The Development of the Czech Defence Policy in 2017–2018

Abstract

The Czech Defence policy in 2017 and in the first half of 2018 was influenced mainly by the perceived Russian threat, terrorism and migration – nevertheless, Brexit and the new U.S. administration under President Donald Trump were also important external drivers. These factors resulted in various steps taken within the Czech defence sector, ranging from the adoption of refurbished national strategic documents, an increased defence budget, high (yet still problematic) support from the public and the rising numbers of Armed Forces personnel to problems with age structure both within the military and the civilian institutions of the defence sector. Finally, Czech foreign and security policy are likely to be heavily influenced by the result of the parliamentary elections in October 2017 and by the new government of Andrej Babiš during 2018. The author offers an analysis of the strategic drivers of the Czech defence policy to shed light on the synergies and discrepancies of strategic planning and the realisation of these plans.