Further information
Mission and tasks of the armed forces in the Czech political and security system
Educational goals:
- to present basic information about status of armed forces in the framework of democratic state;
- present basic information about transition to democracy in Czechoslovakia and the role of army in this process;
- present basic political attitudes to the building and use of armed forces.
Contents:
The topic enlightens status of armed forces under the framework of democratic state, presents transition of democracy in Czechoslovakia and the role of the army, sums up attitudes of the main political parties to the building and use of armed forces. Every state builds its armed forces according to the level of external and sometimes internal threats. To determine exact proportion of threat is not easy, one of the indicators for acute threat perception could be budget. However, it is the clash of political powers which determines the whole shape of armed forces and their function in the system. Armed forces of the Czech Republic have in comparison with other European states short tradition and from the historical perspective (from 1918) also complicated development which is mirrored in its relation to the state political system. Status of armed forces in the democratic states differs considerably from the status in totalitarian or authoritarian regimes. Certain role is also played by a fact, that armed forces were quite often perceived controversially by Czech society and this fact is also reflected in the perception of armed forces by political elites. The armed forces are currently apolitical. The army can be approached as politically neutral tool which is voluntarily build by the society in order to face potential threat while giving up part of its rights and means. The society has then the right to rule and control the armed forces through the tools of civil and democratic control of armed forces.
List of tasks for students:
To study the following information sources.
References and further reading:
Presentation (lecture):
Mission and tasks of the armed forces in the Czech political and security system
Compulsory readings:
1. The White Paper on Defence. Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. Prague [online]. 2011. [cit. 2014-04-29]. Available from: http://www.army.cz/ministry-of-defence/newsroom/news/the-white-paper-on-defence-2011--63155/
2. Defence Strategy of the Czech Republic. Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. Prague [online]. 2012. [cit. 2014-04-29]. Available from: http://www.army.cz/images/id_8001_9000/8503/STRATEGIE_an.pdf