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
Since the 2008 financial crisis, US hegemony has been challenged increasingly by rising and reemerging powers such as China and Russia. Former US president Barack Obama and his successor Donald...Show moreSince the 2008 financial crisis, US hegemony has been challenged increasingly by rising and reemerging powers such as China and Russia. Former US president Barack Obama and his successor Donald Trump have approached this competition for global dominance in distinctly different ways. This thesis examines the state of transatlantic relations under both the Obama and Trump administration, in order to draw conclusions on the presidents’ respective impact on US hegemony. Both presidents’ transatlantic foreign policies are analysed at the hand of three criteria. These criteria have been derived from John Ikenberry’s five convictions of liberal internationalism. The assessment of Obama and Trump’s respective foreign policies leads to a final conclusion which ultimately favors the prior’s approach over the latter’s.Show less
Why did the use of drone strikes increase during the first term of the Obama administration? During his presidential campaign Barrack Obama called for a military withdrawal from Iraq, the end of...Show moreWhy did the use of drone strikes increase during the first term of the Obama administration? During his presidential campaign Barrack Obama called for a military withdrawal from Iraq, the end of torture and indefinite detention of suspected terrorists and the closing of Guantanamo Bay. For these reasons, many believed that Obama intended to end the War on Terror begun by the Bush administration after the attacks on 9/11. Contradicting this expectation, the number of US drone strikes used to counter terrorism increased drastically during Obama's first term as president. This research seeks to identify the causal factors for the proliferation of drone strikes by explaining how it fits into the broader context of the continuation of the War on Terror during Obama’s first term. Firstly, it is argued that Obama was trapped in the War on Terror. Secondly, it is argued that the use of drone strikes increased because the Obama administration sought to reduce public disapproval of War on Terror policies, while continuing war efforts.Show less
In this thesis, the relationship between the U.S. and Iran will be researched, focusing on trade between the two countries, U.S. interests in the region and Iran's nuclear program, following a time...Show moreIn this thesis, the relationship between the U.S. and Iran will be researched, focusing on trade between the two countries, U.S. interests in the region and Iran's nuclear program, following a time line from Iran's Revolution in 1979 until recent times and uses the Groupthink and Polythink theories to explain and show hostility in the bilateral relationship.Show less
For this bachelor thesis, I have done research on the subject of the role of Hollywood in US soft power in relation to the fight against Islamic extremist terrorism. The research question I have...Show moreFor this bachelor thesis, I have done research on the subject of the role of Hollywood in US soft power in relation to the fight against Islamic extremist terrorism. The research question I have posed is: ‘Has Hollywood been a tool for North American soft power by contributing to the creation of a Western imagined community against Islamic extremist terrorism since 9/11? If so, how?’. In order to answer this question, I have done qualitative research using a scene from the movie American Sniper and a scene from the movie Lone Survivor which served as case studies. To provide a guiding tool, for each scene I have posed the questions ‘How is the ‘westerner’ portrayed?’, ‘How is the ‘Arab portrayed?’, and ‘Does the scene accord to the biographic book?’. In order to provide answers to these questions, I have used the handbook ‘Film Narratology’ by Peter Verstraten to examine the implicit content of the scenes, the scripts of the movies to support analysis of the explicit content of the scenes, and the biographic books on which the movies were based to check whether the scenes accord to these books. Subsequently, used the concepts of culture and cultural hegemony, soft power, and orientalism to ascribe meaning to the outcomes of the analyses. As a result from these analyses and the application of the concepts, I have found that in both scenes the ‘westerner’ is portrayed as heroic and righteous, while the ‘Arab’ is mostly portrayed as savage, hostile and rogue which is showing that both movies have an Orientalist character. Also, resulting from these analyses I can state that the scenes culturally manipulate and influence the viewers perceptions of the ‘Arab’ and the ‘westerner’, which means that it is contributing to US’ story which is projected to the rest of the world to ‘sell itself’ with the goal to attract other people and states to be on the same page with the US. With these results I have provided with an answer to the research question, which reads that Hollywood has been a tool for US soft power by contributing to the creation of a Western community against Islamic extremist terrorism, albeit unwittingly. This is done by employing Hollywood’s prominent and influential status which makes it possible to manipulate the movies’ watchers into developing a perception of Islamic terrorists as rogue and savage as opposed to heroic and righteous US soldiers. Still, what could be considered as shortcomings of this research are its sensitiveness to time, place and interpretation, and the small amount of analyzed scenes. In order to resolve this in a more extensive research, I firstly recommend to do a comparison with results of analyses on movies within another time frame or from another country. Secondly, I recommend to use diverse means of interpretation. Lastly, I recommend to analyze more scenes or even entire movies to be able to make a more solid argument.Show less
Has the internet, and in particular social media, increased political polarization in presidential elections in the United States? Political polarization has been increasing in recent years....Show moreHas the internet, and in particular social media, increased political polarization in presidential elections in the United States? Political polarization has been increasing in recent years. Ideological polarization is mainly caused by elite polarization and partisan media. In periods of presidential elections, however, social media plays a big role in influencing the public via candidate’s online campaigns but also via online activity of partisan media. The factor of engagement and the ability to create a partisan “echo chamber” on online platforms are reasons why social media has an impact on the electorate. This thesis finds that the internet and social media have had a noticeable impact on political polarization in presidential elections in the United States, but are not a sole or main cause of the increase.Show less
The Individual Mandate is a provision within the Affordable Care Act which makes it so, that if one does not have healthcare insurance, one would have to pay a penalty. Ever since its conception,...Show moreThe Individual Mandate is a provision within the Affordable Care Act which makes it so, that if one does not have healthcare insurance, one would have to pay a penalty. Ever since its conception, the Individual Mandate has been a contentious and controversial topic, with many calling for a repeal. While the literature concerning the coverage expansion of the Affordable Care Act points out different problems within the act, the literature is generally positive about the increased coverage expansion caused by the act. The literature concerning the effectiveness of the Individual Mandate however, is scarce. Through both quantitative and qualitative research, this thesis examines the Individual Mandate in three ways in order to assess its effectiveness as a policy: Affordability, Health Outcomes and Insurance Customisation. Upon examining the effectiveness of the Individual Mandate in these three ways, it has become clear, that the Individual Mandate is an effective policy overall and specifically in terms of affordability and health outcomes, while its effect on insurance customisation is more contentious.Show less
