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The United Arab Emirates Foreign Policy Change In The Post 2011 Middle East: A Role Theory Approach
Get PDFThe United Arab Emirates’ foreign policy changed from a low-key policy that fits with small state standards to an active policy that is sometimes attributed to an interventionist player. Since the 2011 uprisings, the UAE emerged as a crucial regional player seeking influence over Middle Eastern affairs using an assertive discourse of regional leadership. This conduct of foreign policy illustrates role change alongside new identity affirmation. This dissertation examines the UAE as a heuristic case study to answer the following questions: (1) why do some small states pursue greater roles in foreign policy? (2) How do they conduct this change in foreign policy role? (3) What impact does this change have on their state’s identity? This dissertation attempts to complement existing research and literature on the UAE by examining its new regional approach since the 2011 uprisings, which has been studied scarcely. This dissertation intends to uncover how the UAE challenges existing theories of small states’ roles in the international system. It will explore why and how, despite being a small state, the UAE behaved like a great power in the Middle East. In this dissertation, I argue that the power vacuum caused by the fall of traditional Arab regimes following the 2011 uprisings led to structural changes, such as the rise of political Islam and liberal democratic sentiments that pressured political changes. The fall of Arab power centres, such as Egypt, led to the fragmentation of the region. This structural change endangered the UAE’s identity and its regional interests as a Gulf monarchy. This was considered a foreign policy dilemma that prompted the Emirati leadership to pursue external and internal changes while adopting new regional roles and embracing a new identity. These changes led to the transformation of this small state into an influential regional player and a competing actor. The disaggregation of the Arab order influenced the UAE to step in and take up a leading role to restore the previous status quo, and counter regional rivals such as state and non-state actors to secure its regional interests. The UAE’s behaviour showed that it no longer perceived itself as a small state that requires the protection of others, and was now affirming its status as a regional power that traditional regional, and international actors, can depend on and cooperate with to achieve regional security. This study employed interactionist role theory to interpret this change in the UAE’s foreign policy. Applying role theory would explain the UAE leadership’s agency, its foreign policy making, the role it played, and the identity it affirmed. This theoretical framework will be applied to three case studies: the UAE’s role in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. These three Arab states represent the manifestation of the UAE’s foreign policy change in which it affirmed itself as a capable military actor, reliable partner, anti-terrorist actor, and status-quo power
Probing the Physics and Geometry of Active Galactic Nuclei
Get PDFSuper Massive Black Holes (SMBH) inhabit the centre of every major galaxy, some of which power Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) via mass accretion. In this thesis I explore two of the main approaches taken to study AGN, firstly the use of a wide sample, and secondly detailed observations of a single object. Multi-wavelength emission from AGN can be broken down into physical components which dominate in different wavebands, namely the dusty torus (IR), the accretion disc (optical/UV), the soft X-ray excess (UV/soft X-ray) and hot corona (hard X-rays). I first outline our new sample of around 700 SDSS Optical/UV/X-ray selected AGN, the SOUX sample, where the SDSS emission lines give single epoch black hole mass estimates while the UV/X-rays determine the continuum. I bin and stack the sample in mass and luminosity to look for trends as a function of these two important parameters. I perform detailed continuum fitting on the SOUX sample including the disc, soft X-ray excess and hot corona, and demonstrate clear issues in all current accretion flow models. Simple discs cannot match the UV extent of the most massive AGN irrespective of black hole spin as the high spin fits used in previous studies did not include the strong gravitational redshift which results from general relativistic ray tracing from the inner disc to the observer. I conclude that either there is a systematic over-prediction in black hole masses, or, more likely, the accretion flow in AGN does not take the form of a standard disc but may be fully Comptonised or take the form of something altogether different. I then switch gear to use the variable accretion flow emission to constrain the physical size scale of the dusty torus and Paschen Broad Line Region (BLR) from near-IR reverberation mapping. For Mrk 509, I develop a technique of photometric re-scaling and am able to place loose constraints on the size scales of these regions despite the challenging dataset. This technique is repeated with the much more robust data-set on Mrk 817, observed as part of the wider STORM2 collaboration. Both of these show that the Paschen BLR is co-spatial with the Balmer BLR, which is important as the Paschen BLR is now resolvable with GRAVITY data in a few objects, so can be used to test single epoch mass estimates. I then summarise the presented work and discuss potential avenues of investigation to take this further
Geometrical aspects of Amplitudes and Correlators in N=4 SYM
Get PDFThis thesis describes progresses made by the author and collaborators in the positive geometry description of superamplitudes and the supercorrelators in planar N=4 SYM
THE REJECTED: TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLICAL PORTRAYALS OF ESAU AND KING SAUL
Get PDFIn the present thesis I examine the biblical presentation of Esau and King Saul and their respective rejections within a Christian theological frame of reference. I do so in conversation with various significant interpreters past and present. In Part 1 I discuss the rejection of Esau in conversation with John Calvin and Jon D. Levenson. In Part 2 I offer an account of the rejection of Saul in conversation with Karl Barth and various contemporary tragic readings.
I suggest that Esau’s exclusion from the line of promise is presented, through the ambiguous oracle of Genesis 25.23, in such a way as to limit confident human speech about divine decision making. As such, all discussion of Esau’s rejection must take on a deeply provisional dimension. In terms of Saul’s rejection, I argue that it is presented as the outcome of a responsive dynamic in YHWH’s relationship with him. YHWH rejects Saul in response to his actions. The rejection of Esau can be read, in Christian theological terms, as displaying the transcendent dimension in God’s decision making. By contrast, the rejection of Saul displays the immanent, responsive element in God’s decision making. I conclude by suggesting that both are crucial in a responsible Christian account of divine rejection
Optical and microwave spectroscopy of Rydberg excitons in CuO
Get PDFAn experiment was developed to create and study excitonic energy levels in cuprous oxide at 4 K. Excitons were excited using both one-photon and two-photon excitation schemes. A variety of methods were used to characterise the resulting emission, including time-resolved single photon counting and high-resolution spectroscopy. Additionally, microwave antennae were developed to apply microwave fields to the sample with the aim of driving electric dipole transitions between excitonic energy levels. The main result presented in this thesis are: (1) A comparative study of synthetic and natural material revealed the presence of copper vacancies in the synthetic material, which was responsible for limiting the Rydberg series. (2) Narrowband second harmonic generation spectroscopy was used to study Rydberg excitons up to n=12 and allowed the lineshape of the high n even-parity exciton states to be studied. (3) The addition of a microwave field significantly modified the exciton absorption lineshape. In the two-photon regime, applying a microwave field demonstrated coherent modulation of the second harmonic, with sidebands observed. The results were modelled based on microwave-driven electric dipole transitions between Rydberg states. With a simple microwave antenna it was possible to reach a regime where the microwave coupling (Rabi frequency) was comparable to the non-radiatively broadened linewidth of the Rydberg excitons. These result demonstrate the first coupling of Rydberg excitons and microwave fields, provide a new way to manipulate excitonic states, and open up the possibility of a cryogenic microwave to optical transducer based on Rydberg excitons
CONTROL OF ADVENTITIOUS ROOT FORMATION IN ARABIDOPSIS
Get PDFAdventitious or de novo root organogenesis is a process that occurs from wounded or detached plant tissues or organs. In tissue culture experiments, the available hormone concentrations in the medium play significant roles in inducing adventitious roots. However, regeneration from detached organs in natural conditions depends on endogenous hormones. To imitate natural conditions, Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 leaf explants were cultured on B5 medium without any added hormones, in order to investigate the endogenous hormonal signalling and molecular mechanisms that lead to de novo root organogenesis. Use was made of a series of hormone signalling reporter lines in transgenic Arabidopsis, to understand better the roles of auxin, cytokinin, ethylene and gibberellin signalling. Cell proliferation was monitored over a developmental time course, and the expression of a number of genes, and their functional roles through mutant analysis, was also investigated during the regeneration process. It was demonstrated that auxin, gibberellin and cytokinin signalling becomes focused at the wound site in the petiole, associated with the induction of adventitious roots. Auxin signalling-defective mutants such as axr1, axr3 and pls were unable to form adventitious roots as well as wild type, reflected in defective expression of auxin pathway genes such as YUC family genes and WOX5. pls and axr1 were also found to be defective in the expression of the transcription factor gene NAC1. Mutants and transgenic overexpression lines for transcriptional regulators RAP2.7, MDF1 and NAC1 showed that the three genes are required for adventitious root formation, and function in an auxin-independent manner to mediate root regeneration. Adventitious root formation from the Arabidopsis leaf therefore requires coordinated expression of a number of transcription factors that work in both an auxin-dependent and -independent manner, and cross talk between auxin and other hormones is important for correct organogenesis
Probing the Intergalactic medium properties using X-ray absorption from multiple tracers
Get PDFBased on the Lambda Cold Dark Matter concordance cosmological model (ΛCDM), the majority of baryons exist in the Intergalactic medium (IGM). It is extremely challenging to observationally trace the IGM, especially at higher temperatures and low densities. Post reionisation, the vast majority of hydrogen and helium is ionized in the IGM and therefore, the observation of metals is essential for parametrising the IGM properties.
My hypothesis is that there is significant absorption in the diffuse highly ionisied IGM and that this IGM column density increases with redshift. I use X-ray absorption in multiple tracers which yields information on the total absorbing column density of the matter between the observer and the source. Clear IGM detections require tracer sources that are bright, distant, and common enough to provide a good statistical sample of IGM lines of sight (LOS). To more accurately isolate any IGM contribution to spectral absorption, I examine each tracer host type to realistically model it, in addition to using appropriate intrinsic continuum curvature models. I test the robustness of the result from a number of perspectives. I examine the impact of the key underlying assumptions that affect the column density calculations including metallicity, ionisation and location of absorption. I look for any evidence of evolution in the parameters.
In Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5, I use gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), blazars and quasars (QSOs) to estimate IGM baryon column densities, metallicity, temperature, ionisation parameters and redshift distributions. My results for each tracer
are presented in each of the respective chapters and collectively in Chapter 5 which includes comparative analysis.
In conclusion, through the work in this thesis I demonstrate a consistent case for strong X-ray absorption in the IGM on the LOS to three different tracer types and that it is related to redshift. The results are consistent with the ΛCDM model for density, temperature and metallicity. Given these results, I would recommend that studies of distant objects should not follow the convention of assuming all X-ray absorption in excess of our Galaxy is attributed to the host galaxy, that the host is neutral and has solar metallicity. Instead, particularly at higher redshift, absorption in the IGM should be accounted for to give more accurate results for the tracer host properties
The tidal evolution of dark galactic substructures
Get PDFIn this thesis we study the tidal evolution of dark matter subhaloes. We first look at reproducing the work of van den Bosch and Ogiya (2018), who suggested that modern cosmological simulations still suffer from excessive disruption of subhaloes due to gravitational tides. We were able to reproduce the results qualitatively, but not exactly, and found that our subhaloes were slightly more robust and resistant to disruption.
We examine substructures in state-of-the-art cosmological simulations. We develop a technique to study substructures of a Milky Way-like halo from the Aquarius project (Springel et al., 2008) using the HEX technique (Lowing et al., 2011). HEX allows us to realistically model the potential of a halo in a computationally efficient fashion, which means that it is possible to run a large number of simulations of individual subhaloes.
We find that the softening length does not seem to have a significant effect on the survival of substructure in realistic conditions. We find that with sufficient resolution, subhaloes which were lost in the original simulation do survive until the end. However, these subhaloes are relatively rare. We thus confirm that while there is artificial disruption, this does not appear to affect the substructure population as a whole in a realistic simulation
Moving together: An ethnography of movement volunteering
Get PDFThis thesis explores “movement volunteering” which is an emerging form of volunteering in the UK bringing together volunteering with physical activity. In movement volunteering, the moving body is instrumental for generating the outcomes of the volunteer programmes, from environmental projects working on the landscape to social projects which use the mobility of the volunteer to bring people together in a way that is designed to be mutually beneficial.
This thesis draws on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in three different movement volunteering programmes, located in two northern English cities in the UK. The programmes had a shared aim of doing good through mobilising bodies, which was achieved variously through walking, cycling, and running. I explore how movement and volunteering come together in the programmes to create a range of wellbeing, social, and therapeutic effects.
Firstly, I show how the movement volunteering programmes create new forms and styles of movement which disrupt existing practices whilst enabling new ones, and how movement was experienced by both volunteers and beneficiaries in the programmes. I also explore the relational aspects of moving together, and how these new forms and styles of movement provoked an awareness, sensitivity, and trust which were necessary when people with different mobilities come together.
Secondly, I show how in movement volunteering, bodies move not just with others but for others. In the programmes, meanings around “movement” – such as health and pleasure – complicate existing assumptions about volunteering. The movement volunteers in the programmes have different ways of understanding the impact of what they were doing, and I explore this through their own voices and experiences. I set these findings in the context of the constantly evolving voluntary sector in the UK, and consider how movement volunteering enabled people to connect with others in an embodied way that felt “productive” and meaningful.
Thirdly, I discuss how movement volunteering constitutes an intervention in the physical and social landscape, and I explore the intentional and spillover effects of this intervention. I show how the movement of bodies through public spaces “stirs up” and constitutes landscapes, disrupting everyday landscapes and making connections across time and space. I argue that this epistemological approach to landscape and place is necessary to fully capture the interactions between the moving body and the environment that we see in movement volunteering.
Throughout the thesis I build a theoretical understanding of moving together for the purposes of doing good, building on literature that explores the processes and meanings of moving together in a range of sport, exercise, and everyday contexts, for example group walking, pilgrimage, and endurance running. A key finding of this thesis is that movement volunteering constitutes a new way of being and moving together, which reframes the public health “problem” of physical inactivity by moving the focus from individual bodies to the spaces between bodies, and the spaces, environments, and organisational contexts that enable bodies to move together.
Assessing the effect of ICT on Political Contestation
Get PDFThe rapid development of information communication technologies (ICT) in the 21st century has transformed the social, economic, and political sphere globally. During the same period the number of protests has also increased, raising the question of whether these two factors are causally related or just coincidental. To date this debate is unresolved: on the one hand it is argued that ICT is a liberation technology enabling protest mobilization, on the other hand it is seen as a repression technology reducing protests by increasing governments’ monitoring suppression capabilities. Insufficient theorizing followed by rigorous empirical testing of the hypothesized mobilization mechanism and a lack of fine-grained and high-quality protest data are two of the main reasons why existing research has failed to resolve the liberation-repression technology debate so far. This thesis contributes to this literature both theoretically and empirically. First, I perform a within-country study on the effect of changes in two types of technologies, first, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (i.e. texting, voice) and second is Third Generation of Wireless Mobile Telecommunications Technology (3G) (i.e. internet) on protest onset in Malaysia using high-quality and fine-grained protest data from police reports. I find that neither an increase in GSM nor 3G coverage has a robust and substantively meaningful effect on protest occurrence. Second, I re-conceptualize and theorize the most commonly invoked mobilization mechanism in the existing literature as a coordination game, arguing that the shared network information contained in a social media post ought to enable coordination. I assess the argument via an experiment embedded in a household network survey in six rural villages in Malaysia, finding limited support for the coordination mobilization mechanism. Finally, I provide an alternative argument on how ICT might affect protest mobilization based on social network theory. Using data from an original two-wave household-level social network survey in rural Malaysia, I find some suggestive evidence that the introduction of the internet tends to change political networks to more connected structures that allow for more rapid mobilization when triggered. This suggests that the impact of ICT on protest is conditional rather than unconditional and that the underlying mobilization mechanism may rely on changes to the political network structure rather than post-specific network information enabling coordination. The thesis points towards social network analysis as a fruitful avenue for future research on ICT and protest and holds important policy implications concerning the consequences of the rapid spread of ICT throughout the developing world
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