The United Nations’ peacekeeping missions has had its legitimacy and effectiveness hindered by the prevalent allegations against peacekeepers for committing sexual assault during the field missions...Show moreThe United Nations’ peacekeeping missions has had its legitimacy and effectiveness hindered by the prevalent allegations against peacekeepers for committing sexual assault during the field missions. The re-integration of the victim into the society is crucial for the success of the mission. Therefore, the UN is expected to provide services that assist the psychological treatment of victims of sexual assault conducted by its peacekeepers. The current paper refines and tests Neville and Heppner’s (1999) Culturally Inclusive Ecological Model of Sexual Assault Recovery, a tool that considers macro, meso, and microsystem variables to explain the outcome of victims’ psychological treatment. This tool was used as a ‘checklist’ to evaluate the effectiveness of the services provided to the victims of sexual assault by peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Significant organizations’ reports and scientific articles were analyzed to answer the research question.Show less
Media has often been neglected as a potential asset for peacebuilding due to certain framing tendencies which are deemed to promote polarization and conflict, namely partiality, sensationalism and...Show moreMedia has often been neglected as a potential asset for peacebuilding due to certain framing tendencies which are deemed to promote polarization and conflict, namely partiality, sensationalism and simplification. Combining framing and reconciliation theories, this thesis explores whether this is indeed the case for Colombia’s reconciliation process following their 50-year long civil war. This qualitative content analysis demonstrates the capability of mainstream media to act as a friend for peace, choosing to employ the abovementioned techniques in manners that actually promote truth-telling, rule of law, and the development of mutual understanding and respect. A sole major pitfall is identified in the newspapers’ reporting approach, as they often overlook the importance of relating current developments to the root causes of the conflict. The consequent limitation of their truth-telling function produces spill-overs to other reconciliation aspects, thereby partially restricting the otherwise positive impact of media. Overall, this thesis challenges conventional narratives depicting media framing tendencies as inherently negative, and therefore opens up new possibilities for peacebuilders, transitional justice institutions, governments and the population to regard media as an ally to peace.Show less
On December 17, 2021, the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation published two draft treaties that demand various security guarantees from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the...Show moreOn December 17, 2021, the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation published two draft treaties that demand various security guarantees from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States. This meant that Russia wanted to reform the post-Cold War European security architecture. Upon the rejection of these proposals, Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Despite extensive scholarly research on Russia’s stance regarding European security, the debate revolves around realist and neo-realist perspectives which are not sufficient in comprehending the fundamental reasons behind why Russia wants to do so. For that reason, this thesis introduces a new theoretical approach called the ontological security theory. By adopting a post-structuralist methodology and discourse analysis, it argues that Moscow feels ontologically insecure due to the divergence between Moscow’s identity and its role in the post-Cold War European security architecture. Therefore, Russia sets its foreign policy for the “recognition” of its Self by the West, which is necessary for ontological security. The findings of this thesis also reveal the significance of identity in international relations and politics, as it brings alternative explanations to arguments put forward by grand IR theories regarding a phenomenon.Show less
The positive and negative impacts of democratization processes on long-term peacebuilding in post-conflict societies has not yet been studied enough. Through a comparative case studies of two...Show moreThe positive and negative impacts of democratization processes on long-term peacebuilding in post-conflict societies has not yet been studied enough. Through a comparative case studies of two former Yugoslav nations, Croatia and Bosnia, this paper argues that while democratization processes can be good for stability, they must consider the long-term as well as the pre-existing local communities and structures of a society in a post- conflict context, for peacebuilding efforts to be successful in the long term.Show less
This thesis compares the effects of NATO’s out-of-area operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan to analyze what effect geographical distance of operations have on Alliance Cohesion through the method...Show moreThis thesis compares the effects of NATO’s out-of-area operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan to analyze what effect geographical distance of operations have on Alliance Cohesion through the method of process tracing. Mainly because of the current geopolitical shift, it is important to evaluate what NATO should look out for policy-wise moving forward. The main variable of analysis in this was the changing threat-perception of the five largest contributors to both operations. The threat-perception was determined by analyzing national security reports and other primary sources from the countries involved in the analysis, focusing on elite-level policy making. What was found in the comparison was the threat-perceptions of all analyzed states were more aligned in the operations in Kosovo, while the lack of regional/national interests for the analyzed states in Afghanistan made it hard for the states to securitize the operations, damaging Alliance Cohesion. National interests and geopolitical interests were combined in the case of Kosovo, and led to the same end-goal. Meanwhile the operations in Afghanistan led to a larger discrepancy between national interests and geopolitical interests, making Alliance commitment tougher to define, and follow through on.Show less
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) are on their way to becoming the next step in the evolution of warfare and power projection. As the increasing proliferation of armed drones in recent years...Show moreUnmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) are on their way to becoming the next step in the evolution of warfare and power projection. As the increasing proliferation of armed drones in recent years suggests, UCAVs are starting to replace the conventional military units and introduce new dimensions to armed conflicts. This study seeks to understand how these new capabilities shape the foreign policy behavior of states. By introducing three causal mechanisms, namely cost efficiency, operational and strategic superiority, and risk reduction, the study suggests that some unique characteristics of UCAVs have profound effects on state behavior. With a focus on the case of Turkey, the study concludes that the introduction of the armed drones to the Turkish national inventory played a major role in the reorientation and paradigm change of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) after 2016.Show less
