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Russia's Syria policy: geopolitical interests or defense of great power identity?
Hirling, Marcel ; Kazharski, Aliaksei (advisor) ; Ananyeva, Ekaterina (referee)
of Master thesis Russia's Syria policy: geopolitical interests or defense of great power identity? Marcel Hirling Abstract: Russia has been the dominating actor in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. Researchers disagree what Russia motivates to block UN resolutions, support Assad, and intervene militarily in 2015. Academics have mainly focused on neorealist explanations. Constructivist arguments have been shortcoming so far as they miss a detailed theoretical justification and empirical evidence. This thesis aims to fill this gap by arguing that the objective utility of Syria is marginal. Instead, Syria provided Russia the opportunity to present itself as a global power, able to shape world affairs on eye level with the US. Therefore, this paper conducts a congruence analysis, which evaluates each theory's explanatory power. The analytical section is split into three parts. The first shows that events before Syria did not make a Russian intervention in Syria necessary, but that recognition of Russia's global power identity has been denied. That Russia's actions in Syria are not entirely congruent with neorealist expectations is shown by the second part. Finally, by conducting a content-analysis, several Russian narratives are evaluated that support the argument that Russia seeks...
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Market Forces and Political Power: On the Evolution of the Wagner Group
Mena Fuentes, Lucía ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Aliyev, Huseyn (referee)
The Wagner Group has recently piqued the attention of the global press, academics, analysts, and strategic and military studies specialists. Building upon Ghiselli's theoretical framework on the study of Chinese Security Privatisation, this research explains the interplay of market dynamics and governmental power in shaping Wagner's unconventional development. Wagner's most relevant deployments abroad have accommodated the elite-set needs of Russia's public sphere through a clear alignment with the Russian foreign policy agenda. At the same time, the public debate on plaussibl regularisation of PMCs in Russia has been greatly determined by key events in Wagner's evolution. Recently, estimations of Russian control over this group have been underplayed by Prigozhin's mutiny. Amid recent developments and the War in Ukraine, the future of this Semi-State Security Actor and the country's PMSCs remain uncertain. Russia's leaders must deal with essential questions on the control of on-ground Wagner operatives amid the war in Ukraine before the legal regularisation of PMCs in the country is even conceivable.
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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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US War reporting: American media evolution through a comparative analysis of the depiction of Middle Eastern women
Mlatečková, Marie ; Hornát, Jan (advisor) ; Fiřtová, Magdalena (referee)
This study delves into the portrayal of Arab women in American mass media (the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal) and uncovers the continued presence of Orientalism in such reporting. The study examines the War in Iraq and Syria as case studies and finds that more has stayed the same between the two. The study employs three frameworks to support its findings: Orientalism, post-colonial feminism, and peace journalism. The thesis extensively reviews existing literature on the topic and includes a chapter on the definition of mass media, with specific examples of its power in the United States. Another chapter focuses on the Middle Eastern context of gender and the context of the two wars. Finally, the study provides an in-depth analysis of representative samples from three journals and their articles during the first year of both conflicts, which are then presented and discussed.
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Comparison of the "integration plans for refugees" of the Ministry of Education in the Czech and German language areas using the example of the Prague Spring, the Civil War in Syria, and the Russian-Ukrainian War
Peřinová, Anna Magdaléna ; Kafka, Clemens (advisor) ; Botlík Nuc, Tomáš (referee)
After Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022, one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the last few years has occurred. The wave of Ukrainian refugees has found their refuge and protection mainly in the surrounding countries, which have since been trying to integrate them into society until the war ends. The aim of this bachelor's thesis is to find out what consequences the Ukrainian refugee wave has on the educational system of individual states. The emphasis is on the adaptation of elementary schools and the integration of Ukrainian refugee children into the collective. For this purpose, the method of analysis of the integration plans of the ministries of education of the Czech Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Austria was chosen. This analysis was then supplemented by the interview method with teachers and sitting in on classes at Czech and Austrian primary schools. The results of the survey show the far-reaching problems that schools must face when integrating refugees. Despite the long-term experience of some states with the integration of refugees, integration plans do not always correspond with the reality that prevails in schools. Nevertheless, the conducted research found that teachers manage the situation well and are well supported materially. The main...
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Russian-Israeli Relations after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Pavlíková, Klára ; Kalhousová, Irena (advisor) ; Plíštilová, Tereza (referee)
The thesis Russian-Israeli Relations after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union looks at the relations of these countries in the period from the end of 1991 to 2022 from the perspective of the neorealist balance of power theory. The main aim of the thesis is to answer the question of how the geopolitical interests of the two countries are inscribed in their diplomatic relations. At first glance, some diplomatic interactions between Moscow and Tel Aviv may give the impression of very warm relations. However, the two countries are fundamentally at odds over their interests in the Middle East. Russia's interests, as could be deduced from the balance of power theory, derive from its efforts to counterbalance the USA. Israel's interest is to survive surrounded by enemies, which it seeks to achieve through its alliance with the USA. The thesis is based on two case studies: Iran and Syria. I analyze both geopolitical interests and diplomatic relations using qualitative and quantitative research methods. In the case of geopolitical interests, I draw on official government documents, military doctrines, statements by top politicians, the formation of military-strategic alliances, energy cooperation, and Russian, Israeli, and U.S. votes at the United Nations in the cases of Iran and Syria. I analyze...
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