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Foreign Aid as a Variable in the Equation of the War in Yemen
Samadová, Jana ; Daniel, Jan (advisor) ; Plechanovová, Běla (referee)
This master's thesis analyses the different narratives constructed by three actors, towards the war in Yemen. The thesis will draw on the constructivist theory to answer the question: how do different actors construct the war in Yemen and the humanitarian crisis in their discourses and narratives? To answer this question, the theoretical part defines different concepts, such as identity, norms, national interest, strategic narrative and discourse. It presents the constructivist understanding of identity as a social construction, shaped by collective components of knowledge, symbols, language and norms. The empirical part attempts to identify the narratives constructed by the Houthis, Saudi Arabia and the EU towards the war in Yemen, which provoked a Saudi-led military intervention when the Houthis seized the capital and declared the establishment of a new government in March 2015. The Houthis consider the intervention as an aggression to Yemen and as the main cause of suffering of the Yemeni people. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia presents the crisis as Iran's attempt to control the country and spread its influence throughout the region. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia argues that it intervened only as a response to the demands of the internationally recognized government under president Hadi. Finally, the EU...
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Comparison of coverage of the war conflicts in Yemen and Syria by Czech media
Jurečková, Anna ; Vodička, Milan (advisor) ; Miessler, Jan (referee)
The diploma thesis Comparation of the coverage of war conflicts in Yemen and Syria by the Czech media examines to what extent and in what way two wars, which have been going on for several years and are among the biggest humanitarian crises of the present, are reflected in selected media. The conflicts under investigation are the war in Syria and the war in Yemen. The aim of the thesis was to prove that although the two wars are comparable in many aspects, there is a considerable difference between their media coverage. The theoretical part summarizes and defines important concepts accompanying news and news selection and their impact, the role of the media in war and other concepts such as ideology or propaganda. The research part examines the individual reports of three selected news sites, which are Aktuálně.cz, Novinky.cz and iDnes.cz. Based on four theoretical bases, the variables in media content of selected media were investigated. Based on the analysis it was found that the Syrian conflict in the media space gets much more attention than the Yemeni conflict. Furthermore, it was found that while the war in Syria is most often put into the context of the actions of state actors, the most common theme of the reports on the war in Yemen is the development of the conflict. The third hypothesis...
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Balance of identity and balance of power: The case of conflict dynamics between Saudi Arabia and Iran
Kováčiková, Zuzana ; Aslan, Emil (advisor) ; Kučera, Tomáš (referee)
This thesis applies the concept of religious (national) identity to the cases of Saudi Arabia, Iran and their proxy allies - state and non-state actors - in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. The aim was to show that in the Middle East, Sunni and Shiite affiliations matter in the relationship between the regional powers and respective proxies, as opposing to realist statement that alliances, conflicts and political developments are only governed by pragmatic power interests. Additionally, the work examines whether religious national identities have impact on the dynamics of proxy conflicts. Overall, the objective was to establish comprehensive image of how ideational/constructivist and pragmatic/realist factors work in combination to influence alliances, enmities and conflicts in the Middle East. Using qualitative methods of research, religious (national) identities of Saudi Arabia, Iran and their allies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen were constructed so as to create ideational and realist points of departure, and then interlinked to show how convergence of religious identities helps in creating durable alliances if used in targeted manner as a strategic tool which can help safeguard national interests. The work shows notable differences in the use of this tool between Saudi Arabia and Iran, suggesting that it...
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in US National Security Policy. New Face of War of Terror
Matějka, Stanislav ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Anděl, Petr (referee)
The paper deals with the use of unmanned aircraft of the American national security policy. It examines the history of unmanned aviation, its military use, and cost- efficiency. It then examines the main obstacles and problems with their use in national security that this technology meets and will meet in the future after a higher level of autonomy is developed. These problems involve legal issues, international and domestic American law, the issue of civilian casualties, the role of the media, and public opinion. The final chapter focuses on the problems of technical, strategic and operational issues. In this section the research paper comes to the first conclusion which claims that the introduction of more autonomous systems to war will radically change its structure and, consequently, standard procedures and strategies. Case studies are included to illustrate how successful the drone strategy is applied in the five countries where the United States leads a war on terror. The research using the theory of the revolution in military affairs concludes that these UAVs pose the greatest challenge in history and it goes well beyond military matters. UAVs in national security affect the understanding of the basic principles of war in relation to the concepts of warrior ethos and just war.
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Iran and Saudi Arabia as regional powers in the Middle East
Kartalová, Petra ; Karásek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the relationship between two regional powers in the Middle East - Iran and Saudi Arabia. Middle East is a conflict-prone region with a delicate balance of power. We work with the assumption that a specific combination of internal and external factors caused the rise of Iran as a regional power. The balance of power in the Middle East has thus changed and Iran has started to pose a threat to Saudi Arabia that needs to be balanced. First, we analyze the theoretical concepts of power and region in international relations and subsequently we propose a definition of a regional power. The theory of balance of threat by Stephen M. Walt is used as a framework for the analysis of the Iranian threat. Last chapter of this thesis is devoted to three case studies. Here, we analytically describe particular examples of Iranian threat and its balancing by Saudi Arabia in Bahrain, Yemen and Lebanon.
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