Policy-Related Capacities of Czech Political Parties in the Field of Energy

Policy-Related Capacities of Czech Political Parties in the Field of Energy Author: Václav Pulec Abstract Energy is a field that has been recently passing through a very dynamic development. All countries in the world are trying to find new sources of raw materials and diversify their energy mix. Moreover, the European Union has been putting increasing expectation on new sources of energy meeting higher environmental standards. It is crucial that the Czech Republic has the necessary expertise to be able to react to the upcoming changes and create long-term decisions that the area of energy policy requires. This work deals with expert capacities of political parties in power in the Czech Republic, which play a major role in creating such decisions. This thesis analyzes expertise base of the three selected political parties (TOP 09, ODS, ČSSD) and focuses on their professional committees or expert teams. Expert commissions are often highest advisory body of the party and its guarantor has usually the highest (key) word in the party hierarchy regarding given issue. The thesis will explore how stakeholders join the expert committee, by examining what their backgrounds are and how they come to seek this form of engagement. It will then look at the concrete outcomes of each expert group, and how does the..