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The instrumentalisation and weaponisation of migrants, its impacts, and how the EU responds: the case of Belarus
Škopková, Lucie ; Parízek, Michal (advisor) ; Kazharski, Aliaksei (referee)
This diploma thesis will focus on the weaponisation of migration as a hybrid threat posed to states in an attempt to destabilise their internal systems. The case study of the Poland-Belarus border crisis will be used to examine and illustrate how the European Union can address such hybrid attacks and how this reflects on the notion of the European Union as a 'normative power'. This will be done by conducting a content analysis of relevant news articles from EURACTIV, EUobserver, and POLITICO on the case study and by holding interviews with experts and academics. The notion of the European Union as a normative power will be explored through the lens of realism and neo-realism, focusing on the role of human rights and the European Union's reliance on sanctions. This will help to explore the conclusion that the conceptualisation of the European Union should be more nuanced, making it appear as a civilian power with strong normative foundations in practice rather than a solely normative power.
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Green Party and its attitude to the German military mission in case of Afghanistan and Iraq
Schuster, Michael ; Handl, Vladimír (advisor) ; Kunštát, Miroslav (referee)
This bachelor thesis discusses the German Green Party and the changes it has undergone regarding the active involvement of the German army into a missions in abroad. The analysis describes the issue against the background of the conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The German Greens are a party whose roots go back to the peace movement of the 1970s, and the peaceful way of resolving the conflicts is one of the main pillars of the party. When the Green Party first came into government in Germany, it immediately needed to solve the issue of involvement in the conflict in Kosovo. Government took the attitude towards it that it is necessary to be actively involved in it. Just two years later, the government coalition of the Social Democrats and the Green Party dealt with participation in another military conflict, which was caused by the terrorist attack of 11th September 2001. Despite expressing solidarity with American politicians, Germany did not join the "wars on terror" in Afghanistan and in Iraq to the same extent as the conflict in Kosovo. The thesis uses the concept of Zivilmacht (civilian power), which examines how Germany corresponds to this model under the government of the red-green coalition. The aim of the work is to explain the reasons for the change in the position of the Green...
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Israel's security as German national interest: German historical commitment to Israel
Suk, Adam ; Kalhousová, Irena (advisor) ; Handl, Vladimír (referee)
This thesis analyses the connection between Israel's security and Germany's reason of state and examines the historically derived moral commitment of Germany to Israel. Despite the dark historical background, Germany and Israel have managed to develop close bilateral ties and intensive partnership. Nonetheless, the relationship remains very complex and the role of the past is still very significant. Germany still feels a strong sense of responsibility for Israel's security, and its moral commitment to Israel remains to be one of the most important factors determining Germany's policies towards the Middle East. The thesis provides answers to the following research questions: What is the role of Israel in Germany's reason of state? And What does the connection of Israel's security and Germany's reason of state mean in concrete terms, with a special focus on Germany's position towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? The theoretical and conceptual framework of the thesis is built on the constructivist approach to international relations. Working with the constructivist definition of national interest, it examines the connection between Israel's security and Germany's reason of state. The thesis also employs the role concept of civilian power to offer a better understanding of German foreign policy,...
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German international development cooperation in Latin America
Zavadilová, Barbora ; Handl, Vladimír (advisor) ; Eberle, Jakub (referee)
The bachelor thesis discusses the German development policy in Latin America between years 1990 and 2011. The region is not considered to be a part of German key strategic interests. However, the Federal republic plays a role of a "global donor" and supports the countries of Latin America significantly and carries out major development projects there. The thesis will firstly present the basic political context, describe the mutual relationships between Germany and Latin America and analyse key interests that are the base for the development cooperation. In the following part, the concept of a civilian power will be applied to the German development policy in the region to observe to which amount the character of the cooperation corresponds with the basic attributes of foreign policy of a normative-oriented civilian power as an ideal type. Statements of the executive representatives, government policy papers, statistical data and opinions of the academic sectors undergo the analysis.The aim of this paper is to present the development policy with the monitored region in its complexity and analyse which meanings do the German actors assign to the examined reality.
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Germany as a civilian power after its engagement in Operation Enduring Freedom
Ristemiová, Linda ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bahenský, Vojtěch (referee)
The main subject of this thesis is the status of Germany as a civilian power after its engagement in the war against terrorism, most importantly its engagement in the Operation Enduring Freedom. It is based on the theory of civilian power, mainly on the publications of Hanns Maull and other authors, that worked with this theory later. The following empirical analysis describes particular engagement of Germany in Operation Enduring Freedom. Thesis further discusses political discourse, the discussion in the media and process of the approval of German mandate in the operation. The thesis also mentions German engagement in ISAF, as these two operations were happening simultaneously and it can help the reader understand the difference between them, as well as the controversy of Enduring Freedom, which is the main subject of this thesis. Historical context of Germany as a civilian power and its shift from civilian politics in the 90s helps to establish final arguments. As per theoretical and empirical analysis I point out, that Germany definitely shifted itself from civilian politics, however not entirely. I also take into account the fact that international position of Germany changed rapidly compared to previous century. Therefore the shift from civilian politics is natural development.
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Germany as "dividual actor" on the case of Nord Stream project
Bundová, Klára ; Nigrin, Tomáš (advisor) ; Handl, Vladimír (referee)
This Master thesis examines the German foreign energy policy with focus on the German- Russian energy cooperation and the pipeline projects Nord Stream I and II. It seeks to analyze inconsistencies or even contradictions in the German foreign policy regarding the Nord Stream project. Both strategic and business interests on one hand and value based policy on the other are present and observable. Therefore this paper works with Jakub Eberle's concept of Germany as "dividual actor" which enables us to work with the already mentioned inconsistencies. Furthermore, this approach allows us to observe "geo-economic power" aspects in German actions (favoring strategic and mostly business interests) as well as "civilian power" aspects (value based policy) and eventually to see Germany as an actor in the international relations in its complexity. This thesis therefore aims to contribute to a broader debate about German actorness and its roles in international system. Moreover, German domestic energy policy will be analyzed in order to provide us with the basis for German foreign energy policy. The main focus of this paper is on natural gas and its importance in the German energy mix as well as on German dependence on its imports. The import routes and primarily the pipeline routes Nord Stream I and II are...
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Germany in Czech Daily press: Stereotypes and the ,,Image of the Other'' in Comments and Opinions in Polls-Year 2017
Stojanovová, Kamila ; Jirák, Jan (advisor) ; Lütke Notarp, Ulrike (referee)
This thesis bases on an constructivist approach in media studies in context of the role of Germany as a civilian power and hegemon of the European Union and deals with the extent, to which arguments arising from the asymmetric partnership between the Czech Republic and Germany in the past ten years in terms of bilateral relations, foreign policy making of the both states and agenda such as different energy policy conceptions were being reflected in comments and opinions by the Czech daily press in connection with the German parliamentary elections in 2017. In addition to the theory of social construction of reality in this thesis, the concept of role theory serves to explain the role of Germany as a civilian power and the process of shaping its identity. The thesis presents the results of an research, in which a critical discourse analysis (CDA) aimed to formulate hypotheses reflecting the way of image-construction of Germany as "the other," in terms of van Dijk's ideological square "us versus them" and the presence of stereotypes in the comments and opinions in the Czech press. The formulated hypotheses later became the basis for a quantitative content analysis carried out on a research sample of 59 articles published in the daily Mladá fronta DNES, Právo, Lidové noviny and Hospodářské noviny.
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The relationship of the Federal Republic of Germany to the intervention in Libya
Janatková, Karolína ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The topic of this master thesis is the Relationship of the Federal Republic of Germany to the intervention in Libya. The aim of this master thesis is to answer the research question: "Why did not Germany support the intervention in Libya?". After the abstention on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, Germany was for not continuing human rights protection. The decision, to reject the intervention, has confirmed that Germany is still very skeptical regarding the involvement of its military personnel and assets abroad. The decision of the Security Council is not only a milestone in German history, but also a milestone for the international community. For the first time has the United Nations Security Council agreed to use military forces against a functioning state with the aim of protecting civilian population. This master thesis is a single case study; through which the author examines a very specific situation when Germany decided not to participate in the voting process regarding the intervention in Libya. The theoretical part of the thesis is based on the constructivist theory, furthermore the thesis focuses also on the concepts of civilian power, multilateralism, culture of restraint, and the protection of human rights. All these terms have significant influence on German foreign...
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Germany as a civilian power after its engagement in Operation Enduring Freedom
Ristemiová, Linda ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Bahenský, Vojtěch (referee)
The main subject of this thesis is the status of Germany as a civilian power after its engagement in the war against terrorism, most importantly its engagement in the Operation Enduring Freedom. It is based on the theory of civilian power, mainly on the publications of Hanns Maull and other authors, that worked with this theory later. The following empirical analysis describes particular engagement of Germany in Operation Enduring Freedom. Thesis further discusses political discourse, the discussion in the media and process of the approval of German mandate in the operation. The thesis also mentions German engagement in ISAF, as these two operations were happening simultaneously and it can help the reader understand the difference between them, as well as the controversy of Enduring Freedom, which is the main subject of this thesis. Historical context of Germany as a civilian power and its shift from civilian politics in the 90s helps to establish final arguments. As per theoretical and empirical analysis I point out, that Germany definitely shifted itself from civilian politics, however not entirely. I also take into account the fact that international position of Germany changed rapidly compared to previous century. Therefore the shift from civilian politics is natural development.
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Germany and Ukraine's Path to non-signing the Association Agreement
Svobodová, Tereza ; Handl, Vladimír (advisor) ; Eberle, Jakub (referee)
This thesis deals with German foreign policy on example of negotiations of Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine in years 2007-2013. The purpose of this paper was to analyse German interests in these negotiations and to answer the question, if Germany acted more as a civilian or geoeconomic power. Moreover, I focused on the mistakes of German politicians during this process and how it could influence the negative outcome. Firstly, the thesis follows up main basis of German foreign policy and European Neighbourhood Policy, mainly Eastern Partnership, and the role of Germany in these. The main chapter studies chronologically the process of the treaty negotiations and focuses particularly on press releases and statements of key German politicians. These are compared with chosen criteria to assign the actions to one of the concepts. This thesis comes to a conclusion that Germany acted as a civilian power because it tried to multilateralize the relations, stressed the principles and values and avoided conflicts. Germany's mistake was that it did not pay enough attention to the negotiations and had no clear strategy for this area. With its passivity and lack of interest in Ukraine itself it contributed to the failure of the negotiations.
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