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Digital Technologies in Promoting Peace: Integration, Impact and Challenges.
Kurmanbekova, Adinai ; Špelda, Petr (vedoucí práce) ; Glouftsios, Georgios (oponent)
Nowadays, digital technologies play a significant role in the daily lives of people and progressively continue to be integrated into different domains. Peacebuilding and peacekeeping organizations do not appear to be immune to this process, as evidenced by the increasing number of digital technology applications in this field. This thesis explores how these technologies are used in peace operations, what impact and challenges there are in their implementation. Examining both on the strategic level and the contextual case study of Democratic Republic of Congo, the paper seeks to empirically explore if digital technologies are making traditional peace operation models obsolete. The comprehensive qualitative study of documents and literature base demonstrates that there is a non-alignment between the strategic discourse and reality. Digital technology is a supplementary dimension in peace operations that can expand the missions' capabilities, however it is still early to assert that the traditional peace operation models are being outdated by the development of digital technologies. Key words: Peacekeeping, Digital Technologies, United Nations, Peacebuilding, Data, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
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Deconstructing the Securitization of Albanian Migration in British Media: A Critical Analysis of Coverage from 2021-2022
Hotaj, Alketa ; Střítecký, Vít (vedoucí práce) ; Glouftsios, Georgios (oponent)
In the realm of public opinion and policy direction, the media yields significant influence, in shaping public perceptions and directing legislative decisions. Yet, there have been instances where this influence has reinforced discriminatory perspectives about immigrants, thereby creating an environment imbued with scepticism and mistrust. This research probes into the nuanced portrayal of Albanian immigrants by the British media between 2021 and 2022, a period marked by heightened scrutiny and continued interest in this group, culminating in the securitization of the matter. While using the Critical Discourse Analysis methodology, this study focuses on the British media's themes during this timeframe and tries to locate the stereotypes present in its discourses about Albanian immigrants. 93 news articles from 7 important media outlets in the United Kingdom (The Guardian, Daily Mail, BBC, The Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Sun, Mirror), published online during January 2021 and December 2022 will be analysed for this study. The findings demonstrate that the British media in general had both similarities and differences in framing Albanian immigrants which is aligned with their ideological orientations. The right leaning media outlets, in particular, served as a courtesy for the British...
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Follow the Money: Financial Investigations Process in the European Union
Karlsone, Laima ; Glouftsios, Georgios (vedoucí práce) ; Scotto, Thomas (oponent)
Follow the Money: Financial Investigations Process in the European Union Abstract This field analysis study explores the financial investigations process in the European Union from a theory, EU-policy, and practical implementation standpoint. The study examines the origins and justification of asset-focused crime control measures and their legal framework, lists the involved stakeholders, describes their function and interactions, and illustrates financial investigations utility in serious and organised crime and terrorist financing cases. Financial investigations can aid in developing a criminal investigation narrative and hypothesis, by utilizing available financial intelligence in identifying and connecting suspects to each other, to geographical locations, to services. Conversely, transactional information can point to offences prior unknown to the authorities. Despite its added value, financial investigations process, especially of cross-border nature, is faced with various challenges, such as varying levels of relevant EU law transposition in national legislation, lack of access to information held by the non-financial sector, or other member states, and insufficient statistics on criminal assets and asset recovery regime implementation Union-wide.
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The Use of Quantum-Based Technologies for Secure Satellite Communications in Support of European Union Space Security and Defence
Macci, Francesco ; Glouftsios, Georgios (vedoucí práce) ; Doboš, Bohumil (oponent)
This research delves into the nexus between quantum technologies and their prospective role in enhancing secure satellite communications, with a particular focus within the European Union (EU) space security and defence. Embarking on an interpretivist research design, the study employs qualitative content analysis and fieldwork at the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to elucidate the interplay between quantum principles and the EU's space endeavours. Through an exploration of quantum key distribution via space, the research shows a promising future for the secure transmission of critical data. To harness these quantum advancements effectively, substantial investments within the EU are essential. Against the backdrop of the evolving EU space strategy for security and defence, the research contemplates the centralisation of space matters within a singular, specialized EU body. In the broader context, the study underscores the urgency for international regulations to navigate the burgeoning complexities of space technology advancements and to safeguard against the threats of space weaponization. As the EU navigates unexplored space areas, the combination of quantum innovation, strategic coherence, and international cooperation emerges as crucial in guiding the EU towards a strong...
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Peace through Knowledge - Understanding the last decade of United Nations Peacekeeping Intelligence
Chappuis, Kelig ; Glouftsios, Georgios (vedoucí práce) ; Bureš, Oldřich (oponent)
This dissertation addresses the following research question: What are the main features of contemporary intelligence processes for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations? It did so by considering two distinct elements: what happened in practice on the field, and which lessons were learned from this experience. Answers to these questions were respectively obtained by a case study on the peacekeeping intelligence of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, and a deep dive on some of the recent standardized manuals published by the Department of Peace Operations. This work has willingly adopted a purely open-source approach to the study of intelligence and has also sought to bring a novel tentative addition to peacekeeping intelligence research via the consideration of standardized guidelines. It found that contemporary PKI was still struggling with the nature of UN peacekeeping, such as cultural differences, unclear structures, lack of communication protocols and insufficient means. At the same time, it considered that the recent push towards standardized practices and procedures started by the DPO in the past years showed a marked improvement towards clarity and common references, but raised concerns on dependency with institutions such as NATO and rising militarization of...
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Criminal pandemic: A critical assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on Italian Organized Crime Groups (OCGs)
Vertemati, Lorenzo ; Dowd, Caitriona (vedoucí práce) ; Glouftsios, Georgios (oponent)
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a number of overarching effects on many aspects of our daily lives. The health emergency greatly contributed to the economic, political, and social crises that rocked our entrance in the third decade of the 21st century. In this context of fear, many countries found themselves vulnerable to a long-time, internal enemy: organized crime groups. This is particularly true for what concerns Italy, a nation that, apart from being heavily hit by the virus, boasts a long tradition of mafia presence. The terror was fuelled by media organizations, politicians, and a number of additinoal stakeholders that wished to capitalize on the chaos. Interestingly though, the same views were shared by a number of academic researchers. This study thus set out to identify the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Italian organized crime groups and understand whether they had an actual impact. Taking inspiration from the literature, we employ a mixed-method approach based on a critical, historical analysis of primary and secondary sources from governmental and non-governmental reports and datasets, academic books and studies, and news stories and articles. It was found that, out of 11 variables considered, Italian organized crime groups were actually able to expand and increase their profits in...
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Strategic autonomy in the global tech order: A case study of European Union's technological sovereignty vis-a-vis US and China
Dewan, Vaibhav ; Karásek, Tomáš (vedoucí práce) ; Glouftsios, Georgios (oponent)
The evolution of European Union's strategic autonomy has been can be traced to its historical dependence on the United States through economic and security guarantees. However, in the last two decades, there has been a shift in EU's strategic thinking in terms of anticipating a scenario of potential American withdrawal from the continent. This strategic orientation has also been extended to the domain of technology where global interdependence on the same has been used to expand geo-strategic influence. This study traces the evolution of European Union's technological sovereignty as a part of its ambition to achieve strategic autonomy vis-à-vis the strategic technological competition between the United States and China. The case studies for this dissertation include (a) The analysis of Platform governance in Transatlantic relations and (b) EU's technological discourse vis-à-vis dependencies on 5G technologies in the domain of telecommunications and cybersecurity respectively. The study will be based on the theoretical perspective of strategic triangle angle approach in the context of EU's bilateral ties with both Washington and Beijing and discourse analysis will be methodology in practice with regards to the EU being the central object of reference for the study. Keywords: Autonomy, China, EU,...
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Total ban or responsible use? A policy survey to better regulate the use of AI-powered video surveillance in law enforcement in the European Union
Rolland, Apolline Mireille Karin ; Špelda, Petr (vedoucí práce) ; Glouftsios, Georgios (oponent)
AI-powered video surveillance is a heated issue in the European Union which has given rise to a very polarised debate. On the one hand, proponents advocate for its ability to make cities safer and better protect people. On the other hand, opponents are concerned about the technology's threat to fundamental rights and individual freedoms, such as the right to privacy or fear of the risk of discrimination. European institutions have started attempts at regulating the technology but have so far been struggling with the development of a broad regulation that accounts for the diversity of applications found in AI-powered video surveillance, protects citizens, and encourages innovation at the same time. This dissertation therefore investigates how to implement responsible use of AI-powered video surveillance for predictive policing purposes. To do so, the analysis is divided into two parts which correspond to the two main branches of application of AI-powered video surveillance: object-centred and person-centred AI-powered video surveillance. It first uses securitisation theory to situate the debate. Next, it uses Document Analysis and coding to analyse the qualitative data. The qualitative data encompasses policy and technical documents to allow for a nuanced approach to the issue that accounts for the...
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