Abstract
This chapter accounts for the factors shaping the current Czech policy towards the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with special attention paid to the role of the Czech Republic in shaping the southern dimension of European Neighborhood Policy. The first part of the chapter explores the three historical legacies that inform the current MENA policy - from 1918 until EU entry in 2004.
The second part takes a look at the post-2004 foreign policy priorities and interests, including domestic sources of foreign policy, and presents some key outputs of the Czech policy in the region. It explores the normative and alliance dimensions of Czech foreign policy-making and presents major contested issues in the domestic debate.
The third part discusses the Czech MENA-related priorities in the EU and the policy continuities and shifts brought about by the Arab Spring. The chapter argues that the Czech MENA policy is best understood as a tool for achieving acceptance and leverage in the Western institutions, as the Arab countries of the Mediterranean are not themselves a priority for Czech foreign policy.
They are rather instances on which the Czech Republic can demonstrate its allegiance to the imagined 'West'.