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From Silence to Recognition: Exploring the Evolving Discourse on the Armenian Genocide by US Presidents
Avetisyan, Stella ; Ibáñez, Josep (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
The Armenian Genocide, a dark chapter imprinted in history, stands as a poignant reminder of the long- lasting impact of human suffering. This paper aims to analyze the discourse on the Armenian Genocide by Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden, contributing to country studies, regional studies, and genocide studies. Through discourse analysis of their statements on Armenian Remembrance Day, we will examine the language, narratives, and perspectives expressed by the presidents. The paper argues that there has been a shift in the discourse used by President Biden by using more explicit and direct language to address the atrocities executed against the Armenian nation when comparing the respective discourse to his two predecessors. This study carries significant implications in different fields, enclosing the analysis of shifting narratives and power dynamics surrounding the Armenian Genocide, contributing to genocide studies, and supporting the ongoing objective of recognition and justice by the Armenian community.
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An Inductive Empirical Case Study Of China's Exercise Of Discourse Power: A Topic Model Based Analysis Of Xinhua's English-Language Facebook Posts About The War In Ukraine In 2022 - 2023
Theseira, Julian Anthony ; Kolenovská, Daniela (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent) ; David, Maxine (oponent)
This thesis analysed Xinhua's posts about the war in Ukraine in 2022 - 2023 on its primary global English-language Facebook page, as an inductive empirical case study of China's exercise of Discourse Power. This thesis used an inductive computational method, Topic Modelling, in combination with a framework adapted from the public diplomacy literature due to limited existing scholarship in English about China's Discourse Power, to analyse data about Xinhua's Facebook posts about the war in Ukraine in 2022 - 2023. The dataset of this thesis consisted of 1110 Facebook posts and their associated metadata from the period 1 February 2022 - 31 March 2023. The data was gathered using CrowdTangle, then processed and analysed using the Python programming language. This thesis inductively identified five possible topics of Xinhua's Facebook posts about the war in Ukraine in 2022 - 2023: China's Perspectives On The War In Ukraine; The War In Ukraine And Global Prices; Russia's "Military Operation" In Ukraine And Presidents; UN And The War In Ukraine; US, NATO, And The War In Ukraine. Through an analysis of data from Facebook, this thesis found that these topics possibly obtained some traction with audiences. Therefore, China's exercise of Discourse Power regarding the war in Ukraine via Xinhua was possibly...
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Health Security of Refugees and Asylum Seekers during COVID-19: The Role of Cities
Mărginean, Anca Stefana ; Zapata, Ricard (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
In the context of the major threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the health security of all individuals, the vulnerable situation of refugees and asylum seekers was aggravated. In Europe, while the management of irregular migrants during the pandemic was discussed and decided upon by national governments, the consequences were felt at the local level. Given the local turn within the multi-level governance framework in the field of migration, this paper asks the following research question: how have European cities ensured the health security of refugees and asylum seekers during COVID-19? It hypothesises that the urban regime system within the MLG framework explains the way in which local governments develop responses aimed at protecting the health security of irregular migrants during the pandemic. By employing the Narrative Policy Framework, the paper compares policies developed by local governments in Bristol, Frankfurt and Timișoara regarding health security and irregular migration during the period March 2020 to March 2022. It finds that both the vertical (local government - national government) and horizontal (local government - civil society) relationships within the multi-level governance framework influence local policies. In addition, the paper shows that coordination between the national and...
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Does war accelerate green energy transitions? Examining the impacts of the Ukraine war on national energy transitions
Horajno, Karolina Adriana ; Ortiz, Luis (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
The EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels had been widely accepted throughout the last century. Associated collaterals such as relying the energy supplies of domestic industries and households on a foreign regime were disregarded. Only the Russian war on Ukraine from 24 June 2022 represents a paradigm shift in existing energy dependencies. Germany particularly excelled in its paradigm shift from being the largest importer of Russian gas and the second-largest importer of oil toward a complete import ban on Russian fuels. At the same time, the biggest European pipeline with Russia, Nordstream 2, was intended to support Germany's ability to cease coal-burning and nuclear energy. Therefore, it represented a decisive step in Germany's ambitious green energy transition. This raises the question of how the war in Ukraine impacted German public policies on energy. Supported by underlying theories on paradigm shifts in political decisions as a reaction to exogenous shocks, the content analysis examines press releases of the German Federal Minister for Climate and Energy and evaluates Germany's approach in dealing with supply shortages from Russia. Thereby, it focuses on the consequences for its green energy transition. In doing so, the underlying thesis substantially contributes to further developing Hall's...
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Local media perception of the EU and US Foreign Policy in the Colombian post-conflict era
Veliz Isla, Samanta Sofía ; Zubek, Marcin (vedoucí práce) ; Bianculli, Andrea (oponent)
This research explores the Colombian media perception of the EU and the US in the case of post conflict Colombia. Both actors' important role in the Colombian conflict resolution granted them prominence in the peacebuilding process the country is going through, an open invitation for them to deploy their respective and commonly juxtaposed foreign policy tools. Following a news media analysis informed by the cascade activation framing theory (Entman, 1993; Entman, 2003), this study argues that despite there's a significant salience of both EU and US's foreign policies - especially in the news in which the actors were involved in the Colombian domestic issues. The major degree of centrality and emotive charge in which the US is framed ultimately makes it a more outstanding international actor - a result that may be related to the US-Colombia longstanding and stable partnership. Still, although the EU is not the most salient, perceptions in the Colombian media show the recognition of the EU's distinctiveness as normative actor and in the environmental, energy, migration, and human rights fields. This is ultimately coherent with the areas of soft power approach it wants to project to the world and represents the EU's successful mediated public diplomacy and ability to penetrate in a country highly influenced by...
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Who is 'the public'? The case of the EU's Public Diplomacy in the Eastern Partnership.
Aldag, Kristin ; Tomalová, Eliška (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
Who is 'the public'? The case of the EU's Public Diplomacy in the Eastern Partnership Master's Thesis - Kristin Aldag - Charles University, June 2021 Abstract For states and other international actors such as the European Union, public diplomacy is an important tool to achieve their political and economic interests abroad by communi- cating directly with foreign audiences. While the existing body of academic literature on pub- lic diplomacy is rich, few authors have thus far addressed the question of who actually consti- tutes the public, and which specific target groups can be distinguished. Using the EU PD prac- tices in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) from 2010-2020 as a case study, this thesis will thus attempt to fill this gap and contribute to the academic literature in the field by offering an overview of the various target groups within the European Union's public diplomacy. In a thorough content analysis of relevant primary sources, the thesis focuses on the policy objec- tives and practices of the European Union's outreach to different groups and audiences in the EaP region. The third chapter presents the results of this comprehensive research, which has shown that several distinct groups within the general public in the EaP can be identified, among them young people, media professional and...
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Perception of Poland's strategic potential by the G7 members at the end of the second decade of the 21st century
Dzięcielski, Mateusz Benedykt ; David, Maxine (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
This master thesis answers the research question "what is the French perception of Poland's strategic potential?", and it is analysed within the period 2015-2021. This master thesis consists of six chapters. The first one is introduction, when the next one is literature review. The third chapter is research methodology. Two next chapters are analytical and based on conducted qualitative content analysis. The first of them (chapter four) is about contemporary Polish-French international relations, and the next one (chapter five) about French perception of the strategic potential of Poland. The last chapter includes conclusions. This thesis is part of a broad academic debate about how Western Europe perceives Eastern, based on the example of Polish-French relations. One of the supporting research questions concerns whether this division is still valid in contemporary European relations. The qualitative content analysis carried out indicates that it is not a decisive factor, similar to ideological differences between the governments of Poland and France. In addition, this master thesis emphasizes the importance of perception in international relations, but also indicates its variability, depending on both external and internal conditions.
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How NGOs influence the process of policymaking: is direct lobbying a crucial determinant of success?
Memoli, Francesca ; Arregui Moreno, Francisco Javier (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
The relevance of NGOs' lobbying activity is rising within the EU institutional sphere, and the power of these actors in influencing political outcomes is generally related to their ability to mobilize public opinion; however, the recent shift in institutional political interests, as well as the NGOs' need for credibility and legitimacy, has demonstrated the advantages of developing punctual and long-term contacts with policymakers. This poses questions about the effectiveness of direct strategies used by these actors to obtain success. Through the understanding of the resources-dependency theory rooted in pluralist studies, interest groups are essential actors within a democratic institutional system building relations based on reciprocity. Measured through a quantitative approach and utilizing a regression analysis on data from 41 legislative proposals submitted by the EU between 2008 and 2010 as part of the INTEREURO project, this research paper demonstrates empirically the relevance of direct lobbying for NGOs. Through a continuous measure of success that considers the reversion point, the study shows that this is expected to be higher for more resourceful organizations and when lobbying on ordinary legislative processes. Results have implications for studies on EU decision-making and the role...
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The Opinions of the Masses and the Mass: The Effect of Religious Elite Cues on Attitudes
Tax, Natasha ; Lago, Ignacio (vedoucí práce) ; Zubek, Marcin (oponent)
This paper explores how religious elites affect public opinion through focusing on the role of the pope, by asking the question if the publication of a papal encyclical can influence attitudes about religion. Using the Unexpected Event during Survey Design, this paper connects data from the European Social Survey 7 to investigate if respondents' answers about their attitudes towards religion changed, due to the publication of a papal encyclical. Situating itself in the theory of elite cues, the object of this research is to show that religion is an important influence in the shaping of attitudes and that the pope, as an example of a religious elite, is a relevant actor in shaping opinions across Europe. This research finds that the publication of the encyclical does not make a significant difference in attitudes among individuals, however there is an increase in level of religiosity, primarily for countries with strong pre-existing attachments towards religion.
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