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Strategic Culture of the Czech Republic
Beneš, Jan ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Eichler, Jan (referee) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Jan Beneš Strategic Culture of the Czech Republic Abstract The aim of the dissertation is to define in a complex manner the strategic culture of the Czech Republic. Strategic culture is at first analysed as a conceptual phenomenon both in relation to strategy itself and to the theories of international relations. The dissertation introduces the different streams of thought about strategic culture and then studies the approaches of the key involved authors with a special focus on the discussion between the first and the third generation of strategic culture scholars. Concerning the fact that the strategic culture has been originally created for the study of the behaviour and strategic thought of major powers, the author analyses the historical and geostrategic peculiarities of a small state in the Central Europe and then defines own conceptual and methodological framework. Using the method of grounded theory, the important symbols and narratives from the Czech history as well as the most important moments in the Czech political and strategic thought and decision-making are being examined. The historical narratives re-appear and influence the decision-making, thinking and argumentation of the key actors in the Czech security community. The research of the key decisions and historical moments after the 1989 is...
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Military interventions in civil wars: the role of foreign direct investments and proxy interventions in the motivation to intervene
Klosek, Kamil Christoph ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Schneider, Gerald (referee) ; Nascimento, Daniela (referee)
The current international system with its emphasis on state sovereignty was designed to restrain interference in domestic affairs by other states. However, this notion has been repeatedly challenged throughout the past 70 years by states intervening with military instruments in internal armed conflicts. Possible motives that led states to jeopardize the lives of their soldiers and convinced them to bear the costs of interventions have engendered a rich debate in the studies of International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies. In this dissertation, two arguments based on the logic of the realist theory of international relations are brought forward to augment our understanding of factors contributing to military interventionism. First, it is shown that economic linkages between states transcend the debate on trade and include the effects of foreign direct investment on their willingness to intervene by force. Corporate investment is shown to significantly raise the willingness of states to intervene when existing FDI is endangered by the dynamics unfolding during internal armed conflicts. Second, great powers are apt to harness other states to alter the conflict dynamics in civil wars. Applying the principal-agent framework in combination with the logic of arms trade allows identifying unequal...
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Conflict without casualties: political-military context of NATO's intervention in Kosovo
Trojáček, Jan ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
The bachelor thesis "Conflict without casualties: political-military context of NATO's intervention in Kosovo "is dedicated to with the war in Kosovo in 1999 in particular to the military operation "Allied Force." The purpose of this thesis is to describe the Revolution in Military Affairs, which has changed the way in which military conflict and campaigns were fought. Furthermore, Kosovo campaign set up the concept of "clean kill", which was in other words a new concept of conducting a clean war with both minimal casualties and other secondary costs. With the application of discursive analysis, this thesis examines the statements of former prominent political and military leaders. The bachelor's thesis analyses the rhetoric of the US President Bill Clinton, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair, together with the statements of NATO Secretary General Javier Solana and the Allied Force Operation General Wesley K. Clark. The discursive analysis of each individual was used in the research. There was a general agreement in the discourse of the political representatives from both the UK and the US, but also with the NATO's Secretary General Javier Solana. More noticeable and distinctive was the discourse of the General Wesley K. Clark, who was more referring to the pin point accuracy and the...
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Germany's commitment to CSDP operations: comparing the cases of the DRC and Libya
Westenberger, Kay Louise ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Beneš, Jan (referee)
This thesis analyses Germany's commitment to multilateral military operations. Following the research question why Germany participates in some multilateral military operations but not in others, Germany's respective decision-making process regarding troop deployment in the DR Congo in 2006 on one hand and military non-engagement in Libya 2011 on the other hand is traced. By contrasting the concept of strategic culture with a purely rational assessment of the factors of alliance politics, risk-analysis and military feasibility of the operations, the decisiveness of taking into account Germany's strategic culture to explain deployment decisions is stressed. Neither is there a lack of external pressure for German military participation in the case of Libya, nor is the military operation in the DR Congo decisively less risky or militarily more feasible. Rather, Germany's multilateral and anti- militaristic strategic cultural strands affect its decision-making. Next to demanding a thorough justification and legitimization of any military engagement, two red lines for military deployment can be identified. First, Germany refuses to act unilaterally and displays a high reluctance towards military engagement outside the multilateral framework of the UN, NATO or EU. Secondly, Germany rejects to engage in...
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Analysing the alternation of strategic subcultures: the case of Israel
Houdek, Kryštof ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
The thesis examines altering of Israeli strategic subcultures and their influence on strategic decision-making. It expands the body of literature on strategic culture. The strategic culture influences the decisions regarding when, if and how to use force. The three cases in this thesis encompass strategic decision-making in regard to Iran, Hezbollah and the Syrian civil war. The strategic culture takes a form of particular strategic subculture, which expresses a preference for a particular kind of strategic behaviour. Israeli strategic culture is examined thoroughly throughout its history in the context of strategic culture. The strategic culture and its aspects are described on the background of evolving "national security doctrine." The changes in the strategic culture are correlated with the shifts in the strategic environment and with the evolution of new military technologies and strategies of waging war.
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Changes in Turkish foreign policy towards Iran in the Davutoğlu era (2002 - 2012)
Marcinová, Slávka ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Aslan, Emil (referee)
The principal aims of the research are to identify the nature and scope of Turkish foreign policy change towards Iran in the period 2002-2012 - the first ten years of the successive governments of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Then, individual sources of foreign policy change and their respective roles in shaping Turkish foreign policy toward Iran will be investigated. As the research is theoretically grounded in the subfield of foreign policy analysis known as foreign policy change, the reader is familiarized with a variety of different models used in the study of foreign policy change. In order to assess the relevance of the individual sources, an alternative explanatory model is designed. The application of the designed foreign policy model highlights the necessity of applying a wider approach in the quest to assess Turkish foreign policy change, taking into account the different domestic and international sources in order to achieve a comprehensive explanation that can evaluate the relative power of international and domestic political, economic, and ideational sources serving as its driving mechanisms. The role of economic factors - long seen as fundamental in shaping Turkey's foreign policy toward its neighbors - and the role of security concerns are subsequently identified as...
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Combatting Disinformation Campaigns: A Reappraisal of Strategic Communications
Wilson, Alyssa Joy ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Beneš, Jan (referee)
In the context of increasing technologicalization and the growing interconnectedness of our world through social media, this thesis aims to answer the question, why is disinformation not being sufficiently handled in the United States in the wake of the foreign meddling in the 2016 Presidential Elections, and what can and should be done about the threat? This master thesis therefore aims to delve into the inherent vulnerabilities in the U.S. societal fabric, and thus conduct an in-depth explanatory case study model analysis of what should be done to further combat and counteract disinformation and election meddling within the country. The author argues that disinformation and election meddling are not only a serious security threat, but are also not being properly handled as they are only being addressed technologically, and not through the realm of information, and societal resilience. This thesis therefore argues that strategic communication, which should be redefined and expanded in definition, should be used to combat disinformation campaigns to prevent further election meddling. The author posits that a two-level approach is best, one which aims to negate the negative disinformation campaigns through a single governmental body, while also addressing the root causes through education.
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United we stand? European strategic culture in the fight against terrorism
Cailler, Natacha Isabelle ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
United we stand? European strategic culture in the fight against terrorism Abstract As Europe has become a major target of terrorist attacks, especially since 2015, there has been a growing demand for action from the governments. France and Germany have been among those countries affected by the current terrorist threat. Calls for increased European integration and cooperation have been heard and highlight the need for the building of an integrated and comprehensive counterterrorist framework within the European Union. The idea that a common European strategic culture regarding the fight against terrorism might be a significant tool to achieve such a goal is burgeoning in the minds of many. This research project analyses the French and German response to terrorism through the popular discourse towards terrorism, the threat perception of terrorism and immigration, the modalities of the use of force and the institutional structure of counterterrorism. It features the building of a common European strategic culture when addressing Jihadi terrorism. Natacha Cailler
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Securitizing Russia: the Baltic states perception of Russia as a threat
Zybeleva, Daria ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
The thesis proposes the analytical review on how the Baltic States, namely, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia perceive Russia as a threat to their national security by addressing and evaluating the main changes in their security policies. To analyze the changes and differences in their perception, the securitization theory is applied. Following the most recent changes in the security environment in Europe, starting from the Ukraine crisis and annexation of Crimea in 2014, supplementary theoretic concept such as security dilemma is used for better understanding of the challenges that the Baltic States/NATO - Russia relations face. The main goal of this thesis is to provide a detailed overview of how Russian interference in Ukraine's domestic affairs, created a sense of anxiety in the Eastern Europe and affected security sectors of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Keywords: the Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine Crisis, Securitization theory, Security Dilemma, NATO
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Cryptocurrencies: Threats and Investigative Opportunities for Law Enforcement
Gonzalez, Eva ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
Cryptocurrencies have developed and widely spread within recent years. Their anonymous and decentralised characteristics have attracted criminals who leverage these technologies to sell and purchase illicit goods on the black market while concealing their identities and avoid prosecution. The new development of cryptocurrencies and their underlying architecture blockchain has had positive and negative effects on the success of law enforcement investigations. It is perceived as a threat when there are factors that increase the complexity of law enforcement investigations due to the use of highly anonymous cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin mixers. Cryptocurrencies are also perceived as a threat when criminals use them for money laundering purposes. Conversely, the rise of cryptocurrencies also introduces new opportunities for law enforcement investigations. Records of cryptocurrency transactions in the blockchain help law enforcement to trace suspicious addresses by the emergence and improvement of analysis tools. In parallel, anti- money laundering (AML) regulations and the financial authorities have proved to play a key role in fighting against money laundering and gather information on suspicious activities carried out through financial institutions. The analysis of this dissertation sets forth that...
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