In many aspects, political theory forms a subjective structure of this abstract science. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that unlike natural sciences or mathematics, social sciences often lack the privilege of testing the theories in absolute and unadulterated conditions. Nonetheless, such nature of the science allows for a certain degree of flexibility, when applying political theories to real-world phenomena. Alliances and coalitions in international relations form the backbone of the theory, concerning IR scholars with two main questions: Why do alliances and coalitions form? And, what keeps alliances and coalitions together? As the core of my research, I examined NATO, as the most prominent and long-lasting alliance of our time, through the prism of alliance formation and cohesion theory introduced by George Liska. In particular, I explored the evolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over the term of its existence, and sought to determine whether Liska's principles still apply to the contemporary situation, and in particular, how may the variables have altered the application of this scholar's theory to our future understanding of alliances. In its essence, this is a comparative study of the same alliance during the different stages of its existence. In particular, the comparison dissects such aspects of alliance theory as alignment, alliance formation, efficacy, and reasons for possible dissolution. As a result, the study led to a conclusion, that despite the permutations around and within NATO, the basic realist principles that may explain the mechanism of this alliance's formation and cohesion still apply to the contemporary organization.

This thesis aims to analyse the development and planning of the construction of the blocks of small flats at the Zelná liška residental district in the Pankrác area of Prague in the years from 1932 to 1939. The first chapter focuses on how the architectural trends in the country and worldwide at that time impacted the development and the area planning. The second chapter deals with the description of flats being built at that time, which were small in size but practical and hygienic, and the main purpose behind their construction. In particular, it deals with the new look of the apartment houses, with the changes of their ground plans and the law regulations related. The following two parts are dedicated exclusively to the development of the area around Pankrác. The objective is to provide its demarcation and a brief overview of the area's development at the time just before the Capital of Prague was established, and the regulation. The chapters also include a detailed summary of the competition to construct the new municipal houses the new municipal houses in the Zelená liška area between two competitors - the Central Social Insurance Company and the City of Prague. The result of the competition influenced the developer's decision on the choice of type of the houses and flats. Some of these flats are...