Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
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States in the international system create international organizations to find solutions to collective action problems. To remain relevant, these organizations oftentimes need to adapt to newly...Show moreStates in the international system create international organizations to find solutions to collective action problems. To remain relevant, these organizations oftentimes need to adapt to newly arising challenges and issues. This need for institutional rearrangement and adaptation is most prominent during short periods of times, often referred to as critical junctures. The subsequent academic thesis will contrast the two critical junctures of the UN´s 75th Anniversary and the war in Ukraine, and their respective impact on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. This will yield insights into how the momentum generated by such critical junctures can better be harnessed to advance reform processes in international organizations. The United Nations is the foremost international organization, and the General Assembly its most universal organ. Its 193 members come together to discuss a plethora of topics and to find solutions to the most pressing concerns of the 21st century. In 2020, amidst the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations celebrated its 75th Anniversary and adopting a set of commitments aimed at accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs outlined therein. In 2021 Secretary General Antonio Guterres proposed concrete steps to fulfill these commitments in his report Our Common Agenda. Especially, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the General Assembly has been increasingly vocal on issues related to international peace and security, originally the primary responsibility of the Security Council. The UNGA´s 11th Emergency Special Session on the war has resulted in numerous resolutions deploring the aggression, calling on Russia to remove its troops from Ukraine´s sovereign territory, but also rejecting Russia from the UN´s Human Rights Council and establishing the groundwork for an international registry of damages. Does this increasing activity constitute a broader shift in the UNGA´s self-perception, the interpretation of its mandate and of its working methods?Show less
Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
open access
Quasi states and their interaction within the international system remain chronically understudied. To date, Kosovo is the only recent example of a former quasi-state that has managed to proclaim...Show moreQuasi states and their interaction within the international system remain chronically understudied. To date, Kosovo is the only recent example of a former quasi-state that has managed to proclaim independence and be internationally recognized afterwards. While displaying similar characteristics, Nagorno-Karabakh remains unrecognized. United by their nonrecognition, quasi states frequently rely on diplomacy by diasporas for their advocacy and representation. This thesis therefore aims to investigate where this different outcome in terms of diaspora diplomacy originates. Using the concepts of diaspora positionality and diaspora mobilization for an interpretive comparison between Albanian diaspora diplomacy for Kosovo and Armenian diaspora diplomacy for Nagorno-Karabakh in American and European host-state contexts, this research finds that for the Armenian diaspora genocide recognition took precedence over Nagorno-Karabakh, while Kosovo united the Albanian diaspora as a whole which through a combination of historical factors and context awareness subsequently set in motion an irreversible process towards recognized independence. On these grounds, this thesis posits diasporas as determined diplomatic actors in their own right who can play a pivotal role in homeland recognition and therefore warrant further research.Show less
Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
open access
Understanding the motivations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the ways Russia may respond to its current humiliation there is of paramount importance. To this end this thesis...Show moreUnderstanding the motivations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the ways Russia may respond to its current humiliation there is of paramount importance. To this end this thesis employs status theory to compare modern Russia’s to France’s to its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. This comparison allows for the development of our understanding of the importance of status to state’s decision-making processes, as well as making clear the likelihood of a Russian need to re-assert its status. This thesis contends that this is most likely to be done via an expansion in their Outer Space efforts which runs the risk of kickstarting a Scramble for Space among major powers, just as France inadvertently began the scramble for Africa in 1881.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
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In 2010, the European External Action Service (EEAS) was launched. This service should serve as a 'ministry of foreign affairs' of the European Union. Goal of the EEAS: Creating a more coherent...Show moreIn 2010, the European External Action Service (EEAS) was launched. This service should serve as a 'ministry of foreign affairs' of the European Union. Goal of the EEAS: Creating a more coherent European foreign policy by providing a bridge between the member states and the European institutions, and between the European institutions themselves (Council and Commission). This thesis investigates whether the EEAS, in the short timespan that it is active now, has been able to achieve this goal. Three levels of coherence are identified: Horizontal coherence (coherence between the external policies of the different European institutions and organs), vertical coherence (coherence between the foreign policies of the different member states) and, finally, external coherence (the EU's ability to speak with a single voice to the rest of the world). Making use of a Principal-Agent theoretical framework, and relying on more than ten interviews with officials in Brussels, this contribution draws the conclusion that the EEAS has enhanced European foreign policy coherence, albeit moderately. As a result of the creation of a single High Representative/Vice-President of the Commission (HRVP), external coherence was fostered most convincingly. On the other hand, horizontal coherence - if not deteriorated - did not grow as a result of the EEAS. Hence, there is still much work to be done in the realm of inter-institutional relations in the EU.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
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Economic diplomacy is now a standard practice. However, the strategies that countries use differ. This thesis examines if countries in the same income category, low middle, upper middle and high...Show moreEconomic diplomacy is now a standard practice. However, the strategies that countries use differ. This thesis examines if countries in the same income category, low middle, upper middle and high-income have similar strategy. It would follow from the literature that based on high-income status a more advance and integrated strategy is used. Research in this thesis concludes that especially the countries in the upper middle-income category are still traditional in their policy development and management, but when it comes to economic aid donors these countries have innovative programs in place.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
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Trans-boundary rivers are shared by multiple sovereign states, creating conflicting demands on the river’s resources and further complicating already difficult political legacies. This combination...Show moreTrans-boundary rivers are shared by multiple sovereign states, creating conflicting demands on the river’s resources and further complicating already difficult political legacies. This combination hinders cooperation over the communal resource and makes trans-boundary river basins areas of conflict. To resolve such conflicts, the involvement of a third party mediator with the capabilities to offer incentives to reluctant riparians, coupled with the creation of a management institution to address conflicts as they arise, offers the best means of addressing both the short term issues of getting states to agree to a cooperative arrangement for the river and the long term commitment problems that would lead states to renege on the agreement. This thesis will explore the utility of the combined short and long-term approach to mediate trans-boundary river conflicts by examining the mediation and resolution of the Indus River conflict between India and Pakistan. The lessons learned are then used to investigate the unresolved conflict between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq over the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and offer ways of managing the conflict.Show less
