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Glabal and Local Private Security Companies in Kenya: a balanced relationship?
Wiers, Marco ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between private security companies in Kenya. This thesis makes a distinction between two sorts of private security companies; global and local. The thesis argues that the relationship between the two is not balanced in favour of the global one. This conclusion has been reached by applying a Bourdieu enhanced global security assemblage approach to the Kenyan security sector. The global security assemblage approach, allowed the researcher to look into the Kenya security sector from a perspective where all actors are treated equal, instead of the more traditional way of thinking, where the state is put as the central unit of analysis. Using Bourdieu's concepts of economic, cultural and symbolic capital, the researcher was able to make a distinction between the two PSCs by looking at how much capital each PSC possessed. The conclusion of this thesis is that the global PSCs possess more capital of each form than the local. Research was done by spending two periods of three months in Kenya. During these periods the Kenya security sector was extensively observed, due to the researchers internship for a private security company. The first period formed the basis on which latter research was done. During the first...
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Control of territory as a factor for the effective implementation of a political objective of an Islamist violent non-state actor
Ludvík, Zdeněk ; Hynek, Nikola (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee) ; Eichler, Jan (referee)
This thesis wants to make clear the theoretical concept in the form of a testable hypothesis on the relationship between the political control of the territory by a Violent Non-State Actor (VNSA) and the effectiveness of realization of its political objective (policies). Since in the literature there is no explicit theory or theorization that would reflect the varying degree of effectiveness with regard to the varying degree of territorial penetration, and there are no explicit parametric indicators and values that may be necessary for effective achievement of the political objective in relation to the territory, the purpose of the research will be to answer the question whether, how and to what extent the intensity of the physical penetration of the territory is related to the ability to more easily and efficiently achieve the goals for which the VNSA has been established and has strived. A general definition of threshold values of the penetration can also provide partial piece of knowledge for practical policies and approaches to territorial VNSA on the part of states (counterinsurgency actors). Although there is no explicit use of any of the theories of international relations in the research, the used theoretical framework is inspired by a) approaches to political geography and outlines of...
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Control of territory as a factor for the effective implementation of a political objective of an Islamist violent non-state actor
Ludvík, Zdeněk ; Hynek, Nikola (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee) ; Eichler, Jan (referee)
This thesis wants to make clear the theoretical concept in the form of a testable hypothesis on the relationship between the political control of the territory by a Violent Non-State Actor (VNSA) and the effectiveness of realization of its political objective (policies). Since in the literature there is no explicit theory or theorization that would reflect the varying degree of effectiveness with regard to the varying degree of territorial penetration, and there are no explicit parametric indicators and values that may be necessary for effective achievement of the political objective in relation to the territory, the purpose of the research will be to answer the question whether, how and to what extent the intensity of the physical penetration of the territory is related to the ability to more easily and efficiently achieve the goals for which the VNSA has been established and has strived. A general definition of threshold values of the penetration can also provide partial piece of knowledge for practical policies and approaches to territorial VNSA on the part of states (counterinsurgency actors). Although there is no explicit use of any of the theories of international relations in the research, the used theoretical framework is inspired by a) approaches to political geography and outlines of...
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The impact of the involvement of hired military units on the course, outcome and consequences of conflicts in Afrika
Šebek, David ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
This research is focused on detecting the impact of rental units on internal conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa. The thesis is based on the discussed issue of the legitimate possibility of engaging such units in a conflict. As part of the academic discussion, there are many arguments for both for and against the usage of such units. The aim of the thesis is investigating if there are any and possibly what are the impacts of rental units are on the course, outcome and consequences of the conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. During the work, firstly, there is division of rent units into private military companies and mercenaries of the classical style and their delimitation is based primarily on the point of view of international law. Here is the lack of internationally legal anchoring and regulation of private military companies. It is also necessary to distinguish between mercenary from other foreign participants in the conflict, defined as volunteers for this work. Due to the inadequacy of post-war recovery theory, it was necessary to develop parameters describing post-war development, a set of macroeconomic indicators aimed at developing both the economy and the quality of life of citizens. The development of these indicators is examined within ten years after the end of the wars. Part of the thesis is...
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Combating terrorist financing from the perspective of a major bank operating in the Czech Republic
Opl, Jakub ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
The diploma thesis deals with implementation of legal framework in fight against financing of terrorism and money-laundering in context of anonymous private financial institutition residing in the Czech Republic. Implementation is exercised on the basis of analysis of internal regulations of the institution, anonymous interviews with Compliance officers and survey of the employees from the branches. The thesis shreds some light on problems regarding implementation and also regarding the knowledge of AML/CFT on the side of employees, who are in daily direct contact with clients. In light of these findings, the thesis suggests need for greater enlightment for these employees.
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Central Asian Foreign Fighters in Syria
Nováková, Sabina ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
This thesis deals with the phenomenon of Central Asian foreign fighters in Syria, 2011- 2017. It analyzes their radicalization, recruitment, and travel patterns. Special emphasis is placed on tracking the home states' responses, including elements of de-radicalization and counter-radicalization. The thesis has found that there is arguably no single factor explaining the Central Asian fighters' radicalization; nor is there a typical profile of a Central Asian fighter. Available data suggest that radicalization and extremist recruitment most often occur in Russia. Furthermore, the analysis of travel patterns has shown that the majority of Central Asian fighters traveled to Syria either indirectly via multiple countries (again, most often Russia) or directly from their country of origin, and then crossed the border from Turkey. The thesis concludes that all five Central Asian states have adopted policies to address the perceived security threat of returning foreign fighters, whereas the hard, restrictive and punitive approach has been prevalent all across the region.
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Sultanate of Oman: Resistant to Violent Extremism?
Caputo, Alexandria ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
Bibliographic Note CAPUTO, Alexandria. The Sultanate of Oman: Resistant to Extremism?. 104 p. Master Thesis. Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Science. Supervisor : Prof. Oldřich Bureš Abstract This thesis analyses the Sultanate resistance to violent extremism as a Middle Eastern nation that has consistently scored a "0" on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), an ongoing indexing of global terrorism from 2003 onwards. The Sultanate was markedly stable for those years unaccounted by the GTI. This case study examines institutional and legal frameworks established by the Sultanate and their value on countering radicalization and extremism processes that might lead to an act of terrorism. This research is supported by literature on radicalization and countering violent extremism (CVE) models, with great focus on a five- pronged, comprehensive working paper that approaches major problems across the Middle East. Radicalization and extremism notably fester in such problematic approaches, and the objective is to parallel these problems with the strategies, approaches, and norms of the Sultanate of Oman to see if this paper can come to a conclusion about the ability of nations and their populations to resist radical pathways and extremist ideologies. With religion at the crux of...
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International Intervention and Local Hybrid Order: UNIFIL in South Lebanon
Daniel, Jan ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bliesemann de Guevara, Berit (referee) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
Bibliographic Record DANIEL, JAN. International Peacekeeping and Hybrid Order: UNIFIL II in South Lebanon. Prague, 2017. 257 p. Doctoral dissertation (Ph.D.) Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Thesis supervisor: JUDr. PhDr. Tomáš Karásek, Ph.D. Abstract The thesis explores an engagement of a UN peace operation with a local political order. It builds on understanding of peacekeeping as policing of certain vision of international and local order and on that basis, it explores practices and politics of keeping peace. Drawing on the study of UNIFIL II, the UN peacekeeping operation deployed in South Lebanon, the study focuses on practices by which peacekeepers perform their policing duties in the local order, which is marked by entanglements between state and non- state ordering authorities and different practice of stateness. By doing so, it seeks to advance the research on the everyday practices of peacekeeping, as well as the research on local hybridity of peace operations and engagement of liberal actors with the local difference. Drawing on the debates in critical peace studies and works on practice-oriented approaches to research on liberal governmentality, it makes the case for focusing on the peacekeepers' engagement with the 'local' order on the...
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Psychological and social aspects of radicalization in case of Syria's jihadist foreign fighters
Adlof, Mikoláš ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Oberpfalzerová, Hana (referee)
The aim of this thesis was to find out what role psychological and social factors play in the motivation of jihadist foreign fighters to leave for Syria. The sub-questions examine, on the one hand, how authors of the studies focused on motivation of foreign fighters work with the theoretical background and concepts related to the psychosocial sphere, their interpretation of the key concepts and motivation of foreign fighters and, on the other hand, what psychosocial motivation to leave for Syria prevails in existing studies. In order to answer these questions, I chose several theoretical models of radicalization that work mainly with the psychological and social dimension of the problem.Subsequently, I chose several main psychosocial categories and narratives to analyse the studies, with the possibility of new categories occurring. I was particularly interested in existential motivation such as search for meaning or the identity crisis, in the case of jihadists also connected with the ideology and the influence of social groups. Based on the analysis, I found out that the theoretical basis, the specific definitions of individual key concepts and the logic of the interpretation of the respondents' words in the majority of the studies are missing or not fully described. Without the proper definition...
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Prepared for the Worst: Counter-terrorism in the Visegrad
Stehlík, Jan ; Hokovský, Radko (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
The study investigates the development of counter-terrorism in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia between 1989 and 2017, with a focus on developments of the Criminal Code and changes in the institutional framework. A description of counter-terrorism developments is constructed for each country. Subsequently, general hypotheses about counter-terrorism development derived from existing literature are tested using causal-process tracing tools, resulting in preliminary conclusions about the causes of the identified developments. The results indicate that changes in the Criminal Code were primarily driven by external pressure from international organisations, whereas institutional changes tended to result from country-specific processes, threat perception and inspiration from abroad. Keywords: Counter-terrorism, terrorism, Visegrad, Central Eastern Europe, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
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