This paper has researched the extent of impartiality of the ICC in determining their investigations. The justifications behind the cases of Iraq/UK and Afghanistan/US were explored, to find out how...Show moreThis paper has researched the extent of impartiality of the ICC in determining their investigations. The justifications behind the cases of Iraq/UK and Afghanistan/US were explored, to find out how the ICC reached the decision to stop investigating the UK and to leave out the US in their examination. This has been done with a discourse analysis, based on the theoretical distinction of an ethics of conviction and an ethics of responsibility. This analysis has shown that in the case of Iraq, the ICC referred more to the rule of law and legal criteria, where in the case of Afghanistan the discourse included both signs of impartiality, but also signs that practical and political considerations played a role. This thesis thus concludes that the extent of impartiality in the case of Iraq was higher than that in Afghanistan.Show less
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was one that was marked by chaos and violence. There have been numerous inquisitions as to what wrong, from those within all sectors of the US government from...Show moreThe US withdrawal from Afghanistan was one that was marked by chaos and violence. There have been numerous inquisitions as to what wrong, from those within all sectors of the US government from State Department, Depart of Defense, to Congress. The findings of these organizations often result in playing the blame game, passing the fault on for the failed withdrawal onto a separate sector. This thesis examines why the withdrawal failed from a strategic standpoint rather than from an infrastructural outlook. The research highlights key aspect of the US withdrawal strategies employed in Iraq and Afghanistan to discover what factors differed between the two. This thesis recommends that the US reform it’s withdrawal strategy by finding solutions to combatting decreasing resilience of US presence caused by decreasing US capabilities during withdrawals.Show less
This paper argues that Sam Mendes' 1917 (2019) can be viewed as a War on Terror war film rather than a First World War war film. By comparing the film to Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 film The Hurt Locker...Show moreThis paper argues that Sam Mendes' 1917 (2019) can be viewed as a War on Terror war film rather than a First World War war film. By comparing the film to Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 film The Hurt Locker, I compare the two films to show how much contemporary war culture has influenced Mendes' film, what this tells us about contemporary war culture, and also briefly discuss what this could mean for the future of American war media.Show less
This article is aimed at developing our understanding of ethnic conflict and war which is needed to be able to build new theories about resolving these conflicts what is up until now barely covered...Show moreThis article is aimed at developing our understanding of ethnic conflict and war which is needed to be able to build new theories about resolving these conflicts what is up until now barely covered within the literature. This is executed by testing the theory of Tang, Xiong and Li about the ethnogeographical location of the oil. This theory states that when the oil is located within the core territory of a subordinate minority group it has a positive effect on the onset and escalation of an ethnic conflict. By performing case studies on conflicts between the Kurds and the Iraq state and Cabinda and Angola we found this theory to be true. There is also found that each case has a high degree of specificity which makes it very difficult to establish a universal model to accommodate ethnical conflicts caused by the ethnogeographical location of the oil. It is therefore logical to suggest further research which aims at establishing a framework for resolving ethnical conflict to perform a case study and develop a case specific solution while attempts of establishing a universal one are likely to fail.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
Al-Hashd al-Shaʿbi or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) is an umbrella of armed groups in Iraq that united in 2014 in cooperation with the government in order to defeat IS. Officially, the...Show moreAl-Hashd al-Shaʿbi or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) is an umbrella of armed groups in Iraq that united in 2014 in cooperation with the government in order to defeat IS. Officially, the organization is under the control of the Prime-Minister (PM). In reality, however, it has retained operational and administrative independence, often directly ignoring orders from the PM and even attacking foreign forces in Iraq and the region. This thesis addresses the question of how the PMF has been able to retain much of its independence throughout the six years of its existence, in which the government has often attempted to rein it in. It also considers the implications of the PMF’s independence for the notion of the sovereignty of the Iraqi government. It finds that the PMF is not a singular organization, but rather a collective of independent groups that vie with each other for funding, influence, and power. The key grouping within the PMF is that of the Iranian-backed Hashd. Many other PMF groups rely on this alliance because of its control of the PMF’s central administration, which distributes funding. Iran and its allies in Iraq benefit from the PMF’s independence from potentially anti-Iranian PMs, and the cover and plausible deniability that the lack of oversight grants them. This is abetted by the support the PMF enjoys in the Iraqi parliament through its own presence there, and through political opportunists or pro-Iranian ideologues. The PMF uses its military, social, and political power to actively undermine the government in different ways. Iraq’s security sector can only properly be understood as an ‘armed political order’ in which different actors and groupings continuously vie for influence in violent and non-violent ways. The office of the PM is one venue for contestation, and the person of the PM only one of its actors. Coercive organizations of all sorts participate in this contestation. An anti-governmental Hashd group is not inherently different in this regard than a unit of the Iraqi Army. Its position is different because of the different structural constraints on both groups, and their alignment towards the government. The competition between the different Hashd groups and the recent protests which led to the appointment of PM al-Kadhimi indicate that no one – including the pro-Iranian camp – is truly dominant in the Iraqi armed order.Show less
This thesis aims to answer the question on why did the United States use private military contractors in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. It approaches the advantages and downsides of using PMCs in...Show moreThis thesis aims to answer the question on why did the United States use private military contractors in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. It approaches the advantages and downsides of using PMCs in times of war through the political and economic framework. It engages with several literatures re-assessing the role of PMCs in Iraq. Regarding the economic approach, it targets the cost and logistical benefits of contracting these firms through over-outsourcing, intelligence and logistics, additional costs and expenses, and the differentiation between private and conventional military operators. Furthermore, the focus of this paper is also to analyze whereas PMCs have a political mean. Thus, it explores the concept of depoliticization of war, lobbying and market adaptation and military independence. This paper concludes PMCs were crucial in Iraq to sustain United States military actions. It provided men power, vital logistics and intelligence. However, it was not effectively monitored and appeared to drain many unnecessary ressources. It questions also the role of the U.S government regarding the way it wages war and answer to its citizens.Show less
This thesis seeks to explore and understand the manner in which elite actors in Iraq constructed the sectarian violence in 2006 between the Shia and Sunni communities. To comprehensively analyse...Show moreThis thesis seeks to explore and understand the manner in which elite actors in Iraq constructed the sectarian violence in 2006 between the Shia and Sunni communities. To comprehensively analyse this period, this paper will make use of Dexter and Jackson's framework "the Social Construction of Organised Political Violence". It will show how elites – called agents of political violence – used specific discourses and discursive sites to bring about the conditions necessary for political sectarian violence. However, this paper also argues that one cannot understand the sectarian violence in 2006 outside of the context of the U.S' invasion and subsequent occupation.Show less
By using theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis aims to determine how potential Iranian soft power in Iraq has become realized soft power. Two separate areas which can be considered causes of...Show moreBy using theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis aims to determine how potential Iranian soft power in Iraq has become realized soft power. Two separate areas which can be considered causes of Iranian soft power in Iraq have been analysed: Iraqi medical tourism in Iran and Iranian investments in Iraqi infrastructure.Show less
This paper seeks to aid in the accountability process for private military and security companies by providing clarity as to whom these companies should be rendered accountable. The dissertation...Show moreThis paper seeks to aid in the accountability process for private military and security companies by providing clarity as to whom these companies should be rendered accountable. The dissertation makes use of an adapted version of Bovens’ Framework for Accountability, incorporating five different forms of accountability – political, legal, professional, social, and economic. Through the application of this framework onto two case studies of Wagner Group in Syria and Blackwater USA in Iraq, it is evident that the use of limited accountability through only one or two forms of accountability is insufficient. It was found that in order for PMSCs to be rendered accountable to an unbiased independent body as suggested by this author, all forms of accountability should be used simultaneously. This paper further examines reiterating the importance of the oft-neglected social accountability, and how the role of morality at the human and public opinion level can shape the way in which regulatory measures apply. Through these findings, this thesis recommends the implementation of a series of new legislative measures, which utilise a multi-pronged approach incorporating not only legal methods, but social, political, professional, and economic measuresShow less
The attacks of the Islamic State to cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq have been described by UNESCO and other international organizations as a strategy of "cultural cleansing". However, the...Show moreThe attacks of the Islamic State to cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq have been described by UNESCO and other international organizations as a strategy of "cultural cleansing". However, the concept was rejected multiple times in the framework of international law, and now amounts to a groundless menace, incapable of generating consequences for the perpetrators. This thesis uses critical concept analysis to understand why international organizations keep using the concept "cultural cleansing" despite its recurrent exclusion from international law, and what consequences this concept encompasses.Show less
This thesis seeks to give a more accurate account as to why al-Qaeda and the Islamic State broke off ties amid the Syrian civil war in 2014. To answer this question this thesis mainly draws on...Show moreThis thesis seeks to give a more accurate account as to why al-Qaeda and the Islamic State broke off ties amid the Syrian civil war in 2014. To answer this question this thesis mainly draws on theories about cooperation and competition between terrorist organisations. A study of the effects of these types of relationships, as well as a thorough account of the events leading up to the break in 2014, has furthermore given an insight into this difficult relationship. The thesis introduces the notion of a competitive alliance, combining competitive and cooperative aspects, to make sense of this divorce.Show less
The number of residents of Nordic countries, who have joined the contemporary conflicts of Iraq and Syria as foreign fighters, is high in relation to their populations. While most of these...Show moreThe number of residents of Nordic countries, who have joined the contemporary conflicts of Iraq and Syria as foreign fighters, is high in relation to their populations. While most of these individuals have indeed travelled to the conflict zones to become foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS or other Islamist groups, there are also Nordic residents who have joined factions fighting against the Islamists. This thesis studies the background factors and motivational reasons in becoming a foreign fighter of 26 individuals from Nordic countries in Kurdish factions in the conflicts of Iraq and Syria, combining both primary and secondary sources in the research and linking the findings of the research into existing literature in the emerging field of foreign fighter studies.Show less
