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Northern Sea Route communication for 21st Century?
Kregl, Jan ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a naval communication between Europe and Asia running along the Arctic coastline of the Russian Federation. For decades, the same maritime corridors have been relied on. However, the international freight shipping volumes keep growing steadily and the Suez and Panama Canals might reach their maximal capacity soon. In order to prevent congestions of these crucial chokepoints, alternative communications have to be found. The NSR can save as much as 40% distance compared to the Suez Route and consequently, the time spent on the voyage decreases by about 10 days. There are several other benefits this Arctic seaway brings, however, some major obstacles impede its further development. In this work, I summarized the history of the Route and analyzed some of its key aspects. The current maritime transport situation and some alternative communications are outlined, too. The main advantages and disadvatages of the Northern Sea Route are presented in order to find out whether this unique naval corridor can serve as a communication for the 21st century and what its future prospects look like. Conclusively, the following research questions are answered: How do the US-Russian territorial disputes and the Russian domestic legislation affect the NSR? What would be the economical...
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Imperialism and the Rise of China
Templin, Kristin ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Riegl, Martin (referee)
This thesis covers a historical comparison analysis between the Ancient Chinese, British and American Empires in order to compare what activities that China is currently taking in the 21st century that resemble the behaviour of the United Kingdom and United States while they were building their empires. The thesis, using the theoretical concepts of Alfred Mahan and John Mearsheimer and the supporting arguments of Paul Kennedy, focuses on soft power tools including free trade agreements and social networks as well as tangible assets such as infrastructure development, expansion through annexation and/or colonialism and naval capacity. I have included Mahan's theory of sea power as a necessity to achieve supremacy as it corresponds closely with the development of the British and American Empires. I have also used Mearsheimer's theory of offensive realism as it helps explain the US' rise to hegemony and can help provide guidance on China's future strategy. This comparison is then used, along with the opinions of some of the most well-respected geopolitical analysts and historians of the 21st century, in the final chapter of this thesis to address the geopolitical issues associated with China's rise including the United States' response.
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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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Diplomatic recognition of the USSR by Great Britain and the United States
Abramov, Philipp ; Romancov, Michael (advisor) ; Knutelská, Viera (referee)
This bachelor thesis deals with diplomatic recognition of the USSR by Great Britain and the United States. In the first part the development of the Soviet diplomatic tradition is introduced in the reference period, i.e. 1917-1933, with the description of key aspects of foreign policy of the Soviet Union. The second chapter is devoted to the question of recognition of the USSR by Great Britain, containing a brief description of tsarist regime commintments to Britain. The third part clarifies the recognition of the USSR by the United States with emphasis on economic cooperation during 1920s and it's role in the recognition of the USSR de iure. Conclusion of this thesis introduces a comparison of both cases focusing on four aspects (reaction on bolshevik coup d'état and consolidation of the AUCP(b) leader role, role of post-war German question and tsarist Russia debts, volume and development of international trade, engagement of domestic political situation) in order to identify and explain the delay between recognition by Great Britain and by the United States.
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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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