1,720,999 research outputs found
The Security Dilemma in Earth Orbit: A New Space Arms Race
No full textThis thesis investigates the deep security dilemma in Earth orbit, taking the space arms race that has been ongoing since 2007 as the point of departure. Building upon Robert Jervis’s conceptualisation, three indicators from the offence-defence theory were derived to investigate the intensity of the dilemma. These were based on the space domain itself, on states’ posturing in space, and on the nature of space weapons. My analysis showed that the dilemma is driven by a combination of offence-dominant factors, strongly advantageous to would-be attackers. This combination is deepening the security dilemma, incentivising aggressive state posturing, and increasing the likelihood of spiralling escalation. In addition, I proposed an effects-based typology of space weapons in an effort to find a new definition for this currently ambiguous concept, and explored the potentially catastrophic consequences of the use of such weapons with regards to the international security situation and the space environment. Finally, a possible avenue for arms control is given which could contribute to preventing the most harmful consequences and may alleviate the security dilemma
Exploring effectiveness: A qualitative comparative analysis of top-down and bottom-up approaches in environmental peacebuilding
Get PDFThis paper examines effectiveness in achieving results in doing environmental peacebuilding by comparing two prominent theories. Doubts are raised about the benchmark status of the top-down approach, while the bottom-up approach is recognized as being underdeveloped and might benefit from additional study. Furthermore, this paper builds on these theories by creating more understanding of them and thereby broadening the field of research. An fsQCA was conducted, which showed the importance of both theories, while also providing suggestions for developing the theories. The analysis confirmed the hypothesis by showing that the bottom-up approach seemed indeed to be more significant in achieving successful environmental peacebuilding results. Additionally, the cooperation and trust variable of the bottom-up approach produced promising results on ‘awareness of mutual dependence on natural resources by communities’ that need further inquiry
Transboundary Crisis and European Unity
No full textImpactful events such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic increased the call for more strategic autonomy in the European Union (EU). Not every member state was interested in contributing to international cooperation because of their own interests. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and posed a security threat to Europe, the question arose whether this crisis would change the sentiment and would lead to an increase in international cooperation within the Union. The literature is divided on the topic and does not provide a clear answer. By conducting a discourse analysis on the annual implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy of 2021 and 2022, I analyse whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the discourse on cooperation. I found convincing evidence that the discourse on cooperation became more positive. A change in discourse does not inevitably mean a change in behaviour. However, the annual implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy reports on accomplished, ongoing and upcoming activities which overcomes this problem. Therefore, in this research, we assume that a positive change in discourse on cooperation after Russia’s invasion leads to an increase in international cooperation after Russia’s invasion. More research is needed to give insights into member states' individual stances and develop the existing literature further. Nevertheless, this thesis demonstrates that a transboundary crisis leads to increased international cooperation
Disciplining the Discipline: Diversity and Inclusion in IR Knowledge Production in the 21st Century
No full textIn this thesis, I analysed 494 editorial documents from 37 IR-related journals to discover
whether diversity and inclusion (D&I) is among the primary concerns of journals. Using a mix
methods approach, I used both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the extent to
which journals discuss issues of D&I in knowledge production. Part 1 involved the
quantitative analysis of all 37 journals. I looked for variation in keyword usages based on a
journal’s location, publisher, year of origin, impact, and rank to find out which factors may
result in more or less concern for D&I in journal publications and I included a time-variable
to check for developments over time across all editorial documents. Part 2 involved a
deeper qualitative review of three selected journals to uncover the context in which the
keywords were used and gain a deeper understanding of the disciplinary message the
editorial team aims to put out. Overall, I found little evidence for variation across the
variables, so unfortunately no strong conclusion could be drawn about which journal
characteristics may predict higher or lower usages of the keywords. The second part of the
analysis provided more valuable insights, such as the finding that critical journals appear to
make great effort to improve D&I across their publications
International Politics: A Game of Inches
No full textThis thesis investigates the role of identity politics in the relation between hosting international sport events and international relations. In order to formulate a theoretical mechanism for this, this thesis adopts the English School discipline. International sporting events are hypothesised to be useful for states, as they can use the platform to create and alter their status and identity within the international system. The thesis will analyse 3 case studies by subjecting them to the formulated 3C paradigm. The research results of the analysis shows a strong plausibility that the formulated 3c paradigm accurately represents state consideration during the hosting of international events. In conclusion, sporting events have strategic use for states in IR, as they are used to change the status of a state and interact with the international society
Misunderstanding, ignorance and a lack of restraint: A qualitative study into the failure of hybrid peacebuilding in post-conflict societies
No full textThis thesis examines the difference between the theory and the empirical reality of hybrid peacebuilding. Hybrid peacebuilding has become a popular alternative to liberal peacebuilding. Yet, when used in practice, it has not been successful. The aim of this thesis is to shed light on the challenges that hybrid peacebuilding is facing, as well as to find the underlying causes that explain why hybrid peacebuilding is failing. For this purpose, a qualitative research method, which utilizes three case studies, is used. The three cases that are analyzed are Afghanistan, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The findings highlight important insights into hybrid peacebuilding. From all three cases, it becomes clear that the biggest factors that are causing hybrid peacebuilding to fail are interveners’ ignorance and overinvolvement. The first means that interveners often do not have adequate knowledge of the place they are intervening in, which results in ineffective or counterproductive attempts at peacebuilding. This is especially problematic because it was something that hybrid peacebuilding was supposed to improve. This, coupled with overinvolvement of interveners, causes failure in hybrid peacebuilding. Overinvolvement happens when interveners try too hard to push their own agenda. In order for hybrid peacebuilding to be more successful, interveners should take a step back and let the process be dictated more by local actors. The implications of the conclusion is that there is a bigger need for context-specific approaches, as well as more sensitivity towards local culture, traditions and customs in order for hybrid peacebuilding to be more successful
How to survive reality: Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia’s search for ontological security
No full textThis thesis aims to explain the foreign policy of Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia in the context of West-Russia relations. It does this through the concept of ontological security, which is defined by the need for actors to preserve a stable Self. A conceptual framework of the Self has been constructed fore state-actors that supports an explanation of small states’ need for ontological security. This framework demonstrates how the Self consists of three mutually changing dimensions: existentialism, relations with others and autobiography. They are underscored by mechanisms that have the ability to (de)stabilise the dimensions: sovereignty, embodiment, external recognition, othering, and role-identities. This thesis shows how fluctuations in Georgian and Armenian foreign policy can be accounted by a feeling of ontological insecurity: a feeling that occurs when an actor simultaneously is unable to uphold its established autobiography, does not take its existence for granted, and changes its relations with others. Conversely, Ukrainian foreign policy shows endurance because of a feeling of ontological security, where the three dimensions of the Self and its underlying mechanisms mutually reinforce each other
The Language of Dodging Performative Expectations
No full textThe US government has intervened in the Arab Spring as a champion of universal rights. However,
the Obama administration did not act as swiftly in all cases. This research focuses on the cases of
Libya and Bahrain, in which the US government was criticised for its hesitant behaviour. As a
frontrunner of universal rights, the Obama administration has to proclaim certain norms. However,
these norms are not always adhered to. Targeted activism holds up a mirror to governments and
pressures them to act accordingly to those norms. In cases of political hypocrisy, politicians dodge
their performative expectations by focusing on norms instead of performance. The theoretical
frameworks show that normative rhetorics can be complicated due to embeddedness and asymmetrical
expectations. A deductive linguistic analysis of presidential rhetoric has shown that normative
sentences do outperform the performative sentences in case of political hypocrisy. I would
recommend incorporating media attention as a mediating effect in the future
Demographics, democracies and war
No full textThis thesis investigates the complex relationship between democracy, demographic structure and the onset of interstate war. Based on an extensive literature review, the hypotheses for this research are: (1) Controlling for median age leads to a decrease in the strength and/or statistical significance between the democratic peace theory and the onset of interstate war. (2) The use of updated data through 2007 will give a statistically significant, negative effect between the joint democratic dyadic peace and onset of interstate war. (3) That median age acts as a moderator. The presumed democratic dyadic peace is moderated by median age which leads to a stronger pacifying effect in dyads that consist of two states with a median age of >30.
The findings of this research show support for the democratic peace theory. The models show a statistically significant and negative correlation between democratic dyads and war onset. However, the result of including median age as a moderator gives more surprising results. The result of a state having a median age >30 has a pacifying effect, which aligns with the demographic theory of war (Brooks et al., 2019). But the pacifying effect of democracy seems to be weaker in older democratic dyads. This stands in contrast with both democratic peace theory and the demographic theory of war.
The conclusion of this research is that the effect of democracy on peace is not universal, but conditional. Demographic characteristics of states should also be considered in a more interactive way instead of just being control variables. These insights provide new opportunities for investigating international relations and war, and call for further research on the complex dynamics in these studies
Between ambition and ambiguity: Strategic ambiguity and China's Belt and Road initiative
No full textWhether the rise of China poses a threat or opportunity to international stability continues to spark debate between IR scholars. The ‘China threat’ school, often offensive realists, claims that China cannot rise peacefully because it seeks to replace the US as a hegemon. The Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is Xi’s flagship foreign policy project and aims to connect China with Eurasia via land and sea routes. While the BRI is a highly ambitious project, it is also a highly ambiguous one – puzzling to
offensive realists and other schools who expect rational, optimized foreign policies. This study argues that the BRI’s ambiguity is strategic and helps the CCP to enhance the BRI’s flexibility and ultimately to sustain the CCP’s performance legitimacy. Strategic ambiguity helps the CCP to deliver the BRI as a success to its domestic audiences on who the CCP relies for its legitimacy to power. A case study of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the BRI’s flagship project, reveals the existence of
strategic ambiguity as a rational foreign policy tool and sheds new light on the nature of the BRI and China’s foreign policy
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