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The (ab)use of ontological insecurity as an instrument of political mobilization and power-consolidation/legitimization within the Visegrad countries since 2015
Balazs, Akos ; Michálek, Luděk (vedoucí práce) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent) ; McDonagh, Ken (oponent)
This dissertation scrutinizes how immigration has been constructed as an ontological security issue by the member states of the Visegrád group (Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia) between 2015 and 2020 employing ontological security theory andtheCopenhagen'sschoolsecuritizationframeworkas theoreticallensfortheanalysis.Thepaper'scentralargumentisthattheVisegrádcountries'approach to the question of immigration is fundamentally different than the Western European states' perception owing to their discrepant historical experiences. The thesis analyses each member of the Visegrád group independently through four prisms in order to provide an all-encompassing understanding about the particular characteristics of migration in each country. The analysis reveals that whereas some common attributes do exist among the member states (e.g. unwavering rejection oftheEuropeanUnion'squotamechanismortheexistenceofpronouncedxenophobicattitudes),their approach to immigration also shows striking discrepancies. Keywords: ontological security, securitization, immigration, migrant crisis, quota mechanism
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Factors Limiting the Implementation of the Cognitive Interview into the Czech Police Practice
Vinterova, Kateřina ; Tesař, Jakub (vedoucí práce) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent) ; Biagini, Erika (oponent)
This study aimed to evaluate what may be limiting the implementation of the cognitive interview (CI) into the police practice in the Czech Republic. While there is nearly 30 years' worth of laboratory research on the CI and its effectiveness, there is not much evidence of the CI being implemented into the police practice, for which it was originally intended. The current study, therefore, aimed to define and evaluate factors, which may be limiting the implementation of the CI into the police practice, with a focus on the Czech Republic. The study was conducted with 34 Czech CPIS officers, and the data for this study was collected through online questionnaires. The findings showed that the most resistance to the implementation of the CI would be on the organisation (the police) level, as there did not seem to be enough opportunities for officers to learn new interviewing techniques. Surprisingly, limitations associated with the method itself, such as the long duration of the CI or the need for cooperative witnesses, were not found to be significant in this study. Limitations of this study and its implications for further research into human security are also discussed. Keywords: police practice, witness interview, cognitive interview, Czech police, human security
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The role of Open Source Intelligence in the Fight against Transnational Organized Crime - A European Perspective
Ehe, Ricardo ; Butler, Eamonn (vedoucí práce) ; Střítecký, Vít (oponent) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
While terrorism and the internet, especially social media, has received substantial recognition in literature, this paper will address the research question of how Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) can be utilized to combat Transnational Organized Crime (TOC). As the fight against transnational organized groups is primarily a government concern, the perspective of European Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and the methodology of intelligence-led policing is placed in the center of the analysis. The link between vendors and consumers of illegal goods and services will also be investigated as it is a particularly valuable access point for OSINT given that the attention of consumers is generally captured publicly. One of the most promising applications could be identified in the context of combating human trafficking, as sexual exploitation of victims is often linked to a rich source of images which can provide specific traces. Even if the illegal business of TOC is conducted in anonymous places such as the darknet, new technological solutions of machine learning and web crawling constitute promising ways forward. Due to its unique characteristics as an intelligence discipline, OSINT, does not only provide opportunities regarding TOC, but it also has a positive impact on interagency collaboration and...
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How can Factors Underlying Human Preferences Lead to Methods of Formal Characterizations towards Developing Safe Artificial General Intelligence?
Al-Nusair, Rana Ghalib ; Špelda, Petr (vedoucí práce) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent) ; Biagini, Erika (oponent)
This research aims to investigate the Artificial Intelligence (AI) value alignment problem, which refers to the challenge in developing a safe and reliable AI that can achieve our goals and adhere to our values as we intend it to do. A misaligned AI, especially one which transcends all domains of cognitive abilities and has acquired vast computational powers, will be nearly impossible to manage and it will threaten our security. Research addressing this problem is now focused on understanding how to develop AI that can reliably infer our values from our preferences. Thus, preferences are the primary conceptual unit of analysis to the AI value alignment problem. This paper investigates our preferences and seeks to shed light on the issue of obtaining a formal truth that is fundamentally constitutive of our preferences, for the aim of using said formal truth to create a value aligned AI. To do this, this paper gathers data from economics, biological evolution, and neurocognitive studies to bridge the current gaps on the conceptual problem of preferences. The paper concludes with presenting a new kind of security dilemma which stems from the notion of combining a general theoretical framework that fully captures our preferences with the crucial elementof uncertainty inAI, effectively showcasing how...
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The paradigm of simple vulnerability: A critical appraisal of UNHCR policy regarding sexual violence and its implementation
Hurlbert, Emma Lin ; Rivetti, Paola (vedoucí práce) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent)
This dissertation addresses sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in refugee contexts, particularly the treatment of this issue by the international refugee regime complex, specifically the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and implementing Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from the mid 1990's to the mid 2010's. The objective is to analyse how power and dominance are exerted by these organisations over each other and over refugees. Therefore, I use the method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine foundational documents from the UNHCR regarding its SGBV policies and NGO documents detailing programmes in the cases of Kenya and Tanzania. I discover that the UNHCR has used its power over refugees in order to maintain its dominance in the international system through establishing the paradigm of vulnerability, which understands refugee women exclusively as victims of individual acts of violence and addresses this issue through paternalistic and reactionary policies. The UNHCR uses this paradigm to maintain its expert status above other organisations and above the refugees themselves, creating policies that are inflexible in local contexts and that do not tackle systemic and structural violence. On the other hand, implementing NGOs play a mediating role between...
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EU and UK space security policies through the lens of historical institutionalism
Teale, Jennifer ; Butler, Eamonn (vedoucí práce) ; Střítecký, Vít (oponent)
The main purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between the EU and UK in terms of space defence policy developed from the viewpoint of historical institutionalism. As a research objective, it is intended to assess the nature of historical institutionalism as a concept and its applications to space defence policy. Another objective is to trace the historical development of the relationships between the EU and the UK in the space sector. Finally, this historical development is discussed through the lens of historical institutionalism. The attainment of these aims and objectives requires an optimal choice of methodology and research design. This study has been guided by the principles of interpretivism, a dominant philosophical stance in social studies. This philosophy emphasises the role of interpretations in the attainment of knowledge due to a lack of absolute truth, as according to interpretivism, the truth depends on the observer and their interpretations. In line with this philosophical stance, this research is conducted using an inductive approach, which stipulates theory development, hypothesis formulation, or new proposition statements based on observations. This contrasts with deductive testing of existing research hypotheses. The choice of an inductive approach has...
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Sustainable energy development in Africa: The feasibility of nuclear power
Okonkwo, Ifeanyi Ronaldo ; Butler, Eamonn (vedoucí práce) ; Schlotti, Jivanta (oponent)
This paper explores the feasibility of commercial nuclear implementation in Africa; in the context of energy security and sustainable development in the continent. Amongst the several contemporary challenges Africa faces, the current energy crisis and the growing threat of climate change appear to be the most critical of all. To address these challenges, Nuclear is currently being considered as a potential low-carbon energy solution for Africa. In an era where most advanced economies are implementing policies promoting heavy reliance on renewable energy sources, many African countries appear to be showing significant interest in nuclear. Several factors such as energy diversification, reduce dependency on fossil fuel sources, climate change concerns, air pollution, rising energy demand seem responsible for the growing interest in nuclear among many African countries. However, this study posits that any assessment of the feasibility of nuclear implementation in Africa must consider the several safety issues associated with the energy technology and the motivation and capacity of African countries to embark on nuclear projects. In this regard, this research sets out to assess the feasibility of nuclear implementation in the context of energy security and sustainable energy development in Africa. It...
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Securitising biology: Biological threats and state preparedness in the wake of a pandemic
Artico, Chiara ; Karásek, Tomáš (vedoucí práce) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent)
64053643 SECURITISING BIOLOGY: BIOLOGICAL THREATS AND STATE PREPAREDNESS IN THE WAKE OF A PANDEMIC ABSTRACT The management of infectious diseases in the realm of public health has shown increasingly overlapping areas with biological warfare preparedness. While the acknowledgement of these common elements is not only frequent but also codified in an international treaty and subject to distinct regulations, research into how these two fields connect is scarce. Potential deliberate use of biological weapons typically leads to intense political mobilisation and ensuing dedication of financial resources. Contrarily, the management of health crises over the last decades has been severely flawed, and no country in the world is considered fully prepared to a pandemic, according to the Global Health Security Index. The current COVID-19 pandemic has recently been further proof of the inadequacy of state-level prevention and preparedness capabilities. This dissertation aims at bridging the existing conceptual gap and policy divide between biological warfare and infectious disease preparedness, and to analyse elements that can be mutually applicable and potentially beneficial. It will do so by establishing analytical equivalence between the securitisation of an artificial biothreat and a nature-borne infectious disease...
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Health Security - Role of the Security Sector in Combating the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone
Dabo, Mohamed Sidique ; Torney, Diarmuid (vedoucí práce) ; Tesař, Jakub (oponent) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent)
This study assessed the role of the security sector in combating the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. In achieving the overall goal of the study, the assessment broadly covered the following: examined the national response structure before the outbreak; the emergence of Ebola and conspiracy theories in Sierra Leone, ascertained the early national Ebola response structure; the transition and composition to a new response architecture; assessed the effectiveness of policies and strategies by the security sector in combating Ebola; ascertained whether the effects of policies and strategies implored by the security sector in response to the outbreak; evaluated the impact of civil-military relations in combating the outbreak; and in the end examined the overall challenges in terms of the security sector's roles, and policies and strategies implored in responding to the outbreak. These areas broadly correspond to some of the objectives in response to the security sector's roles. Based on findings from assessing the areas stated above, the study has argued that the role played by the security sector in combating the 2014 Ebola outbreak have been largely effective. But while the role of the security sector has been largely positive, but this is not without many other factors - notably without the...
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Mapping the Nexus: Assessing the Relationship between Modern European Jihad and the Crime-terror nexus
Sherlock, Kate ; Aslan, Emil (vedoucí práce) ; Butler, Eamonn (oponent)
The recent proliferation of jihadist incidents of terrorism in recent years has heightened interest in the modus operandi of terrorist operations. Available literature suggests a strong link between criminality and terrorism and the emergence of a crime-terror nexus. Current research on the nexus is based on dated examples and very rarely incorporates theory or an analytical lens. The purpose of this thesis is to explore modern manifestations of the crime-terror nexus from a social perspective in response to emerging data. The research reviews recent open-source data and literature at the institutional level, organisational level and the individual/social level. Analysis was approached from selected social and criminological angles including rational choice theory and a social psychological standpoint. Conclusions pointed to the increasing importance of social factors in areas such as radicalisation and group interactions to the processes of terrorism. Rather than attempting to explain causality, the study simply encourages the use of alternative perspectives when addressing the threat of terrorism. The thesis encourages academics and policy-makers to address the crime-terror nexus as a social problem that is fast becoming a national security threat. The research also highlights the importance of...
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