The contemporary world is in a period of globalization and reconciliation. Foreign policy has always been a highly important branch of development. Still, nowadays the diplomatic settlement is the topic issue. That is why what we can observe today is the intensification of international affairs throughout the world. Post-soviet countries follow the models of other states and conduct policies of conciliation and peace. ‘The end of the Cold War has only accelerated the growth of interest in international ethics’. Since the Czech Republic was proclaimed an independent country, its position in the world changed greatly. Czech Republic is the member of the EU. There are British and US embassies in the country. Of course, this fact influences greatly not only political and economic relations of the countries.
International affairs also presuppose development of culture and integration of different international programs on all levels. Nevertheless, economic and cultural international affairs are inseparable parts of one. That is why it is rather difficult to imagine that international affairs between United Kingdom of Great Britain, USA, and Czech Republic would be beneficial without tuned affairs in the aspect of politics and economy: ‘The Czech Republic became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), along with Poland and Hungary, on March 12, 1999. Public support for NATO remains high’.
The US Embassy and its Role for the Czech Republic
The first US ambassador in the Czech Republic was Richard Crane in 1919. His appointment was connected with World War I and Austro-Hungarian Empire. When in the middle of the Twentieth century the United Soviets seized its power on the territory of the Czech Republic, the relationship between the two countries cooled immediately. Since that time many things changed, The Czech Republic became an independent country, and the contemporary policy of the American embassy in the Czech Republic is not connected with war affairs to such an extent as it has been at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many prominent American ambassadors played a great role in the development of the cultural and economical affairs of the two countries. There are non-commercial programs that are led by the US embassy in the Czech Republic.
Public Affairs Section is developing rapidly in such branches as cultural and educational programs, small grants programs, press activities, and the Fulbright fellowship program. David Gainer is the person who is responsible for the development and implementation of the cultural and educational program. There are several branches according to which David Gainer conducts his cultural policy in the Czech Republic. The first one is connected with professional exchange programs. The Fulbright is one of the aspects of the programs. The program is actively supported both by the Czech government and the American embassy. There are lots of programs introduced by the embassy according to which students go to the United States to master the language, get knowledge in certain fields, etc. Moreover, the cultural and educational program conducted by David Gainer presupposes an exchange of experience between American and Czech experts. One of the fields which are being developed by the US embassy is the program of leadership.
According to which professionals in different spheres may participate in leadership seminars and enhance their knowledge in this or that sphere. Still, the spheres are predetermined not by the cultural needs of the Czech Republic, but by my goals of the US side. Nevertheless, the American embassy in the Czech Republic promotes educational lectures and services in different spheres. Great attention is paid to the mastering of the English language. Many programs serve to assist teachers of English in the Czech Republic. Apart from the educational aspect of the two countries’ relations, the embassy of the United States supports different cultural activities in the Czech Republic and coordinates participation in many of them.
The British Embassy in the Czech Republic
The British embassy also participates actively in the cultural life of the Czech Republic and serves to strengthen relationships between the two countries. The appearance of the British embassy is connected with World War I as well. Nowadays, two countries interact in many aspects. Being a part of the European Union the Czech Republic is its highly important member. As well as the American embassy, the British embassy conducts different programs which include global issues, economy, climate change, defense, and culture. The question of migration is also an important aspect the embassy deals with. For example, from 2007 to 2008 the British embassy organized the IOM Counter-Trafficking Campaign in the Czech Republic through the help of the International Organization of Migration.
‘The program in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior aimed to raise awareness to the target group of clients of prostitution and larger public traveling from the UK to the Czech Republic about the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation purposes’. The issue was introduced to the Czech public. Another successful program that was organized by the British embassy was the Improving Child Protection in an Enlarged EU Seminar, 2008. The seminar was supposed to raise awareness about child protection. During the seminar, British experts shared their practice about the issue. ‘Julian Norris, Group Leader for Offender Management UK and Caroline Logue, Education Group UK coordinator joined a series of British and Czech experts that contributed to a discussion at the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic assessing issues on internet protection, child protection in the UK and the use of legal tools such as Child Sex Offender Register abroad’. The Prague Student Summit was an educational program which aim was to provide Czech students with profound information about three main international organizations: the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the European Union.
The seminar was held in the form of a play role, in which representatives of different schools participated in diplomatic activities and tried to solve the topical global issues. The seminar was highly effective and informative. It offered the Czech students not only the opportunity to get some knowledge about the work of this or that international organization. The seminar aimed to provide the students with efficient knowledge and make them realize the necessity of such organizations and their responsibility. The other educational program which was connected with the previous one was the Student Model of NATO. ‘The British Embassy Prague was a main partner in the Student Model of NATO, which allowed high school students from all across the Czech Republic to come together to represent 26 NATO member countries. During the program, Czech students learned more information about the history of the Alliance, its functions, aims, and role in the contemporary world.
The end of the twentieth century was a turning point in the destiny of many countries. For Europe, it was connected with the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. Many countries which were under the shadow of the Soviet Union, gained independence ad followed their path. The Czech Republic was one of the countries which adopted the Western European way of development, which predetermined its relationships and foreign affairs. The Czech Republic became a member of the European Union and collaborates with other organizations. The relationship with other countries is one of the topical issues for the country. The United States of America and the United Kingdom of Britain support relationships with the Czech Republic in many directions. Apart from the economic and political aspects of relationships, there are cultural programs that are supported by the embassies of the USA, the United Kingdom, and the government of the Czech Republic. Both embassies work in the direction of strengthening the connection between the countries and promoting cultural exchange.
There are educational and cultural programs that are being supported by the embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom. Two countries organize seminars lectures, etc, which concern not only educational issues but also global questions, such as warming, rate of crime, children, and community, etc. All in all, the international affairs of the Czech Republic are built according to topical aspects of the modern world. It means that interrelation between the Czech Republic, the United States of America, and United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland corresponds to the processes in the sphere of globalization and reconciliation; it reflects the concern of the three cuties about social questions of the modern community.
Bibliography
British Embassy Prague. Completed projects. Web.
Embassy of the United States in Prague, Czech Republic, Cultural, and Educational Program. Web.
U.S. Department of State, Background Note: the Czech Republic, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, 2010. Web.
Valls, A, Ethics in International Affairs: Theories and Cases, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 2000.