The study of foreign policy (FP) has significantly moved beyond the focus on a unitary state actor (i.e., the government or the executive), and instead, we increasingly see research highlighting the importance of political parties. Yet, much of the literature treats parties and the government they form as internally homogenous “black boxes”. For example, in spatial-positioning models, parties are portrayed as a single point derived from manifestos or expert survey data. This paper examines Czechia and Slovakia, two similar European democracies with two distinct party and legislative cultures. Through elite and expert interviews with active and former members of the parliament (MPs), their staff, employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and academics, the study uncovers intra-party dynamics, organizational cultures, and procedural limits that influence FP position formation. It further analyzes instances where parties deviate from expected trajectories or respond differently to comparable FP proposals. This paper aims to shed light on what is behind the curtain of foreign policymaking in parliamentary democracies, how individual MPs form their FP positions and how those positions convert into decisions.
