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The article centres on research into paradiplomacy, the international involvement of sub-national units. It aims at finding appropriate concepts for use in research into the paradiplomacy of Czech regions. The main international scholarship on paradiplomacy is reviewed and the most popular concepts and typologies are introduced. Subsequently, several contradictions and deficiencies are revealed. Then, contemporary research into paradiplomacy in the Czech Republic is summarized. The article argues that Czech research has already identified genuine regional paradiplomacy, but lacks definition with respect to its specifics. The main argument is that, although it was appropriate to apply some concepts from research into federal states for the identification of paradiplomacy, extensive use of these concepts and typologies cannot bring results in research into the content of Czech paradiplomacy. Thus, a step back is suggested. Brian Hocking's approach, which perceives non-central governments as genuine actors of international politics, is suggested. Keating's typology seems the most appropriate for empirical research. In addition, it is argued that further research should focus mainly on the content of the paradiplomacy of Czech regions. The final part of the article proposes the application of such a research strategy on the example of the South Moravian Region. Its expected merits and benefits are then summed up in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statebuilding and Nationbuilding in the Conditions of Postconflict Kosovo Reconstruction The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration between territorial, societal and political aspects. The conclusion presented in this article might be used as a lesson learnt from previous mistakes in work dealing with ethnically divided societies, for which it is not sufficient to provide institutional structures without an adequate socio-political reconstruction of existing conditions. If a society is not adequately adapted to the newly-established situation, the institutional structures will not be able to fulfil their key functions completely. Furthermore, it has to be clear that any possible reconstruction of institutional bases must be attempted only with a deep consideration of specific local conditions; otherwise its sustainability is doubtful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the issue of Territorial Employment Pacts as a tool of horizontal non-hierarchical Europeanization in the field of social policy. The authors examine the functioning of these pacts in Austria, and understand them as an example of political learning, experience and policy transfer that is suitable for designing Territorial Employment pacts in the Czech republic. Subsequently, the implementation of a Territorial Employment Pact in the Moravian-Silesian Region is discussed from the perspective of policy learning processes as well as mechanisms of horizontal Europeanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Varying Paths of Transitional Justice: The Cases of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The paper deals with the issue of transitional justice in selected East-Central European countries. The relation between the mode of democratic transition and the means and pace of transitional judicial processes is discussed. Main attention is paid to the analysis and comparison of transitional justice issues in three Central European countries -- the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. The authors come to the conclusion that the mode of democratic transition is not as important as other political factors such as the presence or absence of leftist parties in government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]