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Causes of the Ukraine crisis
Bartáková, Aneta ; Kazharski, Aliaksei (advisor) ; Laryš, Martin (referee)
A liberal understanding of international politics is currently dominant. However, it is important to note that there are still states that have not adopted this understanding, yet, which brings complications here. The current clash of these two understandings, i.e. liberalism and realism, thus constantly forms the security environment. Probably the most obvious case of the present seems to be the case of Ukraine and the related Ukraine crisis. The aim of this diploma thesis is to give a picture of the causes of the Ukraine crisis in a broader context than is generally interpreted across individual media, using an offensive-realistic framework. The motives of the individual actors of the conflict, especially Russia, will be examined in an attempt to present those motives as not primarily offensive but to some extent as defensive. Several research questions will serve me to fulfil the above-mentioned goal - How can the main causes of the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine be explained from the perspective of offensive realism? According to offensive realism, what actor is responsible for the outbreak of conflict? In terms of offensive realism, how can the motives of the key actors (i.e. Russia, the West) be explained?
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Realism and the Nixon Administration: Triangular Diplomacy as a Tool of US Foreign Policy
Moravčík, Vladimír ; Jeřábek, Martin (advisor) ; Kotvalová, Anna (referee)
Abstract The thesis deals with the US foreign policy under Richard Nixon. More specifically, it examines the US rapprochement with Communist China (PRC) and the triangular diplomatic relations between the US, USSR, and PRC. The thesis draws from the realist theories, particularly the offensive and defensive branches of neorealism represented by John Mearsheimer and Kenneth Waltz. The thesis applies the theoretical concept of wedging strategies as power-balancing tools on the selected US foreign policy. The thesis conducts a qualitative case study using the process-tracing method. A causal mechanism derived from the concept of wedging strategies is theorized and further applied in the analysis. The analysis of the US foreign policy towards China examines the individual traces in the theorized mechanisms. The results of the study show that the US broke the Sino-Soviet alliance using a defensive wedging strategy by exploiting the Sino-Soviet split, resulting in PRC's dealignment with the USSR. The US reapproached the PRC and swayed the Chinese leadership with strategic guarantees tacitly aimed against the USSR. These guarantees were ultimately projected into the Shanghai Communique of 1972.
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Using Separatism as a Possible Supplement to the Theoretical Approach of Offensive Realism - Taking Russia Federation's Actions and Strategies in the Crimean Crisis and the Donbass War as an example
Tang, Chen ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
This thesis is about the military conflict in eastern and southern territories of Ukraine, including the Crimean crisis and War in the Donbas area that took place from 2014 till this present time (2020). According to international law, these regions are still part of Ukraine, however, Russia de facto controls the Crimea Peninsula and the Donbass region. Due to dissatisfaction with the dismissal of Ukrainian President Yanukovych, Crimea opposed the new central government with the help of Russian military forces. Subsequently, they elected their own parliament and voted to declare independence. They then successfully held a referendum on whether to "return" to Russia which is biased and condemned by the international community. The referendum claimed to be passed with a very high number of votes although both the turnout and the votes in favor have been questioned, then Crimea officially joined the Russian Federation. The results of the Crimean referendum were not accepted by the Ukrainian government, and Russia was also sanctioned by the Western-based international community due to this crisis. What's more, part of the pro-Russian region in eastern Ukraine has also followed the independence of Crimea and intended to "rejoin" Russia Federal. After the two Minsk treaties, in spite of the fact that...
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Can China rise peacefully? The South China Sea Issue
Petreková, Patrícia ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kučerová, Irah (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the rise of China in the context of its behavior in the South China Sea over the past decade. The significant economic growth of the People's Republic of China over the last few decades is expected to affect not only the regional balance of powers, but also its position within the international system. There is a wide-ranging debate in academia about how China will grow and how it will affect the international community. As a reaction, in order to explain its growth, China has introduced the concept of "peaceful development", according to which its growth should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat to the international community. An offensive realism approach was chosen for this work and the ideas of its main advocate John Mearsheimer will be applied to the specific behavior of China in the region. The role of the United States, which influences China's behavior, will also be discussed. The diploma thesis will further deal with the increased Chinese assertiveness in the area of South China Sea and the means it uses in it to enforce its claims. The basic aim of this work is to underscore the contrast between the declared official policy of China and its actual behavior.
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Causes of the Ukraine crisis
Bartáková, Aneta ; Kazharski, Aliaksei (advisor) ; Laryš, Martin (referee)
A liberal understanding of international politics is currently dominant. However, it is important to note that there are still states that have not adopted this understanding, yet, which brings complications here. The current clash of these two understandings, i.e. liberalism and realism, thus constantly forms the security environment. Probably the most obvious case of the present seems to be the case of Ukraine and the related Ukraine crisis. The aim of this diploma thesis is to give a picture of the causes of the Ukraine crisis in a broader context than is generally interpreted across individual media, using an offensive-realistic framework. The motives of the individual actors of the conflict, especially Russia, will be examined in an attempt to present those motives as not primarily offensive but to some extent as defensive. Several research questions will serve me to fulfil the above-mentioned goal - How can the main causes of the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine be explained from the perspective of offensive realism? According to offensive realism, what actor is responsible for the outbreak of conflict? In terms of offensive realism, how can the motives of the key actors (i.e. Russia, the West) be explained?
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Analysis of the behaviour of selected states in the South China Sea
Jetelinová, Denisa ; Kučerová, Irah (advisor) ; Karásková, Ivana (referee)
The South China Sea has been already for several centuries the root of a dispute among states neighbouring along its borders, namely the People's Republic of China (China), Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia. Since the Sea is very geopolitically and geostrategically important, China attempts to claim itself to be a sovereign. However, its activities face the demands of other states, especially Vietnam and the Philippines, which are also interested in gaining control over the islands in the South China Sea. For that reason, the dispute still persists, and the continuous activities of all concerned countries have created an endless spiral of events in which it is difficult to distinguish between the action and the reaction of individual actors in the dispute. My diploma thesis therefore focuses on the analysis of actions of the three selected countries, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, from the perspective of structural realism that is split into two contradictory streams, defensive and offensive. Their different views on the world help me to clarify whether the behaviour of the chosen actors is defensive of offensive. For the analysis, the period from 2011 to 2018 was chosen. During that time, several major incidents have appeared between selected countries, especially...
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Great Power Politics: Russia, the USA and the Realist International Relations Theory Perspective
Bílý, Prokop ; Barša, Pavel (advisor) ; Slačálek, Ondřej (referee)
The diploma thesis focuses on great power politics at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The studied phenomenon is viewed through the lens of defensive, offensive a neoclassical realist perspective. The key goal of the thesis is to determine, whether contemporary streams of the realist international relations tradition can provide plausible explanation of great powers relations. The research is also embedded in the fourth great debate, which entered the international relations discipline during the course of 80's, and as such it tries to reflect current ontological and epistemological debate. Research results then show that realism is still a valid scientific discourse. On the other hand, neoclassical realism's research agenda, as is shown, takes over other theoretical perspectives features.
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