Gender mainstreaming in Czech development cooperation

The present paper focuses on one aspect of the Czech republic''s foreign policy, i. e. on the development cooperation. It attempts to demonstrate that Czech policymakers are still seeking the right approach to the matter, the policy is thus rather inconsistent. The paper first studies the policy transformation that occurred after the regime change in 1989 and defines the factors that influenced, and are still influencing, the policy-making process in the given field. After that, the paper focuses on a specific aspect of the development cooperation and therefore examines the gradual adoption of the gender mainstreaming paradigm into the Czech development cooperation policies. It begins with the appearance of the paradigm on the international scene, then studies its implementation into the Czech development cooperation guidelines, the legislation and finally the practice. Special attention is paid to the role of different actors in the process. Finally, the study presents the actual state of affairs concerning the implementation of the gender mainstreaming paradigm in the development policies and practice, as seen through the eyes of Czech policymakers and other actors of the Czech development constituency. This part is based on the open-ended interviews conducted with the mentioned actors.