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ABSTRACTThe paper analyses the foreign policy preference of Czech political parties in the context of the 2021 elections and the war in Ukraine. The authors question whether the war in Ukraine functioned as a critical juncture in reshaping the parties' positions. The authors show that although the European and international profile of Czech foreign policy prevails, some competing visions have emerged since 2013, which applied to the elections in 2021, too. The outbreak of the war did not create a critical juncture reshaping the foreign policy stances of the Czech political parties. Long-term ideological motivations have remained the essential factor.

ABSTRACTThis text examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the Eurosceptic narratives of Central European leaders. By conducting a narrative analysis of statements made by the Visegrád Four government leaders, the text concludes that the individual leaders were for the most part unable to create new Eurosceptic narratives due to the specific nature of the coronavirus issue. Except for Slovakia, the leaders built on existing narratives from the polycrisis period and subsequently thematically linked these to the new crisis. Viktor Orbán was proficient in consolidating most of the previous Eurosceptic narratives of various thematic provenances within his coronavirus rhetoric.