The thesis analyzes two forms of International Development Cooperation, particularly Microfinance and Interregional Cooperation. The goal is to stress these forms and find suitable models for their application in the Czech environment.

В данной работе дается оценка нормативно-правовой базе Российской Федерации в части компетенций развития международного сотрудничества регионов Российской Федерации. На примерах проведения крупных международных мероприятий на территории Свердловской области показывается итоги взаимодействия органов государственной власти, общественных организаций и иных структур. Приведена торгово-экономическая статистика, обозначены основные направления сотрудничества, а также анализ подписанных документов свердловско-китайского сотрудничества. / Current work gives a characteristic of the existing Russian legal-base concerning the conduction of the international cooperation on the level of the regions of the Russian Federation. International events held in the Sverdlovsk region serve as the examples of the international cooperation results conducted by the government as well as the organization and other institutes of the Sverdlovsk region. Statistics data of the trade turnover, as well as main cooperation areas along with the cooperation agreements signed with the Chinese partners are drawn in the work.

This research aims to understand the nature and underlying motives of the EU’s relations with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The frequently claimed normative role of the EU will be examined in the context of the EU- CELAC summit relations, and the cases should be outlined that cause a switch to Realpolitik behavior. Thereby, the EU’s engagement in regional integration and interregional cooperation will be illustrated and EU-CELAC cooperation areas concerning the fight against poverty and social inequality, the consolidation of good governance and the promotion of peace, and lastly, the regional integration, trade, and economic cooperation are analyzed to reach an understanding of their normative or Realpolitik content. The research illustrates the ways of understanding the EU’s normative behavior and power, and the nature of the cooperation between the EU and the CELAC, whereby it should be shown that the EU acts according to normative consideration and only in few exceptions turns towards Realpolitik behavior.

Soixante ans après les premiers accords d’amitié entre des collectivités territoriales françaises et leurs homologues étrangers, tout semble avoir évolué : les rapports Etat – collectivités, l’encadrement législatif, la reconnaissance des coopérations transfrontalières et interterritoriales par l’Europe et l’Union européenne et la création d’instruments de coopération. Des jumelages d’amitié historiques à la coopération de territoire à territoire, de la volonté originelle de réconciliation des peuples à l’instauration d’une diplomatie des territoires, l’action internationale des collectivités territoriales ne cesse d’innover et de se déployer. La Méditerranée est un espace historique d’échanges, de migrations et de conflits, où se cristallisent aujourd’hui des enjeux, économiques, sociaux et culturels déterminants pour l’équilibre européen et mondial. Cette histoire commune qui lie les peuples méditerranéens doit être le socle d’une coopération durable permettant de répondre aux problématiques régionales actuelles. L’action internationale des collectivités territoriales y est ancienne et représente un maillon indispensable d’une chaîne de relations avec l’Europe et l’International, mais en pleine mutation, elle cherche encore les fondements de son existence. / Sixty years after the first treaties between French local authorities and their foreign counterparts, many things seem to have evolved : including the states reporting of local authorities, legislative framework, international cooperation within the European union and the creation of tools to help this cooperation. From historical twinning to inter authorities cooperation and from the reconciliation of populations to territorial diplomacy, International action of local authorities continues to innovate and develop. The Mediterranean is a historic area of exchanges, migration and conflict where today manifest important economic, social and cultural challenges which determine the European and global balance. This shared history that links the Mediterranean peoples should be the basis for a durable cooperation to address current regional issues. Through these historic interactions we see that international action of local authorities is old and is an essential link in a chain of relationships with Europe and the rest of the world, these links are in a process of undergoing an evolution and are still seeking the solid foundations of their own existence.

This diploma thesis examines the participation of Czech regional actors in the transnational and interregional branches of the INTERREG program in 2007-2013, using organizational learning theory. It focuses on learning processes on individual, group, and organizational levels. To a smaller extent, it also examines dissemination of knowledge towards other actors on the local and European level. The aim of the thesis is to find out whether these learning processes take place on all the mentioned levels and also to uncover the main obstacles of these processes. The method of the research is a questionnaire survey combined with semi-structured interviews. The research reveals that both individual and group learning take place during the projects. The most common barriers are complications stemming from differing environments of the actors (different political, institutional, legal, or administrative environments). Organizational learning takes place as well, but to a smaller extent than learning on the preceding levels. The main problem is the preservation of tacit knowledge. The research also suggests that effective dissemination of knowledge towards other local actors takes place as well. However, the relevance of the final project outcomes for other EU actors appears to be rather low.

Ce mémoire examine, à l’appui de la théorie de rôles, l’influence de l’UE dans la construction du mécanisme de gestion de catastrophes de l’ASEAN. Contrairement à la plupart de recherches menées sur la relation UE-ASEAN, ce mémoire accorde une attention particulière aux échanges UE-ASEAN dans le domaine de sécurité non-traditionnelle, notamment dans la gestion de catastrophes. À travers nos observations, nous constatons que l’influence de l’UE dans la construction de la politique de sécurité non traditionnelle de l’ASEAN n’est ni monotone, ni constante. Son influence prend souvent forme de commanditaire et d’exemplaire, tandis que lors du lancement ou de l’exécution du projet, l’influence de l’UE cède la place à celle de l’ASEAN elle-même, qui assume constamment la responsabilité de lancer l’initiative et de mettre en place les mesures politiques. Ce mémoire contribue non seulement à remesurer l’influence de l’UE sous forme de différents rôles mais aussi à souligner l’implication des autres acteurs régionaux dans la construction de politiques régionales de l’ASEAN : ils sont tous des acteurs importants dans le développement, l’évolution et l’accomplissent des politiques régionales de l’ASEAN dans la sécurité non- traditionnelle. / Using role theory, this dissertation examines the influence of the EU in the construction of the ASEAN disaster management mechanism. Unlike most research on the EU-ASEAN relationship, this dissertation pays particular attention to EU-ASEAN exchanges in the field of non-traditional security, notably in disaster management. My observations show that the EU's influence in shaping ASEAN's non-traditional security policy is neither monotonous nor constant. Its influence often takes the form of sponsor and exemplar, while at the launch or execution of the project, the EU's influence gives way to that of ASEAN itself, which constantly assumes responsibility for launching the initiative and implementing the policy measures. This dissertation not only helps to re-measure the EU's influence in the form of different roles, but also to highlight the involvement of other regional players in the construction of ASEAN regional policies: they are all important actors in the development, evolution and achievement of ASEAN regional policies in non-traditional security.

Ce travail de thèse a pour objectif d’étudier l’évolution de l’« Europe des régions » au sein du Conseil de l’Europe de 1957 à 2010. L’histoire du fait régional au sein de l’Organisation de Strasbourg est caractérisée par trois périodes clés. La première période débute en janvier 1957, avec la première réunion de la Conférence européenne des pouvoirs locaux (CPL) et dure jusqu’en 1975, quand elle devient un organe permanent du Conseil de l’Europe et reconnaît officiellement lesrégions en son sein. Une deuxième période se dessine ensuite de 1975 jusqu’en 1994, date de la création du Congrès des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux d’Europe (CPLRE). Le Congrès a un nouveau rôle politique et une place bien déterminés dans l’architecture institutionnelle du Conseil, et il dispose de deux Chambres, à savoir une Chambre des régions et une Chambre des pouvoirs locaux. Une dernière période s’étale enfin de 1994 à 2010. Il s’agit pour les régions et le Congrès de contribuer à la stabilité démocratique du continent européen par les activités de suivi de la démocratie locale etrégionale, des élections et de la réalisation de plusieurs programmes de coopération. / This research studies the evolution of the “Europe of the regions” in the Council of Europe from 1957 to 2010. The history of regions in the Council of Europe can be divided in three key periods. The first one starts in January 1957, with the first meeting of the European Conference of Local Authorities (ECLA) and ends in 1975, when it becomes a permanent organ of the Council of Europe and recognizes officially the regions. The second period starts in 1975 and ends in 1994, when theCongress of Local and Regional Authorities is created. The Congress has a new political role and status within the institutional architecture of the Council of Europe. Two Chambers are created within the Congress, one for regional authorities and another one for local authorities. The last period spreads from 1994 until 2010. From 1994, the regions and the Congress work to achieve the new statutory role, which is contributing to the democratic stability of the European continent by monitoring local and regional democracy, observing local and regional elections and implementing new cooperation programs.

The recurring debate on regional administration and what responsibilities it should have has in a Swedish context been discussed in media and committees over the years. Little has been discussed around the possibilities of strengthening pre-existing interregional cooperation even though there is a scholarly thought of soft space as a definition to describe these types of cooperation and how they might evolve.   A case study has been performed on the interregional health care agency Södra Sjukvårdsregionen (SSR) which is one of six Swedish regional health care agencies (sjukvårdsregioner). SSR serves the regions Scania, Blekinge, Kronoberg and southern Halland and was constituted in 1960 based on central place theory to resolve spatial planning problems in the context of regional public health.   In the analytical context of soft space and central place theory, results have been provided by interviewing representatives working within SSR and examining documents. SSR has been defined as a structure of governance which consists of formal government actors.    The results indicate that the concept of soft space as described in literature supports spatial planning of specialized regional health care. However, the concept of soft space has little impact on spatial planning with respect to comprehensive planning (Översiktsplan) as illustrated by documentation from Västra Sjukvårdsregionen and the case of Norra Älvsborgs Länssjukhus (NÄL). / Debatten om svenska regionindelningar och vilken rådighet regionerna borde ha har diskuterats i medier och statliga utredningar genom åren. Däremot har möjligheterna att stärka befintliga interregionala samarbeten diskuterats mycket lite, även om det finns ett vetenskapligt underlag för soft space som ett samlande begrepp för att beskriva dessa typer av samarbeten och hur de vidareutvecklas. En fallstudie har genomförts på Södra Sjukvårdsregionen (SSR), som är en av Sveriges sex sjukvårdsregioner. SSR betjänar regionerna Skåne, Blekinge, Kronoberg och södra Halland och bildades 1960 baserat på centralortsteorin som ett sätt att lösa problem med fysisk planering i samband med regional sjuk- och hälsovård. Representanter som arbetar inom ramen för SSR:s verksamhet har intervjuats och dokument har granskats i termer av soft space och centralortsteorin. SSR har definierats som en struktur som bereder ärenden rörande fysisk planering som är de ingående regionernas rådighet. Resultaten indikerar att konceptet soft space som beskrivs i litteraturen stöder fysisk planering av specialiserad regional hälsovård. Konceptet soft space har dock liten inverkan på fysisk planering av omfattande skala (Översiktsplan), vilket belyses av dokumentationen från Västra Sjukvårdsregionen och fallet med Norra Älvsborgs Länssjukhus (NÄL).