Geopolitics and geoeconomics

Geopolitics, geoeconomics, and geoculture have been the main research areas since the beginnings of the Political Geography study programme. In an ever-changing multi-polar world, political conflict in the information age between powers is shifting to a seemingly non-confrontational level (commerce, media) where the role of soft factors (e.g., soft power, disinformation, propaganda) is represented, as opposed to the direct confrontational level of hard power instruments (hard power ‒ military and economic power). Therefore, we are currently focusing on these soft factors, including religious soft power, formation of national identities, and critical geopolitics and geopolitical imaginaries. On a regional level, we focus on particular on the Eurasian and Indo-Pacific area.

Our research today focuses on the sub-areas below:

  • Geopolitics and projections in international relations, territorial disputes, imperialism
  • Critical geopolitics as an analysis of discourses shaping geopolitical imaginaries
  • Stakeholders in geopolitical discourses, the role of identity
  • Geoeconomics as geopolitics in economics
  • Geoculture as a factor of geopolitical confrontation
  • Soft power, hard power, smart power, geopolitics of religious soft power, hybrid aspects of foreign policy

Major grant projects

  • GAČR (15-09249S): De Facto States in Northern Eurasia in the Context of Russian Foreign Policy (2015-2017)

Selected publications

  • WELLISCH, S., LAŠ, L. (2020): Media discourses of territorial disputes in Japan. Asian Geographer.
  • SOLIK, M., BAAR, V. (2020): Religious Component In a State’s Foreign Policy. A Case Study of The Russian Orthodox Church. Politické vedy 23(2).
  • SOLIK, M. BAAR, V. (2019): The Russian Orthodox Church: An Effective Religious Instrument of Russia's 'Soft' Power Abroad. The Case Study of Moldova. Acta Politologica 11(3), 13‒41.
  • SOLIK, M., HOLÁŇ, M. (2019): Prokremelské propagandistické 'alternativní' mediální weby na Slovensku. Politologická revue 25(2), 27‒64.
  • SOLIK, M., BAAR, V. (2019): Koncepcia fašizmu a antifašizmu ako sofistikovaná súčasť mocenskej stratégie Ruskej federácie. Politické vedy 22(1), 8‒79.
  • KRIŽAN, Ľ., BAAR, V. (2018): Indické geopolitické myšlení. Geografie 123(4), 523‒543.
  • SOLIK, M., FIĽAKOVSKÝ, J. BAAR, V. (2017): Belarusian and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Churches and National Identity: Comparison. Politické vedy 20(2), 116‒163.
  • MÁCHA, P., DROBÍK, T., ŠUMBEROVÁ, M., ŽENKA, J., TENZIN, E., ŠPIRKOVÁ, P. (2015): Geopolitické představy české veřejnosti. Geografie 120(4), 564‒584.
  • LAŠ, L., BAAR, V. (2014): Japonská geopolitika imperiálního období. Geografie, 119, 364‒383.

Updated: 01. 02. 2022