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From Developmentalism to Mobilisation: The Case of Georgian Violent Transition
Střítecký, Vít ; Drulák, Petr (advisor) ; Plechanovová, Běla (referee) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
This thesis seeks to conceptualize a link between the phenomenona of developmentalist state and ethnopolitical mobilization while arguing that the study of post-developmental transition should be based on a complex framework involving crucial social, economic, and political processes. The argument begins with the overview of the approaches of the late/post-Soviet transition, which are critically assessed on the basis of their anchoring in the modernization paradigm. The thesis then turns to the formulation of the alternative theoretical explanation based on the sound theoretical observations from the field of historical sociology. The theoretical debate leads to the formulation of the model involving three causal mechanisms connecting the macro and micro levels. Empirically, the thesis argues that Georgian violent mobilization resulted from the processes that were determined by the functioning and decline of the Soviet developmentalist state. While accepting the dynamics of ethnopolitical mobilization it seeks to answer the question which socio-economic processes breed these mobilizations.
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Nation-building in independent Kazakhstan under Nursultan Nazarbayev
Dědák, Jan ; Šír, Jan (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
The author of this thesis deals with building the national identity of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. President Nazarbayev ruled Kazakhstan autocratically for almost thirty years. One of the main goals of his policy was to build a strong national identity that would ensure the stability of the Nazarbayev regime in the ethnically and religiously diverse region of Central Asia, i.e. the continuation of his legacy. This work is a discursive analysis of selected speeches of the president across his entire administration. The theoretical part of the thesis introduces the concept of discourse and describes the used methods of discursive analysis. It also defines national identity and the role of discourse in its construction based on the sedimentation model of national identity. One section of the theoretical part is devoted to the current research of Nazarbayev's discourse. In the analytical part of the thesis, specific speeches of the president are examined. In them, Nazarbayev describes and presents his vision and strategy for the development of Kazakhstan, while dealing with the topic of national identity. Discursive analysis always describes the political-social context of the speech, including the situation in international relations, and then...
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Frontex's Discursive Strategy of Self-Legitimization: A Critical Social Media Discourse Analysis
Babayev, Pasha ; Stępka, Maciej (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
The thesis will start with the Chapter 1 on background information in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of Frontex necessary for the adequate analysis of the Agency's self-presentation. It will first explain how Frontex has emerged in relation to the existing research on securitization of migration. It will go on to provide a brief account of investigations accusing the Agency of human rights violations, as well as illuminate the paradox between the robust protection of external borders from illegal crossings and the principle of nonrefoulement. The chapter will finish with the discussion of the Agency's lack of accountability and transparency to provide an overview of Frontex's complex working mechanism. Against the backdrop provided in the first Chapter, Chapter 2 will introduce the research problem, justify its relevance, and pose a clear research question regarding Frontex's self-portrayal. Next, Chapter 3 will review the existing literature related to the given research question in academia, specifically exploring Critical Discourse Analyses of Frontex's public 3:9599938873 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Georgian case of Neoliberal transition and its socio-economic dimensions 2003-2012
Tchipashvili, Nata ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Kazharski, Aliaksei (referee)
The first wave of post-communist transformation which resulted in a prolonged socio-economic crisis created preconditions for the political changes of 2003. After the Rose Revolution new government under the leadership of President Saakashvili initiated radical changes to the severe social, economic and institutional problems accumulated in Georgia. The neoliberal premises of the political elite was based on the theoretical assumption that radical market liberalization, deregulation, and privatization would lead to sustainable economic growth. The concept of economic development based on governmental theoretical assumptions entailed not only a purely macroeconomic phenomenon of economic growth, but it was essentially incorporating social dimensions with a strong emphasis on poverty reduction, job creation, and equitable growth. this paper seeks to investigate how the Georgian case of Neoliberal transition manifested itself from 2003-2012. more precisely, it aims to explain How Neoliberal theoretical premises deviated from the materialized outcomes? And how were the neoliberal reforms legitimized within the system by the political elite? For the purposes of the research, I employed qualitative research methods: The single case study, critical discourse analysis, and in-depth expert interviews....
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Terrorism and the Question of Morality
Singh, Arnima ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Makariusová, Radana (referee)
The thesis aims to answer the question whether terrorism can ever be morally justified. Since the very acts of terrorism are by their own nature morally reprehensible, such as indiscriminate killings of people, the justification for such acts is not always looked for. The thesis forms a cohesive framework based on the Normative theories of ethics, as well as the interpretation of those theories of various influential political and philosophical authors. Through this thesis, we strive to not only be able to evaluate the morality of terrorism, if it exists but also to highlight the importance of conducting an ethical inquiry into the subject matter at hand, and how a more thorough study of ethics in relation to terrorism can potentially help terrorism studies overcome the complexities related to the term terrorism.
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Animosity as Ideology? Analysis of the Construction of the "West" in the Discursive Strategy of the Islamic State
Hvězda, Martin ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Földes, Kristián (referee)
Examining the ideological nature of Islamist movements can indicate in some way the ideological motivations of their members and explain why they intend to devote their often young lives to hating and fighting their perceived enemy. The radical terrorist organization Islamic State (we use the alternative name Daesh in the work) currently represents the most visible form of Islamic radicalism, and its ideological origins are also the main subject of our research. During the analysis of the complex ideology of Daesh, the work focuses on its specific component in the form of an articulated struggle with the West and hateful criticism of Western society. The initial hypothesis, which is then empirically verified, is based on the assumption of the existence of the historical roots of this ideology in the form of Salafist jihadism and Wahhabi theological doctrine. Using postmodern theoretical approaches together with the application of Foucault's genealogical method, our work carries out historical research supported by elements of critical discursive analysis in order to clarify the roots and formation of the anti-Western discourse, which is used in such a clear way precisely in the ideology of Daesh. We attempt to trace the creation of a discursive strategy across the history of Islamic thought and...
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Evolution of the Idea of the "Russian Threat" to the Security of the European Union and NATO
Peleshenko, Anastasiia ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Martinková, Viera (referee)
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the illegal annexation of Crimea, and the Russian proxy-war in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the idea of the Russian threat to the West has emerged in the academia and political discourse. While generally accepted as a serious concern among both Western democracies and international organizations, its conceptual complexity increased with time, to the point that the understanding of which Russian capabilities and foreign activities had to be considered threatening became multifaceted and convoluted. In order to understand how the idea of the Russian threat has evolved over the years, a discourse analysis of the texts from the EU and NATO was conducted, examining how the factors of context, identity, and goals have affected the articulation of the discourse. Research has shown that even though Russia gained a status of an ideological Other to the West, it was not always considered a threat. Additionally, while the awareness and understanding of the threats it posed to Western democracies grew over time, the organization(s) could not always articulate a clear discourse of the Russian threat. The changing contexts, the identities of the organizations and the values they are based on, as well as the EU and NATO's goals pertaining to Russia, have both...
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Countering Hybrid Threats: Public-Private Cooperation in Norway and the Czech republic
Musilová, Kristýna ; Bahenský, Vojtěch (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
This thesis aims to present policy recommendations in the area of public-private cooperation to counter hybrid interference, especially cyber threats. Research of this kind is unique in Czech academia. There has not been a single published paper that would comprehensively tackle the issue of public-private cooperation as a tool to achieve societal resilience towards hybrid threats. The first part of the research is focused on the Norwegian cooperation model and identifies tools and mechanisms thanks to which was societal resilience-building successful. The second part of the thesis analyses the current situation in the Czech Republic and attempts to identify shortcomings in hybrid threat resilience. The core of the research consists of eighteen semi-structured interviews with the representatives of the Norwegian and Czech public and private sectors. The result is policy recommendations for the Czech government based on an open-source data analysis supplemented by information from the interviews. These recommendations specify applying Norwegian collaboration tools between the public and private sectors. The key suggestions are the implementation of the "system of POCs", preparation of crisis scenarios, which is to a certain extent follow-up of the so-called "standard operating procedures" prepared...
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Inverting Peace: The Bottom-Up Role of the Mine Action Community in Postliberal Peace-Building
Emery, Rupert Nicholas Ruscombe ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Rosendorf, Ondřej (referee)
This thesis explores the role of the humanitarian mine action (HMA) sector in peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Mine action is widely believed to be an integral component of peacebuilding, and its conduct has evolved significantly through the 20th and 21st centuries. Through the lens of postliberal international relations theory, HMA - and its practices and practitioners - is examined as a contributor to peace. To accomplish this a Bourdiesian field analysis of the HMA sector was conducted; along with a more in-depth case study of mine action in Sri Lanka which draws upon data from in-depth interviews and policy analysis. The results shed light on certain power relations in the HMA field relating to knowledge, expertise, and legitimacy; and provides a preliminary exploration of the contributions of mine action to a postliberal conception of peace. These results highlight both the potential of the method, and the need for further ethnographic study.
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