Tijdens de Koude Oorlog nam het aantal kernwapens van Rusland en de VS toe omwille van de nationale veiligheid. Momenteel neemt het aantal kernwapens af. Dit kan worden gezien als een idealistisch...Show moreTijdens de Koude Oorlog nam het aantal kernwapens van Rusland en de VS toe omwille van de nationale veiligheid. Momenteel neemt het aantal kernwapens af. Dit kan worden gezien als een idealistisch beleid. Staten zouden volgens het realisme echter gericht zijn op nationale veiligheid. In deze scriptie wordt onderzocht in welke mate de nucleaire ontwapening van de Verenigde Staten is gemotiveerd door nationaal belang.Show less
One of the greatest dangers of contemporary international politics is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. New states who acquire nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear war or the spread of...Show moreOne of the greatest dangers of contemporary international politics is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. New states who acquire nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear war or the spread of nuclear material to other parties. Two of these states in particular have been focal points of international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons: Libya and North Korea. Existing theories of nuclear proliferation do not offer a solid explanation for this extreme difference in behavior. The internal characteristics of the regime and the concept of ‘security guarantee’ needs to be differentiated to adequately explain proliferation of nuclear weapons.Show less
Approximately twelve years after the end of a one-year European Union (EU) arms embargo on Indonesia, the Dutch House of Representatives blocked the sale of second-hand conventional weapons to the...Show moreApproximately twelve years after the end of a one-year European Union (EU) arms embargo on Indonesia, the Dutch House of Representatives blocked the sale of second-hand conventional weapons to the former Dutch colony in 2012 . The House of Representatives cited human rights concerns as the main culprit for blocking the sale, overruling the minority government in its decision that a possible sale of arms would comply with European arms export criteria. The following year, the German federal government approved the same deal on the 8th of May, 2013. This decision appears paradoxical given the EU Common Position on Arms Exports , which attempts to harmonise the arms export policy of EU member states and requires them to deny arms export licenses to countries with poor human rights track records that may use the transferred arms in violation of international humanitarian law. The criteria of the Common Position prominently feature respect for human rights and the internationally agreed 'laws of war' and contain several mechanisms by which coherent results on behalf of arms export licensing are to be effectuated. Much as this thesis portrays a view of steady development in the area of European cooperation on arms control, it will conclude that EU member states remain sovereign in their decisions to export weapons when and to whom it suits them.Show less
This thesis investigates three different Transnational Advocacy groups within the field of arms control. The aim of this study is to find out why the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)...Show moreThis thesis investigates three different Transnational Advocacy groups within the field of arms control. The aim of this study is to find out why the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) succeeded in achieving their goal, this in contradiction to the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) who failed in achieving a non compromising legally binding treaty. The research question is therefore “What are the reasons that explain success for Transnational Advocacy Networks in the field of arms control.” To analyze the ICBL, CMC and the IANSA a framework is developed mostly using Hubert’s theory on Advocacy Networks.Show less
Although there has been written extensively on the different arms treaties, there has not been developed a way to consistently determine the strength of a treaty with the help of a set of criteria,...Show moreAlthough there has been written extensively on the different arms treaties, there has not been developed a way to consistently determine the strength of a treaty with the help of a set of criteria, thus far. This research project aims to establish such a list (although merely a preliminary one), along with a proper definition of the often-used but undefined concept of loopholes. This writing will also offer an explanation for the found weaknesses of the Arms Trade Treaty, using neorealism as its starting point. In closure, the author argues that strong treaties are forged outside the United Nations—free of great power leverage—while weaker treaties are drafted within the consensus-minded United Nations under the watchful eyes of great powers.Show less
