|
|
China's Maritime Lawfare
Straatsma, Wietse ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Bruner, Tomáš (referee)
Bibliographic note STRAATSMA, Wietse. China's Maritime Lawfare in the South China Sea. Prague, 2018. 83 pages. Master's thesis (Mgr.) Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Department of Security Studies. Supervisor PhDr. Vít Střítecký, M.Phil., Ph.D. Abstract The primary aim of this thesis is to examine if and how the People's Republic of China uses legal warfare to strengthen its maritime power in the South China Sea. To examine this, Dunlap's interpretation of lawfare has been combined with a lawfare typology from Kittrie to create a framework from which China's behavior has been examined. The paper posits that China's behavior in and related to the South China Sea meets the criteria of lawfare. China utilizes both instrumental lawfare and compliance-leverage disparity lawfare to justify its legal claims on the South China Sea's maritime sphere and the landforms that lie within it. This lawfare combined with enforcement has led to China gaining substantial maritime power. The islands China occupies and their militarization have granted it marine resources, naval power, and bases to project power from. The thesis contributes to the literature on China's behavior in the South China Sea by providing a lens through which to view its actions. Moreover, it contributes...
|
|
|
Attribution of Conduct to a State according to Public International Law
Bruner, Tomáš ; Ondřej, Jan (referee)
The thesis firstly describes how the concept of attribution of private conduct to a state changed during the history. Original ancient conception of collective responsibility was absolute. One could attribute to a State or ancient community any unlawful act of its members. The damaged country or community could choose whether to demand and accept reparation or resort to use of force. This conception changed in the late middle ages and modern times. The responsibility of state was made more subjective. The international relations were perceived as inter-personal relations among the sovereigns. Unlawful conduct of private persons was not attributed to those sovereigns. This subjective conception of responsibility prevailed; it was based on concept of fault of the sovereign, either in form of action or omission or negligence. Later, the attribution of conduct of the sovereign to a State widened and included also the attribution of conduct of state organs. Since the 19th century the responsibility has been gaining more objective character in certain areas of international law. The concept of diplomatic protection allowed attribution of a failure to guarantee certain standard and of a failure to protect the interests of foreigners on the territory of particular state. Another concept of due diligence prescribed...
|
|
|
TechPower to the People: States' Monopoly Over Security and Surveillance in Turmoil
Bogunovic, Marko ; Bruner, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
Emerging technological trends have opened the possibilities for information manipulation across multiple platforms resulting in a power shift from the state to its citizens. This study takes on three cases as exemplars which will demonstrate how technology fabricates power in liberal states, causing a power dynamics shift. Each of the case studies will illustrate how technological vigilantism in one form or another allows for the citizen emancipation. The erosion of the relationship between the perpetrator and victim will also be discussed as private and public tracking devices becomes widespread. The initial findings suggest that the introduction of private software tracking has amplified the rate at which the state's monopoly over security and surveillance is eroding. Representing three key sections of a society - public, private, and civil - the cases analyzed show that each section is moving towards micromanagement meaning that citizens are taking the law into their own hands, despite high police competency. Find My iPhone, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, as well as other social networks and tracking software help support the rise of technology vigilantes. The state's monopoly over security and surveillance is in turmoil. Thus, this multi-case study will take on a discussion between two potential...
|
|
|
The EU's response to the discrimination of the Rohingya in Burma since 2011
Božinovová, Alexandra ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bruner, Tomáš (referee)
The aim of this diploma thesis is to find out the European Union's position on the discrimination of Rohingya in Burma since 2011. Over the years the country has initiated a number of reforms, transformed its political system and held first democratic elections. Since Burma has undergone considerable changes, the European Union first eased and then lifted almost all sanctions in 2013. The most pressing issue still facing Burma is the violations of human rights, especially in the case of Rohingya minority. Methodologically, the study is anchored by content textual analysis which was applied to a wide range of documents from which data was obtained for the analytical part of the study. The theoretical basis of the thesis is agenda-setting and salience. These theories were used to identify two hypotheses that examine the EU's position on the Rohingya crisis on the Unions agenda and its salience. Research has shown that the Parliament and the EEAS are paying the greatest attention. On the contrary, the Council and DEVCO spend less time on the issue. Despite all of the Union's efforts and the financial, human and material assistance provided, the situation has not improved and the Rohingya still face human rights abuses and are not full citizens of Burma.
|
|
|
Cultural property in armed conflicts: Typical motivations causing their destruction
Pelikánová, Eva ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bruner, Tomáš (referee)
In recent years protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflicts has become largely mentioned issue. Despite broad international legal codification of principles to prevent destruction of cultural property in the event of armed conflicts, destruction of cultural property obviously occurs. Within discussion on their protection, attention is not so paid to the values of cultural property representing for interested actors not merely in the event of armed conflicts. Attention is not much paid also to the motivations leading actors to destroy cultural property in the event of armed conflicts. The thesis is based on current state of knowledge both in academic or international law and it focuses on exploring motivations leading actors to destroy cultural property in the event of armed conflicts. To answer the research question: "What motivators are leading actors to actively destroy cultural monuments in armed conflicts?" is proceeded from analysis of literature that expounds the motivations for the destruction of cultural property in the event of armed conflicts. These motivations will be understood as theoretical explanations of destruction for the purposes of the work, and on the basis of five case studies, their validity will be checked. The subsequent synthesis of the conclusions of...
|
|
| |
|
|
Predicting Conflicts via Maternal Mortality Rates? Human Security and the Emergence of Armed Conflict
Sommerová, Gabriela ; Hynek, Nikola (advisor) ; Bruner, Tomáš (referee)
This diploma thesis provides a fact-based examination of the relevance of assumptions concerning the relationship of human insecurity and the emergence of conflict. This is done with a quantitative analysis of cross-country data on human insecurity and conflict during the period of 1990 - 2010. The approach of the thesis steps beyond the prevailing discussions on human security focused on normative judgements on the nature, legitimacy or applicability of the concept. Through a statistical analysis, it challenges the use of uncontested and ungraspable, yet influential, narratives of human security that result in implementation of inadequately informed programs and policies aimed at prevention of conflict by the international community and other actors. The analysis finds that a random set of indicators of human security, rather than human security as a concept, are related to conflict emergence. As a result, the thesis suggests surpassing the preoccupation with the use and application of the concept and instead accentuates inductive approach to formulating evidence-based conflict-prevention programs inspired by the ideas of human security rather than reasoned by the concept of human security. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
|
|
|
Orientalism reversed: Critical analysis of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Bruner, Tomáš ; Hynek, Nikola (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
This thesis uses the Critical theory to explore the history and functioning of African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. This judicial institution was established in 1998. However, it did not rule any decision on the merits until 2013. All cases had been refused because it lacked the jurisdiction. Finally in 2013, two judgments were issued that solved the factual situation of applicants. Nevertheless, the danger still exists that the Court will function only if the states will allow it to do so. Such inactivity of the Court is firmly inconsistent with the intensity of human rights violations on the African continent. In the same way, it falsifies the presuppositions of liberal institutionalism that the international institutions should strengthen cooperation between states and contribute to the development of mutually interconnected areas: economic development, democracy and human rights protection. The thesis is an empirical case study which opposes the liberal-institutional ideas. It uses the Critical theory in narrow sense to show that those ideas played certain role in the establishment of the Court. Nonetheless, the real willingness of the states to empower the Court with authority and limit their sovereignty was absent. The Court, as a procedural enlargement of substantive human rights...
|
|
|
The Compasrison of the language of Communistic and Nazi Propaganda in the Editiorials and Selected Columns of newspaper Rudé právo and the Newspaper Venkov 1941
Bruner, Tomáš ; Šoltys, Otakar (advisor) ; Röhrich, Alex (referee)
This bachelor thesis compares the language used in the persuasive texts promoting communistic and national-socialistic ideology. After brief introduction the author focuses on key-words in both languages; the word "lid" (people) in the communistic language and the word "národ" (nation) in the national-socialistic language. It compares the way, how those words are used, and the aim which their usage should serve. It deals with those terms as with the means of legitimization, which is achieved through using the strategies of rationalization, universalisation and narrativization. Then, this thesis searches for secondary signification which is connected with those key-words. Furthermore, it investigates the terms with which are those key-words connected. This thesis is based on knowledge of the communistic language, which is in the author's opinion described better. The results of investigation of the national-socialistic language are then compared to the facts known about communistic language.
|
|
|
Attribution of Conduct to a State according to Public International Law
Bruner, Tomáš ; Honusková, Věra (advisor) ; Faix, Martin (referee)
The thesis firstly describes how the concept of attribution of private conduct to a state changed during the history. Original ancient conception of collective responsibility was absolute. One could attribute to a State or ancient community any unlawful act of its members. The damaged country or community could choose whether to demand and accept reparation or resort to use of force. This conception changed in the late middle ages and modern times. The responsibility of state was made more subjective. The international relations were perceived as inter-personal relations among the sovereigns. Unlawful conduct of private persons was not attributed to those sovereigns. This subjective conception of responsibility prevailed; it was based on concept of fault of the sovereign, either in form of action or omission or negligence. Later, the attribution of conduct of the sovereign to a State widened and included also the attribution of conduct of state organs. Since the 19th century the responsibility has been gaining more objective character in certain areas of international law. The concept of diplomatic protection allowed attribution of a failure to guarantee certain standard and of a failure to protect the interests of foreigners on the territory of particular state. Another concept of due diligence prescribed...
|
guest ::
