Russia and Eastern Europe Interdisciplinary Methodologies","authors":"E. Romanovskiy","doi":"10.32422/mv-cjir.735","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.32422/mv-cjir.735","url":null,"abstract":"The reviewed book provides an ambitious contribution to the study of historical politics and the politics of memory. The politics of memory refers to a specific interdisciplinary area of political science that investigates how the state and other individual actors influence the perception of the past in different states. The volume covers the region where the deep scars of past violence are misused and instrumentalized in the conduct of everyday politics, with extensive discussions of theoretical starting points and methodological approaches. The authors try to answer questions such as how to measure historical memory, ensure subjectivity does not interfere with the study of memory, and ensure memory is represented accurately in media and literature.","PeriodicalId":311735,"journal":{"name":"Czech Journal of International Relations","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116873191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}