In this thesis John Mearsheimer's claim about the reliance of Western elites on liberal principles (such as the rule of law, economic interdependence, and democracy) to justify NATO enlargement has...Show moreIn this thesis John Mearsheimer's claim about the reliance of Western elites on liberal principles (such as the rule of law, economic interdependence, and democracy) to justify NATO enlargement has been examined in order to gain more insight into the annexation of Crimea and the wider Ukraine crisis.Show less
In 2014, the European Union enforced sanctions against Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine. The theory on sanctions provides multiple theories on their potential effectiveness. These...Show moreIn 2014, the European Union enforced sanctions against Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine. The theory on sanctions provides multiple theories on their potential effectiveness. These theories are applied in the case of Russia to answer whether they can be successfull in achieving their goal.Show less
This thesis argues that the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko have so far justified their territorial claims to Crimea in strikingly similar ways. Through a...Show moreThis thesis argues that the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko have so far justified their territorial claims to Crimea in strikingly similar ways. Through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of each president's key speeches, this study finds that both presidents emphasise national-historical arguments when addressing a domestic audience and normative arguments when addressing an international audience, but that both presidents weave the two types of arguments together to create an overall narrative. When compared against each other, this study also finds that Putin uses the most national-historical arguments while Poroshenko uses the most normative arguments. Several conclusions are drawn from these findings, including that the plethora of possible legitimation strategies make positions in a conflict relatively easy to justify, that the Crimea conflict is likely to be intractable, and that more research should be conducted on legitimation strategies in territorial disputes.Show less
Roots of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh reach the times of the USSR or deeper. After the collapse of the Soviet Union hopes for the conflicts resolution were high...Show moreRoots of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh reach the times of the USSR or deeper. After the collapse of the Soviet Union hopes for the conflicts resolution were high; however, after the cease-fire agreement was sign in 1994, the peace-making process seems to reach the stalemate. For over two decades the conflict remains unsettled, often being referred to as ‘frozen’. Nevertheless, this might not be the most accurate term, since the cease-fire agreement is frequently being broken by all of the conflict parties, and causes casualties (72 people killed in 2014). This thesis investigates the peace efforts for possible shortcomings that could curb the conflict settlement, and potential incentives derived from economic and political regimes of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic that could motivate this de facto state to favour the current status quo.Show less
A comparative analysis between the Federal law of the Russian Federation No. 152-FZ on Personal Data and the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and the General Data Protection Regulation...Show moreA comparative analysis between the Federal law of the Russian Federation No. 152-FZ on Personal Data and the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and the General Data Protection Regulation EU 2016/679.Show less
This thesis deals with the extent of which the government of Tajikistan has used the narrative of Islamist extremism and global terrorism in order to deprive its Islamic political opposition of its...Show moreThis thesis deals with the extent of which the government of Tajikistan has used the narrative of Islamist extremism and global terrorism in order to deprive its Islamic political opposition of its legitimacy and right to exist. In doing so, the Tajik government has made its final move towards the consolidation of its one-party rule over the former Soviet state. Firstly, the thesis' intention is to research how the Tajik government has used frames in order to undermine and crush its legal opposition. Second, it deals with the government’s general relation to religion in society, one which is mostly defined by unease and a wish to control Islam. It is argues that this second element has been crucial for the Tajik regime in order to effectively clear its political opponents. The main argument of this thesis is to demonstrate how, after years of relative political plurality, Tajikistan’s political dimension has shifted towards a one-party system with a closed political space.Show less
The research underlying this thesis concentrates on a critical evaluation of the academic as well as biopolitical discourses that developed around the 1986 nuclear disaster of Chernobyl. It...Show moreThe research underlying this thesis concentrates on a critical evaluation of the academic as well as biopolitical discourses that developed around the 1986 nuclear disaster of Chernobyl. It presents an analysis of the paradoxical case of the ‘samosely’, the ‘self-settlers’ that re-settled themselves back into the highly contaminated exclusion zone illegally after the incident. The analysis of the studied case and the conclusions of this research are based on a theoretical framework of philosophical and psychological literature around the notions of identity and trauma, with a specific focus on the dimension of temporality. Perceived from our perspective as paradoxical and irrational, the study of the reasons underlying the behaviour of the ‘samosely’ aims to generate a new and multifaceted understanding of trauma. Furthermore, this thesis advocates for a complexification of the notion of survivor identity that ought to be disconnected from the misuses through political agendas and biopolitical interests.Show less
This thesis examines the performance of the Russian agricultural sector between 2005 and 2015. This is done by analysing the outcomes of the predictions made by Professor Grigory Ioffe in 2005.
