The Sources of Visegrad Conduct: A Comparative Analysis of V4 Foreign Policy-making
The Sources of Visegrad Conduct: A Comparative Analysis of V4 Foreign Policy-making

Summary/Abstract: The article presents sketches of a systemic assessment of the foreign policies of the four Visegrad countries. Its ambition is to move beyond the superficiality of merely recounting past successes and failures of V4 cooperation while rhetorically restating aspirations for a dream-world of Visegrad partnership. To this end, it applies elements of the conceptual repertoire of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) to highlight key issues structuring V4 relations and why in their foreign policies these countries do not fully “click”, or, in other words, are not capable of playing a truly meaningful role together on the world stage. The concepts of role-making, ratification, normalisation (as in prospect theory), national identities, as well as a look at the role of interest groups all have some insights to offer in this respect. The aim is to arrive at a tentative assessment of the Visegrad countries’ foreign policy-making peculiarities, with the intention to illustrate the possibility of, as well as to invite further, more profound research on the subject.

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