1) Introduction (16. 2.) – Martin Mejstřík

Course description and assessment, introduction to readings and course activities, introduction to Mediterranean region

2) Italy as the heart of the Mediterranean – what is a current role of former power? (23. 2.) – Martin Mejstřík

Development of Italian foreign policy and its impact on current regional issues

Reading:

· Paoletti, Emmanuela. 2011. „Power Relations and International Migration: The Case of Italy and Libya“. Political Studies 59, 269-289.

· Varsori, Antonio. 2015. “The foreign policy of First Republic Italy: new approaches”. Journal of Modern Italian Studies 20 (3): 292-297.

3) Is the Mediterranean „Achilles heel“ of Europe? (2. 3.) – Martin Mejstřík

Analysing a problem of illegal immigration on a case of Italy and Spain

Reading:

· Reynieri, Emilio. 2013. „Irregular Immigration and the Underground Economy in Southern Europe: Breaking the Vicious Circle“. In: Europe’s immigration challenge: reconciling work, welfare and mobility. Ed: Jurado, Elena and Brochmann, Grete. London: Tauris, 143-158.

4) Are democratic regimes in danger? Threat of populism to liberal democracies (9. 3.) – Martin Mejstřík

Growing populism in the Mediterranean a case of instability in Italy and Greece

Reading:

· Tarchi, Marco. „Italy: A Country of Many Populisms“. In: Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European Democracy. Ed: Albertazzi, Daniele and McDonnell, Malcolm. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 84-99.

5) Catalonia, Spanish or not? (16. 3.) – Martin Mejstřík

Interpretation of recent political development in Catalonia towards the independence

Reading:

· Guibernau, Montserrat. 2013. “Secessionism in Catalonia: After Democracy”. Ethnopolitics 12 (4), 368-393.

· Marti, David and Cetra, Daniel. 2016. “The 2015 Catalan election: a de facto referendum on independence?” Regional and Federal Studies 26 (1), 107-119.

6) The Prespa Agreement and the Macedonian Question: Reflections on Nationalisms (23.3.) – Maria Kokkinou

Reading:

· Karakasidou, Anastasia. 1993. "Politicizing Culture: Negating Ethnic Identity in Greek Macedonia". Journal of Modern Greek Studies 11 (1), 1-28.

7) Israeli Domestic Politics: Why It Is So Unstable? (30. 3.) – Irena Kalhousová

In this class, students will discuss the outcomes of parliamentary elections in Israel

8) The Middle East in 2021: the Key Security Challenges and Actors (6. 4.) - Irena Kalhousová

In this class, students will learn about the main conflicts and actors which define the current Middle East. We will discuss them against the backdrop of political and social processes in the region.

9) Securitization of the region (13.4.) – Ondřej Kaleta

10) Current situation in Portugal (20. 4.) – PhDr. Barbora Menclová

11) Special Lecture by Yannis Karagiannis (29.4.)

12) Closing seminar – (4. 5.) – Martin Mejstřík

Presentation of group policy papers.