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Securitization of an imaginary threat as an authoritarian legitimation instrument: The cases of Belarus and Uzbekistan
Akromov, Otabek ; Ó Beacháin, Donnacha (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Securitization of an Imaginary Threat as an Authoritarian Legitimation Instrument: The Cases of Belarus and Uzbekistan. July 2021 GUID: 2458329A DCU ID: 19108281 CU ID: 22199053 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Degree of International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies Word Count: 22 451 Supervisor: Donnacha Ó Beacháin Date of Submission: 31.07.2021 Abstract This research explores how the securitization of imaginary and exaggerated threats is used as a legitimation instrument in hegemonic authoritarian regimes. Approaching the task through the cases studies, this thesis will situate the securitization practice within the performance mechanism of authoritarian legitimation and apply it in two hegemonic autocratic regimes - Uzbekistan of Islam Karimov and Belarus of Alexander Lukashenko. This dissertation picks qualitative research design. Methodologically, discourse and content analysis will be used to test the theory that will be developed in this project. The arguments presented in the thesis draw upon the primary sources such as speeches, official statements, and memoirs. The dissertation will also refer to the secondary sources in order to synthesise arguments provided by the existing literature related to the issue in question. This research project...
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Diverging interests driving a shared strategic culture in Europe through the European Intervention Initiative
de Valk, Giliam Josse ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Smith, David (referee)
The European Intervention Initiative (EI2) is a European defence framework that was proposed by France in September 2017 and formally established in June 2018. The EI2's ultimate goal is to develop a shared strategic culture in Europe. How this objective should be achieved, however, is barely described by the EI2's participant countries. This research used the concepts of strategic culture and national interest to analyse how the EI2 and its ultimate objective came into being. While the participant countries had different national interest for joining the EI2 and different understandings of strategic culture, the ambiguity surrounding the EI2's ultimate goal in fact provided an outcome. It was concrete enough to get behind, but also allowed participant countries to interpret and explain the objective the way it suited their own national interests and understandings of strategic culture. As such, the two concepts did not oppose, but rather facilitate each other in the EI2's development.
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The bureaucratisation and professionalisation of security in INGOs: Security-risk management from the perspective of field workers
Cottin, Johanna Luise ; Gaynor, Niamh (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Based on eight in-depth interviews conducted with humanitarian workers working in high-risk areas, this research examines the impact of bureaucratisation and professionalisation of INGOs on their security-risk management. Whereas twentieth century theorist have argued that bureaucracy and professionalisation increase efficiency in public institutions, this research has found that it also impedes on the delivery of humanitarian aid. The increased bureaucratisation and professionalisation of tasks in INGOs has created tensions between different hierarchical levels. In particular, field staff perceives the growing bureaucratisation of security risk management as a coercive and controlling tool used by headquarters to monitor their work at field level. At the same time, field staff have developed strategies to counter restrictive measures to retain independence and autonomy in their security-risk management. These tensions reflect the evolution of the humanitarian sector and the evolving drive behind aid delivery. This research thus contributes to debates around the securitization of the humanitarian sector and the implementation of efficient security risk management. 1. Cover of the book Saving Lives and Staying Alive by M.Neuman and F. Weissman (2016)
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The Relationship between Success in North American Sports and Birth Rates
Suchomel, Tomáš ; Janhuba, Radek (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Sports are world phenomenon deeply ingrained in North American culture. The existing research suggests that sports outcomes have the potential to significantly influence the lives of emotionally interested fans. However, the question of relationship between sport outcomes and birth rates is not yet welldocumented. Hence, the objective of this thesis is to establish whether there is a significant relationship between overall victories in major North American sport competitions and the number of births in the relevant territorial units. In general, no conclusive evidence was found that an overall victory is associated with any significant effect. However, more telling results were obtained for individual competitions. Interestingly, our novel method considering the natural variability in pregnancy length outperformed the usual approach adopted in similar studies as results show that R2 and adjusted R2 are both larger for the new method in all comparable regressions.
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Derivatives of Amaryllidaceae alkaloid vittatine as potential drugs
Teplanská, Michaela ; Hulcová, Daniela (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacognosy Candidate: Michaela Teplanská Supervisor: PharmDr. Daniela Hulcová, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: Derivatives of Amaryllidaceae alkaloid vittatine as potential drugs Haemanthamine type Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are characterized by interesting biological activity. This group also includes alkaloid vittatine with antitumor, antibacterial, antifungal and antimalarial effects. Although vittatine does not inhibit cholinesterases, its derivatives have shown promising activity against butyrylcholinesterase, which is one of the targets of potential drugs in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Another series of semisynthetic vittatine derivatives was prepared in order to examine their biological activity. Reactions with acyl chlorides gave 11 aromatic esters. Identification of the prepared substances was performed by ESI HRMS, NMR and optical rotation measurements. The derivatives were tested for inhibitory activity against human cholinesterases. The results show that the substances were not active against acetylcholinesterase, but almost all of them inhibited butyrylcholinesterase. The most active was 3-O-(6-chloro-2- fluoro-3-methylbenzoyl)vittatine with an IC50 value 0.29 ± 0.03 μM. According to the calculated value...
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Microscopic structura and mechanical properties of aorta and pulmonary artery
Kubíková, Tereza ; Tonar, Zbyněk (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee) ; Horný, Lukáš (referee)
Introduction: This dissertation thesis consists of seven studies, the common aim of which was to describe the functional histology of the aorta and some of its branches, as well as the pulmonary artery. The thesis focuses on analysis of the microscopic composition of various segments of the porcine aorta during ontogenesis as an experimental model, as well as cryopreserved samples of human aorta, pulmonary artery and their valves. Further it assesses damage to the renal artery during its denervation, and evaluates cell colonization of synthetic vascular substitutes after their implantation into the abdominal aortas of mice. The introduction gives an overview of the structure of the aorta and pulmonary artery and their valves, selected diseases affecting large vessels, and histological and biomechanical methods used for their characterization. Methods: We used the paraffin section method with basic and advanced stains, immunohistochemical detection of antigens (α-smooth muscular actin, desmin, vimentin, chondroitin sulfate, von Willebrand factor, neurofilament protein, tyrosine hydroxylase) and biomechanical tests (uniaxial tensile tests) for determination of ultimate strain, ultimate stress and Young's modulus of elasticity. We used stereological methods based on the interaction of test grids of...
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Factors influencing the success of restricting the development and use of technology
Hanzl, Ondřej ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
The primary goal of this thesis is to analyze and compare the impact of political and technological influences on the breakdown of disarmament efforts between the two world wars. This issue is approached by analyzing the string of disarmament conferences that took place in the interwar period and restrictions placed on the German military imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The theory that serves both as inspiration and a tool to examine the subject is the Actor-network theory originating from École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris. This theory is used to view the subject in a new light. The author places military technology, the political movement of disarmament, and especially restrictions of Germany on par with states and international organizations. While the political turmoil and causes and effects are well researched and documented, the technological aspects of the issue less so. The author asks if the disarmament efforts were realistic in their scope. Whether a state abiding by the new rules could even mount a feasible defence in a case of attack and retain offensive capabilities. Whether the technology itself allowed the existence of alternative weapon systems not breaking these rules. And in the case of Germany, whether these restrictions were effectively limiting German potential...
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The dynamics of Poland-U.S. security relations: motivation for cooperation and current developments
Kučová, Markéta ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
The subject of this diploma thesis is the topic of Poland-United States bilateral relations, the form of which results, among other things, from the geographical location and historical experience of Poland. This bilateral cooperation has a major impact on events in the region, making it a very relevant topic to explore in the light of current developments on the international scene. The work is conducted in the form of a case study and its purpose is to analyse the dynamics of Poland-United States cooperation, while the basic premise of the research is the asymmetric form of Polish-U.S. bilateral relations. The aim is to point out that relations between Warsaw and Washington are, by their development and current form, based on consensus rather than coercion from the position of a stronger partner. Glenn H. Snyder's alliance security dilemma is used in this work to analyse the dynamics, too. Due to the conceptualization of strategic culture as a context of strategic behaviour, the work also provides a relatively detailed insight into Polish strategic culture, which serves as a tool for better understanding of Polish foreign policy, security priorities and thus motivation to maintain significant relations with the United States. It is precisely the form of these relations that opens the opportunity...
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Czech mass media and Security information Service: media perspective on the annual reports of the BIS
Primasová, Rachel ; Ludvík, Jan (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
The diploma thesis Czech mass media and Security Information Service: media perspective of the annual report of BIS focuses on the image of the annual report published by the Security Information Service (often used acronym "BIS") in selected mass media: servers Parlamentni listy, Aktualne, and daily newspaper Lidove noviny. The author is looking to answer the research question Do Czech mass media present the annual report of the BIS differently? If yes, why? The author follows the hypothesis that Czech mass media contribute a different image of BIS. The reason for these contrasting opinions lies both in the internal and external factors, such as changes in ownership structures, other relationships with the BIS, or various attributes of readers. Firstly, the author describes existing literature, theory and its application, and methodology. Concerning media theory is explained and linked to the idea of social constructivism. At the example of selected foreign information services, the author highlights the Security Information Service and mass media relationship complexity. In the empirical part, the diploma thesis continues with applying quantitative content analysis in the selected time range of 1996-2019. The author explains the different media coverage, frequency of media communication, and various...
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