The purpose of this thesis is to explore and test whether framing climate change as a security issue impacts the way non-state actors can participate in national and global climate change...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to explore and test whether framing climate change as a security issue impacts the way non-state actors can participate in national and global climate change policymaking. While it has been argued, in general terms, that securitizing an issue creates a state-centric security response, it has yet been untested to what extent this impacts environmental NGOs and civil society in climate change policymaking. After an analysis of the discourse on climate change over the past decade, I posit that since 2007 we have seen and will continue to see an increase of environmental NGOs indirectly excluded from climate change decision-making processes by states. This thesis, therefore, contends that climate change should be de-securitized and approached with a multidimensional climate change framework, incorporating a green theoretical standpoint. Drawing from an extensive questionnaire and two case-studies, I evaluate the role of non-state actors in climate change policymaking. The results suggest that the more climate change is framed as a security issue, the more non-state actors are indirectly excluded from climate change policymaking.Show less
The purpose of this research is to analyse the forces behind how secession1 states come to be externally recognised and gain international legal sovereignty. This paper addresses the overtly one...Show moreThe purpose of this research is to analyse the forces behind how secession1 states come to be externally recognised and gain international legal sovereignty. This paper addresses the overtly one-dimensional approach of current secession theories pertaining to external recognition. I posit to fill a gap in the existing literature by creating a new theory derived from the two existing sets of secession literature; external and internal. This will be a hybrid theory that incorporates both existing theoretical lenses to give a more complete picture of the forces at work behind external recognition. I then apply this theory to the case studies of Somaliland and South Sudan. The research aims to identify and isolate factors that influence and explain the external recognition of South Sudan and the non-recognition of Somaliland. South Sudan’s external recognition is found to be explained solely by levels of external involvement while Somaliland is found to have more influential internal factors than external. This leads to the conclusion that within the hybrid theory, external factors prove the most significant in external recognition. However, only through a hybrid theory can well-rounded and comprehensive research be conducted. The paper contributes to the academic field within Political Science of secessionist movements and state creation.Show less
The purpose of this research is to analyse and test EU border policy instruments designed to ensure refugee protection. While scholars have discussed the securitization of EU border policies and...Show moreThe purpose of this research is to analyse and test EU border policy instruments designed to ensure refugee protection. While scholars have discussed the securitization of EU border policies and the negative consequences of this for the protection of refugees, a systematic examination of the instruments designed to ensure refugee protection is still missing. I posit that the EU’s border policy instruments reflect a near-sighted attitude. Analyzing the instruments aimed at ensuring refugee protection, not only provides an insight into the weaknesses and strengths of each policy instrument, it will also show legislative gaps which allow EU member states to act in accordance with their national interest rather than EU border policy. Using data from policy papers, evaluation reports, and newspapers I outline the objectives and legal foundations of the instruments. I will then apply them to the case of the Arab Spring to test whether these instruments have lived up to their foundational objectives. The results suggest that the instruments of EU border policy were too weak to protect refugees.Show less
Analysis of the main causes why there is not a comprehensive global response to cyber threats. Analysis focuses on state interactions in the UN and CoE.
In this thesis, three European integration theories are applied to the case of African integration. The use of federalism, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism for explaining African...Show moreIn this thesis, three European integration theories are applied to the case of African integration. The use of federalism, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism for explaining African regional cooperation are tested. Academic writing combining these two topics can hardly be found, creating a gap in the literature that this thesis seeks to fill. In analysing the historical development of the three theories, a set of indicators for each is constructed, leading to the formulation of hypotheses that are tested in the African case. The main driving force behind African integration in the 1950s and 1960s was the Pan- African movement calling for independence of African states and the end of colonialism. This ideologically driven movement was supported by a transnational elite pushing for regional cooperation. The main actors in creating the Organization of African Unity, the African Economic Community and the African Union were national leaders, basing their efforts both on Pan-African reasoning and on the maximization of national gains. The neofunctionalists’ main claim of spillover effects occurring in the integration process leading to wider and deeper cooperation cannot be proved, neither seems the role of supranational institutions to be of importance. This leads to the conclusion that a combination of federalist assumptions and liberal intergovernmentalist claims provides the best explanation for African integration.Show less
Since the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, the European Union (EU) has seemed to work towards a unification of foreign policy interests of all member states. However, the most recent case...Show moreSince the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, the European Union (EU) has seemed to work towards a unification of foreign policy interests of all member states. However, the most recent case of Libya reveals that the EU is still torn when it comes to questions of foreign policy and especially the deployments of military troops. Within the last twenty years, a number of international crises have pointed out the deficiencies of the EU with regard to these issues. With this thesis, I aim to find reasons for the inability of the EU in questions of foreign policy, and particularly military action-taking within an EU framework. I argue that the role of Germany in this context is rather crucial. As the largest and most powerful member state, Germany’s position has a large influence on the actions of the EU. Germany has been very reluctant towards using military power after the horrible events in World War II (WWII), and hence, I pose the research question: ‘To what extent does Germany’s aversion to the use of military power due to historic reasons affect the EU’s ability to speak with a common voice on issues of security and defense?’ My main argument is the following: ‘The inability of the EU to speak with a common voice with regard to military action is due to several aspects, with the largest influence being Germany’s aversion to use military power due to reasons of guilt and the country’s history’. In my thesis I find that a number of reasons may influence the inability of the EU to speak with a common voice; however, the largest effect seems to have Germany and the country’s still-existing reluctance towards using military means due to its history and consequential guilt sentiments.Show less
