The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC, 2004) is the only legally binding instrument committed to fighting corruption worldwide, a practice that corrodes and democratic values....Show moreThe United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC, 2004) is the only legally binding instrument committed to fighting corruption worldwide, a practice that corrodes and democratic values. Previous research into corruption has mainly focused on defining corruption and the consequences of corruption. This field has broadly overlooked the relationship between political corruption and armed conflict onset, which is this thesis’ focus. The theory is built on separate fields of study often studied in isolation; the consequences of corruption and the causes of armed conflict onset. Compared to previous research, this research has a more comprehensive approach, by incorporating insights of multiple theories, exploring the positive and negative direct effects of political corruption on conflict onset, and by including a large timeframe and data for 205 countries. Using a logit model on data from 1984 to 2017, this thesis finds that political corruption increases the chances of armed conflict onset. Unequal distribution of resources, rights and freedoms may lead to conflict as marginalised groups experience grievances. Political corruption also damages political trust which results in pressures on state legitimacy. Governments, perceived less legitimate, may find it hard to mediate between competing groups which increases the chance of armed conflict onset.Show less
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains unresolved for more than three decades. Previous studies on frozen conflicts focus on various aspects contributing to their...Show moreThe Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains unresolved for more than three decades. Previous studies on frozen conflicts focus on various aspects contributing to their prolongation but largely neglected the influence of public opinion. However, existing studies on the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy argue that public preferences and attitudes may have a significant impact on elites’ decisions concerning conflicts’ development and resolution talks. In this thesis, I argue that studying public opinion in Armenia and Azerbaijan towards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can have wide-ranging implications for our understanding of frozen conflicts duration. The analysis shows that negative public opinion has a profound effect on the conflict prolongation, both directly and indirectly. Directly, by constraining policy-makers in their attempts to resolve the conflict and indirectly by providing the elites with incentives to perpetuate the conflict .Show less
How a state responds to protests can have profound consequences, since the violent repression of protests may cause an escalation into armed conflict and diffusion to neighboring countries. State...Show moreHow a state responds to protests can have profound consequences, since the violent repression of protests may cause an escalation into armed conflict and diffusion to neighboring countries. State violence against protesters is an important topic of research, considering its potential to result in many civilian deaths. Even so, the literature on state repression and dissent does not explain variations in the lethality of state violence against protesters. Instead, existing studies only differentiate between violent and non-violent state responses to protests. I address this shortcoming by testing the theory that the lethality of state violence is influenced by protestergenerated concession costs. To examine my argument, I analyze state responses to Iranian protest events in 2009 and 2019. In 2019, state violence against protesters was significantly more lethal than in 2009. I compare both events using a process tracing method. The analysis shows that in 2019, protester demands were more radical and more recurrent, and protesters were more violent. This confirms that concession costs influence the lethality of state violence against protesters. These results provide substantial insights into the dynamics of protests and repression, which are useful for scholars, activists, and policy makers.Show less
