This Master thesis examines the German foreign energy policy with focus on the German- Russian energy cooperation and the pipeline projects Nord Stream I and II. It seeks to analyze inconsistencies or even contradictions in the German foreign policy regarding the Nord Stream project. Both strategic and business interests on one hand and value based policy on the other are present and observable. Therefore this paper works with Jakub Eberle's concept of Germany as "dividual actor" which enables us to work with the already mentioned inconsistencies. Furthermore, this approach allows us to observe "geo-economic power" aspects in German actions (favoring strategic and mostly business interests) as well as "civilian power" aspects (value based policy) and eventually to see Germany as an actor in the international relations in its complexity. This thesis therefore aims to contribute to a broader debate about German actorness and its roles in international system. Moreover, German domestic energy policy will be analyzed in order to provide us with the basis for German foreign energy policy. The main focus of this paper is on natural gas and its importance in the German energy mix as well as on German dependence on its imports. The import routes and primarily the pipeline routes Nord Stream I and II are...

This diploma deals with the care of vulnerable children in the Czech Republic and in the domeins of foster care and residential care. The main emphasis is in the views of the actors involved and their perception of children, parents, foster parents and applicants for adoption in the space between the biological family, institution and foster care. This thesis attempts to describe the causes of the long stay of children in institutional care, according to some participants. The main methods are interviews with key stakeholders who are selected on the basis of rapid analysis of stakeholders. The research questions are at work identifying the main causes and sub-system problems from the perspective of actors, is devoted to their interest and proposed solutions. Theoretical basis are the stakeholders and their roles, how their behavior, relationships, roles and interests affect the functioning of the system and resolve the problem. Developmental psychology and socialization of individuals are used to explain the problem. The diploma describes the current state of the system of care for vulnerable children in the Czech Republic, family policy and outlined the proposed solutions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, considerable space is devoted to temporary foster care for the person and social worker.

The thesis "System of care for vulnerable children and amendment to the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children in the reflection of key stakeholders" deals with attitudes of actors involved in the issue of care for vulnerable children towards existing state of system of care for vulnerable children, pros and cons of its partial aspects, as perceived by actors from their point of view. Attention is also focused on the process of change that is sphere of care for vulnerable children currently undergoing in connection with the adoption of the amendment to the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children, which entered into force on January 1st 2013. Based on the knowledge gained through expert interviews, opinions of actors are illustrated both of the comprehensive conception of the amendment, as well as of relation to its individual measures. The aim of the thesis is to present a coherent interpretation of perspectives that actors of different expertise hold with regard to the existing concept of policy and to the way it is modified by the new legislation and thus to find out what are the areas of conflict and consensus between their views and on the basis of that reveal the extent to which the form of amendment to the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children is based on shared...

This diploma thesis deals with the system of the informal long-term care for people with disabilities in the Czech Republic. The first aim of the diploma thesis is to describe this non-conceptually solved issue and confirm the European prevalent tendencies to refamilization and deinstitutionalization in the Czech Republic. Author tries to identify the main problems within the system of informal long-term care through interviews conducted with informal carers and workers from selected social services. The diploma thesis emphasizes the target population of informal carers, who face many obstacles, whether it is the cooperation between the systems of formal and informal care, lack of finances, deterioration of quality of life or insufficient recognition of the status of informal carers from the society and the state. Informal carers are presented on the basis of theoretical perspectives as well as the results of conducted research as the invisible stakeholders of the Czech public policy.

The diploma thesis "A parent as a party to educational policy: Preschool education from the point of view of parents" deals with parents as participants of educational policy who, first of all, use various options when ensuring education for their preschool age children. In separate chapters three areas of life-long education are presented - formal, non-formal and informal which a parent chooses for his/her child. The educational policy is influenced by a parent's decisions, attitudes and strategies. What are his/her approaches with respect to individual areas, his/her expectations, whether the quality and offer corresponds to their conception, that is what results from this thesis.

Diploma thesis "the European Union's influence on the Middle East" is focused on problems of the European Union and its role and influence in that region. From this thesis is evidence that Europe or the EU took and still take interest in the Middle East and that its influence on that region from 90's of 20th century is getting bigger because of emergent common policy of EU in face of that region. EU increasing influence on the Middle East will be looked about EU foreign policy on the Middle East aimed at its economic and politic or security aims. This thesis is stressed at power-political and human-cultural structure among regions like the basis for understanding of complete influence the EU on that region. In next step the research characterizes foreign policy of the EU on the Middle East from the view of rise and development, actors, instruments and economic and politic or security aims. From the view of economic aims the thesis point out the energetic links focusing on oil and natural gas. From the view of politic or security aims the thesis approves that EU has increased its presence on the Middle East particularly by civil missions in Palestine and Iraq. The rise of Union for the Mediterranean in 2008 with the aim to institutionalize the running cooperation between the EU and...

Influence of non-state transnational actors on decision-making of sovereign states is one of the most important topics in the international relations discipline. Some academic approaches consider this influence as quite important. Others perceive it as only secondary. Economic actors are a specific case because they on one hand bring know-how, employment and economic growth. On the other hand, they decrease sovereignty of the host states. This thesis tries to uncover influence of the two strongest non-state transnational economic actors in the Czech Republic - German and Japanese Chambers of Commerce. The topic of lobbying of these actors in the case of lack of labor force in the Czech Republic was chosen because of its good empirics. The text also aims to test assumptions according to which bargaining power of such actors is influenced by geographical distance between the host state and home country of the transnational actor. This thesis also wants to address the general topic of influence of the transnational actors on states in the international relations, based on the findings of this case study.