Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
open access
Quasi states and their interaction within the international system remain chronically understudied. To date, Kosovo is the only recent example of a former quasi-state that has managed to proclaim...Show moreQuasi states and their interaction within the international system remain chronically understudied. To date, Kosovo is the only recent example of a former quasi-state that has managed to proclaim independence and be internationally recognized afterwards. While displaying similar characteristics, Nagorno-Karabakh remains unrecognized. United by their nonrecognition, quasi states frequently rely on diplomacy by diasporas for their advocacy and representation. This thesis therefore aims to investigate where this different outcome in terms of diaspora diplomacy originates. Using the concepts of diaspora positionality and diaspora mobilization for an interpretive comparison between Albanian diaspora diplomacy for Kosovo and Armenian diaspora diplomacy for Nagorno-Karabakh in American and European host-state contexts, this research finds that for the Armenian diaspora genocide recognition took precedence over Nagorno-Karabakh, while Kosovo united the Albanian diaspora as a whole which through a combination of historical factors and context awareness subsequently set in motion an irreversible process towards recognized independence. On these grounds, this thesis posits diasporas as determined diplomatic actors in their own right who can play a pivotal role in homeland recognition and therefore warrant further research.Show less
Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
open access
Consensus is an increasingly selected decision-making procedure in negotiations and institutions. As a more informal mode of negotiating and decision-making without voting, We propose a method of...Show moreConsensus is an increasingly selected decision-making procedure in negotiations and institutions. As a more informal mode of negotiating and decision-making without voting, We propose a method of coding and tracking consensus in The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the foremost global organisation tasked with managing and improving states relations in space, by using its annual reports. By building a dataset of all COPUOS reports from 1990 to 2022, we model the presence and extent of consensus over time in against other quantitative data coded within the reports. We find an increasing number of views expressed over time, with the attainment of consensus mostly attributable to the substantive topic discussed. We also notice that factors related to less frequent attainment of consensus are often also associated with a higher strength of consensus. Non-state actors and developing countries are in some cases associated with increased attainment and strength of consensus.Show less
