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The role of PMSCs in boosting the erosion of state sovereignty
Cirrone, Beatrice ; Ludvík, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Bureš, Oldřich (referee)
The end of the Cold War accelerated the privatization of security and the proliferation of private military security companies (PMSCs) in conflict-ridden areas, challenging the state's role as the sole and legitimate security provider. This thesis explores whether deploying PMSCs has resulted in the erosion of state sovereignty - understood as the monopoly of violence - in a country with weak state institutions, such as Sierra Leone. To address this, the methodology employs process tracing to examine if and how the hypothesized causal mechanism unfolds under specific circumstances, resulting in a change in sovereignty status. This change is measured through three indicators: political stability, control over territory, and control over natural resources. By conducting an in-depth case study of Sierra Leone during PMSCs deployment (1991-1998) in the fight against the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), this thesis reveals significant adverse impacts of PMSCs on the state sovereignty indicators. Firstly, PMSCs involvement led to an internal power redistribution, fueling competition among contractors, the army, and local militias. Secondly, while PMSCs provided short-term territorial gains, the Sierra Leonean army proved unable to maintain territorial stability, resulting in prolonged vulnerability and...
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DDR and child soldiers
Ardigò, Caterina ; Garb, Maja (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
The object of this Master's thesis is to investigate the role of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of former child soldiers in the conflict of Sierra Leone. Even though extensive research has been carried out in the direct aftermath of the conflict, thus in the immediate subsequent years, few researchers focused on the long-term effects and effectiveness of the implementation of such programs. The first chapter examines the concept of peacebuilding, starting from its first definitions until the latest evolutions, the main actors, and the practices tied to it. The literature review concerning the various issues stemming from the experience of child soldiering is found in Chapter 2 of the thesis. Chapter 3 outlines the methodology we used to investigate our research question while Chapter 4 illustrates the analysis we conducted. The findings led to the conclusion that DDR programs are effective in the short-term, but this notion cannot be transposed into the long run. Thus, programs should include a long-term strategy focusing more on the psychological sphere of former combatants. Keywords Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, DDR, Child Soldiers, Sierra Leone, Reintegration Title DDR and Child Soldiers: Reintegration of Child Soldiers of the Sierra Leonian Conflict
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Chinese and US health diplomacy as a soft power tool during Ebola and COVID-19 epidemics
Kratschmer, Adam ; Hornát, Jan (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
This master's thesis addresses health diplomacy as a tool of 'soft power' and focuses on a comparative analysis of the health strategies of China and the United States. It examines health policy strategy as a means of influence in three selected African countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. These countries were most affected by the Ebola epidemic, and the thesis tracks how the strategies of the USA and China changed from Ebola to COVID-19 epidemic. The study employs case study methodology and assesses the nature, scope, and course of health diplomacy initiatives of both countries. The analysis is structured according to five key aspects of health diplomacy: aid and assistance, cooperation and collaboration, communication and messaging, long-term investment and partnerships, and impact and acceptance. The findings of the thesis indicate that during both epidemics, the USA provided technical expertise and financial assistance, while China focused on direct aid and infrastructure investment. Even though China tried to create the impression of a reliable global partner, it is evident from the analysis that it mainly preferred bilateral relations and especially strengthened its own influence. Although there was cooperation between the USA and China during Ebola, the dynamics changed during...
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Evaluating (lack of) success of peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Rwanda
Novosad, Jan ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Karlas, Jan (referee)
Peacekeeping operations have since their inception become a widely-used tool used to address the acute crises emerging in international relations. For a long time, their success or failure were not object of scientific scrutiny. This has changed in recent years. This thesis describes evaluation frameworks developed by three authors and then applies them to three cases of peacekeeping operations (Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Rwanda) and it tries to assess the extent to which the assumption about the too optimistic evaluation criteria proposed by Virginia Page Fortna and too pessimistic evaluation criteria suggested by Diehl and Druckman are substantiated by empirical reality of peacekeeping operations. These approaches are supplemented by the evaluation criteria proposed by Daryia Pushkina which serve as an evaluation mainstream.
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Seeking community reconciliation through traditional practice. The Sierra Leonean experience
Werkman, Kateřina ; Moravcová, Dagmar (advisor) ; Záhořík, Jan (referee) ; Kandert, Josef (referee)
Sierra Leone was torn apart by a violent conflict that lasted for over a decade between 1991 and 2002. The deep physical and emotional scars it left on the people and their communities and the destruction of the country's socio-economic and institutional foundations are still visible today. But Sierra Leoneans have also shown an extraordinary ability to deal with the painful and violent past and to move on. This does not mean that the victims would be able to easily forget the suffering they endured or that the return and (re)integration of the ex-combatants into the society would always go smoothly and effortlessly. Yet, if you ask around in the villages across the country, people almost always answer the same: "We have reconciled". What do they mean by that? And how have they achieved it? These questions form the core puzzle of the present thesis. It explores the process of reconciliation and restoration of relationships at village level in Sierra Leone, with a particular focus on the role of local ceremonies. While its main concern is with the specific circumstances in Sierra Leone, it also aims to contribute to the debates in transitional justice and peacebuilding fields regarding the 'local' practices of reconciliation in African post-conflict societies. The thesis argues that Sierra Leonean...
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UN peacekeeping in the Central African Republic
Slavíková, Hana ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Oberpfalzerová, Hana (referee)
Předkládaná bakalářská práce si klade za cíl zhodnotit úspěšnost peacekeepingových snah OSN a jejích misí ve Středoafrické republice a komparovat je s podobnými případy na území Angoly a Sierry Leone, zeměmi zasaženými občanskou válkou. Úspěšnost mise je definována na základě dvou měřítek: zabránění bezprostřednímu násilí a vyřešení dlouhodobých problémů. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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The Analysis of Tony Blair's Foreign Policy towards Sierra Leone
Hájková, Zuzana ; Kasáková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Váška, Jan (referee)
The main goal of this bachelor thesis is to analyse process of British foreign policy towards Sierra Leone in period since 1997 to 2000. This paperwork particularly answers the question if British approach to Sierra Leone was in harmony with new rhetoric of the Labour Party, which wanted to build a foreign policy on "ethical dimension". Sierra Leone has been locked in civil war since 1991, in which Great Britain officially supported legally elected president Kabbah, whose governance was threaten by the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front. Great Britain intervened in May 2000, when the capital city of Sierra Leone was directly endangered. The paperwork explores in detail, which factors and which participants influenced Blair's policy towards Sierra Leone.
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Reintegrace dětských vojáků v procesu post-konfliktní rekonstrukce
Haufová, Pavlína
The diploma thesis deals with the phenomenon of child soldiers and their reintegration into the post-war society. The subject of the theoretical part is the general characterization of the problem of child combatants in relation to selected sources of international law, economic and social factors of recruiting girls and boys, together with the consequences and theoretical approaches to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs. The analytical part focuses on former child soldiers in post-conflict reconstruction in selected countries of West Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia, with a focus on their reintegration into society after the de-escalation of civil wars in 2002 and 2003. In the final part of the thesis measures for solving the problem of children in armed groups and forces, together with proposals for completing the process of reintegration of former child soldiers into civil society are proposed.
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Conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone
Galačová, Lucie
This thesis is a case study discussing conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone and consequent changes that have taken place in the country, the following the civil war and introduction of the so-called Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). This process, established in 2003, has aimed at eliminating conflict diamonds from being sold at the diamond market. The thesis, therefore, does not only provide background information regarding the topic but chiefly it analyses the aforementioned changes, effectiveness and provides conclusions in this regard.
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