“While, for the Czech Republic, 2009 was a year of tension and expectations associated with the country’s European Union Presidency, the past twelve months have been relatively quiet, perhaps even boring, in foreign policy. On the other hand, in 2010 there were no cold showers for the Czech diplomatic service akin to the overthrowing of the government in the middle of the EU Presidency. If, in the wake of our experience of such extemporization, we were to approach our analysis of Czech foreign policy with inevitable scepticism, ultimately the last year can be viewed in quite a positive light,” authors claim at the introduction.