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Fortress Europe? Evaluation of Ideas for the Future of the EU
Putensen, Jan ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Mičko, Branislav (referee)
Bibliographic note Putensen, J., 2019. Fortress Europe? Evaluation of Ideas for the Future of the EU. Master's thesis. Charles University, Prague. Abstract This thesis explores the use of the symbolic term Fortress Europe by political parties and move- ments in Austria, Germany, and Italy who are in favor of establishing a Fortress Europe and their ideas for what a Fortress Europe should look like. While the use of the term by left-wing critics of European immigration policies has been well covered in the literature, no author has yet analyzed the use of the term by political parties and movements that have started to demand a Fortress Europe since 2015. Based on an analysis of the appearance of the term Fortress Eu- rope in European media coverage conducted via the Factiva database, three countries with a relatively high use of the term in their media were selected for in-depth case studies. In partic- ular, the ideas of the following three extreme right groups were analyzed and compared: the Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ), the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), and Fortezza Europa (literal translation from Italian: Fortress Europe). It was found that their vi- sions of a Fortress Europe are very similar and aim to prevent any type of foreign immigration on a large scale in order to preserve...
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The impact of geopolitics and the Syrian conflict and status of the Syrian Kurdistan
Kolář, Josef ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Romancov, Michael (referee)
This bachelor thesis focuses on the problems of Rojava during the Syrian civil war. It mainly examines the territorial and political development of Rojava. It emphasizes the involvement of Syrian Kurds in the war, its aim is to analyse the position of the Kurds in the conflict from a geopolitical point of view. The work primarily aims to link the development of Rojava autonomy with the participation of Kurds in war, territory penetration and attitudes expressed by the Syrian central government. Other external factors affecting the relationship between the central government and Rojava are also described.
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Scenarios and Strategies for Ecuador in the Context of Emerging Narcoterrorism
Vargas Egas, Stephany Victoria ; Doboš, Bohumil (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Master thesis 2019 Stephany Victoria Vargas Egas CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Stephany Victoria Vargas Egas Scenarios and Strategies for Ecuador in the Context of Emerging Narcoterrorism Master thesis Prague 2019 Author: Stephany Victoria Vargas Egas Supervisor: Mgr. Bohumil Doboš Academic Year: 2018/2019 Bibliographic note VARGAS Stephany. Scenarios and Strategies for Ecuador in the Context of Emerging Narcoterrorism. 71p. Master thesis. Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Supervisor Mgr. Bohumil Doboš Abstract In January 2018, Ecuador woke up to a series of attacks and kidnappings perpetrated by a group of dissidents of the Colombian Peace Accords that are said to be the operative arm of international drug cartels. Governmental reactions have been disappointing and unassertive, increasing the feeling of failure to keep the population safe. Based on "what are possible scenarios and strategies for Ecuadorian government in the context of increasing violence of narco-trafficking?" the present thesis will put in place a creative thinking scenario methodology to provide plausible answers to this central question with inputs...
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Transatlantic relations between the US and the EU (2012-2018)
Fedorucová, Klára ; Kotábová, Věra (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
Topics associated with the United States' foreign policy towards the European Union have become increasingly intense in expert discussions since the turn of the millennium. This is due to several factors, primarily including the strength of the two clusters, on two shores of the Atlantic ocean. The work on the topic of transatlantic relations is divided into four chapters, where the first chapter deals with the theory of regionalism, the historical development of relations between the United States and the European Union, and the European Community. The conclusion of the chapter then anchors foreign policy actors from the US perspective. However, the thesis aim is to compare two US presidents and their relations with the EU. The selected presidents are Barack Obama and Donald Trump, when the 2012-2018 period is a crucial time for work. The aim of the thesis is to find answers to several questions, when the main one is whether and what difference is in the approach of Barack Obama and Donald Trump towards the EU. The paper sets out several criteria by its research, which will then be compared from the perspective of two presidents in order to show whether and how the policies of two consecutive presidents differ in EU relations.
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Supranational and intergovernmental approach to the accession process of Montenegro to the European Union
Kopanicky, Marek ; Weiss, Tomáš (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
The volume deals with the analysis of the relationship of the two dominant theoretical approaches of European integration - supranational and intergovernmental - towards the EU enlargement policy on the example of the accession process of Montenegro. The research goes into depth by analysing not the complex accession process as such, but the relations and attention of various European institutions and the EU member states to the particular and deliberately selected negotiation chapters of the Acquis Communautaire. The main aim of the thesis is to find out to what extent and whether at all does the behaviour of the EU institutions and its member states by the accession process correspond with the internal structure of the EU policies and competences stipulated in the EU treaties. The thesis succeeded to show that there is no reason to believe that the activities of the supranational institutions of the EU - the Commission and the Parliament - are dominant by chapter which is closely connected to the exclusive competence of the EU or that they would pay any special attention to this chapter. Similarly, there is no explicit proof that the activities of the incumbent EU member states are dominant by chapter which is closely connected to the shared competence of the EU or that they would pay any...
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Chinese Foreign Aid and Investment in Central Asia: Implications on Sino-Russian Relations from a Geopolitical Perspective
Oswood, Carter ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
This thesis examines China's foreign aid, trade and government-sponsored investment activities in Central Asia from 2001 to 2014, asking and answering the question if any implications on Sino-Russian relations occurred as a result. As China continued to experience sustained economic growth, its development disbursements internationally began to expand as well. This work attempts to analyze the size and scope of these disbursements from China into Central Asia to see if it has impacted Sino-Russian relations utilizing the theoretical framework of geoeconomics put forth by Edward Luttwak and refined by Blackwill & Harris. Understanding the trajectory of Chinese and Russian foreign aid, trade and investment structures historically and contemporarily allows for a clear understanding of both nations' approach as neither actor is a member of the OECD and as such does not adhere to rigid definitions of what constitutes as foreign aid or other. The Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan comprise a geostrategic region, with each individual state endowed with tremendous resource potential that remain in global demand. As China's domestic demand of energy surpasses its supply, it will seek new outlets to further its national interests. The potential...
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US Strategic communication towards Islamic state
Truchlá, Jana ; Beneš, Jan (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
The main topic of my bachelor thesis is illustration of public image and strategic communication towards ISIS of two US most recent presidents Obama and Trump. In the theoretical part of the bachelor thesis I will outline the basic description of the Islamic state as a terrorist aggressor and the threat of the West as opposed to US protective policy and leadership in the World Anti-Terrorist Coalition. In this part of thesis I would primarily try to depict the main concept of strategic communication, its forms and the differences between the notions strategic communication and propaganda. In the main part I will describe the activities and the ways of formulating US strategic communication actors to explain the individual steps during the war against ISIS for the relevant audience - US citizens. In particular I will concentrate on official political strategic communication of the US Presidents which I will demonstrate on the particular examples - presidential press conferences and releases. Among digital media, I will focus on using the Twitter social network as a phenomenon to implement diplomacy through tweets. The key point of the work will be a determination of the priorities of strategic communication in the timeframe of Obama's and Trump's term in office. Choosing this specific timeframe...
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Separatist tendencies in Europe - case of Catalonia and Padania
Voráček, Michal ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
This bachelor thesis is devoted to Catalan and Padanian (North Italian) separatism. It aims to analyze and compare separatist tendencies in two European regions - in Catalonia and in the region of so-called Padania on the background of the historical development within their home states. The thesis is a combination of a description and a comparative case study and is divided into two main parts. The theoretical part deals with the definition of the basic terms that are crucial for understanding the issue of separatism and that pervade the whole thesis. After that, the cleavage theory of Stein Rokkan and Seymour Martin Lipset is briefly introduced, especially the centre-periphery cleavage on which the analytic part is based. The analytic part deals with the origin and rise of Catalan and, respectively, Padanian separatism, with an emphasis on the historical development of the analyzed regions, their current position within Spain and Italy, the main factors affecting separatist and nationalist tendencies and the contemporary political representation in both regions. In the final chapter, the obtained data are compared with the aim to find the basic similarities and differences between the separatism in Catalonia and so-called Padania.
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Intermarium concept in contemporary geopolitics
Stonis, Danylo ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Landovský, Jakub (referee)
This work is trying to establish and answer three questions about the concept of Intermarium: Which concepts of the Intermarium that were formed in the past, are still relevant in modern geopolitical circumstances? What political conditions force the country to become a potential participant of the Intermarium? What minimal number of countries is sufficient enough for membership in the Intermarium to provide its effective activity in the political arena? The questions are answered through the implementation of a comparative method. The chosen method is applied to the selected states of the specified region on the basis of two selected cases that correspond to analogical situations in the history of these countries and resulted in the birth of the concept of the Intermarium as one of the possibilities for solving the political crisis in the historical period, which is chosen for the case. This work with case studies will allow the researcher to obtain a high level of conceptual validity as well as to evaluate the indicators that fully explain the theoretical concepts. Since certain internal and external factors such as political system, political culture, state power, economic independence, defensive capabilities, cultural and historical mentality, membership in international organizations are...
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