Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The so-called ‘Pacific Century’ has inspired a new wave of literature on the impact of the rise of China on existent trends of Geopolitics, Development and Global Governance. In no place has this...Show moreThe so-called ‘Pacific Century’ has inspired a new wave of literature on the impact of the rise of China on existent trends of Geopolitics, Development and Global Governance. In no place has this been more apparent than in sub-Saharan Africa, a region previously dominated by Western influence and norms. This thesis examines the implications of the pursuit of interests by the EU and China on Sovereignty since the turn of the century, focusing on the case of Nigeria. I argue that whereas the EU considers sovereignty to be ‘subjective’ to internal legitimacy, China adopts a ‘defensive’ stance on the norm. These positions are the result of each actor’s respective interests in resource accumulation, economic growth and diplomatic support. Using process tracing, I show how the pursuit of interests by the EU and China result in both direct and indirect impacts on Sovereignty in Nigeria. Whereas most scholars of International Relations focus on direct breeches of sovereignty in the case of international intervention in state affairs, I have developed the concept of indirect breeches of Sovereignty to incorporate cases in which internal state affairs are influenced, for example through the support of a particular regime type that does not necessarily hold internal legitimacy. This concept has important implications for the potential for collective bargaining between states and the ability to determine the amount of influence of external states in cases of Political-Economic diversity.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
This thesis examines the impact of the European Union (EU) on the fight against high-level political corruption in Bulgaria and Romania from 2007 to 2013. Rather than being the result of internal...Show moreThis thesis examines the impact of the European Union (EU) on the fight against high-level political corruption in Bulgaria and Romania from 2007 to 2013. Rather than being the result of internal historical or cultural processes, I argue – in line with the theory of Europeanization – that the fight against corruption in these two countries is driven by the adaptational pressure exerted by the EU on the relevant national political actors (governments and parliaments). Using process-tracing, I show how this pressure wielded principally by the Commission via the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) and reinforced by some Member States through Schengen-membership conditionality leads to concrete legal and institutional reforms facilitating the control of high-level corruption. In particular, I find that when the Commission resorts to negative incentives (high adaptational pressure) domestic political will to adopt the desired changes increases correspondingly. Overall, I evaluate the CVM as an effective EU tool for tackling corruption in Bulgaria and Romania and I consequently recommend the implementation of a supranational monitoring system of this kind on a universal basis as to provide better guarantees that the fundamental values and principles of the EU are observed across all Member States at all times.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
An investigation into whether or not the economic success of the past 20 years for the BRICS can be attributed to the implementation of sustainable development. It is found that this is not the...Show moreAn investigation into whether or not the economic success of the past 20 years for the BRICS can be attributed to the implementation of sustainable development. It is found that this is not the case but neither was the growth due to the creation of a pollution haven.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
closed access
The interaction of security and defence policy in United Kingdom has a distinct relationship. The relationship in this study was checked in the post-war stages of Iraq. The research found...Show moreThe interaction of security and defence policy in United Kingdom has a distinct relationship. The relationship in this study was checked in the post-war stages of Iraq. The research found interesting results on the interaction of policy and press. The nature of British press determines to a level the type of interaction between the two components. A combination of Hallin and Robinson’s theoretical framework was used to describe the interaction between news reporting and British defence and security policy in 2008. The empirical analysis found that the interaction in the entire period of analysis was in the level of policy dissent between the sub-systems and more specifically the political elite. The research also sought to find circumstances under which press attention to an issue such as defence and security policy would be amplified.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
Trans-boundary rivers are shared by multiple sovereign states, creating conflicting demands on the river’s resources and further complicating already difficult political legacies. This combination...Show moreTrans-boundary rivers are shared by multiple sovereign states, creating conflicting demands on the river’s resources and further complicating already difficult political legacies. This combination hinders cooperation over the communal resource and makes trans-boundary river basins areas of conflict. To resolve such conflicts, the involvement of a third party mediator with the capabilities to offer incentives to reluctant riparians, coupled with the creation of a management institution to address conflicts as they arise, offers the best means of addressing both the short term issues of getting states to agree to a cooperative arrangement for the river and the long term commitment problems that would lead states to renege on the agreement. This thesis will explore the utility of the combined short and long-term approach to mediate trans-boundary river conflicts by examining the mediation and resolution of the Indus River conflict between India and Pakistan. The lessons learned are then used to investigate the unresolved conflict between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq over the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and offer ways of managing the conflict.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
States can choose to cooperate, delay or escalate their territorial disputes, but there is a lack of understanding of strategy behind each choice. In this study, Russian territorial disputes are...Show moreStates can choose to cooperate, delay or escalate their territorial disputes, but there is a lack of understanding of strategy behind each choice. In this study, Russian territorial disputes are looked at using the theory of omnibalancing and the theory of preventive warfare, theories which have already been applied by Taylor Fravel in his analysis of the Chinese territorial disputes. The results of this research show that Fravel’s approach can explain a slight majority of Russia’s cases, but the explanatory power could be increased by changing certain premises of his theory.Show less
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)
closed access
When people look back at the 21st century they will undoubtedly characterize China’s rise as one of the major events. As the country ascends to a great power status, its regional and international...Show moreWhen people look back at the 21st century they will undoubtedly characterize China’s rise as one of the major events. As the country ascends to a great power status, its regional and international counterparts observe how Beijing will project its power. The East Asian neighboring states have been tenser because of their ongoing maritime territorial disputes with China. Multiple diplomatic episodes from the mid-2000s until today in the East and South China Seas and demonstrations of Chinese assertiveness in pursuing its national claims have been at the heart of regional tension and instability. In this context, the present thesis poses the following research question: Which factors explain China’s assertive behavior in the East and South China Seas? My main argument is that China’s assertiveness is due primarily to three factors, which are: Beijing’s reactions to other states’ actions, Chinese popular nationalism demand for a stronger external presence and its growing necessity to acquire natural resources and safeguard national transportation corridors. In order to examine the effects of these three factors I have undertaken two case studies, namely the case of Japan and the East China Sea contention and the case of the Philippines and the South China Sea contention.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
This study analyzes debates conducted at the Finnish parliament between the years 2001 and 2011 to find out key causal mechanisms that impacted Finland‟s decision to join the Ottawa Convention...Show moreThis study analyzes debates conducted at the Finnish parliament between the years 2001 and 2011 to find out key causal mechanisms that impacted Finland‟s decision to join the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines in 2012. The study found empirical support for both constitutive and constraining effects which were necessary but not alone sufficient conditions for the decision. Without the left wing parties being receptive to moral persuasion there would not have been enough political will to push the issue forward and without peer pressure stemming from other countries and the ability of international institutions to lock in domestic decisions it is highly unlikely that the right wing parties would have yielded to accept the treaty. In the absence of the latter two, the right wing parties would not have been able to justify the accession decision.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
While in past, most studies have taken self-determination movements as unitary actors, recent research has shown that many movements striving for self-governance are highly fragmented. Taking this...Show moreWhile in past, most studies have taken self-determination movements as unitary actors, recent research has shown that many movements striving for self-governance are highly fragmented. Taking this as a starting point, this thesis offers an alternative explanation of state’s decision making process in complex situations as active intra-state conflicts. By facing the factions of the self-determination movement, states have to endure great levels of violence and pressures. These push the ‘rational’ state to a take a decision. Through an analysis of the Tamil and Jumma movement in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively, this study outlines the dynamics of group fragmentation and addresses its overall implications.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Why is it that some separatist movements remain united while others fragment into competing factions? While one would expect supporters of a separatist movement to be united in the struggle against...Show moreWhy is it that some separatist movements remain united while others fragment into competing factions? While one would expect supporters of a separatist movement to be united in the struggle against their common enemy, the state, recent literature has shown that they often spend valuable time and resources on internal rivalries – yet little research has been done to explain this phenomenon. Based on a comparison of the cases of the Armenians in Azerbaijan, the Chechens in Russia, and the Abkhaz in their struggle with Georgia, this thesis shows that the ability of the separatist movement to establish institutions capable of providing effective governance is essential in understanding processes of cohesion and fragmentation. It further illustrates that the strength of the incumbent state as well as the amount of external support a separatist movement receives play into these processes in important ways. Future research will have to show whether these variables hold the same explanatory power in other contexts.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
What factors ensure the success of an international mediation effort in an intractable conflict? Academics and practitioners remain divided on the issue, with previous research offering many and...Show moreWhat factors ensure the success of an international mediation effort in an intractable conflict? Academics and practitioners remain divided on the issue, with previous research offering many and varied explanations. Existing studies have focused on the conflict’s intensity, the nature of the issues, the parties’ motivation to mediate, and the international context in order to understand the causes of a successful mediation. This research employs a framework incorporating contextual, behavioural, and procedural factors in order to determine the explanatory value of (a) the timing of a third-party’s entry into the conflict, (b) mediator impartiality and (c) legitimacy, and (d) the mediator’s strategy in two cases of international mediation in intractable conflicts. Through an in-depth analysis of Northern Ireland and Kosovo, this thesis argues that Northern Ireland’s successful mediation experience may be attributed to propitious timing and the presence of an impartial and legitimate mediator. Similarly, the failure of the mediation effort in Kosovo may have resulted from a combination of inauspicious timing and the presence of a mediator who was perceived by one of the negotiating parties as biased and illegitimate. While mediation is not necessarily a panacea for all conflicts, an understanding of which conditions lead to mediation success will aid practitioners in future mediation efforts.Show less
