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International legal recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo
Skala, Jakub ; Tejchman, Miroslav (advisor) ; Šindelář, Jan (referee)
This seminar paper addresses the issue of international recognition of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The work is based on the application of pre-defined criteria of statehood on specific cases and their comparison. The result is confirmation of the hypothesis that neither of these states do not meet the requirements for recognition of statehood under international law. The seminar paper with the benefit of hindsight validates previous findings and summarizes the abnormal development of the Balkan Peninsula and it stimulates further research in the future.
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Fragmentation of political space in Caucasus: Case studies of secessionist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
Bokeria, Levan ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Valková, Irena (referee)
The main objective of this thesis deals with the efforts of de facto states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on secesionism. The first part studies the historical roots of dispute among Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Georgia. Mutual disputes have led to an armed conflict in the early nineties after which Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia and began seeking the international recognition. After the Georgian-Russian war in 2008 they managed to achieve the partial recognition. The biggest ally of the afore-mentioned countries seems to be Russia which provides them with political, economical and military support. The thesis also analyzes the role of Russia in the conflict and its subsequent implementation. The final chapter focuses on the evaluation of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's statehood. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Split of Sudan: Possible solution for other African Countries?
Šůcha, Václav ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
The aim of diploma thesis ,,Split of Sudan: Possible scenario for other African countries?" is to analyze internal and external causes of South Sudan's secession and to find out, if these causes have secessionist potential in the cases of Somaliland in Somalia and Biafra in Nigeria. Among the internal causes, we can find for example nationalism or human rights abuses, while the external causes are represented primarily by the role of international community. After South Sudan's declaration of indendence, many scholars what African countries were going to follow Sudan's scenario. For the same purpose, this thesis is aimed at analyzing the cases of Somalia and Nigeria or Somaliland and Biafra to be more precise. Somaliland has been de facto independent from Somalia since 1991 but it hasn't been recognized by any country yet. Although Biafra only exists on the paper, the local secessionist movement has been seeking an actualization of this political unit existing in the 1960s for many years now. First partial goal of this thesis is to analyze the secession of South Sudan according to set theories of secession and to create a hypothesis about suitable condiditons for other secessions. The rest of the thesis is dedicated to testing given hypothesis in the cases of Somaliland and Biafra.
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The concept of referendums in democracy: a comparison of the Scottish and Catalan models
Dudycha, Petr ; Říchová, Blanka (advisor) ; Brunclík, Miloš (referee)
The diploma thesis called 'the concept of referendums in democracy: a comparison of the Scottish and Catalan models', deals with the question of referendum in democracy which is an instrument for countries to become independent. The referendum is correctly known as a constitutional referendum. This thesis also deals with the application of a constitutional referendum in the cases of Scotland and Catalonia. The main purpose of this research is to analyse the conduct of the Scottish and Catalan referendums for independence, both of which were held in the autumn of 2014. The paper looks to identify the similarities and differences between these two examples. Both cases are based on seven variables in the research of referendums: 1) constitutional framework for holding a referendum of independence, 2) identification of the basic political process leading to a referendum, 3) organizational-administrative regulation of a referendum, 4) issues during the referendum campaign, 5) opinion polls for the referendum, 6) results of the referendum and 7) predicted consequences of the referendum. The final purpose of this thesis is to assess how these two models reflect on the current constitutional practice in a democratic society.
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Concepts of theories of secession and their application at case studies of South African bantustans and Katanga
Kotlanová, Veronika ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Romancov, Michael (referee)
The topics of the thesis, "Concepts of Theories of Secession and Their Application on the Case of Independence of South African Homelands and Congolese Katanga", are the most important theoretical concepts of secession. The beginning of the first part deals with issues closely related to the secession, e.g. the state and its definitions in the field of political science or constitution of new political units in the system of international law. The main part is focused on the discussion between two dominant schools - Primary Right and Remedial Right theories. This paper primarily proceeds from the classification of the theories of secession by Allen Buchanan. To fully picture the intellectual development of thinking about secession, this paper also includes three modern approaches to the topic. The second part consists of two case studies, more specifically "Katanga's Secession from Newly Independent Congo in 1960" and "The Independence of South African Homelands". The aim of this section is to study the process of secession, but also to evaluate them through the perspective of different theories of secession as they were presented in the first part.
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Right of Nations to Self-Determination: Catalonia
Sleziaková, Zuzana ; Zemanová, Štěpánka (advisor) ; Šklebená, Karolína (referee)
This bachelor thesis analyzes the right of nations to self-determination on the example of Spain's autonomous region of Catalonia, which has been showing increasing separatist tendencies over the past few years. The first part presents the evolution of the right of nations to self-determination and discusses the ultimate subject of this right. For that matter, the thesis distinguishes between the terms state, nation, nationality, ethnic group and national minority. The thesis also defines the contents of the right of nations to self-determination and differentiates between its internal and external aspect. Second part of the thesis elaborates on the identity of the Catalan population with regards to the common characteristics of nations, as defined in Chapter 1. The final part contemplates about the admissibility of Catalonia's secession from Spain as an expression of its external self-determination and its potential implications for both Catalonia and the international community.
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Separatist trends in Europe - The case study of Catalonia
Kotasová, Martina ; Dubský, Zbyněk (advisor) ; Sršeň, Radim (referee)
This thesis describes history of Catalan nationalism and analyzes the motives that lead to separatist tendencies in Catalonia. It also focuses on the impact of devolution and separation on Catalonia and Spain. Catalans are a historic nation with their own language and traditions. Since the establishment of the Kingdom of Spain they have sought a greater autonomy within pluralistic Spain until now. In the history, they experienced numerous efforts of assimilation and suppression, mostly during the dictatorship of General Franco. But the Catalans defended their uniqueness and during the transition to democracy and with the new Constitution of 1978, they gained considerable portion of autonomy. In the history, Catalans did not demand independence, they wanted to be part of the federal Spain. However, due to the economic crisis and the rejection of the greater autonomy, Catalan nationalism converted to separatism.
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The Right of Peoples to Self-determination as a Factor of International Relations
Drahoňovská, Soňa ; Veselý, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Dubský, Zbyněk (referee)
This paper explores the current understanding of the right of peoples to self-determination and its impact on international relations. A number of new states have gained international recognition outside the scope of decolonisation, several of which have not fulfilled the usual criteria for statehood, based on existing state practice. In addition, the parent states of Bangladesh, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Kosovo have not consented to the secession of these territories. The main purpose of this paper is to determine whether based on the stipulations of international documents and mainly on existing state practice, it is possible to verify the existence of a customary law enabling peoples to unilaterally secede. Such a right would pose a threat to the future application of the principle of territorial integrity as one of the basic principles of international relations. In order to answer this question I compare case studies of successful and unsuccessful nations striving for their own state outside the realm of decolonisation. Based on this comparison I analyse the current understanding of the right to self-determination and its impact on international relations. I conclude by stating that it is not possible to unambiguously confirm the existence of such a right. However, in practice the principle of territorial integrity is being breached nonetheless, due to persisting uncertainties regarding the possible application of secession by peoples whose internal right to self-determination was not respected. Together with the fact that the current concept of self-determination ignores collective rights of national groups, this poses a threat to international stability.
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