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The phenomenon of hybrid activities of state and non-state actors
Havlík, Martin ; Hynek, Nikola (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The rigorous thesis deals with the issue of hybrid action of state and non-state actors using a wide range of tools of power to promote their own interests. The primary intention is to relate the content to the concept of security according to the Copenhagen school, which was one of the most important in the second half of the 20th century after the collapse of the bipolar world order to expand the dimensions of security. The definition of the main concepts of security is further extended by Clausewitz's concept of war and the American concept of Theory of Victory. The introductory theories are followed by an analysis of key theoretical apparatuses of important Western, Russian and Chinese security experts, which are then compared in relation to the essential factors of individual hybrid approaches. The work further describes in detail the significant categories of tools such as soft power, hard power, smart power and sharp power. An important part of the work is also the analysis of state, non-state and proxy-state actors, as the main carriers, users and representatives of hybrid action. In this context, the key determinant is the chosen reference object in the form of the Czech Republic. To complement the issue, the work also includes the related area of facing hybrid threats and hybrid action...
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David and Goliath: Aspects of Air Warfare in the China-Taiwan Confrontation
Maxa, Jaroslav ; Kofroň, Jan (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
The prospect of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and the impact it would have on the region has been a subject of concern for many years. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the potential outcome of air warfare in such an event, focusing on changes in Chinese and Taiwanese military capabilities over time. Drawing on previous RAND Corporation research published over the past two decades, this thesis examined two aspects of a potential Chinese invasion, the possibility of a disarming strike against Taiwanese air defenses and air bases, and the possible outcome of air warfare. To accomplish this, the critical variables from previous studies were examined and the development of their values was assessed through a mixture of quantitative and qualitative analysis. The thesis finds that China currently has the upper hand in military capabilities, making it unlikely that Taiwan could sustain a full-scale air war without U.S. support. The study also discusses possible future developments in the contest for air superiority over Taiwan in the next decade and offers policy implications for Taiwan to maintain close ties with its allies and invest in its military capabilities, especially air defense.
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The Study of Use of Heavy Armoured Vehicles by Non-State Actors in Syria Conflict
Kotrbáček, Adam ; Kučera, Tomáš (advisor) ; Rosendorf, Ondřej (referee)
The use of heavy weaponry - such as tanks - in recent and current military conflicts has been overlooked, as were the principles of conventional warfare in general. With relation to armed conflict, attention has been given especially to the questions of conflict prevention and deconfliction. The thesis focuses on the ongoing conventional conflict in Syria, with the emphasis on the tactics of use of heavy armoured vehicles by non-state actors. The thesis takes advantage of volume of accessible primary sources concerning the topic to establish distinct modes of use of heavy weapons - the patterns of deployment, to analyse how the heavy weapons itself and the environment affecting their usage. On the two chosen case studies, these patterns of deployment are operationalised into an independent variable to assess whether the use of heavy armoured vehicles by insurgents in north-western Syria could be causally link with the outcome of military operations.
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Computer Games and Battle Mechanics in League of Legends: Investigating analogies between real warfare and computer games
Ravi, Sai Shashanka ; Kofroň, Jan (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
: BATTLE MECHANICS IN LoL: Investigating Analogies Between Real Warfare and Computer Games My Masters' thesis will be about how one can draw parallels between the e-sports scene in competitive online games, and the all-too real military situations that come up ever so often. Not just that, but also the possibility of running battle simulations is much more convenient in the case of e-sports, as there is no life/death scenario involved, which makes it much more suitable for implementing the more unconventional, or even some downright outrageous strategies for victory. The game I have in mind at present is League of Legends, which is a MOBA game [Multiplayer Online Battle Arena]. In LoL, battles take place between two teams of 5 vs 5, involving 10 unique characters out of a total game roster of 140+ possible character choices, each with different sets of abilities and playstyles suited for different [or in some cases, the same] situations. The battles take place on the map called Summoner's Rift, a terrain with various obstacles, bushes and whatnot to deny total vision to either of the competing teams. The methodology I would choose for my paper would be statistical analysis; since LoL is an online competitive game, statistics are easily available for the games played, either on the official game...
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Russian armed intervention in eastern Ukraine 2014-2015: evolution of tactical approach
Chalupník, Alexej ; Šír, Jan (advisor) ; Svoboda, Karel (referee)
The thesis deals with the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine, in the period between February 2014 and the first half of 2015, with the focus on the Russian tactical approach in the operation. A chapter describing the context of the pre-war Ukraine, focusing on Russian- Ukrainian relationship and a brief introduction to the events prior to the war in eastern Ukraine, precedes the main body of the case study. I deem this chapter necessary for reader's understanding of the topic. This chapter is followed by the presentation of Russian strategic goals regarding Ukraine, which Russia aimed to achieve using its tactics in Donbas. This helps to determine the relative success of the Russian operation and the chosen tactics in the final conclusion of the paper. The main chapter describes the Russian tactical approach, which divides both the conflict and the structure of the chapter into particular phases. Transition of Russian tactical approach from the use of political warfare tools to the means of irregular warfare and subsequently to hybrid warfare, followed by a conventional, invasive attack by Russian regular troops, is depicted in the main chapter. The case study concludes that the Russian tactical approach in eastern Ukraine was poorly chosen or executed. The very limited achievement of...
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Tarahumaran Warfare in Colonial Sources
Černý, Martin ; Křížová, Markéta (advisor) ; Binková, Simona (referee)
The goal of the thesis is to analyze war customs of Tarahumara people of northern Mexico during colonial era. The work focuses on technological aspects of warfare like weaponry, strategy and tactics, as well as social phenomenas like taking captives, using of witchcraft and role of violence in Tarahumara culture. 17th century conflicts are seen as part of the process, which has caused significant changes in tarahumaran perception of war an it's role in society. Analysis of this process is the another goal of this work. Further subject of interest are conflicts with the other native groups in the region and influence of tarahumara armed resistance to changes in attitude of colonial institutions. The work is based on sources of the ecclesiastical origin - reports, letters and chronicles of missionaries, as well as correspondence of viceroyal officials and records of military commanders operating in tarahumara region. Keywords: Tarahumaras, Northern Mexico, Warfare, 17th century, Viceroyalty of New Spain, Presidio Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Prevalence of Etatism in the 20th-Century Great Britain
Erva, Martin ; Kovář, Martin (advisor) ; Tajovský, Ladislav (referee) ; Soukup, Jaromír (referee)
The United Kingdom is imprinted in our historical memory as the birthplace of modern democracy, the rule of law and respect to private ownership. However, this memory reflects deep history of the 19th century rather than the present state of affairs. The English like other developed nations have acquired the policy of state interventions, nationalization of private enterprise for a compensation, fight against the economic cycle in an unprecedented consensus. Many of the contemporaries assess England through the prism of Margaret Thatcher, however, as demonstrated in this work, her right-winged policy proved an exception to the Conservative Party's rule. Historiography ascribes the reasons of the situation especially to the Labour Party. A number of history works limits the causality of the state growth to the onset of the Laborites. It is apparent, however, that the search for the reasons of the state of affairs needs to quest much deeper in history. Despite its name, the Liberal Party is an institution with a long tradition of state-positive thinking. It was the new Radical Liberals who arrived with a "ransom" theory as well as the program of urban socialism, which does not seem to be a symptom of the laissez faire era in the today's regulated world of private waterworks, gas and electric power...
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Decorations of roman armour and parade armour
Syřínek, Michal ; Musil, Jiří (advisor) ; Kysela, Jan (referee)
Abstracts Charles University in Prague Faculty of Arts Institute for Classical archaeology Bachelor degree thesis Author: Michal Syřínek Theme: Decorations of roman armour and parade armour. Supervisor: doc. Jiří Musil Submission date: 2014 The aim of this thesis is to map the way of manufacturing of roman armour, its appearance and primarily decoration and its motifs. It will contain body armour, helmets, greaves, shields and belts. In terms of time its main aim is period of principate in terms of place, it will concentrate on all empire and beyond, wherever the foot of roman soldier stood. Roman army was the strongest and most efficient war machine of the world for almost five hundred years and its equipment reflected that. Roman equipment could bear from small and simple motifs to elaborate and stunning demonstration of craftsmanship. Although the roman equipment was decorated in countless ways, some of them were more favoured than others and the favoured ones are connected with roman army, its gods or protection against bad luck.
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