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The Islamic Petroleum State: A study of US-Led airstrikes against ISIS's oil network in Iraq and Syria
de Rooij, Mats Julian ; Dowd, Caitriona (advisor) ; Špelda, Petr (referee)
Dissertation Mats de Rooij Charles University Student Number: 17287595 ABSTRACT Keywords: ISIS oil financing strategy-making third-party interventions United States This dissertation will explore the US-led coalition's strategy for disrupting ISIS's oil network in Iraq and Syria. Scholars have debated the desirability of third-party interventions and strategies for countering financing structures of violent non- state actors. However, remarkably limited research exists on ISIS's estimated largest source of revenue during the existence of its caliphate: the production and distribution of petroleum. This study will therefore introduce a framework for analysing the military response enacted by the US-led coalition between September 2014 and October 2017. It will do so through a mixed method study that includes the first-hand generation and analysis of a dataset containing 5,768 unique data points that present both an insight into the strategy behind the strikes and vulnerabilities in ISIS's oil network. Findings demonstrate how the coalition was able to exploit vulnerabilities specifically in the production, transportation, and refinement stages of the production chain. It will be argued that, as the campaign proceeded, the coalition became increasingly willing to take risks of collateral damage as a...
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Machine learning applications in the United States criminal justice system: A critical content analysis of the COMPAS recidivism risk assessment
Bejarano Carbo, Maria Patricia ; Špelda, Petr (advisor) ; Fitzgerald, James (referee)
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) models are increasingly utilised in every aspect of life and society due to their superhuman abilities to digest large amounts of data and find obscure patterns and correlations. One contentious area of this technological application is in the criminal justice system, where AI/ML is used as a recommendation or decision-making support tool. These applications are particularly popular in the United States of America (USA), the nation with the highest rate of incarceration and correctional budget, to aid in managing overcrowded and overspending facilities. Angwin et al.'s (2016) ground-breaking study found the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) model to be biased against Black defendants and sparked an influential academic debate around algorithmic bias and fairness. This study aims to fill the gap in the scholarship by focusing on the content of COMPAS's recidivism risk assessment questionnaire through a qualitative content analysis within the conceptual framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT). The findings presented in this research are twofold: (1) almost half of the COMPAS questions were opinion-based, thus reducing quantitative neutrality, and (2) there were significant proxy factors for race that...
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Hybrid Warfare in Cyber domain: Case Study of hybrid threats in cyberspace
Tsiklauri, Giorgi ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Špelda, Petr (referee)
Cyberspace has penetrated every facet of society's life and the nation's security. It entangled the whole world together, providing exceptional opportunities and threats. One of these threats is a new kind of warfare known as Hybrid warfare; Its nature is to deploy all unconventional means to achieve objectives given by its user. Additionally, means used in cyberspace and capabilities it offers have a complementary effect on Hybrid warfare strategies creating a positive feedback loop. Targets of this new type of warfare are usually Western democracies or nations affiliated with them. The western open approach to cyberspace proved to be readily exploitable by malicious actors. These actors are nations such as Russia or China. However, private entities or individuals have, too, proved to be capable of employing Hybrid tactics. These tactics employed are cyberattacks, data gathering and exploitation, and disinformation. There is a case period for each of them: Cyberattacks during 2007 Estonia, Data gathering and exploitation, the Chinese model and its dissemination, and disinformation throughout the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Each case will attempt to examine the effects of Cyberspace on Hybrid warfare; Which proved to be a complementary effect, cyberspace amplifying Hybrid warfare and providing it...
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Electronic Warfare: Great Powers Perspective and the Implications for the Czech Armed Forces
Feryna, Jan ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Špelda, Petr (referee)
Electronic Warfare has, in recent years, become a key field in modern armed forces. After wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and experience from conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, Western armed forces turned their attention to the field of Electronic Warfare. The most powerful armed forces of the world are being modernized under the Network-Centric Warfare and Multi-Domain Operations concepts based on real-time data-sharing and communications in the Electromagnetic spectrum. This master thesis deals with Great Powers perspectives (the US, Russia, and Israel), lessons learned from the conflicts mentioned above in Ukraine and Syria, compares it with doctrinal documents of the Czech Armed Forces, and identifies lessons for Czech Armed Forces. The main goal of this thesis is to identify lessons learned for the Czech Armed Forces and key priorities in modernization for the Czech Armed forces to be prepared for future threats and battlefield. Based on the discussed approaches and conflicts, the author identifies the following implications. There is a need to update Czech doctrinal documents. Czech Armed Forces should not focus only on the modernization of special Electronic Warfare units but to introduce the field of Electronic Warfare across the Armed forces. Czech Air Force needs to be equipped with offensive...
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Regulation of Autonomous Weapon Systems: EU and U.S. policy strategies
Ortmann, Matyáš ; Špelda, Petr (advisor) ; Solovyeva, Anzhelika (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the issue of autonomous weapon systems in connection with the phenomenon of artificial intelligence. Within the issue of AWS, the master's thesis addresses their potential regulation or complete ban. This burning topic is discussed based on an empirical analysis of international organizations and state institutions that deal with the matter. The main essence of the master's thesis is to approach the functioning of artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems, to map the development of AWS and to present the current situation in the context of AWS regulation. The secondary purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyze the international debate and to look at the arguments presented regarding the moral and ethical aspects of development and deployment of autonomous weapons. The diploma thesis concludes that at present times, there are still no fully autonomous weapon systems operating in the field, but their development is gaining momentum. Regarding the matter of regulatory measures of AWS discussions are taking place at present times. These discussions have so far resulted in individual agreements that correspond to the form of hybrid regulation. Individual countries approach the topic of AWS regulation based on their technological and economic capabilities...
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The Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Systems on the Revolution in Military Affairs in the Armed Forces of Israel and the Russian Federation
Dóka, Otto ; Špelda, Petr (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
Every revolution in military affairs was always, to a large extent, driven by the appearance of new types of modern technologies. Many examples from the past revolutions reflect this fact, including the recent one between the 1970s and 1990s of the 20th century. This most recent revolution in military affairs had its roots in a Soviet concept of "military-technical revolution," which, as its name already indicates, gave the technology a great significance. Both above-mentioned theoretical concepts had a practical impact on how the battle operations were conducted, on changes in military doctrines and organization of forces, and the integration of new technologies into existing weapon systems. In the last revolution in military affairs from the 1980s and 1990s, the central role was played by precision-guided munitions, command and control systems, and also communication systems. Today there is an ongoing discussion about the potential new revolution in military affairs, which main drivers are expected to be artificial intelligence and robotic systems. This diploma thesis focuses on the definition of concepts "military-technical revolution," "revolution in military affairs," their evolution, and the new technologies that can cause a new revolution in the near future- artificial intelligence and...
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Food Security and Machine Learning: Opportunities and Challenges
Hruška, Adam ; Špelda, Petr (advisor) ; Plattner, Simon Antonin (referee)
The emergence of the effects of global warming, as well as the ongoing depletion of fossil fuels and fertile soil pose a serious threat for the future of the agricultural industry. Alternatively, the continuous population growth mainly in the less developed regions highlights the future need of approximately 70-110 percent increase in the overall output of contemporary food production. While the current conventional agriculture deploys a multitude of technologies including the precision agriculture framework, the future needs of the population exceed the projected capabilities of the industry. Machine learning as the current fastest growing technology represents the potential remedy for the emerging issues, yet the extent of successful implementation remains uncertain. The thesis aims to uncover the potential future implications of implementation of machine learning based technology in agriculture through the use of the new scenario building methodology. The analysis builds on a varying set of empirical data, current state of art projects in machine learning and multiple future trend projections. Albeit the scenario building technique allows for a potentially endless number of constructed scenarios, the thesis concentrates on three main plot lines. First scenario tackles the more probable...
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Cyber Attacks against Iran as Instruments of Hybrid Warfare
Utinková, Hana ; Špelda, Petr (advisor) ; Rosendorf, Ondřej (referee)
Cyber security is quickly becoming one of the most important issues in the field of global politics. For this reason, it is vital to pay attention to topics in this field since they can impact international relations in a major way. Inspired by this, the thesis is focused on analysis, characterization, and categorization of cyber-attacks, which had been aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2007. The goal of the thesis is dual: to provide a complex picture of such incidents, and also to decide whether those attacks can be considered as evidence of hybrid warfare of some states against Iran. Data and reports about cyber-attacks were analyzed using AVOIDIT taxonomy in order to outline their basic characteristics. The characteristics were then contrasted with the definition of hybrid warfare. The final result of the analysis is that the cyber-attacks against Iran cannot be considered as hybrid warfare, because they do not meet the basic tenets of the concept of hybrid warfare. The aspiration of the thesis is to provide a clearer insight into the topic of cyber- attacks and global politics and can serve as a guide for future discussions since the topic of hybrid warfare has become very divisive.
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