Soft power describes the influence a country has on another through the admiration generated by the recognition and appreciation of its intangible resources like its culture, political values and...Show moreSoft power describes the influence a country has on another through the admiration generated by the recognition and appreciation of its intangible resources like its culture, political values and foreign policy objectives. In essence, it captures a country’s attractive power. This thesis will aim to answer why Nigeria, despite its extensive soft power resources, is not recognised as having substantial soft power. After investigating the conventional understanding of soft power as presented by Joseph Nye, this work will map out some of Nigeria’s most influential soft power resources to showcase why Nigeria would be expected to be recognized as having significant soft power. It will argue that, besides issues regarding its credibility and public diplomacy strategy, Nigeria suffers from structural constraints. It illustrates how the common understanding of soft power is not neutral, rather it is shaped by a hegemonic worldview that is Eurocentric in nature, favouring “Western” states. This thesis aims to show how it is relatively harder for a country like Nigeria to be recognized as attractive or powerful due to the normative assumptions underlying the dominant ideas of what attractiveness and power look like.Show less
After an examination of primary and secondary American, Israeli, and international sources such as White House speeches, Aljazeera interviews, American and Israeli newspapers, and documentaries,...Show moreAfter an examination of primary and secondary American, Israeli, and international sources such as White House speeches, Aljazeera interviews, American and Israeli newspapers, and documentaries, this thesis shows that former president of the United States Donald Trump was the opposite of a mediator for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead of being the broker of peace, Trump’s foreign policy created more agitation in the Middle Eastern region, and on the international level. Trump played a strategic game, in which realist and constructivist elements were visible in particular. Thus, this study argues that Trump certainly did not improve the tense situation in the Middle East, although he truly saw himself as the true peace maker. In addition to that, this thesis makes a contribution to the field of International Relations in two ways. Firstly, this thesis created clarity by connecting several aspects of Trump’s decision-making on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to specific IR theories. Secondly, it is an addition to the yet incomplete amount of academic literature on the Trump Administration’s approach for this particular conflict.Show less
Africa has become an important point in the Russian foreign policy agenda, which has not been the case since three decades ago. This thesis will examine the reinvented Russian foreign policy...Show moreAfrica has become an important point in the Russian foreign policy agenda, which has not been the case since three decades ago. This thesis will examine the reinvented Russian foreign policy interest in the African continent and explain this by looking at geopolitical influence, arguing that Russia’s geopolitical interest can be explained by the Great power competition with the United States and China, and furthermore discussing how isolation from relations with the West have had effect on increasing relations with Africa. Looking at military influence, it will argue that Russian arms trade to African states can be seen as an incentive to keep states unstable to increase arms trade. Last, this thesis will argue that there is much opportunity for economic trade in minerals and energy and examine how Russia is making use of the opportunity. Analyzing these different spheres show a trend, Russian state affiliated companies, which are not concerned with human rights and democracy protection are doing the dirty work for the Russian state and thereby taking the accountability away from the state.Show less
Agriculture in Russia became a sector of great focus for the government as a consequence of the Crimean Crisis of 2014. Tit for tat sanctions resulted in a partial ban on agricultural imports into...Show moreAgriculture in Russia became a sector of great focus for the government as a consequence of the Crimean Crisis of 2014. Tit for tat sanctions resulted in a partial ban on agricultural imports into Russia from the EU and the US, which forced the government to look for internally sourced replacements for food that had earlier been imported. The resultant policies of import substitution appear to have been successful. China is an obvious additional potential market for Russian agribusiness, which has benefited from the barriers set up during the “Sanctions Wars” that began in 2014. The same factors that cleared the domestic market for Russian producers (namely, political and trade disputes with the United States and European Union) are likely to help them ramp up exports to China. The timing has been fortuitous for Russia. They had years to “prepare” their internal response before China began to get hit with some of the same policies Russia has faced for over half a decade. As China often uses access to its market as a source of political leverage, it is important to investigate the potential risks involved in organizing production of meat for export in the Far East to the East Asian region and China in particular.Show less
Honduras, as part of the Central American Integration System, trades with the European Union. In return, the European Union uses its normative power to promote and secure human rights in Honduras....Show moreHonduras, as part of the Central American Integration System, trades with the European Union. In return, the European Union uses its normative power to promote and secure human rights in Honduras. The emergence of China, as an alternative trade partner, puts a strain on the responsiveness of Honduras to EU conditionality.Show less
This thesis examines how British prime ministers have de-Europeanized the national identity through their discourse before and after the Brexit referendum – or in other words – how they turned away...Show moreThis thesis examines how British prime ministers have de-Europeanized the national identity through their discourse before and after the Brexit referendum – or in other words – how they turned away from the EU by using language. The research is conducted through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of 25 speeches and statements by David Cameron and Theresa May. The timeframe begins when Cameron promised a referendum on EU membership in January 2013, and ends in October 2017, more than a year after the yes-vote. The analysis reveals that British discourse on common security threats was not gradually de-Europeanized, but internationalised by May by constructing the UK as ‘Global Britain’. Language on migrants from the EU to the UK was already de-Europeanized before the Brexit referendum, and did not change significantly after the referendum. In fact, it gradually normalised after Cameron’s General Election victory in 2015. This study also reveals that both prime ministers could ‘cherry pick’ identities, meaning that they could choose between constructing a national, European, or even global identity to their liking per policy area.Show less
In April 2014 an armed conflict broke out between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbas) regions in Eastern Ukraine. The extent to which the...Show moreIn April 2014 an armed conflict broke out between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbas) regions in Eastern Ukraine. The extent to which the Russian government supports the separatists of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics remains a topic of scholarly debate. Numerous academics have come up with interpretations on Russian foreign policy towards Ukraine but these fail to explain the behaviour of the Russian government in Donbas. This thesis will assess what the foreign policy objectives of the Russian government are in Donbas and how these have changed since April 2014. During the first phase of the conflict, the Russian government attempted to introduce the neo-imperial myth of Novorossiya in order to justify separatism throughout South-Eastern Ukraine. This project failed as the separatist drive did not spread to the regions of Kharkiv and Odesa. Thereafter the Russian government started to focus on keeping the conflict ongoing by militarily intervening to prevent the Ukrainian Army from defeating the separatists but not letting the separatists win the armed conflict either. The Russian government governs the separatists republics without participation of Ukrainian separatists, provides them with necessary financing but at the same time drains the region of its economic resources. The main goal of the Russian government in Donbas is to destabilise Ukraine and keep the armed conflict ongoing by sustaining two highly disruptive separatist republics.Show less
Strategic culture is a concept both promising and controversial. The idea that culture impacts security policy and why an actor favors certain policies over others has appealed to scholars and...Show moreStrategic culture is a concept both promising and controversial. The idea that culture impacts security policy and why an actor favors certain policies over others has appealed to scholars and analysts since the concept was first introduced in 1977. However, some actors have received more attention than others. Most notably, smaller countries seem to attract less attention. This thesis will make use of this gap in the literature and focus on the Netherlands. Specifically, it seeks to illustrate in what way the Dutch strategic culture has manifested itself after the Second World War up to the present day. Using Alistair I. Johnston’s conceptual framework, this thesis found that the Netherlands was highly influenced by the war, drastically altering its security policy. It has sought to highly integrate itself in the international community, seeking cooperation in an effort to prevent war. Its policies are formed with this goal in mind and is highly grounded in international law, seeking the diplomatic over military action. While promising, these results should only form the basis of future, more comprehensive, research. I argue that the concept of strategic culture is too restrictive and fails to paint the complete picture. With this in mind, the concept of security culture is very promising for future research.Show less
The Syrian civil war has been one of the most protracted and severe conflicts in the Middle East in recent decades. Through this conflict, Syria has become the hub in regional conflicts,...Show moreThe Syrian civil war has been one of the most protracted and severe conflicts in the Middle East in recent decades. Through this conflict, Syria has become the hub in regional conflicts, geopolitical strife and sectarian violence. This thesis examines the European Union's response to this complex conflict through a neorealist lens and a detailed discussion of European policy throughout the years.Show less
This thesis analyses the role of R2P in the justificatory speeches of American presidents Bush, Clinton and Obama through the case studies of Somalia 1992-1994 and Libya 2011.
The rise of the Dragon is a hot, reoccurring topic and an event few would deny these days. The transition from a relative isolated China to a rising power with increasing influence on the world...Show moreThe rise of the Dragon is a hot, reoccurring topic and an event few would deny these days. The transition from a relative isolated China to a rising power with increasing influence on the world stage has shaped many policy agendas of various states around the world. Apart from the impact on different continents, it most of all has affected the regional affairs in China’s own sphere. The power dynamics in the region are changing and an important role in this scene is China’s growing influence in Asia. By the end of the 2000s and beginning 2010s, Beijing embraced a more aggressive position in relation to other states. The continuing disputes in the South China Sea China’s accentuate Chinas increasing military power. In line with these events, in 2011, the Obama Administration addressed their new foreign policy towards Asia. This involved a strengthening of the position of the United States in Asia. It was also largely perceived as a way of US balancing against a rising China. These events form the context in which the research of this thesis will take place. The question this thesis will try to answer is: How has the US pivot to Asia during the Obama administration affected China’s regional hegemonic aspirations in case of the South China Sea disputes? In order to provide an answer to this question, the theory of hegemonic stability will be applied.Show less
The questions that remain in academia and the aim to conduct research on policymakers’ interests bring forth the following research question to better explain and understand U.S. foreign policy:...Show moreThe questions that remain in academia and the aim to conduct research on policymakers’ interests bring forth the following research question to better explain and understand U.S. foreign policy: Under the Obama administration, why did the U.S. not lead from behind in Egypt but did so in Libya and Syria, despite the similarities between the countries’ humanitarian crises and the U.S.’s broader interests in the Middle East? The research is structured as follows. The first chapter explores the extant literature and theories regarding U.S. military involvement. From this literature review, the subsequent chapter explains the factors that influence U.S. foreign policy and creates several models to steer the research at hand. After this, the research design addresses the data collection and analysis. This produces a tool upon which three chapters will be based that describe what led to the decision to lead from behind in Libya and Syria but not in Egypt. Following this, a comparative analysis is conducted to examine the differences in U.S. decision-making in regard to the three cases and is linked further to the academic literature. Upon this, several concluding remarks are provided, which pave the way for a discussion.Show less
This research analyzes the experiences of transnational identity formation by Cuban-American migrant generations, cohorts and waves living in Miami, as well their cultural behaviours in Miami. The...Show moreThis research analyzes the experiences of transnational identity formation by Cuban-American migrant generations, cohorts and waves living in Miami, as well their cultural behaviours in Miami. The research is framed with reference to historical and contemporary contexts of the bilateral relations between Cuba and the United States.Show less
