International Relations and European Studies

Final State Rigorosum Examination

In addition to the defense of the submitted thesis, the examination board assigns two questions from the below specified topics for discussion during the Final State Rigorosum Examination with respect to the topic of the Rigorosum Thesis submitted by the PhDr. Candidate, i.e. to ensure that at least one question covers a different area of International relations/European studies.

Topics

• Theory of international relations; theoretical approaches to “practical” issues of IR and the European integration process
• International security; security dilemma; security community; security studies; actors in security politics; dimensions of security and security politics; threats and risks at the beginning of the 21st century
• Institutional framework and decision-making in the EU; formal and non-formal channels of power; theoretical concepts of European integration; decision-making processes in the EC/EU; relations between actors of the decision-making process; formation and revisions of primary law in the EC/EU; issues of legitimacy, democratic deficit, and projection of future development
• EU policies; analysis of selected EU policies in the context of current challenges of the decision-making process in the EU with respect to financing from the EU budget
• Current integration processes in the EU; interaction of economic and political factors (internal and external) as well as institutional factors related to EU transformation
• International organisations – theoretical framework of the functioning of international organisations; analysis of the structure and functioning of a selected IO (UN, NATO, etc.); international law and international organisations

Suggestions for Rigorosum Thesis Thematics

• Philosophy of social sciences
• Theory of international relations
• International relations research methods
• International security
• International organisations
• Europen security
• Comparison of democracies in Europe
• EU policies
• Current integration processes in the EU
• Institutional structure and decision-making processes in the EU