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Pivot to Asia: Case Study of American Democracy Promotion in Myanmar, 2011 - 2016
Grmelová, Lucie ; Kucer, Maxim (advisor) ; Hornát, Jan (referee)
Promotion of democracy, a traditional tool of American foreign policy, was used also during Barack Obama's presidency through open dialogues and mutual cooperation also with non- democratic nations. The United States during Obama's administration renewed and connected diplomatic relations with countries that were overlooked by previous American administrations. This thesis is focusing on the foreign policy concept during Obama's second term, namely Pivot to Asia. Support of universal values and democracy was one of the central pillars of this policy. The main goal of this thesis is to argue if concentrated American presence and activity in 2011-2016 in Southeast Asia either supported democratic growth or led to democratic backsliding in the region. Specifically, Myanmar had gone through major political transformation since 2011. Ruling junta implemented reforms that opened up space for democratic opposition in the country and reduced sanctions and the policy of isolation from many Western states. Changes within Myanmar government in 2011-2016, American policy towards Myanmar, and normalization of American-Myanmar relations are three examples used in this case study that provides concrete approaches of American administration within Pivot to Asia.
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Theories of International Relations in the Regions of East and Southeast Asia
Schultzová, Kateřina ; Kofroň, Jan (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to assess three recognized theories of international relations (the offensive realist theory by John Mearsheimer, the defensive realist theory by Charles Glaser and the liberal theory by John Ikenberry) and determine which of them best corresponds to the development in East and Southeast Asia in the past three decades (1989-2016). This theory-testing case study first introduces the three theories, their basic assumptions and what they predict for the region, especially with regards to actions of the People's Republic of China. The independent variables established by the theories (power, motivation, environment and participation in the global order) are then compared with the dependent variables that represent various aspects of China's behavior. Military spending, economic disputes within the WTO and territorial disputes with Chinese participation are all analyzed with the goal of including a wide range of Chinese behavior in the international sphere. Correlations between the independent and dependent variables determine which theory is the strongest. The theory with the most correlations is pronounced as the most successful. Subsequently, a brief prediction is added: the most successful theory is then utilized to construct a short-term prediction for the region of East...
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Comparison of the Media Environment in Hong Kong and Singapore
Cápová, Michaela ; Klvaňa, Tomáš (advisor) ; Cebe, Jan (referee)
This master thesis deals with the current situation of the media environment in two selected countries from the Southeast Asia region - Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and Singapore. The main object of the text is to create a descriptive analysis of Hong Kong's and Singapore's political and media systems and to compare the media environment of the two countries with a special focus on the freedom of the media. The comparison is based on the definition of their political systems, their constitutions and how they are respected, as well as on data published by international nongovernmental organizations focusing on the freedom of the press and the freedom of the speech. All findings will be illustrated with examples from Hong Kong and Singapore. The work is divided into four chapters. The first theoretical part defines basic terms and indexes, which measure the freedom of the press, as well as outlines the concept of Asian values and the concept of civil society. The descriptive section provides a brief summary of the history and political systems of both countries and introduces their constitutions, laws and power of political leaders. The third part of the thesis concentrates on the media environment of both countries and the role of local media. The...
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Comparison of the Decolonisation Process in Indonesia and Malaysia
Šebek, Ivo ; Klusáková, Luďa (advisor) ; Janáč, Jiří (referee) ; Křížová, Markéta (referee)
The author of the submitted work compares the process of decolonization in Southeast Asia on the examples of Indonesia and the Federation of Malaya. Although both countries have much in common, culturally, historically, or geographically for example; the process of gaining independence from the colonial powers differed in many aspects. Text analyses probable reasons for these differences by comparative study of economic, social and political histories of both territories in the 19th and especially in the first half of the 20th century. Taking into account the extensive subject matter the analysis focuses only on selected areas that seem to be essential to the distinct development of decolonization in researched countries based on the existing literature. That involves particularly the approach of colonial countries (Great Britain and Netherlands), the course of World War II, solving the ethnical issue and the role of local political elites. This work also covers brief summary of economic and political development in the period preceding the declaration of independence. Key words: Decolonization Southeast Asia Indonesia Malayan federation colonialism
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ASEAN: Regional Security Complex or Case of Successful Integration?
Smith Kiganda, Alžběta ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Parízek, Michal (referee)
The thesis analyzes the development of the security discourse in Southeast Asia namely on the ground of the ASEAN organization and in its member states. The thesis main aim is to find out whether the region of the ASEAN can be considered as the Regional Security Complex. The theoretical basis of the thesis is drawn from the theoretical concept of the Copenhagen school, specifically on researchers such as, Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver and Jaap de Wilde, who formulated the theory. The theory applicability is studied through the securitization processes elaborated on the sectoral analysis. On the military, political, economic, environmental and societal sector the thesis strives to analyze the essential securitization and desecuritization processes, attempts to name the main securitization actors, referential objects and confront them with the theory. Based on the elaboration on the current issues connected with the securitization logic the thesis describes the security dynamic in the region. At the end of analysis, the thesis evaluates the current regional setting of the ASEAN as the Regional Security Complex and gives the recommendations for its next developments.
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Private military and security companies in the fight against pirates from the South China Sea to the Horn of Africa
Perglerová, Soňa ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
The international system has been confronting with constant changes since the end of the Cold War. Especially in the last twenty years on the international chessboard has emerged a new player that provides a wide range of military and security services - private military and security companies (PMSCs). While operations PMSCs are mainly associated and confined with conflict and war zones in Africa and the Middle East, this thesis entitled "Private military and security companies in the fight against the pirates from the South China sea to the horn of Africa" is about private military and security companies which provide special security services - naval. The growing demand for these services leads to the increase of private providers not only along the Somali coast, but also in Southeast Asia. The aim of the thesis is to explain why PMSCs engage in the fight against piracy, respectively what are the conditions for the initiation and development of private naval security activities.
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Electoral Authoritarianism in Comparative Perspective of Southeast Asia
Mička, František ; Mlejnek, Josef (advisor) ; Romancov, Michael (referee)
In the thesis "Electoral Authoritarianism in Comparative Perspective of Southeast Asia", while analyzing for cases of regime survival and fall, author develops the argument that certain subtypes of authoritarian regimes are better build to cope with change than others. Since the four cases are under new institutionalism generally classified as electoral authoritarianism, the text depicts some of the methodological problems related to this particular research perspective. Building on the systems approach and new institutionalism, the thesis analyzes the relation between institutional character of regime elite and its ability to cope with changes in the environment, i.e. adaptability. Author shows that at the time of crisis, personalistic regimes tend to react almost solely with repression a restrictions, whereas regimes with ruling parties exhibit a substantial degree of personal and policy flexibility, which positively informs their chances for survival. The conclusion also demonstrates the methodological weaknesses of regime typology based on the quality of electoral process. It diverts the attention from other features of regimes which significantly inform logic and inner dynamics of authoritarianism. As a result, under the banner of electoral authoritarianism, there are regimes which differ from each...
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Temple architecture as a cultural core in Southeast Asia
Steinbachová, Eva ; Soukup, Václav (advisor) ; Uherek, Zdeněk (referee) ; Soukup, Martin (referee)
Dissertation thesis "Temple architecture as a cultural core in Southeast Asia" presents the temple architecture of Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesian islands of Java and Bali as a cultural phenomenon which opens possibility to observe Hindu and Buddhists cultural continuity in Southeast Asia. The main focus of the work is in the culturological analysis of the temple architecture as a semiotic system - associated symbols and meanings in close relations, reflecting the ideological foundations of Hindu and Buddhist culture. This study follows the works of orientalists and anthropologists and it extends the Czech bibliography, which traditionally lacks of topics in church architecture of Southeast Asia. This study does not claim to cover the topic in a full universal view. It is guided by an effort to map the issues in culturological terms and help to a deeper understanding of cultural heritage of East Asian culture as part of the cultural heritage of mankind. Keywords: Architecture, Southeast Asia, Buddhism, Hinduism, Java, Bali, Thailand, Cambodia.
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Southeast Asian Englishes and their perception
Bukraba, Maria ; Matuchová, Klára (advisor) ; Bojarová, Marie (referee)
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to prove that words from Southeast Asian varieties of English which were included in Oxford English Dictionary bear a unique meaning and thus are indispensable. Theoretical part depicts a classification of Englishes by Braj Kachru and later explores historical and socio-political aspects of English in countries where it is spoken by a large part of population such as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Hong Kong which technically belongs to East Asia, but for the linguistic purposes it is included in the list. The practical part examines lists of words included in Oxford English dictionary from the mentioned varieties of English with the aid of local context such as magazines, blogs, newspapers and other unofficial sources. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that words from Southeast Asian varieties of English are irreplaceable due to their distinctive meaning.
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The Asian financial crisis and post-crisis development of newly industrialized countries of Asia
Panchenko, Victoria ; Bolotov, Ilya (advisor) ; Černá, Iveta (referee)
This thesis analyzes the Asian financial crisis by providing a comprehensive view of the development of the economies of the Asian newly industrialized countries before and after the outbreak of the crisis. The aim of this paper is to explore and understand the causes of the crisis and derive practical lessons. The work is structured as follows. The first chapter is theoretical and defines newly industrialized countries by focusing on the characteristics of the economic and social status of these countries in a period of prosperity. The second chapter examines the financial crisis in 1997 - its origin, causes, indicators and progress. The last chapter discusses the impact of the crisis both on countries of Southeast Asia and on the world economy overall. Afterwards, summarizing of the lessons that can be learned from the Asian financial crisis and that remain urgent even nowadays is outlined.
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