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Women's peacebuilding civil society organisations and empowerment: A case Study of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Novotná, Zuzana ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Aslan, Emil (referee)
Women are underrepresented in politics and rarely included in official peace processes, therefore, they often mobilise in civil society. Moreover, the political empowerment of women continues to be understudied. The thesis looks into how women's peacebuilding civil society organisations engage in the political empowerment of women. To finds answers to the research question, five women's peacebuilding civil society organisations based in Bosnia and Herzegovina were analysed through a conceptual framework of political empowerment. The organisations share the ideas of pacifism and gender equality. The research concludes that they engage in all dimensions of the conceptual framework but most significantly aim at increasing women's agency. The organisations provide women with a safe space to use their voices, share experiences, and create momentum. All the studied organisations fight gender-based violence and provide legal assistance to women. Membership in different networks and initiatives was identified as an important asset. The activities aiming at political empowerment and not directly stating the objective of peacebuilding can be perceived as such due to the positive link between gender equality and sustainable peace.
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Retreat in Multiculturalism Policies? A Case Study of Sweden's Integration Policy in the Aftermath of the Migrant Crisis of 2015
Budathoki, Sunaina ; Gaynor, Niamh (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee) ; Paterson, Ian (referee)
In the last few decades, the multiculturalism backlash has manifested in Europe. Too often, the discourse on multiculturalism has been deemed a result of misguided policies. In the autumn of 2015, the entry of asylum seekers reached an unprecedented level with approximately 100,000 individuals requesting asylum in a span of just three months. As a result of the extraordinary flow of asylum seekers and insufficient domestic preparedness, Sweden implemented temporary legislation on providing permanent residence and family reunification. This change in legislation was met with vast criticism as a retreat from multiculturalism towards an assimilationist model of integration. At the same time, the far- right anti-immigration political party, the Sweden Democrats were gaining a stronger support base and changing the political landscape of the country often commended for its reception of refugees, openness and officially declared multicultural policies. Was there really a retreat in multiculturalism in Sweden as an aftermath of the Migrant Crisis? Was this retreat rhetorical and/or at a policy level as well? This research examines Sweden's integration policies post-2015 based on Stephen Castles' theoretical underpinning regarding policy reactions to immigration and an eight-part framework designed by Will...
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Pakistani Foreign Fighters in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Syria: A Comparative Analysis of Drivers of Radicalization
Rani, Mehwish ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Anceschi, Luca (referee) ; Biagini, Erika (referee)
This study compares the drivers of radicalization of Pakistani foreign fighters in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Syria. It tries to understand what unique drivers attract Pakistani foreign fighters to each of these conflict zones. It also examines the degree to which the existing literature on radicalization in general and foreign fighters in particular, mainly produced in a western context, can be used to understand the Pakistani foreign fighters. The study is based on twenty- two semi-structured interviews conducted with experts from police counter terrorism departments, journalists, researchers, senior officials from National Counter Terrorism Authority, and members of religious groups in Pakistan, which were then analysed to determine the relative significance of different drivers for Pakistani fighters travelling to Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Syria. The results show that many drivers that feature prominently in the existing radicalization literature, such as ideology, propaganda, and recruitment networks, are useful for explaining what draws Pakistani foreign fighters to particular conflicts. At the same time, however, the results of my analysis also identified several drivers that have not been highlighted in the Western literature on Muslim radicalization thus far, including geographical proximity...
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CSDP Operations in the Course of UN Peacekeeping: An Assessment of Their Impact on Mission Effectiveness
Marek, Maximilian ; Kilroy, Walt (advisor) ; Smith, David (referee) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
Examining the impact of military CSDP operations on UN peacekeeping missions, this thesis looks at their mission effectiveness through the derived factors mandate, composition of forces, support, and conflict management. The case studies of Operation Artemis (2003), EUFOR Chad/CAR (2008-2009), and EUTM Mali (from 2013 onwards) show that the impact of CSDP operations on UN peacekeeping is of limited extent. The lack of political will of influential member states within the EU as well as the UN prevent a greater impact, highlighting the vast discrepancy between the EU's potential and the actual effect of CSDP engagements in course of UN peacekeeping. Furthermore, the cases also show that CSDP operations are mostly a product of initiatives by individual member states. Only where the initiating country is sufficiently able to instrumentalise social and institutional networks, and to secure the support of the remaining member states, was the implementation of a CSDP operation actually possible. Additionally, the case studies reveal that the nature of CSDP operations alongside UN peacekeeping transformed from peace- enforcement in 2003 to a rather peace-building nature in 2013 and onwards.
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The 'Uploading' and 'Downloading' of the European Union's Counterterrorism 'Prevent' Policy 2005-2016: A British Case Study
Templeton, Ellie Grace ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Butler, Eamonn (referee) ; Dowd, Caitriona (referee)
The 2004 Madrid bombings marked the deadliest Islamic terrorist attack to take place in European history, and followed by the London bombings in 2005, constituted a significant turning point for the European Union (EU) with both the materialisation of a 'distinctive, separate and multi-dimensional' counterterrorism policy domain and the collective recognition for the need to internally prevent radicalisation and terrorism. However, operating within a multilevel European security field marked by national sovereignty, it has questioned to what extent the EU has subsequently impacted and shaped member states' counterterrorism policy. Moreover, with a mutual reaction to the 2004/2005 attacks, the analogous adoption of 'Prevent' strategy, and as a leading member state in advanced counterterrorism practice, the United Kingdom (UK) has further questioned not only the extent to which national policy has been impacted by, but has impacted, EU-level policy. By employing Britain as a longitudinal case study, this thesis thereby examines to what extent the UK and EU have 'uploaded' and 'downloaded' counterterrorism 'Prevent' policy to the respective European and national level, with the aim to provide new insight into the processes and levels of Europeanisation within the EU's post-2005 counterterrorism policy...
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Timely Expansion of the Security-Liberty Balance: Norm Diffusion and Convergence between the EU and UN in Counterterrorism Sanctions Regimes and the Impact of Kadi
Turcsan, Virag Imola ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Aliyev, Huseyn (referee) ; Biagini, Erika (referee)
[Dissertation Title: Timely Expansion of the Security-Liberty Balance: Norm Diffusion and Convergence between the EU and UN in Counterterrorism Sanctions Regimes and the Impact of Kadi] [Submission Date: July 2020] [Glasgow Student Number: 2095315] [Dublin City Student Number: 18114741] [Charles Student Number: 87084963] [Student Name: Virag Imola Turcsan] Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of International Master in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies Word Count: 21990 Supervisor: Professor Oldrich Bures Date of Submission: 30.07.2020. Abstract The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have significantly impacted the international community and its approach to counterterrorism. By prioritising security norms over those of human rights, the security-liberty balance was tipped towards security in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, resulting in long- term negative consequences for human rights and civil liberties. The United Nations and its Security Council (UNSC) was no exception to this trend and had enacted far-reaching measures within its targeted counterterrorism sanctions regimes that limited human rights guaranteed by international laws, conventions, and treaties. This thesis looks at the evolution of the UNSC targeted counterterrorism sanctions regimes from 1999...
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Effectiveness of Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation Strategy: A comparative analysis between the United States and the United Kingdom
Islam, Md Badrul ; Fitzgerald, James (advisor) ; Kaczmarski, Marcin (referee) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
Different states have taken a significant number of countering violent extremism and de-radicalisation strategies all over the world. However, the effectiveness of these policies does not discuss so much. Sometimes governments claim success regarding their strategies. Nevertheless, these claims are questionable because of the lack of empirical evidence. The literature on CVE significantly highlights the importance of CVE campaigns with different programmes: de-radicalisation, disengagement, rehabilitation, and reintegration. However, the research on the evaluation of CVE and de- radicalisation programme around the world is limited. Therefore, this research has tried to contribute to this issue. This research has used the comparative case study method and selected the cases of the CVE and de-radicalisation strategies of the United States and the United Kingdom. This research finds that both US and UK CVE strategies predominantly focus on the Muslim, which stigmatised the Muslim community and reinforced Islamic stereotypes. Therefore, it creates 'Muslim' as a 'suspect community' that is alienating Muslims. For the US case, the right-wing extremism is increasing especially against Muslim and Jewish religious figures and institutions, but the government are giving less attention to this issue. The...
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perception of migration to the Czech Republic
Poláková, Michaela ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
The thesis is dealing with investigating the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the perception of migration to the Czech Republic through the lens of theory of securitization. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic meant a worldwide milestone in the development of all areas of ordinary, day-to-day life. All these areas were suspended with immediate effect in order to stop the spread of the virus, and migration was no exception in this scenario. After declaring the state of emergency in the Czech Republic due to health hazards in connection to the spread of the novel coronavirus in March 2020, foreigners were subsequently banned from entering the country, and all migration processes were suspended indefinitely. The project operates with a hypothesis that migration in the Czech Republic has been securitized through the implemented restrictions, goal of which was to limit the spread of the infection in the name of protection of public health. The thesis analyses changes in the perception of migration in comparison to the situation prior to the pandemic, steps of the Czech government towards migration and its perception. The goal of this thesis is to outline the changes in the perception of migration due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to describe how these changes influenced further...
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A changing security environment and hybrid threats: the use of shelter theory in Maltese security
Ellul, Mark ; Weiss, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
In recent years, the security environment of the European Union has changed with security threats and concerns obscuring the traditional boundaries of internal and external security matters. This poses a challenge for Member States by way of being required to necessarily adapt and create structures which address such a new reality. A small southern littoral Member State, Malta has traditionally taken a security approach which emphasizes military guarantees and security assurances. The changing security environment and the rise of hybrid threats may alter this approach. Hybrid threats are actions conducted by state and non-state actors through military and non-military means with the goal of undermining a target. These threats have been present in the past. However, their effectiveness has significantly increased through their proliferation into several domains and the use of innovative technologies in recent years. A specificity of hybrid threats is their use to obscure internal and external security concerns undermining democratic institutions, targeting critical infrastructures, and influencing entire populations. Small state literature considers that because such states have been exposed to non-conventional threats, hybrid threats that impact cybersecurity and critical infrastructures are...
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Evaluating (lack of) success of peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Rwanda
Novosad, Jan ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Karlas, Jan (referee)
Peacekeeping operations have since their inception become a widely-used tool used to address the acute crises emerging in international relations. For a long time, their success or failure were not object of scientific scrutiny. This has changed in recent years. This thesis describes evaluation frameworks developed by three authors and then applies them to three cases of peacekeeping operations (Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Rwanda) and it tries to assess the extent to which the assumption about the too optimistic evaluation criteria proposed by Virginia Page Fortna and too pessimistic evaluation criteria suggested by Diehl and Druckman are substantiated by empirical reality of peacekeeping operations. These approaches are supplemented by the evaluation criteria proposed by Daryia Pushkina which serve as an evaluation mainstream.
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