Russia’s influence in Africa, particularly the Sahel, has been on the rise for the last two decades. On the one hand, it uses official tools of engagement including, diplomatic, economic, military,...Show moreRussia’s influence in Africa, particularly the Sahel, has been on the rise for the last two decades. On the one hand, it uses official tools of engagement including, diplomatic, economic, military, and political methods. And on the other hand, it uses unofficial tools to pursue its foreign policy objectives. This thesis focuses on the various ways in which Russia utilises its Private Military Companies as an unofficial tool, to gain maximum benefits. The theoretical framework of the ‘Racket of Predatory Power’ is used to elucidate the strategies employed by Russia through its PMCs. These strategies include leveraging historical elite ties, security partnerships to secure mining concessions, and conducting disinformation campaigns to gain elite favour. By using Mali as a case study, the thesis examines the key elements of the theoretical framework, including rent control, weakening accountability and legtimisation, to understand Russia’s use of PMCs as a foreign policy tool. The thesis concludes that Russia’s influence on African states is predatory, in the sense that it uses shadow actors like PMCs to repurpose state institutions and derive maximum benefits out of elite relationships.Show less
In November 2014, India’s newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the “Act East Policy” (AEP), which aims to increase economic and strategic cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries and...Show moreIn November 2014, India’s newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the “Act East Policy” (AEP), which aims to increase economic and strategic cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries and deepen cultural relationships. It does so on a regional, multilateral, and bilateral level. Although there is academic literature on this policy, most of the literature looks at the AEP through a realist lens, thereby considering it a mere “balancing” effort against China’s increasing influence in the region. This thesis opts to diversify the literature on the AEP by taking a constructivist approach. In doing so it seeks to understand how the ruling Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) conceptions of India’s state identity have shaped the AEP. Using the value-action framework and process-tracing method, this thesis finds that there are three identities which create values that shape the BJP’s preferences for the AEP. Firstly, the “challenged state” identity gives rise to the ‘increasing national security’ value. The second identity, a “once-thriving civilization”, gives rise to two closely connected values: ‘creating an economically stronger India’ and ‘ensuring India gets its rightful place in the comity of nations and international institutions’. Lastly, the “democracy shaped by Hinduism in a changing Asian landscape” identity gives rise to the ‘establishing a democratic and rules-based international order’ value. However, through assessment of India’s wider foreign policy behaviour this thesis finds that these values do not all carry equal weight. It argues that the pursuit of national security, prosperity and indirectly the pursuit of India’s “rightful place” on the international stage were the main factors leading to the establishment of the AEP. Thus, concluding that the “challenged” state and “once-thriving civilization” identities have more influence on the AEP under BJP rule than the “democracy shaped by Hinduism in a changing Asian landscape” identity.Show less
At present, the study of disinformation remains relatively confined to personality-oriented and technologically deterministic approaches in the context of white nationalist populism or Trump...Show moreAt present, the study of disinformation remains relatively confined to personality-oriented and technologically deterministic approaches in the context of white nationalist populism or Trump cronyism. Guided by Actor-Network Theory’s translation process, this thesis builds on ethnographically grounded and comparative research on disinformation producers in the Philippines as it looks at the two most recent presidential elections in 2016 and 2022. Drawing from netnographic observations across social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Twitter, as well as published media interviews, I propose that disinformation networks under Rodrigo Duterte and Bongbong Marcos proved deeply complex, hierarchic and exploitative. The empirical material illustrates how different actors came together under one voice, mobilising a network of entities to promote each presidential candidate’s election. By making visible the organisational relations and labour arrangments underpinning political disinformation campaigns, as well as the mechanisms of control exercised over them, the following paper aims to deepen an understanding of these harmful networks in order to prevent their future occurrence.Show less
After a brutal war, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) lost its significant territorial areas. How to deal with the organization’s members returning back to their home countries, has been...Show moreAfter a brutal war, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) lost its significant territorial areas. How to deal with the organization’s members returning back to their home countries, has been subject to heated debate. By focusing specifically on the role of the organization’s female members this paper explores the differences in the judicial approaches to the returning ISIS-women, through a case study analysis of Norway and Sweden. By discussing the differences in the expansion of national terror legislation, its implementation in relation to the women of ISIS, and the possible contributing factors to the different approaches, this paper answers the following research question: how do Norway and Sweden differ in their judicial approach to the Norwegian and Swedish women of ISIS returning back home between 2012-2022? Moreover, what are the main contributing factors leading to the differences in the approaches? The paper argues that Norway is more punitive towards returning women than Sweden. This is due to Norway’s legislation on terrorism participation, which allows for prosecution without classifying which actions count as participation. Furthermore, the paper argues that this differs from Sweden’s legislation on participation, which requires evidence of grave terrorist crimes committed in order to prosecute. This, the paper demonstrates, results in Sweden lacking the legal framework to prosecute its female nationals returning from ISIS. Lastly, the paper explores possible factors contributing to the different judicial approaches and highlights the Swedish legislative council, the effect of recent terrorist attacks, and loud critics as the most significant. Through the use of the case study, this paper contributes to knowledge on the implications domestic judicial differences can have in combatting transnational threats like terrorism.Show less
This thesis uses explaining-outcome process tracing to analyse why the Islamic Republic of Iran failed to build a long-standing proxy ally among the Shiite and Hazara groups of Afghanistan as it...Show moreThis thesis uses explaining-outcome process tracing to analyse why the Islamic Republic of Iran failed to build a long-standing proxy ally among the Shiite and Hazara groups of Afghanistan as it did in other countries during the 1980s and 1990s.Show less
This thesis seeks to address the academic debate surrounding the intervention of state actors in foreign information spaces, as this discourse lacks a coherent framework, allowing researchers to...Show moreThis thesis seeks to address the academic debate surrounding the intervention of state actors in foreign information spaces, as this discourse lacks a coherent framework, allowing researchers to identify, compare, categorize and hence explain acts of Information Intervention (II). To initiate a solution for this problem, this thesis aimed to create a typology of common contemporary types of covert and semi-covert state IIs beyond the means subsumed by the soft power and public diplomacy concepts. This process was facilitated by Kluge’s (2000) framework for the empirically grounded construction of types and an empirical research process, which was based on the identification of sources by employing keyword configurations and the search engines Google/Google Scholar. Given the scope of this project and the public unavailability of certain II practices, it was not possible to cover all acts of II for the given typology. Rather, the goal of this thesis was to guide future research in the field of Information Interventions, by providing a notion of the dynamics in the given field, on which future research can be built on. Therefore, while the typology presented in this thesis cannot be determined as universal, it made the first step towards the establishment of such framework, allowing researchers to systematically analyze IIs.Show less
This study examines the variations in the security outlooks of the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – toward the European Union’s quest for strategic autonomy. For decades, the...Show moreThis study examines the variations in the security outlooks of the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – toward the European Union’s quest for strategic autonomy. For decades, the concept of ‘strategic autonomy’ has remained ambiguous and ill-defined despite waves of discussions amongst leaders and academics alike. In an increasingly multipolar world and a considerably evolving security landscape in Northeastern Europe in light of the war in Ukraine, a renewed interest in the topic has emerged. Nevertheless, as in previous waves of discussion, the focus is primarily directed at the major powers. This study aims to shed light on the divergence of interpretation to be found among three small states; countries often finding themselves treated as one homogenous region with the same security concerns and objectives. By conducting eight interviews with current government officials, as well as analyzing government documents, the study answers two questions: How do the Baltic states view the concept of strategic autonomy? and What differences can be identified in their understanding of the concept? The research finds that strategic autonomy is viewed as a process rather than a fixed goal. Despite increasing support for the implementation of EU security initiatives, worries about NATO decoupling, duplication, and potential discrimination of strategic partners, especially the United States, remain significant. Most notably yet, the Baltic State’s interpretation and importance of the concept do, in fact, vary. This study highlights the challenges in achieving a unified interpretation of strategic autonomy both within the contexts of the EU and between global strategic partners. In the face of shifting geopolitical realities, discerning the misunderstandings among the Baltic nations is a crucial step in bridging differences and addressing the practical implications across national borders.Show less
