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United States Anti-Drug Policy in Colombia: Consolidation of the La Macarena Region as a Lesson derived from Plan Colombia?
Koutenská, Kristýna ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Kozák, Kryštof (referee)
The United States officially declared war on drugs in the early 1970s with the aim to stop the flow of illegal narcotics coming into the country. Not only did Washington enhance the domestic anti-drug policy, but it also strengthened the foreign anti-drug policy and launched an extensive campaign in Latin America, one of the major producers of drugs in the world. Chemical eradication and interdiction of drug-trafficking routes in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia led to a relocation of the cultivation of illegal crops to Colombia, closer to the laboratories. Thus, Bogota became the centre of attention for Washington. This bachelor thesis describes U.S. anti-drug strategies and highlights its limits, which influence the success rate of specific plans, in this case Plan Colombia and La Macarena Integral Consolidation Plan (PCIM). In 2000 Washington approved an ambitious Plan Colombia. One of its main objects was to reduce the production of cocaine in Colombia within six years. However, massive aerial eradication only led to a displacement of a large number of people and in the end the production of coca and cocaine even increased. The Colombia's National Territorial Consolidation Plan, more precisely the PCIM was supposed to put this situation right. The aim was to regain control over the municipalities that...
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The social construction of nuclear threat : US nuclear disarmament discourse, 1945-2014
Pyrihová, Marie ; Smetana, Michal (advisor) ; Hynek, Nikola (referee)
Nuclear weapons are the key element of the security policy of the United States of America since 1945. Since then, nuclear weapons and related nuclear threats were part of a social discourse of the United States. This thesis examined how these threats were socially constructed within the discourse by individual actors. Then, by discoursive analysis, the thesis investigated how the nuclear disarmament discourse responded to these identified threats. The study focused on how these identified threats and the nuclear disarmament discourse influenced each other in each period and how they impacted following periods. This diploma thesis examined the U.S. nuclear discourse while using a methodological framework of discoursive analysis. The diploma thesis operated with the theory of securitization and determined key moments, when particular threat was designated as existential to the security of the United States and when, eventually, this threat subsided.
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Manas Air Base and U.S.-Kyrgyz Relations
Nováková, Sabina ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Horák, Slavomír (referee)
The following thesis is a case study of the U.S. Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan. It addresses the significance of the base in the context of mutual U.S.-Kyrgyz relations after 2001. It aims to analyze the bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and the Kyrgyz on establishing the air base, its functioning, and eventually its closure in 2014. Among the research questions, it seeks to explain the respective positions of both parties, the motives behind their actions, and factors that influenced this negotiation process. The analysis shows that the extensive U.S. efforts to get and maintain access to the facility were driven by the necessity to secure transportation corridors to and from Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan, on the other hand, was primarily interested in financial benefits stemming from having an American base on its territory. The U.S. let local elites enrich themselves in connection with the air base revenues. Kyrgyzstan's internal instability also had a major impact on its stance towards foreign policy matters and the issue of the Manas air base in particular. The U.S. was a stronger player in this asymmetric relationship, but Washington often got into situations where it was being pulled by Kyrgyzstan's domestic developments, which effectively determined mutual relations. The analysis concludes that...
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A Libertarian Critique of the U.S. Criminal Justice System
Král, Zdeněk ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Calda, Miloš (referee)
The thesis analyzes selected issues in the U.S. criminal justice system, and the solutions proposed by American libertarians. First, it introduces libertarianism as a whole, based on both contemporary and historical sources. The thesis then examines the real influence of libertarians on U.S. politics, and the possibility that libertarian proposals might be adopted. It analyzes the successes of the U.S. Libertarian Party and introduces movement and factions in the two major parties, Republican and Democratic, and today's influential politicians who at least partially promote libertarian proposals. In the final, pivotal chapter, the thesis uses the theoretical base provided in the first chapter to analyze the shortcomings of the U.S. criminal justice system, and the solutions and changes that libertarians propose. The structure of this analysis follows the generally accepted structure of the system itself, dealing with criminal law and its enforcement through policing, courts and corrections. On each of these levels, the thesis introduces both the libertarian critique of today's system and examples of specific issues and proposed solutions. The thesis identifies the so-called "War on Drugs" as one of the key points of the libertarian critique, and uses is as a case study which illustrates the impact of...
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India-U.S. Relations in the Late 1960s and in the First Half of the 1970s
Novotný, Ondřej ; Bečka, Jan (advisor) ; Vidén, Anna Karolina (referee)
This MA thesis titled as - India-U.S. Relations in the Late 1960s and in the First Half of the 1970s - focuses on mutual relations of the U.S. on one side and India on the other. It elaborates various events, which influenced these relations during the late 1960s and in the first half ot the 1970s. The result of this work is the confirmation that the U.S., in its foreign policy strategy, strictly followed the principle of realpolitik. Thanks to that their interests, however, often collided with those of India. Its effort of rapprochment with the PRC, during which Pakistan played an important role as the main communication channel between both countries, was a 'thorn in the side' of India's top officials, including its Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The U.S. foreign policy, which was mainly in hands of the National Security Advisor of President Richard Nixon Henry Kissinger, had to logically prefer an alliance with Pakistan. This, of course, was not welcomed by India because these two Asian countries waged several wars against each other and had strained relations since their birth. Thus, in spite of the fact that India might seem as the best American partner, given its strong democratic principles, the opposite was true. Nixon/Kissinger, in defiance of all obstacles, did not relent and remained firm...
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Australia and New Zealand within ANZUS
Šestáková, Michaela ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bernard Thompson Mikes, Antonin (referee)
This thesis deals primarily with Australia and New Zealand within ANZUS. Using theoretical concept intra-alliance opposition, more precisely opposition for autonomy it compares factors which influenced different behavior of the members. New Zealand occupied opposition for autonomy against U. S. in 1980s, while Australia remained in conformal relationship guaranteeing security benefits. Factors, which could influence members, given by this thesis are foreign-policy, domestic-policy and system factors. Thesis examines evolution of member's bilateral relations with U. S. from mid 1980s and presents contemporary cooperation frame.
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The Influence of Cyber Terrorism Threat on the American Security Policy
Rezek, Tomáš ; Calda, Miloš (advisor) ; Mareš, Miroslav (referee) ; Cabada, Ladislav (referee) ; Polčák, Radim (referee)
(English) The aim of this dissertation is to answer the question of whether the U.S. security policy is influenced by the threat of cyber terrorism. The dissertation is divided into chapters that can be regarded as steps in a logical reasoning process. In the first chapter, cyber space is introduced and described to illustrate its importance and complexity. The next chapter analytically compares various definitions of terrorism, and partially rejects the initial hypothesis that cyber terrorism is not included in the general definition of terrorism. The following chapter statistically analyzes the available data on terrorist groups and terrorist attacks to empirically confirm the hypothesis that terrorism is still a real threat to American security. The analysis actually proves that the threat of terrorism has not decreased in relation to the number of terrorist groups. It also shows that the number of terrorist attacks against the U.S. targets has significantly decreased in the United States, while terrorist actions have been increasing constantly on a global level. The analysis shows that the success rate of terrorists attacks does not form a time series, and therefore each terrorist attack has to be examined individually to assess its success probability. The following analysis reviews the...
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Current "Welcoming" and "Receiving Community" Initiatives as an Immigration Integration Strategy: Comparing Selected Cities of the U.S., Canada, and Europe
Lukavec, JoEllen Michelle ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Anděl, Petr (referee)
JoEllen Lukavec Koester Abstract This thesis aims to demonstrate that recent trends in immigrant integration efforts in selected North American cities can be applied to European cities with the expectation of success. The first section of this thesis considers recent trends in immigrant integration theory, emphasizing those directed at host or receiving populations, and summarizes the approach the Welcoming America organization takes in terms of the integration of immigrants. The second major section of the thesis compares immigrant integration strategies used in Austin, Nashville, Dayton, and Halifax, and speculates as to which of these strategies could be applied with the expectation of success to the European cities of Birmingham and Prague. These European cities have been chosen for comparison specifically because Prague and Birmingham are presently at a critical juncture in the reception and integration of their immigrant populations. Immigration strategy employed in Birmingham and Prague in the next several years will determine, for better or worse, future trends in immigrant integration in these cities. This thesis concludes that by adopting models used in North American cities such as Nashville, Austin, Dayton, and Halifax, the European cities of Prague and Birmingham would strengthen the success of...
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The Development of the Czech Minority in the U.S. between 1850 and 2006
Housková, Štěpánka ; Horálek, Adam (advisor) ; Schovánková, Soňa (referee)
This thesis is focused on the Czech minority living in the U.S., which is currently the largest and certainly the most important Czech expatriate minority abroad. There is the historical view of the development of emigration to the U.S. from 1850 to present. The focus constitutes periods which are characterized as another reason for emigration as well as other numerical strength of emigrants. There is then discussed the issue of changes in the number of Czechs in the U.S. and changes in their distribution in various U.S. states. It explains why there are changes in the distribution. The main reason is the shift from agriculturally oriented migrants to immigrants seeking work in factories and finally more intellectual emigrants in the years after World War II. Furthermore, it is focused on three U.S. states (California, Illinois and Texas) which were chosen because of their specificity in relation to the Czech minority in the U.S. There is described in detail the history and current situation of the Czech minority and the current distribution of the Czechs in these states. Also it discusses some demographic and socio-cultural characteristics of the Czech minority in case of the three selected states.
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Illegal immigrants in the U.S.: proposed solutions and their consequences
Hořavová, Tatiana ; Kozák, Kryštof (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
Tatiana Hořavová: Illegal immigrants in the U.S.: proposed solutions and their consequences ABSTRACT The problem of illegal immigration is one of the most pressing issues of USA's domestic politics today. The number of illegal immigrants currently present in the country is estimated to be around 11 million, and the inflow of new illegal immigrants seems unstoppable. Finding and applying the right solutions, however, seems to be highly problematic; this thesis will therefore try to analyze the reasons of such an impasse, and what could be expected in the discussion about this issue. The thesis, aside from a necessary introduction to today's immigration system and demographic characteristics of illegal immigrants, also contains an illumination of the reasons why illegal immigration is criticized. It focuses on four areas of criticism - legal, economic, cultural and security- related, and shows that arguments in the discussion about all these aspects exist for both sides of the debate - one that sees illegal immigrants primarily as criminals and a burden for America, and also the one that tries to defend illegal immigrants, and stresses their right to be treated humanely. The existence of two conflicting concepts pertaining to the approach to illegal immigrants in the USA is in this text further documented...
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