|
Surveillance and authoritarianism: the case study of Russia
Mammadov, Mammad
The Diploma Thesis focuses on the exploration of how authoritarianism regime uses and misuses various surveillance mechanisms for the purposes of social control in Russian Federation. The materials for the were collected from the conduction of qualitative case study which used both research data, secondary and primary. The way the data collected was collected was legal and it was gathered from the various reports of civil society ad international organizations. The results of the study showed that by using qualitative data by primary and secondary sources has revealed that Russia’s approach of mass surveillance has affected its country in a negative way towards the public. The use of the Federal Security Service has created an information stream that’s collected from every individual that lives in Russia. Methods such as introducing Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) to monitoring the internet in all aspects of the Russian data network has created strong protests from the public as years have passed. In addition, facial recognition technology has modernized surveillance to a point where all information of a citizen is stored and ultimately made into predictive models. Thus, making Russia one of the most heavily invested countries in artificial intelligence. Results suggested can show that the Russian government has used surveillance functions to observe and track their public as well as emergency situations such as COVID-19 and dissuade any fake information that is circulated around its network if it was given by the government. By testing how strong its surveillance is in all factors of its society, can Russia truly have authoritarian absolution in every aspect.
|
|
Transformation of Russian political regime: Putin's hybrid regime.
Kuliashov, Vladimir ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
This thesis is devoted to the analysis of the transformation of the political regime in modern Russia after the collapse of the USSR. It considers the theoretical foundations of the study of political regimes and their transformation, as well as the concept of hybrid political regimes. The analytical part of this paper is devoted to the study of the historical context of political regime transformation in post-Soviet Russia, analyzing the economic, demographic and political specifics, as well as analyzing why the process of democratic transformation of the country was not completed in the Russian Federation at the turn of the century. Further, the thesis analyzes the transformation of the political regime in the period from 2000 to the present day, which is inextricably linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. All tendencies of authoritarian strengthening and changing the course of foreign and domestic policy are analyzed, that is, in other words, the paper investigates how the regime was transformed step by step. Also, special attention is paid to the analysis of different periods of this transformation and on the basis of all the studied data, a brief assessment of the possible transformation of the regime in the future is given. The conclusion briefly summarizes all the results of the thesis,...
|
| |
|
Russian patronage to unrecognized states since the annexation of Crimea: A cross case study of the Republic of Abkhazia and the PMR
Koelle, Heidi ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
This Master's thesis focuses on the relationship of the Russian Federation with Post Soviet De Facto States since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The purpose is to give a cross-case comparison of factors of the two cases:the PMR and Abkhazia. Both of the case studies have their unique sets of challenges and common obstacles towards their respective state-building. The central focus and aim will be to examine any key developments in their relationships with the Russian Federation since 2014. Russia's role as a patron state and their soft power tactics towards their compatriots will also be examined in this study.Various concepts ofthe patron state relationship are going to be point of focus as well. The issue of whether or not the patron state hinders or helps de facto states in their state- building comes into question.Key words: De facto state,PMR, Abhazia, State Patronage
|
|
The power of the General: Which factors influence the level of authoritarianism in the Southern African context?
Wordsworth, Ronan Peter ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
1 Abstract This paper sets out to answer the central question on the causes of authoritarianism within the regional context of Southern Africa. The hypothesises of the article are that there are several factors that contribute to authoritarian levels within the South African Development Community (SADC). The research aims to adequately define the concept of authoritarianism, and then investigate the relationship between authoritarianism and five different indicators. The links are explored for level of authoritarianism against the level of military expenditure of the government, the threat perception of the government, whether there is a single dominant-party system of government, whether the country has a history of coup d'états, and finally, the dominant party in the civil-military relations. This leads to an investigation into the role that the military plays within authoritarian regimes, and which factors lead to increased authoritarianism. Due to the unique post-colonial context whereby many liberation movements and fighters were then installed as leaders of the country, there is a 'special relationship' between many leaders in the Southern African Development Community and the respective military and defence leadership and this paper will seek to explore these links. It is hypothesised that...
|
|
Russian patronage to unrecognized states since the annexation of Crimea: A cross case study of the Republic of Abkhazia and the PMR
Koelle, Heidi ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
Abstract: This master's thesis focuses on the obstacles of state building for the defacto states Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic ( Tranistria) and the Republic of Abkhazia. Both of which are break-away states from former soviet republics: Moldova and Georgia. The purpose is to give a cross country comparison of factors which hinder state building. Both states have their unique sets of challenges to integrating into a fully recognized state yet share many of the same obstacles. The factors that will be analyzed are relations to their Patron states; The Russian Federation and how this patron state contributes to these de facto states inability to democratize and gain outside recognition with other member state. These challenges for integration as full dejure states and participation within international institutions are a result of ethnic tension, corruption, authorities and complete dependence on Russia as a parent state. The other factors that will be analyzed is the Foreign policy of the Russian within its near abroad and their soft power tactics towards their compatriots.
|
|
Reflection of the referendum and change of the constitution in Belarus 2004 in the Czech press
Drahovzalová, Michala ; Příhoda, Marek (advisor) ; Tumis, Stanislav (referee)
The bachelor thesis deals with the referendum and constitutional change in Belarus in 2004 and the response of these events in the Czech press. The first part is theoretical, trying to define the form of the current political regime of Lukashenka's Belarus. The second part chronologically charts the political development in the country. This chapter covers the period shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the events of the nineties and the turn of the century followed by the discussed referendum and constitutional change. The third part provides an analysis of the Czech press - selected newspapers, socio-political magazines and professional journals - with an emphasis on their response to the referendum and related events.
|
|
Non-Systemic Opposition in Russia 2011-2016
Koutník, Jan ; Svoboda, Karel (advisor) ; Šír, Jan (referee)
The diploma thesis examines why did the non-systemic opposition in Russia between 2011 and 2016 fail to reach any significant success. Even though during 2011 and 2012 Russia witnessed mass anti- government protests the non-systemic opposition was not able to enforce any relevant change in the regime, obtain representation in the state institutions or induce larger public dissatisfaction with the regime. The study analyses problematic internal features of the non-systemic opposition (lack of public support, coalition potential, election programs and campaigns, party financing) and external repressive means of the Vladimir Putin's regime against the opposition (legislation, direct confrontation, judicial trials, elections and means of rigging). The thesis offers a complex insight into the functioning of the non-systemic opposition in Russia in the observed period and accentuates the authoritarian character of the Russian regime. Based on the evaluation of the key variables the study concludes that the repressive policies of the regime cardinally affected the weakness and fragmentation of the non-systemic opposition which moreover was not able to overcome the internal conflicts and gain broader public support.
|
|
Extreme right aspects of Marine Le Pen's discourse during the presidential election in 2017
Waldová, Julie ; Matějka, Ondřej (advisor) ; Bauer, Paul (referee)
In recent years, Marine Le Pen has been trying to steer away from the far-right past of the National Front (now the National Rally) to become a "party like any other" and thus become a part of the French political mainstream. Since Le Pen became its chairman in 2011, the party has undergone many changes through which the National Front has tried to normalize its rhetorics in order to regain its lost credibility in the eyes of the public. For this transformation, the term dédiabolisation is used, particularly in Francie. In 2017, Le Pen ran for the French president. Though Emmanuel Macron eventually succeeded in the second round of elections, 33.39% of the votes that the National Front candidate received may be perceived as a genuine return of the party to the struggle for political power. Thus, in the context of the growing electoral preferences of populist radical right-wing parties, this thesis addresses the "normalized" discourse of Marine Le Pen in the presidential election and identifies its far-right aspects. A detailed analysis both of her pre-election speeches and her political program then outlines the direction in which France could move towards under the potential rule of the National Front.
|
|
Authoritarian regime in Iran. Early years of Pahalavis's rule.
Ducháčková, Michaela ; Buben, Radek (advisor) ; Koubek, Jiří (referee)
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to analyze the Iranian regime in early years of Pahlavis rule and to apply Linz typology of non-democratic regimes. The theoretical part focuses on the characterization of each type of non-democratic regimes (except for posttotalitarianism) on the basis of Linz's four dimensions - pluralism, ideology, mobilization and leadership. The empirical part deals with certain aspects and features of regimes that are relevant for the evaluation, why the concept of authoritarianism is most suitable for Iran. Early years of Reza Shah's rule (1926 - 1933) and Mohammad Reza's rule (1953 - 1963) are analyzed separately. All the results are then summarized and both regimes are compared.
|