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Libyan Civil War 2011 through the eyes of witnesses
Fischer, Philipp-Jakob ; Vojtěchovský, Ondřej (advisor) ; Pešta, Mikuláš (referee)
The aim of the thesis is to use the methodology of oral history to collect and analyze the statements of five respondents from the Libyan environment, or respondents who have a material relationship to the Libyan issue. The focus is on personal experiences of the 2011 civil war and views and attitudes towards the war and Libya in general. The statements are directed both to the experience of war reality and to the broader context of war. The narrators were asked about their attitudes towards the regime of Muammar Gaddafi and about the development of their views on his personality. Research also tries to capture Libyan everyday life before and after the war. The purpose of this work is to provide an insight into the lives of people in this country ravaged by conflict and to try to capture the reality of war as they perceived it. What lives did these people lead before the war? How did they take part in the war? What are their views and beliefs and how did these views and attitudes evolve? The work also contains a historical overview of events, written on the basis of available Czech and foreign literature.
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Czechoslovakia-Kenya relations in context of the Cold War
Jando, Matej ; Koura, Jan (advisor) ; Pešta, Mikuláš (referee)
The bachelor thesis "Czechoslovakia-Kenya Relations in the Context of the Cold War" follows the nature and development of the mutual relations of the two states primarily in the 1960s and analyzes the activities of Prague in Kenya from establishment of contacts with the liberation movement of Kenya to gradual reduction of activity and the termination of the work of the Czechoslovak residency in Nairobi in the early 1970s. The work also describes the Kenyan internal political development from the perspective of the Czechoslovak Secret Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the first years after independence. At that time, the Czechoslovak government saw, in colonial and later independent Kenya, the potential for selling its own export goods, as well as a chance to have a strategically placed ally in foreign policy. By supporting the left wing of the KANU ruling party (by training cadres, building a parallel intelligence service and suppling weapons), Czechoslovakia gradually tried to tie the newly formed state to the Eastern Bloc. The work also tries to explain the reasons why, despite this effort, the CSSR and the whole Eastern bloc were not able to succeed against the influence of Great Britain and the United States. The main focal point of the paper are archival materials of the Ministry...
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Spain under rule the Primo de Rivera by the View of Czechoslovak Diplomacy
Vašíček, Josef ; Pešta, Mikuláš (advisor) ; Horčička, Václav (referee)
(in English): This diploma thesis deals with the coup of General Miguel Primo de Rivera and his subsequent government from the point of view of Czechoslovak diplomacy. The work is divided into five chapters and a conclusion. The main source of work was the telegrams of Czechoslovak diplomats working in Madrid at the time. The individual chapters deal with the reasons for the coup and other important events during the reign of Primo de Rivera. The aim of the work was to find out how Czechoslovak diplomats perceived the coup and other events in Spain. This reflection of Czechoslovak diplomatic dispatches was compared with historical research.
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A Handshake with "The Mad Dog of the Middle East": Relations of Qaddafi's Libya with the Eastern Bloc on the Example of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Borovský, Matyáš ; Koura, Jan (advisor) ; Pešta, Mikuláš (referee)
Presented thesis discusses the relationship between the Eastern bloc and Libya, using the Czechoslovak model as an example. On the basis of analysis of archive documents this text describes the cooperative process between socialist states and the regime of Muammar Qaddafi within the period of 1969-1989. The emphasis is put on political, economical, military and, to some extent, cultural aspects of mutual relationship between said countries. The purpose of this thesis is to present Czechoslovakia as a so called "small player" in the context of international politics of the Cold war. The author is aiming to show that, contrary to the orthodox explanations of the Cold war as a conflict of two monolithic blocs, Czechoslovakia was capable of limited autonomy within the frame of her foreign policy, especially towards third world countries. Therefore, more than simply presenting the Cold war as an East-West process, this thesis works with a North-South view. The point of this perspective is that the Cold war itself was not just a clash of superpowers, but was also comprised of acts of international help from Eastern bloc states to, among others, the North African countries such as Libya. To complete this task, the author worked with archive materials of Czech provenance, as well as domestic and foreign...
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The Making of the Intellectual Frameworks in the Turbulent Years 1967-1968 through the French Intellectual Periodicals
Konečná, Petra ; Ira, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Pešta, Mikuláš (referee)
(in English) The bachelor thesis deals with cultural and intellectual frameworks of the social and political events in France in the years 1967-1968. The analysis of intellectually oriented magazines (e.g. L'Express) opens the question of how the periodicals co-created and represented the intellectual frameworks of the growing tension that culminated in the revolt of 1968. The thesis inquiries into what intellectual roots (e.g. existentialism), cultural movements (e.g. the counterculture movements) or social and political conflicts taking place in other countries were reflected (and how) in the analysed sample of the periodicals. The research draws inspiration from intellectual history and it will combine qualitative and quantitative methods of periodical press analysis with focus on the text discursive analysis. Four major factors influencing the student revolt in France are defined in the introduction and the analytical chapters are focused on the reflected extent of these influences in the periodicals analysed.
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The Role of Monarchy in the Process of Transformation in Spain
Hloch, David ; Soukup, Jaromír (advisor) ; Pešta, Mikuláš (referee)
(in English): The text attempts to evaluate the role and influence of representatives of the Spanish monarchy - Juan Carlos I and his father Juan de Borbón - during the transformation of the political regime in 1975-1982. In terms of political influence, the author concludes that Juan Carlos was one of the key figures in the democratization of Spain through his political activities, while Juan de Borbón, who had to deal with the disadvantageous and marginalized role of foreign opposition, had only minimal influence on the transformation of Spain. From a social point of view, Juan Carlos, despite being put into the role by the previous regime, was able to successfully live up to the role of unifying the long-term divided Spanish society. Even though it can be attributed to the exceptionally successful (re)establishment of the monarchy and the personal abilities of Juan Carlos, the author notes the importance of the fact that the monarchy did not take part in the civil war and did not try to build on the previous regime which could have easily caused conflicts with the public. According to the author, the monarchy's careful and active engagement to prove its purpose and aim to the public, significantly helped Spain's successful and peaceful transition to democracy.
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Political and Cultural Influence of the USA on Italy in years 1945-1948
Pekařová, Karolína Daniella ; Koura, Jan (advisor) ; Pešta, Mikuláš (referee)
(in English) This diploma thesis deals with the influence of the United States of America on Italy during the years 1945 and 1948. One of the factors that played an important role in this issue was the Cold War, since it had an immense impact on American foreign policy as well as the changing relationship between Italy and the USA. With regard to American foreign policy, Italy was not really in the centre of its attention after the Second World War. This, however, changed after the relationship between the USSR and USA had deteriorated in 1946 and 1947, which brought a shift in the American stance towards the Apennine peninsula. The strength of the Communist party of Italy was a major cause for concern to the American administration worrying about the spread of communism in Western Europe. The thesis puts special emphasis on 'the Propaganda Battle' led by the American administration, namely the Ambassador in Rome James Dunn, and the newly established CIA. This 'battle' is viewed especially from a cultural perspective, as the communist propaganda campaigns focused mainly on film industry, the radio and newspapers. Key words (in English) Italy, the United States of America, 1948, Communist Party of Italy, Marshall plan, CIA
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Italian and German Left-Wing Terrorism in the 1970s in a Transnational Perspective
Pešta, Mikuláš ; Koura, Jan (advisor) ; Rákosník, Jakub (referee) ; Valenta, Martin (referee)
The dissertation thesis concerns with the issue of the left-wing terrorism in Italy and Federal Republic of Germany in the 1970s. The chosen topic is approached using the methods of transnational studies, which have been thus far applied only exceptionally in the relation to this phenomenon, despite the numerous parallels in different countries. The focus of the research lies in the analysis of the German-Italian terrorist network as a whole, the contacts between the organizations and mutual influence. The direct and indirect comparison of the cooperating terrorist organizations is also a substantial part of the thesis. The protest movement, which spread at the end of the 1960s and from which emerged the future terrorist groups as its most radical branches, was an important transnational phenomenon itself. The first chapter concerns with the analysis of this movement, emphasizing the reasons of its inception and its stances on political violence. The student and worker aspects of the movement are introduced, as well as older roots in the anti-fascist resistance or in the work of the Marxist authors. The thesis finds a special inspiration for the radicalizing Left in the events in the Third World. The thesis further examines the individual terrorist groups, chosen according to their importance and relevance...
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Red Brigades and Their Functioning in Italy in the 1970s
Pešta, Mikuláš ; Kovář, Martin (advisor) ; Koura, Jan (referee)
The left-wing terrorism in Italy in the 1970s and the Red brigades as its most significant symptom resulted in the long-term view from the fight between the partisans and the fascists in the Second World War and from the short-term view from the students' and labourers' protests in the end of 1960s. The Red brigades were founded in 1970 and were composed mainly by students from Trento (Curcio, Cagol), communists from Reggio Emilia (Franceschini, Gallinari) and labourers from Milano (Moretti). They began in the first years of their functioning with agitation in the factories, burning the cars of the high managers and kidnapping. The thesis follows gradual radicalisation of the group and the change of their aims - from this moment on mostly politicians, judges, state magistrates. The transformation of the Red brigades related to the personal changes in the leadership - after Curcio and Franceschini were arrested and Cagol killed, radical Moretti became very influential. The organisation under his leadership started to kill intentionally its victims and the wave of brutal attacks culminated in the spring 1978 in kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro. The Red brigades however became strongly socially isolated and several ideological differences among the members of the administration...
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