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The mediating dragon in the graveyard of empires: An Analysis of China's Conflict Mediation Approach
Khan, Mohammad Samir ; Munro, Neil (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
This paper discusses China's Conflict Mediation approach in Afghanistan and explores the multifaceted role that China plays in mediating Afghanistan's conflict, encompassing both its motivations and strategies within a defined timeframe of 2021 to the present. After the Taliban takeover in 2021, what the "Afghan peace process" refers to still remains a mystery because, as per many and rightly so, there is no return to democratic rule and equal opportunities for all. However, the author examines China's role as a mediator in conflicts, particularly as China strives to become a global superpower. The paper analyses and tries to Understand China's involvement in Afghan conflict mediation and tries to find answers to the questions: If China's Conflict mediation approach in Afghanistan was a success? Secondly, how does China claim to maintain its non-interference policy while it increasingly mediates conflicts abroad? Furthermore, The Belt and Road Initiative was discussed as a tool in Afghanistan. So were China's main concerns regarding the region. Finally, A Document-analysis approach has been used in the paper and concludes that it is still not clear from the available proof if the Chinese mediation approach was successful or not in Afghanistan; secondly, The documents thus show that China's adoption...
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Territorial Disputes of the 21st Century in the Context of Resources Security
Machytka, Daniel ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
Mgr. Daniel Machytka, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis focuses on the comparison of four selected territorial disputes and on the analysis of their related realities with an emphasis on the strategic importance of these disputed areas. The chosen topics were the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan over the Kuril Islands, the dispute between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, and then two multilateral territorial disputes over the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. This work presents these researched disputes not only from their historical point of view but also with regard to valid international regulations, especially with regard to the rules based on the regulation of the law of the sea, which was adopted in 1982 by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Last but not least, the development of such disputes was studied as close as possible to the present time, when the main time period of the presented research was the period from the beginning of the 21st century. The studied territorial disputes were first analyzed separately and then compared together in order to discover mutual macro-causal connections and key similarities. The biggest similarity is the potential for conflict, which is evident from the actions that national states use to dominate their area of...
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Conditions of Peace in the Context of the Colombian and Northern Irish Peace Process
Kindl, Jakob ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
This diploma thesis examines the relationship between the content and language of peace agreements and their acceptance by the population. It investigates the content on the basis of Johan Galtung's theoretical concept of positive peace and the language on the basis of structuralist linguistic theory. It is therefore an interdisciplinary research that combines the theoretical concept of the field of international relations with language theory. This thesis defends this approach by analyzing the concept of peace in international relations theories in which it identifies its shortcomings. A comparative case analysis of two peace agreements is conducted, the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and the Peace Agreement in Colombia. While the two conflicts and peace processes show many similarities, the outcome differed and while the agreement was accepted in Northern Ireland, the agreement was rejected in Colombia. This thesis is concerned with the search for the causes that may have led to the different outcome of the referendum on its adoption, and it seeks these causes in the content and language of the two agreements, rather than in the rejection of the referendum per se. The main contribution of the thesis is the analysis of the content and language of the two peace agreements, which examines...
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The evolution of NATO's image in selected Czech media
Koutenská, Kristýna ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been here for more than 70 years. It has undergone a number of reforms and has faced various challenges, both external and internal ones. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO had to adapt to a new security environment and identify new security threats. It transformed some of its internal structures, started to operate more outside its territory, while trying to balance the differences between member states, whose number gradually increased. The North Atlantic Alliance is currently one of the most important international organizations in the world and (not only) because of this, it often makes headlines in the media. From serious national (print) newspapers, through alternative (online) media going against the main stream, to those deliberately spreading disinformation. Published reports create certain image of the Alliance, which readers of the media obtain. Using quantitative content analysis, this diploma thesis examines articles from selected Czech media both mainstream newspapers (MF DNES, Právo, Blesk) and alternative media (Britské listy) or disinformation ones (Parlamentní listy) and finds out how NATO was presented to Czech people, or more precisely what its media image was in 1999, 2009/2010, 2019, and how it changed. From the...
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The Foreign Policy of Sweden and Finland in Relation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation: The Analysis from the Perspective of Neoclassical Realism
Hložková, Veronika ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
The following thesis maps the development of the attitude of Sweden and Finland towards membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from the end of the Cold War to their decision to join the Alliance in 2022. The first aim is to identify the factors that led to the refusal of both countries to join NATO and instead to the preference for close cooperation. Subsequently, these factors are monitored over time to capture their transformation after the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Neoclassical realism is used as the theoretical and analytical framework, which combines independent variables at the level of the international system with intervening variables at the level of a state. The effects of these variables form a specific reaction of foreign policy - the dependent variable - in this case, the Swedish and Finnish decision to join NATO.
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Rise of illiberal peace? Russian perspective on the sustainability of post-conflict arrangements
Žilka, Peter ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Aslan, Emil (referee)
The central idea of this master thesis is based on the recent normative contestation of the rules-based international order by authoritarian great powers such as Russia or China, whose activities are becoming more and more alarming. As the Western community since the end of the Cold War decided to take a big share of responsibility for the worldwide prevention and resolution of conflicts, their promotion of liberal values within peacebuilding frameworks nevertheless did not meet the set goals. Hence, academic debates recently engaged in the inquiry of alternative peacebuilding frameworks, including those that involved practices of illiberal actors. Consequently, this thesis focus on a qualitative analysis of Russian peacebuilding practices throughout its involvement in Tajikistan, Chechnya, Nagorno- Karabakh, and Syria. While looking for some possible overlapping with liberal practices, the analysis will primarily focus on technical processes of peacebuilding such as institution building and governance; security sector reform; and economic recovery. The overall finding demonstrate a fragile post-conflict environment based on dependency, ineffective governance, occasional re-emergence of violence or economic stagnation.
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From rhetoric to reality? Analyzing the gendered dimension in peace agreements
Gokarn, Nivedita ; Nisbet, Jolan (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
According to UNSCR 1325, the involvement of women in peace processes is evaluated in this article. It draws attention to the discrepancies between 'representation' in peace accords like the R-ARCCSS and JPA and 'participation' in the peace negotiations to determine the degree to which their perspectives were considered, and overall gender aspect was highlighted. This article contends that women's involvement in the peace talks in South Sudan was only a checklist activity. The social structure of the society and the absence of institutional mechanisms hindered the substantive representation of women. The paper goes on to say that since female negotiators must shoulder the burden of a peace deal, symbolic inclusiveness may even have unintended consequences. The investigation discovers a significant discrepancy between the peace accords and the whole process. It also makes note of the fact that Sudanese society tends to make it difficult for members to participate meaningfully, which has an effect on how long the peace will survive. Consequently, this research emphasizes how institutional processes are gendered by adopting a constructivist viewpoint.
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Small States Thinking Big: Comparative Analysis of the Czech Presidencies of the Council of the European Union in 2009 and 2022
Monsportová, Daniela ; Kazharski, Aliaksei (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
This study focuses on the two Czech presidencies in the Council of the EU. It approaches them via the lens of two theoretical concepts - the small state, and Pierre Bourdieu's symbolic power. The main objectives of the thesis are to observe the relevance of the two concepts in application to the selected case (Czech Republic) and to shed light on a relatively new and often overlooked subject. To fulfill the objectives, the study follows qualitative research, utilizing the research design of an embedded single case study. To answer the research question, the thesis firstly focuses on an in-depth discussion of the theoretical underpinnings and gives an overview of the general discourse surrounding the concept of a rotating Council presidency. It then goes on to examine the domestic and international settings of the two presidencies, their manifest and latent goals, and the outcomes of negotiations and communication strategies. By placing the two presidencies against one another, the thesis concludes that while relations between states may be asymmetrical, symbolic power may improve a given state's position within the system once the state uses the granted power wisely and effectively. This notion is demonstrated on the case of the Czech Republic and its two Council presidencies, where the country was...
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Deterrence in counter-terrorism: the case of Nigeria
Tongpan, Timothy Yusufu ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Solovyeva, Anzhelika (referee)
To assess the effectiveness of deterrence measures, we adopt data from the Global Terrorism Index (GTI). The GTI provides comprehensive assessments of trends and patterns of terrorism across different regions and countries and offers a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of counter- terrorism strategies. Our analysis will evaluate the impact of deterrence measures on reducing terrorist activities in Nigeria and identify the key factors that contribute to the success or failure of deterrence. This study's findings will be of significant interest to policymakers, security experts, and the broader Counter-terrorism has been a critical issue in Nigeria over the last decade, with terrorist groups such as Boko Haram posing a significant threat to the country's security and stability. In response, the Nigerian government has implemented various strategies, including deterrence, to combat this menace. Deterrence refers to the use of measures aimed at discouraging potential terrorists from engaging in violent activities. The effectiveness of deterrence in Nigeria's counter-terrorism strategy between 2009 and 2019, with a case study of Boko Haram, is the focus of this study. The period under review is significant as it marks the rise of Boko Haram and its transformation into a formidable terrorist...
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Gender-Based Violence as a Weapon of War: The Case of Boko Haram
Veiglová, Lucie ; Kocmanová, Markéta (advisor) ; Karásek, Tomáš (referee)
Gender-based violence during armed conflicts is not a new phenomenon; it has been present in society for many centuries. It had its greatest impact during the 20th century, when it was just beginning to receive considerable attention not only from scholars but also from the global public. However, attention has focused only on its most well-known and common form - sexual violence. However, it was mainly thanks to the work of feminist scholars that other forms of violence were exposed in the second half of the 20th century, including psychological and physical violence, forced marriages, forced pregnancies or abortions, female genital mutilation, and the use of women as instruments of war and suicide bombers. This thesis examines gender-based violence against women and girls in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram. It aims to find out how Boko Haram has affected the level of gender-based violence in the country, whether it has brought about new trends in the phenomenon and how it has affected the lives of women and girls. In doing so, the thesis draws on strategic rape theory and feminist theory, the combination of which provides a framework for explaining gender-based violence by Boko Haram, which both uses women and girls as strategic objects, but moreover is inherently based on a strongly...
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