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The survival of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: why didn't Jordan take part in the Arab Spring?
Altwal, Yara ; Záhora, Jakub (advisor) ; Daniel, Jan (referee)
Analyzing the various factors that strengthened the Hashemite regime's stability during the spread of chaos caused by the Arab Spring is deemed important; even though the wave of the Arab Spring has ended, Jordan's economy is still suffering and the public is still demanding reform nonetheless, the Hashemite regime is untouched. This research will analyze the regime-society bond in light of the Arab Uprising that has undoubtedly assisted in the survival of the kingdom by creating a framework by which protesters unconsciously adhered to that entailed calls for political and economic reform to be initiated by the existing regime. Furthermore, the Hashemite's most powerful allies made sure to provide military and financial assistance to ensure the regime and the kingdoms remain secure and stable. However, such aid did not come without a price; it was critical for the Hashemite regime to balance between maintaining its coordinated strategies with its allies to maintain the close relations and maintaining its sovereignty and the foreign policies that serve national interests.
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Military coup as a distinctive feature of Turkish military, the changing civil-military relations, and the current position of the Turkish army
Tkadlečková, Daniela ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
The July military coup attempt in 2016 forced the Turkish nation to decide, whether it would follow examples of Republic's past and support the coup, or whether it would turn away from the army, thus giving up on the traditional perception of the army as a guardian of secularism and values on which Atatürk built the Republic. This work analyses how the Turkish civil-military relations changed, what factors influenced this change and how the Turkish society currently perceives the army. The research focused on four interventions staged by the army in the 20th century, as well as on the July coup attempt. Military coup is understood as a specific feature of the Turkish army and it is examined based on the theory of praetorianism; the coups in Turkey are then being presented as interventions, that were repeated not only based on army's determination to protect stability and the Republic as such, but also based on the nation's acceptance of the interventions which did perceive the army as a last resort. Furthermore, the work presents reasons, which played a crucial role in the transformation of civil-military relations in the beginning of 21st century, and it compares, how the perception of army by the Turkish nation was changing before and after the July coup attempt.
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Central Asian Foreign Fighters in Syria
Nováková, Sabina ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
This thesis deals with the phenomenon of Central Asian foreign fighters in Syria, 2011- 2017. It analyzes their radicalization, recruitment, and travel patterns. Special emphasis is placed on tracking the home states' responses, including elements of de-radicalization and counter-radicalization. The thesis has found that there is arguably no single factor explaining the Central Asian fighters' radicalization; nor is there a typical profile of a Central Asian fighter. Available data suggest that radicalization and extremist recruitment most often occur in Russia. Furthermore, the analysis of travel patterns has shown that the majority of Central Asian fighters traveled to Syria either indirectly via multiple countries (again, most often Russia) or directly from their country of origin, and then crossed the border from Turkey. The thesis concludes that all five Central Asian states have adopted policies to address the perceived security threat of returning foreign fighters, whereas the hard, restrictive and punitive approach has been prevalent all across the region.
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The Reasons Behind the Success of the Pro-Israeli Lobby in the United States
Záhora, Jakub ; Bečka, Jan (advisor) ; Fojtek, Vít (referee)
Since at least the 1970s, Israel has been benefiting hugely from the so-called "special relationship" with the United States. The US provides the Jewish state with considerable financial aid which reached $3 billion annually in the form of non-refundable grants in the 1990s. America also supplies Israel with modern military systems and American companies cooperate with their Israeli counterparts in developing new weapons, devices etc. US representatives also protect Israel from major diplomatic failures at the international forums like the UN. Some people believe that the American support for Israel is driven by moral imperatives, as Israel constitutes a shelter for the minority which experienced hundreds-of- years lasting hatred, with its ultimate expression being the Holocaust. This argument further states that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and therefore it presents a natural choice for an ally of the United States. Others argue that Israel is an indispensable strategic asset, necessary for maintaining the American presence and securing the American interests in the region. However, all these points can be refuted. The often emphasized moral aspect omits the painful issue of Palestinian refugees forced out by Jewish forces in 1948-1949 and continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian...
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Islamic terrorism in US film: how we construct our own enemies
Kotvalová, Anna ; Záhora, Jakub (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
CHARLES UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Islamic terrorism in US film: how we construct our own enemies Master's thesis Author: Bc. Anna Kotvalová Study programme: International Relations Supervisor: Mgr. Jakub Záhora, Ph.D. Year of the defense: 2019 ABSTRACT The presented diploma thesis is concerned with the discourse and narratives of the phenomenon of terrorism in the American cinema, produced after 9/11 and its reflection on the events within the War on Terror. This thesis rests on two major theoretical realms, Critical terrorism studies and the interconnection between popular culture and the world of politics. This thesis addresses three American mainstream films produced after 9/11, Zero Dark Thirty, Lone Survivor and American Sniper in order to analyse the discourse and narratives which refer to the antagonists in these movies (more specifically, the discourse and narratives which portrays justification for the American behaviour within the War on Terror) and to address the political consequences of this kind of discourse. This thesis defines four major repetitive patterns in the discourse: humanization of the "American side", dehumanization of the antagonists, depiction of torture and violence and lack of context and concludes...
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How can the changes in the settings of the European Neighbourhood Policy affect the EU-Israeli cooperation?
Houdek, Kryštof ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
This thesis deals with the question of how the changes in the European Neighbourhood Policy and especially the newly proposed NDICI affect its relations and those of the Member states to Israel. It emphasises the effects of the NDICI's changes in policy settings towards the Palestinian Authority and how those indirectly affect Israel. It concludes that the four main changes, flexibility, development aid, blending and a performance-based approach may have unintended impact on the relations with Israel, especially in regard to security and the political atmosphere. They can damage Israeli relations with some of the Member states or escalate violence in Gaza. The conclusions are reached through ENP related document analysis. It is a single case study.
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Seek Russians behind everything: Critical research of "Russian disinformation campaign" discourse in the Czech republic
Čech, Adam ; Rychnovská, Dagmar (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
of diploma thesis ‚Seek Russians behind everything: Critical research of "Russian disinformation campaign" discourse in the Czech republic'. Author: Bc. Adam Čech Supervised by: Dagmar Rychnovská, M.A., LL.M., Ph.D. Study programme: International relations Year of work defence: 2019 This study researches the "Russian disinformation campaign threat" discourse, that was established in the Czech republic since 2014. The study utilizes a method termed for the purpose of this work as "lesser discourse analysis". It explores the origins and influences that played a role in creation of a specific understanding of the topic. Subsequently it engages in a critical analysis of the discourse and assesses whether the understanding of the Russian hybrid threat, especially regarding the disinformation, is legitimate and based on known facts and correct interpretation of them, or whether it is not (partially) based on delusions, myths, logical shortcuts, misinformation (or possibly disinformation) on part of the creators and active participators of the discourse. The study also presents a set of recommendations to "straighten" the discourse on this important topic. The study engages in analysing of the process of the agenda-setting regarding the topic through the lenses of "securitization theory ". It identifies...
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Criminal Corporate Liability
Bohuslav, Lukáš ; Jelínek, Jiří (advisor) ; Záhora, Jozef (referee) ; Sváček, Jan (referee)
The Criminal Corporate Liability The definition of legal person is not outlined in criminal law, but can be found in Section 18, Subsection 2 of the Civil Code. Corporate criminal liability is then a concept that has been newly introduced to the Czech statutory criminal law, what has caused a certain intrusion of the system of basic principles of criminal law, mainly the principle of individual criminal responsibility. The term "imputability" appears, which means that a conduct of agents or other persons designated in the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Persons and Proceedings Against Them (further as "the Act") can be imputed to a legal person, if the physical person is culpable for the conduct and the conduct causes imputability of the criminal offence to the legal person. Intensive discussions on necessity and suitability of implementation of the concept of corporate criminal liability into the Czech legal system had preceded the adoption of the Act in 2011. Such discussion can now be considered as overcome, as it is obvious that the Czech Republic has opted for the direction towards the "true" corporate criminal liability. Arguments for and against the adoption of the Act can nevertheless help to better understand the concept itself, as well as the context in which it has been introduced. It...
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U.S.-Japan Relations from the Perspective of American Cinema
Toman, David ; Záhora, Jakub (advisor) ; Kotvalová, Anna (referee)
This Master's thesis provides an analysis of the contemporary depiction of significant historical moments in U.S.-Japan relations in American cinematography, specifically in the films: The Last Samurai, Pearl Harbor, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Emperor. The analysis elaborates on theoretical stream of popular culture and world politics and most particularly on the popular geopolitics discipline. A discourse analysis is used as the research method, through which the three main aspects of popular geopolitics in the selected movies are followed - representational logics, affect, and intertextuality. The research goal is to tackle the question, how the historical milestones in U.S.-Japan relations are portrayed in the present and how their portrayal is linked to the current geopolitical context. The research shows that filmmakers usually try to offer a balanced view of both sides, which means there are positive and negative portrayals of both Japanese and American characters. Japanese villains are usually militarists, which is in line with the postwar narrative of the American Occupation administration. The trend of negative portrayal of Americans has been strengthened only recently due to controversies related to the War on Terror. The main finding, however, is the fact that although Japan is...
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