This thesis investigates how the German Federal Government lives up to its normative and international commitments and initiatives to harmonize arms export controls. By analyzing existing data from...Show moreThis thesis investigates how the German Federal Government lives up to its normative and international commitments and initiatives to harmonize arms export controls. By analyzing existing data from the Federal Government’s yearly reports on its policy on exports of conventional military equipment and applying the International Relations Theories of Neorealism and Neoliberalism, it highlights the inseparability of arms export policy frameworks and foreign and security policy interests in the case of Germany. Furthermore, this thesis calls attention to the hierarchical structure that exists within this inseparability where the country’s arms export policy framework is given a secondary role to its foreign and security interests.Show less
This thesis explains the arms export control in EU Member States after the establishment of the European Code of Conduct (ECC)’s criteria, where the need to protect human rights is incorporated as...Show moreThis thesis explains the arms export control in EU Member States after the establishment of the European Code of Conduct (ECC)’s criteria, where the need to protect human rights is incorporated as one of its criteria. This thesis shows that, although EU Member States should only control their arms exports using the ECC’s criteria, the result of the controls on the exports of arms to third countries considered as human rights perpetrators in different Member States is not harmonized. This is because national parliament of each EU Member State might approve the exports of arms in their countries based on different reasons. Parliaments in the Member States that have more respect to human rights, like the Netherlands, can prevent their governments from granting the permits to the exports that carry risk of violation of human rights. The parliaments in the Member States that have less respect on human rights can still allow their governments to grant the permit for such exports because for them export revenues and bilateral relationship might be more important than human rights. This thesis shows that the national parliaments can control the exports of arms in their countries and prevent their governments from granting the permits to the exports that do not satisfy their wishes.Show less
