Economic sanctions are a coercive diplomacy tool often used by sender states to elicit behavioral change in the target state. Prior research focused on the domestic elements of the target state,...Show moreEconomic sanctions are a coercive diplomacy tool often used by sender states to elicit behavioral change in the target state. Prior research focused on the domestic elements of the target state, thus this research tests the cooperative theory in which the focus is on the international behavior of the target state when assessing the effectiveness of economic sanctions. The research question driving this thesis is: are economic sanctions more effective in a non-cooperative authoritarian state or a cooperative authoritarian state? The two case studies are China (cooperative authoritarian state) and Iran (non-cooperative authoritarian state). Through five mechanisms, budget of the target state, opposition within the target state, type of sanction, commitment of the sender state, and dependence of the target state on the international community, the effectiveness of the sanctions is analyzed. Noticeably there is a stronger link between effective sanctions and the cooperative authoritarian state (China) in comparison with the non-cooperative authoritarian state (Iran), the international mechanisms mostly drive the effectiveness of the sanctions in the cooperative authoritarian state, and neo-realism is a very noticeable factor in utilizing economic sanctions.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
The encouragement of regional integration is one element of the European Union’s external action since the beginning of the European Union (Smith, 2008). Especially since the 1990s the European...Show moreThe encouragement of regional integration is one element of the European Union’s external action since the beginning of the European Union (Smith, 2008). Especially since the 1990s the European Union started vigorously to support for regional economic integration efforts among developing countries after being issued in the European Commission. According to the Commission, regional integration among developing countries, unless implemented in a transparent and open manner, encourages their integration in the world economy and plays a key role in conflict prevention and peace consolidation (European Commission, 1995). Furthermore, the European Parliament also shares this view of the Commission and points on the importance of regional integration and free trade agreements for the establishment of a more equitable world trade system (European Parliament, 2002). More recently, the EU seems to have stepped up its efforts to shape the regional integration process of developing countries, by undertaking comprehensive agreements with regional groupings, which cover not just trade, but also trade-related issues, development concerns and political aspects. Given the importance of regional integration of for the EU I will, with this research, analyse the intentional use of NPE at regional level, notably the actions of the EU towards regional integration in ASEAN. In order to analyse whether the EU is a normative power in prompting regional integration, this thesis will analyse the means, the impact and the intention of the EU towards Southeast Asian regional integration.Show less
External support to security sector reform (SSR) has emerged as a crucial instrument in international peacebuilding and state-building operations and is widely considered as the sine qua non of...Show moreExternal support to security sector reform (SSR) has emerged as a crucial instrument in international peacebuilding and state-building operations and is widely considered as the sine qua non of contemporary post-conflict reconstruction efforts in post-conflict or fragile states. Although SSR is considered as a core instrument of state-building and as a precondition for achieving peace and development, its record of achievement is quite limited. This thesis seeks to explain how the conventional SSR focus on state security undermines post-conflict transition and fails to enable an environment for sustainable peace and development. Based on the transition processes in Afghanistan and Timor Leste, this thesis argues that a state-centric approach to SSR is likely to be less effective in hybrid states and can even destabilise state recovery by protecting state institutions that are not embedded within society.Show less
This research tries to scrutinize the influence of pro-migration interest group arguments towards the immigration policy of the European Union. As a case study the influence of different kinds of...Show moreThis research tries to scrutinize the influence of pro-migration interest group arguments towards the immigration policy of the European Union. As a case study the influence of different kinds of arguments of pro-migration interest groups used as an answer on a public consultation about the Common European Asylum System in 2007 is chosen to investigate. Via a documentary analyses the influence between human rights-based arguments and cost arguments were tried measured. This was not possible, because the pro-migration interest groups almost only made human rights-based arguments. There is though evidence found that suggest that the Commission copied mainly recommendations that were in line with the aims that the Commission stated in the Green Paper. This seems to suggest that the Green Paper is an agenda-setting power tool that diminishes the amount of influence that pro-migration interest groups can have on the European immigration policy.Show less
Regional integration is on the political agenda in all parts of the world. During the time of post-colonial development and liberation struggles, Southern Africa saw its share of attempts at closer...Show moreRegional integration is on the political agenda in all parts of the world. During the time of post-colonial development and liberation struggles, Southern Africa saw its share of attempts at closer economic and political ties between states within the region. Today, the dominant regional organization in Southern Africa is the Southern African Development Community. Many regional organizations in the developing world, including SADC, explicitly state that a large part of the regional integration project is towards a goal of attracting an increase in foreign direct investment. The ability to attract FDI is based on various factors; covering many of these is the combined level of perceived political risk. Economic and political instability, social unrest, ethnic and military conflict, corruption in government, the threat of expropriation and breaches of contract; political risk is a multi-faceted concept. The thesis identifies what types of political risks are prevalent in the Southern African region. The research focus addresses what SADC as a regional actor has contributed towards lowering the levels of political risk in specific countries and parts of the region. The thesis demonstrates that as theoretical assumptions and empirical evidence argue that regional integration is positive for the ability to attract FDI, Southern African countries face many obstacles on the way towards a fully integrated economic community. Meanwhile, the prospects for peace and security in the region are better at present than twenty years ago. The establishment and maintenance of legal, security and financial frameworks that would add to securing the interests of both the foreign investors and the host country and government are often lacking. Furthermore, the implementation of regional institutions have been hampered by various factors, including the member states’ own interests and a general unwillingness towards ceding sovereignty to transnational institutions . The role of South Africa as a regional hegemon and key policy-maker within SADC is discussed in order to further examine the regional dynamics in Southern Africa.Show less
There are a number of entities such as Abkhazia, Taiwan, Somaliland, East Timor, to name a few, that are all secessionist de facto independent states. However, they are treated differently by the...Show moreThere are a number of entities such as Abkhazia, Taiwan, Somaliland, East Timor, to name a few, that are all secessionist de facto independent states. However, they are treated differently by the international community, and external recognition was only granted for East Timor. As long as the pattern behind the selective recognition of new states is unclear and while ongoing secessionist conflicts persist around the world, this thesis aims to answer the following question: what are the main factors behind the external recognition of newly created states? In other words, why are some secessionist states externally recognized while others are not? It is argued here that there is not one specific factor that leads to external recognition; rather, there is a set of factors that together explain selective recognition of secessionist states. In order to answer the research question and to define this set of factors qualitative comparative analysis is used in this work.Show less
The central research question presented in this thesis is: To what extent does Europeanization create barriers and/or opportunities for a transition towards competitive authoritarianism in Turkey?...Show moreThe central research question presented in this thesis is: To what extent does Europeanization create barriers and/or opportunities for a transition towards competitive authoritarianism in Turkey? In order to answer this question, this thesis employs an institution-centered theoretical framework of a qualitative case study that uses process tracing to analyze formal and informal institutional change in Turkey. Institutional change is operationalized by the conversion/layering model, which identifies how the characteristics of institutions have been transformed by the Europeanization process. This study determines that under the AKP administration, the Europeanization process has created more opportunities than barriers for Turkey to transition from democracy consolidation towards a competitive authoritarian regime.Show less
This thesis is an attempt to refresh the research done on the indicators for the allocation of Common Agricultural Policy funds. The European Union has changed its formation, structure and...Show moreThis thesis is an attempt to refresh the research done on the indicators for the allocation of Common Agricultural Policy funds. The European Union has changed its formation, structure and institutions over the past decades but the research on CAP hasn’t been updated along with it. This thesis borrows from the multi-level governance theory and molds the idea of the “winners-” and “losers of EU integration” debate into expectations for the predictive powers of various variables. These variables simulate two theories which have been predominant in research which has been previously done for the Common Agricultural Policy: the theory of need and the compensatory theory. The total area used for agriculture, the number of farms and GDP per Capita will represent the theory of need whilst the compensatory mechanism is simulated through a public opinion form of euroscepticism and a variable which calculates the net contribution to the EU budget to the EU budget. Key results for the thesis and improvements to the existing literature are the establishment for the net contribution to the EU budget variable, agricultural employment and GDP per Capita as predictors of CAP allocations and establishing the strength of the EU’s official allocation criteria for the CAP. Furthermore, for the first time the NUTS 2 regions have been included in research concerning CAP funding as a unity of analysis, leading to more statistically sound conclusions than what would otherwise be the case.Show less
This thesis looks at the relationship between regional integration and the number of conflicts. It compares this relationship to the one between two variables that have been shown to have an effect...Show moreThis thesis looks at the relationship between regional integration and the number of conflicts. It compares this relationship to the one between two variables that have been shown to have an effect on the number of conflicts in other studies: democratic freedom and prosperity. The study is conducted using descriptive statistics and statistical analysis with data from various publicly available datasets for each of the variables. The dataset for regional integration is compiled based on the theoretical framework proposed by Balassa (1962) and uses regional economic integration as its basis. 175 countries in five geographical regions are observed over a period of 21 years from 1991 to 2011. The study finds that each of the three variables has an effect on the number of conflicts, in most, but not all cases the variables have an inverse relationship with the number of conflicts. The two control variables have a much more significant effect on the number of conflicts than regional integration, with democratic freedom having an effect in all but one observed region. Regional integration’s effect on the number of conflicts increased in significance over the observed time period.Show less
This thesis analyzes how variations in regional polarity influence the processes of regional cooperation. A small N-analysis has been made on Mercosur, the League of Arab States and ASEAN. These...Show moreThis thesis analyzes how variations in regional polarity influence the processes of regional cooperation. A small N-analysis has been made on Mercosur, the League of Arab States and ASEAN. These organizations are the most institutionalized forms of cooperation in three distinctive regions: Southern-America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The configuration of polarity is determined by the distribution of material capabilities amongst states. Therefore, the more symmetrical the distribution the larger the amount of regional powers present within the region. Theory asserts that as the amount of regional powers increases, prospects for regional cooperation decrease. Indeed, the findings show that a regional bipolar configuration is more prone to cooperation than a multipolar setting. The case of unipolarity in ASEAN has limited generalizability.Show less
This paper analyzes the impact of acquisition of membership of international organization (in this case, WTO) on member states' domestic trade laws reforms. For this end, multilevel governance...Show moreThis paper analyzes the impact of acquisition of membership of international organization (in this case, WTO) on member states' domestic trade laws reforms. For this end, multilevel governance theory is used to pinpoint the conductive roles of state authority, industry and local norm system in the indigenization of international laws.Show less
