The year 2010 inaugurated a tumultuous period for a range of countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Protests compelling for democratization culminated in violent clashes between rebels...Show moreThe year 2010 inaugurated a tumultuous period for a range of countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Protests compelling for democratization culminated in violent clashes between rebels and authoritarian regimes across the region. In response to the escalation of violence in Libya, an alliance of countries established a no-fly zone for halting the exorbitant regime violence against the rebels and the population. Shortly after, NATO took over command. A similar intervention in Syria did not occur, in spite of the widespread human rights violations and grave human suffering. A comparison between the cases of Libya and Syria sheds light on the factors that shaped the different international community responses to the conflicts and also contributes to the greater puzzle of why states intervene in some atrocities but not in others. This study found that a prime factor impacting humanitarian intervention occurrence in Libya and Syria is the UN Security Council’s task to provide authorization within a context of disputed legality of humanitarian interventions. In addition, it is concluded that UNSC member’s positions with respect to intervening were guided by their political interests and to a lesser extent by their economic interests. Finally, the anticipated outcomes of the two humanitarian intervention scenarios influenced intervention behavior, which explains why only one intervention was conducted. All these factors are indispensable components of an inclusive explanation for the different responses to the civil wars in Libya and Syria.Show less
The medium-sized Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia use a different combination of international dispute settlement methods in their attempt to resolve maritime disputes in the South China Sea with...Show moreThe medium-sized Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia use a different combination of international dispute settlement methods in their attempt to resolve maritime disputes in the South China Sea with the economically and militarily superior People's Republic of China. This thesis researches the relation between these methods and their relation with the PRC by looking at economic dependence, the occurrence of violence, and the history of their diplomatic relations. The absence of violence and a history of good diplomatic relations relates to states' reluctance to use international arbitration, while historically bad diplomatic relations and a higher amount of violence relates to the involvement of third parties as mediators and the use of international arbitration.Show less
This thesis examines the relationship between democracy and domestic terrorism, relying on a within-case study of the democratization process of Greece in the 1970s. The central theoretical...Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship between democracy and domestic terrorism, relying on a within-case study of the democratization process of Greece in the 1970s. The central theoretical argument, which is claimed by Chenoweth (2007) is that terrorism occurs so often in democracies because of a competitive logic that drives interest groups to compete with one another using violence. This thesis attempted to strengthen this so-called 'theory of the competitive logic' by further specifying the exact causal mechanism by means of a case study. Overall, the analysis disconfirms and thereby challenges the hypothesized causal mechanisms. A main finding is that Greece's democratization process did result in outburst of domestic terrorist activity, but did not result in an outburst of social mobilization in general. The large corrupt and clientelist overbearing Greek state, combined with the omnipresence of a few strong political parties immediately halted the ‘political energies’ that naturally arose after the fall of the Greek junta. Based on this finding, this thesis claims that, at least in the Greek case, not democracy's commitment to pluralism, but rather a lack of pluralism led to the proliferation of domestic terrorism. Further qualitative research should be done to assess whether Greece is an exceptional case or whether the theory is supported in other cases that experienced democratic transitions in the 1970s, such as Portugal and Spain.Show less
This thesis aims to explain the diverging outcomes in arms export policies with regard to Indonesia and Jordan and examines what effect the Dutch parliament had in bringing about these outcomes....Show moreThis thesis aims to explain the diverging outcomes in arms export policies with regard to Indonesia and Jordan and examines what effect the Dutch parliament had in bringing about these outcomes. Theoretically, the thesis analyzes the extent to which a logic of appropriateness or a logic of consequences dominates the discourse of a foreign policy decision making process. Through a discourse analysis, it concludes that the use of a logic of appropriateness was prevalent in both discussions. In the Indonesian case these resonated to the human rights criterion of the EU Common Position on Arms Export, but in the case of Jordan such norms had a more distinct cost-benefit character and focused more on regime type, which falls out of the scope of formal EU norms. In evaluating why the argumentative strategies differed, a logic of habit is posited as an explanation: not only did the Indonesian case shape precedent for the cases to follow, but the Netherlands and Indonesia have long historical relationships. In the past, those states often clashed, making a critical stance towards Indonesia more likely. This is not the case for Jordan, which has no such relationship and is situated in a region with other, more worrisome states. This is an important critical observation for the further development of the EU Common Position on Arms Export, which, in coherence with Council Conclusions, and statements and reports by member-states, stresses the assessment of arms export license applications on a case-by-case basis, without taking into account historical ties.Show less
Through quantative analysis Siri Aas Rustad and Helga Malmin Binningsbø, in their 2012 joint study ‘A price worth fighting for? Natural resources and conflict recurrence’, find that there is a...Show moreThrough quantative analysis Siri Aas Rustad and Helga Malmin Binningsbø, in their 2012 joint study ‘A price worth fighting for? Natural resources and conflict recurrence’, find that there is a significant correlation between conflict recurrence and conflicts over natural resource revenue distribution. This paper takes this study and tests whether their quantative findings can be applied to two cases. The aim of this paper is to gain a greater understanding of the motivations of actors who spoil peace agreements concerning petroleum conflicts. The motivations tested are economic grievance over distribution of oil, greed displayed by belligerents wanting a greater share of wealth than they are entitled to, and political motives of actors who use a recurrence of conflict to achieve or promote their political goals. The two case studies considered are the Aceh conflict concerning the breakdown of the 2002 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, and the Chechen conflict featuring the breakdown of the 1996 Khasavyurt Agreement and the peace process thereafter.Show less
