Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
closed access
This thesis assesses the notion that liberal democracies make inherently poor counterinsurgents by conducting a most similar case comparison of the Algerian War (1954- 1962) and the Second Chechen...Show moreThis thesis assesses the notion that liberal democracies make inherently poor counterinsurgents by conducting a most similar case comparison of the Algerian War (1954- 1962) and the Second Chechen War (1999-2009). By comparing two cases where prominent variables were common, other than regime type and case outcome, this paper was able to determine that regime type does matter in small wars. Although both counterinsurgents were able to achieve military success through brutality, regime type was ultimately consequential to the outcomes of the small wars. Whereas the more authoritarian state (Russia) was relatively unimpeded in its war effort, the democratic state (France) ultimately lost the war due to the freedom of the media and its democratic institutions. In France, the media exposed the barbarisms of the army, generating condemnation at both domestic and international levels. This opposition to the war effort would prove insurmountable to the democratic state. Through coercion, France sought to suppress domestic criticism, but in doing so, eroded the democratic virtue of the state. Ultimately faced with the option of either preserving democracy or maintaining the brutal, but effective, counterinsurgency, France capitulated, ending its colonial rule in Algeria. Russia, on the other hand, was never held accountable due to an aggressive information operations campaign that precluded the war effort from becoming a prominent public issue. As the suppression of public criticism is unavailable to democratic states, democracies are found to be inherently less proficient at counterinsurgency.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
This thesis examines the possibility of international organisations exhibiting a degree of autonomous behaviour in the area of LGBT rights. It looks at three international organisations: the United...Show moreThis thesis examines the possibility of international organisations exhibiting a degree of autonomous behaviour in the area of LGBT rights. It looks at three international organisations: the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe and how they respond to their given mandate and pressure from Member States in implementing their LGBT policies. It finds that, sometimes despite a lack of consensus, they have adopted LBGT policies. People in leadership positions within the organisations in particular have played an important advocacy role, thereby demonstrating a degree of autonomous behaviour.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Immigration in the European Union is a highly complex and complicated phenomenon. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in immigration from Third Country Nationals (TCNs). Immigration...Show moreImmigration in the European Union is a highly complex and complicated phenomenon. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in immigration from Third Country Nationals (TCNs). Immigration features in a very high position on the political and economic agendas of the European Union. It is an issue that is complicated by the recent economic recession in the EU and questions relating to integration. Cyprus, a full EU member since 2004, is one of various EU countries which are in deep recession and which have experienced incremental immigration over the last ten years. Rapid development on the island meant a steady increase in legal economic immigration. At the same time, as a Mediterranean island, located near North Africa and with ‘open’ borders, Cyprus is also a prime destination for illegal migratory streams. The regulation of legal migration so as to comply with international and European standards and the safeguarding of human rights for legal and illegal immigrants likewise are two of the most significant challenges Cyprus is facing at the moment. Ever since its accession to the EU in 2004, a lot of changes have been in regards to the migration policy of the country have been implemented, and new integration measures have been taken. As a relatively new European Union member country, the case of Cyprus is relevant to other recent members states.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Ideational factors, which range from democracy to human rights, from sustainable peace to multilateralism, have long played an important role in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policies toward...Show moreIdeational factors, which range from democracy to human rights, from sustainable peace to multilateralism, have long played an important role in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policies toward China, with a wide range of issues that could be found in recent decades such as the arms embargo, resolutions critical of China’s human rights in United Nations Commission of Human Rights (UNCHR), and many other fields in EU-China relations. Despite the significance of ideational factors, it is tempting but premature to conclude that the EU’s external policies towards China have been dominated by normative power. The policy preference of the EU towards China is affected by the role of institutions in facilitating the emergence of a sense of community based on shared norms, interests and a common identity. Yet EU positions, decision and actions in the world are produced as the result of often complex interactions in a multi-level system, involving the member states singly and collectively, as well as the common institutions. Would such complex interactions bring some kind of convergence in a normative European policy towards China? How does China respond to the emergence of ideational factors in bilateral relations? Does China see the EU as a normative power? Thus, social constructivist tools should be applied to analyze the emergence of ideational factors as a consequence of both internal interaction within the EU and external interaction between Europe and China. This study focues on the notion of Normative Power Europe (NPE) by examining the role of ideational factors in EU’s foreign and security policies toward China, as well as China’s perception of EU’s promotions and pressures in these values through case studies. More specifically, the study is a two-step process. The first stage is to explore the different goals of multiple European actors and how these goals interact with normative factors in shaping their foreign policy towards China. In this stage, analytical target is not restricted to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) or European Commission (EC) level, but takes into account member states’ positions and foreign policies toward China. In the second stage, China’s perception of Europe’s normative driven policies will be introduced, by looking into the response of Beijing and relevant literature. This research attempts to explain the lack of a normative convergence in EU and reveal China’s perception in EU’s normative power.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
2012-07-30T00:00:00Z
This thesis investigates the role of new media on the revolutionary movement(s) in Egypt. Investigated time spam is the birth of the first small revolutionary movements in 2004 – when the...Show moreThis thesis investigates the role of new media on the revolutionary movement(s) in Egypt. Investigated time spam is the birth of the first small revolutionary movements in 2004 – when the revolutionary spark of the Colored Revolutions of Eastern Europe first crossed the Mediterranean Sea – till the historic “18 days” of 2011 which resulted in former president Hosni Mubarak resigning from office. Central argument is that the so-called "New Media" – i.e. pan-Arab satellite-TV and social media – represent but also contribute to and facilitate these social developments. Al-Jazeera and other pan-Arab satellite-TV channels have changed the way the Arab public view social and political events in their own region and have given them a voice of their own. These channels provide digital activists with a platform and break through the monopoly of state-controlled news. New Media played an indispensable role in connecting people and places, transforming loose activists into organized groups, and finally bringing the masses to the streets resulting eventually in the fall of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak. This research is a cross-over of several fields of study including political science, communication studies and international relations. Itapplies political theories on social movements (Tilly et al) and modular revolutions (Beissinger et al), as well as Katz and Lazarsfield’s theory on the two-step process of opinion formation and several theories on media and democratization.Show less
