This thesis deals with the topic of international arms trade. More particularly, it deals with the arms trade in three chosen countries - the United States, Sweden and Russia. In general, this work brings coherent data and analyzes the arms trade issue, especially in the countries chosen for this academic work. The aim is to present arms trade problematics of these three countries to the reader as well as to bring the valuable analyzes on the chosen topic and finally to compare the case countries in order to find the differences and common characteristics. The main goal of this thesis is to find the answers on the research questions. The two most important research questions are: What are the current trends and future of the international arms trade in the U.S., Sweden and Russia? How does the arms trade differ in these countries? The first research question is focused on present and future development of arms trade, on the other hand second one gives partially comparative nature to the thesis. The thesis is based on comparative case study method. Through the deep examination of this three case countries the work comes to the answers designed in the research questions. Thesis concludes the raising importance of the arms trade as the instrument of influence. In addition, growing of volume of arms...

Structural Violence and Great Power Competition: The Effects of Sino-U.S. Geopolitical Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific Abstract This paper examines the effects of the ongoing strategic rivalry between China and the United States for influence over the Indo-Pacific in order to demonstrate the negative impacts upon structural violence within the region. Using an amalgamation from various authors, this paper establishes a definition and set of criteria for the presence of structural violence which are then applied to the cases of Vietnam, Myanmar, and Japan. By correlating the mechanisms with which China and the United States garner influence with the specific consequences for the prevalence and severity of structural violence, this paper illustrates that the ongoing geopolitical rivalry poses considerable threats to all Indo-Pacific nations regardless of their development status or social, political, economic, and geographic characteristics. Results indicate that the extent of each country's structural violence was directly or indirectly affected by the presence of foreign involvement, and that different levels of alignment or independence can serve to reduce or exacerbate these effects. Furthermore, evidence indicated that China's methods pose a more immediate threat to induvial countries, but that the United...

En ny geopolitisk våg kan skönjas, Europeiska unionen vill stärka sin geopolitiska makt och små stater som Sverige, Norge och Finland påtalar vikten av samarbete kopplat mot bakgrund av den försämrade säkerhetssituationen. Ett antal händelser visar på detta; den ryska annekteringen av Krim 2014, ökad rysk militär närvaro och styrkeprojektion i olika länders närområden samt geopolitiska infrastrukturprojekt syftandes till maktutövning där Kina är en framträdande aktör.  I ljuset av detta kan en jämförande studie bidra till förståelse och insikter rörande olika säkerhetspolitiska förutsättningar som är till nytta då samarbeten mellan olika länder ökar på det säkerhetspolitiska området. Trender och fokusområden kan klarläggas och därmed fungera som en indikator på vilka säkerhetspolitiska åtgärder som prioriteras för framtiden. Genom en jämförande fallstudie byggd på kvalitativ innehållsanalys undersöks hur länderna Sverige, Norge och Finland valt att kommunicera den säkerhetspolitiska situationen. Analysen tar sin teoretiska utgångspunkt från geopolitiken. De huvudsakliga resultaten visar på att geopolitiken alltjämt är aktuell och genomsyrar det empiriska materialet, men ny teknik och ett globaliserat samhälle skapar nya utmaningar. Sverige, Norge och Finland är alla beroende av stormakters agerande i sitt närområde och utvecklingen i Arktis är av stor betydelse för ländernas säkerhetspolitik. Resultatet visar dock på tre säkerhetspolitiska realiteter som till del skiljer länderna åt.  Utan dessa insikter kan andra geopolitiska intressen bli tongivande i större säkerhetspolitiska samarbeten. För mindre länder, som de tre vi undersökt, kan utvecklingen i värsta fall gå i en ogynnsam riktning. Ökad geopolitisk förståelse kan också bidra till en ökad acceptans och vilja till samarbete länderna emellan. / A new geopolitical wave can be seen, the European Union wants to strengthen its geopolitical power and small states such as Sweden, Norway and Finland stress the importance of cooperation linked to the deteriorating security situation. A number of events indicate this; the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, increased Russian military presence and force projection in areas close to other countries, and geopolitical infrastructure projects aimed at the exercise of power where China is a prominent player. In light of this, a comparative study can contribute to understanding and insights regarding different security policy conditions that are useful as cooperation between different countries increases in the field of security policy. Trends and focus areas can be clarified and thus serve as an indicator of what security policy measures will be prioritized for the future. A comparative case study based on qualitative content analysis examines how the countries Sweden, Norway and Finland have chosen to communicate the security policy situation. The analysis takes its theoretical starting point from geopolitics. The main findings show that geopolitics is still current and are present throughout the empirical material, but new technologies and a globalized society create new challenges. Sweden, Norway and Finland are all dependent on the actions of superpowers in their immediate area and developments in the Arctic are of great importance for the surveyed countries security policy. However, the results show three security policy realities that partly differentiate the surveyed countries from each other. Without these insights, other geopolitical interests can become influential in major security policy collaborations. For smaller countries, such as the three we surveyed, the worst-case scenario, is that these interests may be moving in an unfavorable direction. Increased geopolitical understanding can also contribute to increased acceptance and willingness to cooperate between countries.

In recent years there has been a growing internal debate within the EU regarding the direction of its trade policy. Circled around the understanding of a geoeconomic development within the international economic sphere, the Union is divided in terms of how to best respond in this proclaimed situation for ensuring its future success and prosperity. Where the European Commission has adopted several protectionist measures at the same time as upholding its liberal route one may ask what this implies for the future, as well as what the underlying forces behind this trend are, which is part of the general aim of this study. Previous research has provided both rationalistic and constructivist approaches to analyzing EU’s trade policy agenda, where rationalistic approaches has investigated to which degree trade policy has been politicized and constructivists more focused to understanding to which degree ideas, norms and values has contributed to the Commission’s legitimization and continuation of liberal trade politics. However, the area of discourse(s) role in this nexus is left relatively unexplored. With use of the IR theories of Realism and Liberalism as well as the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis and Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework for critical discourse analysis, this paper examines the main respective arguments of the debate regarding a New European Industrial Strategy, through three dimensions of discourse(s): as text, discursive practice and social practice. Findings suggests that realist discourses have gained traction within the Commission at the same time as it is constrained by institutional and integrational discourses, which are factors that indeed may result in troublesome years to come.

This thesis analyzes Russia’s geopolitical objectives in Southeast Europe by focusing on natural gas pipelines and energy security. Natural gas is a crucial soft power asset that Russia utilizes to maintain its sphere of influence in the region. When defining Southeast Europe, this thesis focuses on the following countries of the region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The empirically driven research explores Russia’s role as the main natural gas supplier in Southeast Europe and the geostrategic implications of the region’s potential to become a vital entry point into Europe for Russian natural gas. This thesis applies the theory of defensive realism to the study of gas-infrastructure developments and to the impact of new pipelines on Russia’s dominant energy role within the region. Further on, Russia faces various challenges to its control of the regional gas market, including European Union’s energy policies, LNG from the United States, natural gas from Azerbaijan, and other complex factors that play into the regional geopolitical and energy arena.   With the analysis of the empirical data, this thesis assesses how each of the Southeast European countries respond to new gas-infrastructure projects and to Russia’s effort to leverage its gas assets. These developments, including Russia’s gas projects, could provide opportunities for positive, regional cooperation, while creating commercial value by transforming this region into an important natural gas hub.

The aim of the Geopolitics of Oil is to find a theoretical conceptualization of oil trade regime evolution and its changes during the period between the end of the World War II and 2011. This thesis builds on the two major theories of international relations: neorealism and interdependence theory. The theoretical part of the paper analyzes their main contributions and weaknesses. This enables to formulate the new approach to political economy of oil with a special emphasis on geo-economics. This thesis seeks to answer two main research questions: 1) "Under which conditions do oil exporters consolidate their energy sector?" and 1) "What is the reason for engagement of foreign powers in the oil regions?" This thesis examines relations between exporters from the Persian Gulf and the United States. Interdependence theory is tested by a calculation of symmetry or asymmetry in interdependent relationship between importers and exporters, which is done by a comparison of the market shares between the two during the period of changes in the oil trade regimes. Neorealist theory and political economy of oil approach are examined through detailed case studies that inquire how oil importers and exporters have tried to use oil to pursue their own power interests. This thesis concludes that the geopolitics of oil...

This diploma thesis deals with the creation of Uzbekistan's foreign policy. It attempts to answer three main research questions: What were the chief goals of Tashkent's foreign policy? What were the factors that influenced the creation of Uzbekistan's foreign policy? Which factors and causes played the decisive role in the case of Uzbekistan's most significant foreign policy turnovers in 2001, 2005 and 2012? It claims the principal aims of Uzbekistan's foreign policy were threefold. Firstly, it was the preservation of Uzbekistan's independence. Secondly, it was the strengthening and securing of Karimov's regime. Finally, it was the attempt to become the regional leader in Central Asia. Subsequently, the study maintains that the foreign policy formulation was altered by four processes or challenges which the regime in Tashkent had to cope with. These were namely the challenge of geopolitical position, establishing of a viable political system, transforming the command economy, and the threat of radical or political Islam. Uzbekistan's pendulum diplomacy between the US and Russia is a new term coined for the purposes of this study. I argue that Tashkent was prone to change abruptly its strategic partner in order to secure its three strategic imperatives. Hence, there occurred three turnovers of...

Teze disertační práce Pracoviště: Institut politologických studií FSV UK Praha Jméno studenta: Hrishabh Sandilya Název disertační práce: The Geopolitical Determinants of India's Central Asia Strategy Školitel: prof. PhDr. Bořivoj Hnízdo, Ph.D. Oponenti: prof. RNDr. Vladimír Baar, CSc.; Mgr. Martin Riegl, Ph.D. Termín a místo obhajoby: FSV UK, 11/2015 Osnova tezí: 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Research Method & Design 4. Contributions to Literature 5. Organization of Chapters 6. Conclusions 7. Selected Bibliography 8. Interviewees 1. Abstract This dissertation aims to identify the drivers and determinants of Indian strategy and policy with regard to the five post-Soviet, Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan within a geopolitical framework. Contemporary scholarship recognizes three determinants (drivers) of Indian strategy in the region - security and strategic necessity, energy diversification given Central Asia's abundant natural resources, and, economic engagement and connectivity. Using this identification as a stepping-stone, the dissertation seeks to rest the validity of these assumptions, and explore these determinants in detail. In addition, it attempts to identify other determinants of Indian strategy, and offers a conceptual framework through which...

L’industrialisation de la filière bois constitue l’un des axes majeurs de la loi 016/01 du 31 décembre 2001, portant code forestier en république gabonaise. Elle s’inscrit dans le cadre de la diversification de l’économie qui est une volonté de l’État. Longtemps laissée pour compte par les différents opérateurs (seuls 15 à 35% des grumes étaient transformés localement en 2009) du fait notamment de la passivité des autorités nationales, elle connaît depuis près de dix ans, suite à la mesure d’interdire l’exportation des grumes (ordonnance n°8/2010), un regain d’intérêt, participant d’avantage au développement économique du pays. Ainsi, des progrès sont observés au niveau de l’emploi, de la contribution de la filière au PIB mais aussi sur le nombre d’unités de transformation, le taux de transformation et le rayonnement régional voire international du pays. La dimension environnementale n’est pas en reste avec les avancées relatives de la légalité et à la traçabilité du bois amenées par l’aménagement forestier et la certification. Toutefois, cette activité n’est pas encore effective dans son ensemble dans la mesure où la production du bois et les recettes fiscales s’avèrent encore en dessous de ce qui était perçu autrefois ; de même, le rendement matière est loin d’être optimal si on le compare à celui observé dans certains pays développés. Enfin, la qualité de certains équipements et de l’emploi montre encore les efforts que doit consentir le Gabon pour faire de sa filière bois, une valeur sûre de l’économie du pays. Il est alors nécessaire que des mesures poussées soient prises en tenant compte des problèmes de durabilité des ressources forestières nationales. / The industrialization of the wood industry is one of the major axes of the law 016/01 of 31th of December 2001, on the forest code in the Gabonese Republic. It is considered a way of the diversification of the economy which is a will of the State. Long neglected by the various operators (only 15 to 35% of the logs were processed locally in 2009) due in particular to the inactiveness of the national authorities, it has known for almost ten years, following the measure to ban export logs (order n ° 8/2010), a renewed interest, contributing more to the economic development of the country. Thus, progress is observed in terms of employment, the contribution of the sector to the GDP, as well as the number of processing units, the rate of transformation and the regional or even international influence of the country. The environmental dimension is not left out with the relative progress of legality and traceability of timber brought by forest management and certification. Nonetheless, this activity is not yet overall effective as timber production and tax revenues are still below what was once perceived; likewise, the material yield is far from optimal when compared to that observed in some developed countries. Finally, the quality of certain equipment and employment still shows the efforts that Gabon should put to make its timber industry a sure bet for the country's economy. It is therefore necessary for further measures to be taken, taking into account the sustainability issues of national forest resources.

This research focuses on the concept of European strategic autonomy and what it really is. Through two different European Union Member States, France and Germany, the research will compare how European strategic autonomy is interpreted and why. The research will use different concepts from the theory of realism to focus on the conventional perspective of strategic autonomy in Europe. The research will show how France pushes for greater European strategic autonomy to secure the future of Europe through strategic hedging strategy when again Germany wants to strengthen European strategic autonomy to be taken more seriously by European external allies and by strengthening European bandwagoning strategy. Based on the previously mentioned, the research will analyze how France and Germany interpret the meaning of European strategic autonomy. The research suggests that France’s approach to European security is through Europeanism when Germany’s approach is through Atlanticism. The research will conclude with findings that the significance of European strategic autonomy is in its meaning of increasing Europe’s and European Union’s credibility, sovereignty, and European integration, to name a few.