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Russia's Idea After the Dissolution of the USSR. The changes of V. Putin's geopolitical thought
Martinek, Jan ; Kolenovská, Daniela (advisor) ; Svoboda, Karel (referee)
In this thesis, I examine how geopolitical ideas about the future development of the Russian Federation changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and how the Vladimir Putin regime has subsequently built on this debate. Using Russian political and geopolitical thought, I demonstrate that the key questions to which the Russian elite (whether intellectuals or members of the ruling class) have attempted to find answers over the past two hundred years remain relevant and continue to shape social discurs: For example, the question of how open Russia should be to foreign influences, whether it represents a European, Asian, or unique civilization, and whether the Russian nation has an exceptional, messianic mission to which it must subordinate its existence. Different schools of geopolitics have successively offered different - mutually contradictory - answers to these questions. Thus, I first present the history of the search for the Russian idea, and then, using speeches and articles delivered and written by Vladimir Putin in particular, I argue that none of these geopolitical conceptions alone fully explains the direction in which today's Russia is heading, but that in their summary they can in some way explaining the gradual changes in Putin's rhetoric and policies. Whereas earlier geopolitical...
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The shaping of Russia's Arctic strategy
Fritzen, Johan ; Doboš, Bohumil (advisor) ; Romancov, Michael (referee)
The Shaping of Russia's Arctic strategy Abstract Dramatic and rapid shifts are brought about by climate changes to the Arctic geography: Arctic Ocean ice recedes and leave behind resources and sea lanes that traditionally were out of reach to man. This potentially leads to conflict between the coastal states which have overlapping resource claims in the region, different forms of statehood, and diverging security priorities. The changes are felt the strongest in Russia which is investing in Arctic infrastructure to accommodate oil and gas extraction, in addition to a slowly opening intercontinental trade route along her Northern shores. Arctic extraction is a means of increasing economic output and the maritime route to Asia ensures a diversified market which is unlikely to engage in trade sanctions to the same extent as Europe. Melting Arctic ice has repercussions in the defence sphere as well: traditionally protected against invasions from the North by a frozen ocean, Russia's Arctic coastline is becoming exposed to foreign powers. This has sparked a Russian military build-up in the region, inspiring her neighbouring Arctic states to consider their regional defence - not as a response to changed climatic conditions, but to Russia's rhetoric and actions. Both the economic flexibility stemming from Arctic...
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Russia's Critique of Western Liberalism under Vladimir Putin
Frenzel, Stefanie ; Franěk, Jakub (advisor) ; Ditrych, Ondřej (referee)
While most of the states have embraced capitalist market economy, liberal and democratic norms face resistance in large parts of the world. The \enquote{liberal West} under the leadership of the United States has to face critique of his democratization practices and alleged hypocrisy when dealing with the enforcement of its own norms. One of the loudest critics is Russia under President Vladimir Putin. The first objective of my thesis is to understand the rationale behind Russia's Foreign Policy because without that, no efficient and deescalating policies towards Russia can be developed. I do this by means of an ideological discourse analysis of some of the most famous of Putin's speeches. The concepts of the German philosopher Carl Schmitt serve as a frame for tracing the ideas expressed in the speeches of the Russian President. The analysis concludes that, at least rhetorically, democracy, trust, disarmament, freedom of speech, balance of power and the UN as universal institution have a central place for both the Western World and Russia. NATO expansion, U.S. intervention in the Middle East and, related to that, the alleged non--respect of sovereignty are the most dividing issues between Russia and the Western liberal democracies. It becomes clear that Russia has the impression that Western liberal...
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China and Its Role in the Transformation of the Current World Order
Safarli, Samir ; Rolenc, Jan Martin (advisor) ; Garlick, Jeremy Alan (referee)
The thesis investigates the issues related to the transformation of the world order and China s role in this transformation. The findings of the research confirm that China has been able to establish itself as a global power, and as of today struggles for strengthening its positions as a global economic, military and geopolitical dominator. China s aggressive policies go in contrast with the interests of the United States and the US Western allies, which leads to constantly growing tensions between global powers. The recent development of events related to the issues of Taiwan and North Korea testifies that the opposition between the US and China should be expected to keep growing. This contributes to the steady transformation of the world order, making it more fragile and vulnerable. Any start of direct military confrontation between global powers could put an ultimate end to the existing international balance of powers and status quo, thus brining major damage to global security.
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Transformations of World Order and Humanitarianism
Kárník, Jan ; Barša, Pavel (advisor) ; Slačálek, Ondřej (referee)
The master thesis deals with the historical development of humanitarian aid against the backdrop of transformations of the world order. Firstly, the thesis scrutinizes the differences between the classical humanitarianism of the Red Cross and the so-called new humanitarianism, which emerged during the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970). Secondly, the thesis demonstrates that although the new humanitarianism tends to be presented in an opposition to and as a more historically advanced form of the classic humanitarianism, when examined in a more detailed manner, the two humanitarian approaches face similar dilemmas in relation to political power. The overcoming of the "end of history" era, which gave rise and prominence to the new humanitarianism, opened discussion about the alternatives to the future of the world order. This shift allows us to formulate the main argument of the thesis - the evolution of the humanitarianism should not be seen as teleological and linear but as a continuous process in which both the classic and the new humanitarianism need to balance between strict legalism which can lead to moral failure and exaggerated moralism which can have consequences contradicting the basic principles of humanitarian action. Keywords: classical humanitarianism, new humanitarianism, human rights,...
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Impacts of China's rise to power on the security dimension of international relations
Koudelková, Tereza ; Knotková, Vladimíra (advisor) ; Druláková, Radka (referee)
The world order is determined by the character of its constituents, their importance and their mutual relations. The position of respective constituents is, however, subject to constant changes which, by implication, transform the whole order. Such changes could have significant impacts on security. The current system of international relations is fundamentally affected by the rise of China. China gradually strenghtens its postition and becomes more and more involved in international affairs. This thesis, therefore, intends to identify impacts of China's rise on the security dimension of international relations. The opening part aims to define security dimensions. The following part adresses the characteristic of Chinese foreign policy which determines China's international behaviour. The closing part analyzes concrete impacts concerning military, political, economic, environmental, social and cultural, energetic, technological and infrastructural security. The author attempts to anticipate a theoretical development of the international system that could take place in the first half of the 21st century.
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