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China in Africa: The Dragon in the Lion's Den
Fairchild, David ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Romancov, Michael (referee)
Announced in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) is a global development project that extends across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Most Western scholars and politicians have been highly critical of the BRI, particularly in connection with sub-Saharan Africa, defining the project as neo-imperialistic and arguing that only China would benefit from it in terms of political, economic, and military expansion. This thesis uses Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria as case studies to measure the effectiveness of the BRI in the development of these three countries. On the basis of this analysis, it can be posited that not only China, but also sub-Saharan African countries, specifically continental coastal democracies with access to natural resources that engage with China as business partners within the BRI's context, derive substantial benefits from their partnerships. To different degrees, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, are presented with opportunities to improve their infrastructure, enjoy economic growth, and reduce inequality by engaging in the BRI. Key Words: Sub-Saharan-Africa, China, Belt Road Initiative, development, economics, neo-imperialism, natural resources, infrastructure Title: China and Africa: The Dragon in The Lion's Den
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Mastering Space by New Mean of Power Politics: Democratization
Galtsova, Ksenia ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
Democratization has been dominating international relations since the end of the Cold War. Moreover, democratization assistance became embedded in states' foreign institutions, as it is seen in the examples of the United States and the European Union. As states perceive international relations from a neo-realist perspective, it raises a concern about their reasoning behind democracy promotion. This thesis attempts to find a correlation between states' geopolitical objectives and democratization. Its goal is to prove that democratized countries tend to incline towards the assisting power, and this benefits the assisting power's geopolitical objectives. By studying EU and US geopolitical goals and applying them on the democratization of Ukraine, this thesis attempts to find how democracy promotion in Ukraine benefited the USA and the EU. To support the claim that ideology can be used to pursue geopolitical goals, it draws a parallel with the Communist coup d'état in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and analyzes how the USSR benefited from supporting the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Keywords Democratization, soft power, smart power, Cold War, communism, United States, European Union, USSR, geopolitics, democracy assistance
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A Comparative Analysis of Failed Strategies to Achieve International Recognition: Somaliland, Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh
Lavoie, Samuel ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
Author Samuel Lavoie Thesis Diplomacy and Diplomatic Institutions of Unrecognized De Facto States Somaliland, Transnistria and Artsakh (2020) Abstract As a topic, international recognition has been increasingly studied over the past twenty years, particularly since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008. This thesis attempts to advance our understanding of the underlying causes of the inability to gain political recognition by examining several factors that have been omitted from the academic literature. Specifically, it examines several key aspects of the diplomatic institutions, personnel, and approaches of three unrecognized de facto states that meet most of the criteria for statehood under international law, but have so far received no recognition recognized states. These entities are Somaliland, Transnistria, and Artsakh. This paper also draws on partially recognized states and finds that geopolitical and ideological factors generally prevail over diplomatic ones as the main drivers of political recognition. This is especially true when an entity is located in an area of fierce rivalry for influence, such as the PMR and the Republic of Artsakh. However, while remaining a secondary factor, diplomacy becomes more important for international recognition when the interests of...
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The Relation Between the Military and Religion in the Political Regimes of Iran and Turkey
Wei, Jifu ; Salamon, Janusz (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
In the Middle East region, Iran and Turkey are influential powers, and both countries have relatively stable regimes in the Middle East countries. The two countries have chosen different paths after their political transformation. After reviewing the political practice of the two countries, due to different political environments, the two armies and religions have played prominent but different roles. After the Islamic revolution in Iran, the army was the protector of the regime, while religion played a leading role. After Kemal Ataturk established power, Turkey took a completely secularized road. The Turkish army was the defender of the secularized path independent of the government in the Turkish regime, while Islamic religion tried to exert influence as a political party. In addition, the article discusses whether it is based on complete secularization or is derived from Islamic religious tradition, which is a feasible way to modernize Islamic countries. At present, since Islam still has considerable influence, only by adapting Islam to the needs of modern society and making modernization the internal needs of Islam can Islamic countries be successfully modernized.
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Comparison of selected of decolonization factors of British and French territories in West Africa
Saxun, Ján ; Soukup, Jaromír (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
This Bachelor thesis deals with the analysis and comparison of the causes, processes and consequences of the decolonization of former French and British Colonies in West Africa, namely Senegal and Ghana. The work is based on an examination of the hypothesis: "Different systems of colonial administration and their consequences have differently influenced the character of the decolonization process and postcolonial relations between the former colonies and their rulers ". The focal point of the research are factors emanating directly from the colonies, such as the system of colonial administration, the system of colonial education, indigenous elites, and political mobilization. As part of the approach to the theoretical level, the work is based on the concepts of colonialism, decolonization and neocolonialism. It is neo- colonialism that is related to a subsequent research question, which seeks to examine the presence and extent of neo-colonialism in these African countries during the first ten years of independence. The results of the research point to significant differences in the colonial administration, which have implications for the type and behavior of indigenous elites and thus political mobilization and different approaches of political leaders to the process of decolonization. In the...
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Comparative Study of Saudia Arabia's and Iran's foreign policies towards U.S. designated terrorist organizations in Middle East
Bajramović, Edin ; Doboš, Bohumil (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
The Middle East, as one of the most dynamic and troubling world regions, has a wide range of problems. However, in my view, the essential, if not the most essential, security issue here, is terrorism. It seems that the relative decline of terrorist groups, such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, has made us forget that there are indeed underlying problems that cause the emergence of these deadly organizations. This paper aims to identify these causes by analyzing Saudi and Iranian foreign policy towards U.S.-designated terrorist organizations: Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and Islamic State. In the process, the thesis will establish the general motives of these two states to support and fight terrorism, as well as their means of doing it. Furthermore, it will dive into the specifics of the policies that these two formulate towards every one of the previously stated groups. That will be done in order to prove arguments contending how Riyadh, in many ways, hinders U.S. counterterrorism efforts, while Iranians, contrary to popular belief, contribute to it. Acknowledging that there are many things on which these two states need to improve, the thesis will offer recommendations pointing to the need for Washington to take a more balanced approach to these two countries if it wishes to create a region where its...
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Application the theories of D. Acemoglu and P. Robinson about the extractive and inclusive institution on evolution of institution in South Africa
Navara, Daniel ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
The aim of this diploma thesis is to verify, based on the application of the theories from Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson on the case of South Africa, whether the setting of institutions in the state influences on the function and prosperity of the state. The authors discuss in their book "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty" about the theory of extractive and inclusive institutions. To explain these terms, they mention the two cities of Nogales (one in the US, the other in Mexico). Although the historical development of these cities was almost identical, especially in cultural terms, today these cities differ in terms of economic, health care or education of the population. The authors consider different types of institutions to be the cause of the differences, as the Mexican ones are rooted in the colonization period of America by the Spain. Conquestadors looted in the colonized territory, enslaved the indigenous peoples, and transported gold, along with other resources from the country back to Europe. The local elites, after decolonization, have adapted to this established order and, in these countries, extractive institutions still remain to this day. On the other hand, inclusive institutions enable and support the involvement of broad masses in economic...
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Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republic: successful state-building?
Bojić, Filip ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Romancov, Michael (referee)
The goal of this thesis was to analyze the unilaterally declared entities of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic and determine, whether they should be considered de facto state or puppet state. Using the E.Berg's, E.Kuusk's methodology I was able to measure the position in the international system, certain aspects of internal and external sovereignty, considering the importance of the external actor, the Russian Federation. De facto state is established through local support and its declared goal is to gain the international recognition, meanwhile puppet state is established through military conflict and its dependene on the external actor, sponsor state, reaches such a degree, it can be considered a covert occupation. Independence is an important factor in the actual functioning of the entities. If the formal independence hides the actual independence, entity will be considered a puppet state. In this case both entities meet all the criteria of B.Ivanel's puppet state and formal independence hides the actual independence. Their existence is guaranteed by the sponsor state, the Russian Federation. The dependence on material support (financial, military) is of vital importance. Without the support entities would not be able to provide the basic needs for the population and would have been...
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