In 2011, the new Obama administration made the official decision to rebalance America’s foreign policy. This policy has come to be known as the pivot or rebalance and signaled that the center of...Show moreIn 2011, the new Obama administration made the official decision to rebalance America’s foreign policy. This policy has come to be known as the pivot or rebalance and signaled that the center of the political and economic history of the 21st century is moving eastwards, with a re-newed focus towards the Asia-Pacific. With this shift Washington not only wants to benefit from the global geopolitical dynamics and economic growth, but it is also a result of China’s rising economic and military power. The South China Sea (SCS) is a place which is on the way to becoming the most contested body of water in the world with ongoing territorial disputes.Show less
This Master thesis approaches a central theme for modern societies and democracies: media freedom. The following analysis chooses to scrutinise one specific country’s conceptualisation of this...Show moreThis Master thesis approaches a central theme for modern societies and democracies: media freedom. The following analysis chooses to scrutinise one specific country’s conceptualisation of this principle: France. As this study finds and further demonstrates, the French understanding of media freedom relates to a European conceptualisation; categorised in the consequentialist academic trend. Although grouped with the consequentialists, this thesis however decides to further analyse this arguably utopic view on the French case. Precisely, it is interesting to question France’s almost sacrosanct international image of pays des droits de l’homme. However, by questioning this stance, the thesis does not aim to be outrightly sceptic: instead it questions France’s categorisation in the consequentialist group to either conclude by confirming it, or revoking it. Since this analysis can only be succinctly conducted, researches have justified the choice to focus on the Institutional Act n°2009-257, enacted during Nicolas Sarkozy’s term. Thus, the topic is narrowed down to the French perspective of media freedom as to public broadcasting services (PBS). Although later amended with Law n°2013-1028 of November 15th 2013, the relevance of the 2009 Institutional Act thought to deserve a distinct analysis – due to its ‘uniqueness’ in the French PBS legal landscape. To conduct this analysis, Jan Oster’s theorisation is chosen. Indeed, the legal framework proposed by the academic is believed to allow a thorough scrutiny of this 2009 piece of legislation – and the other provisions attached to it. Specifically, a combined politico-legal analysis of this legal text is to be conducted. It is believed that a political sciences insight could help determine what the legal discipline cannot. Attention should be put on the fact that this study accounts as the first to employ J. Oster’s theoretical and methodological framework, so that no previous model is available. Therefore, this thesis’ attempt to use it is a form of experimentation.Show less
This master thesis questioned how the 2/13 Opinion of the European Court of Justice and its relationship with the European Court for the Protection of Human Rights can be explained on the one hand...Show moreThis master thesis questioned how the 2/13 Opinion of the European Court of Justice and its relationship with the European Court for the Protection of Human Rights can be explained on the one hand by the theories of the European integration process and on the other hand based on the method of a discourse analysis. The thesis sought to answer those two questions in order to put the 2/13 Opinion of the ECJ in a broader daylight.Show less
This thesis is about the development in the institutional position of the Iranian clergy between 1953-1979 through the lens of New Institutionalism. In the thesis an overview of the role of the...Show moreThis thesis is about the development in the institutional position of the Iranian clergy between 1953-1979 through the lens of New Institutionalism. In the thesis an overview of the role of the clergy in the decennia leading up to the Islamic Revolution is presented.Show less
The European Parliament elections in the spring of 2014 witnessed the victory of eurosceptic far right parties, especially in France, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Consequently, the incredible...Show moreThe European Parliament elections in the spring of 2014 witnessed the victory of eurosceptic far right parties, especially in France, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Consequently, the incredible ascent of eurosceptic attitudes in the public debate has put the question of the causes of such a development at the forefront of European Union studies. Academia has identified a multiplicity of factors for the formation of eurosceptic attitudes in EU member-states. Indeed, causes for popular anti-EU feelings range from identity attachment, rational economic calculus, level of education, social transnationalism, and reception of political cues. Party-based euroscepticism is conceived to be the result of ideological positioning and politicisation strategies by extreme parties on the political spectrum to reap electoral mandates and gain visibility. The present study offers a general model for political thought formation by approaching euroscepticism as a narrative exercised in the public sphere. Anti-EU discourse is mutually constructed by party competition in the national political arena, the media filter and public civil society. The case study of the Front National’s campaign in 2014, reveals that the party used populist tactics, such as an anti-elite stance, to capture the popular vote. The incorporation of EU issues into its ideological rationale, embodying the defence of national sovereignty, cultural homogeneity and economic self-determination, has amplified the anti-EU discourse in public debate. Yet, populist strategies of the Front National are insufficient in explaining French eurosceptic attitudes. They evolve in a particular climate whereby a narrative of decline is sustained by the media, which taps into individual feelings of insecurity in social, cultural and economic terms.Show less
The most recent governmental era of independent India began in 2014 when Narendra Modi took chief role. Laws dating back prior to colonial era still punish expression. Identity politics is a...Show moreThe most recent governmental era of independent India began in 2014 when Narendra Modi took chief role. Laws dating back prior to colonial era still punish expression. Identity politics is a growing concern. Widespread government interference in the media poses issues of bias and subjective reporting. Judicial and police abuse of citizens is worsening the situation for citizens wanting justice. Freedom of speech and expression is clearly under threat from a variety of internal issues which leads to question the democratic future of India.Show less
The trilateral dialogue, which started in 2008, has exposed the differences in the foreign policy approaches of the EU and China. Where the EU emphasizes its role as a norms promotor (Gerrits ed....Show moreThe trilateral dialogue, which started in 2008, has exposed the differences in the foreign policy approaches of the EU and China. Where the EU emphasizes its role as a norms promotor (Gerrits ed. 2009:3), stresses China its focus on economic win-win situations (Hackenesch, 2011). Yet, as the EU and China have increasing shared interests, a more pragmatic approach to their foreign policies is emerging. China is slowly engaging with normative principles, for instance it has accepted the universality of human rights and has joined several international human rights conventions. The state is more open to normative principles, even though China promotes sovereignty and collective rights over international intervention and individual rights (Pu, 2013). A more pragmatic approach to foreign policy can enable and support trilateral cooperation in explicit areas such as security. Examples of currently existing trilateral cooperation are the joint fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, measures against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW) and the peacekeeping mission in Mali. Also, the EU currently discusses China’s novel initiative for a modern-day silk road, known as the ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative and which has been called “the most ambitious infrastructure-based security initiative in the world today”. The title of this work ‘Here Be Dragons’ refers to unexplored and ‘dangerous’ gaps between the EU’s capabilities and its expectations. The purpose of the thesis is to examine the EU’s foreign policy performance, in particular its response to China’s growing presence in Africa, through the lens of the capability-expectations gap theory. According to Hill, a gap exists between what the EU ‘talks about’ and what the EU actually is able to accomplish. This study investigates how the EU’s agenda on trilateral cooperation with China and Africa changed since the entering in to force of the Lisbon Treaty, whether a capability-expectations gap exist regarding the EU’s security relations with China in Africa, and if so, how the EU could establish more effective cooperation the field of security and thus close this gap.Show less
Using case studies on Armenia and Moldova, this thesis contributes to the already rich body of literature that situates the position of the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus in...Show moreUsing case studies on Armenia and Moldova, this thesis contributes to the already rich body of literature that situates the position of the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus in their relations with the European Union and Russia. This thesis evidences a noticeable shift in emphasis in the European Union’s primary documents relating to the European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership after the Georgia/Russia war in 2008. After this war, the European Union’s ‘common values,’ more widely known as liberal values, become focal. Effectively, this emphasis on common vales has further distanced the European Union and Russia, an authoritarian state which has recently taken a ‘conservative turn.’ This widening distance between the EU and Russia has made existing between the two actors more difficult for the countries trapped in the in-between.Show less
The study analyses Brazil’s contemporary foreign policy regarding defence and security issues. The analyses draw special attention to the way the South American country uses its regional influence ...Show moreThe study analyses Brazil’s contemporary foreign policy regarding defence and security issues. The analyses draw special attention to the way the South American country uses its regional influence – on the one hand, to present itself as a powerful world player in economic, political and military terms; and, on the other hand, to counterbalance the existing predominance of the traditional world powers in international decision making. The case study will focus on a specific Brazilian initiative within UNASUL: the South American Defence Council (CDS). It places the creation of the CDS within the context of Brazil’s past, current, and projected behaviour and hurdles in its quest for greater international influence.Show less
This thesis aims to analyse the divergent forms of temporalities and spatilaities within the discourse of soft war. Temporality and spatiality are explored against the greater construct of historic...Show moreThis thesis aims to analyse the divergent forms of temporalities and spatilaities within the discourse of soft war. Temporality and spatiality are explored against the greater construct of historic and cultural identities. By doing so, this paper opens the space for questioning the relation between identity, discourse and time-space as structural elements of narrative. By using a deconstructionist framework, soft war discourse is analysed from a new post-positivist perspective that seeks to understand the instability and constructive nature of the soft war narrative. This paper concludes by suggesting that the different articulations of spatiality and temporality reveal soft war narrative as non-homogenous and disjunctive.Show less
