Myanmar (former Burma) has not had an easy path towards democracy. Once a British colony, the country has struggled with the violent military junta for several decades. The international community has been said to have failed in trying to stabilise Myanmar, in spite of good intentions. Although Myanmar is still far from being a consolidated country, there has, however, been some progress with democratisation.   This research will study how we can explain the democratisation process in Myanmar. It will concentrate on three key events which are analysed within a framework of two theories: Joseph S. Nye’s soft power, and realism. This study is conducted as a theory testing case study and is therefore using a qualitative method. Previous research in the form of democratisation theories from Diamond and Linz & Stepan are discussed as well. With the help of the theoretical framework, the study aims to discover whether the democratisation process can be explained with the help of those theories.

This study investigates the diversification of contemporary diplomacy in a deeper manner by choosing the concept of dance, which has never been chosen before. Theoretical andhistorical analysis of dance diplomacy helps us to answer the main research question of thestudy how does dance diplomacy contribute to the diversification of contemporary diplomacy. This research paper utilizes a qualitative methodology with the interpretative, historical, descriptive and cultural approaches and uses qualitative methods of literature review, content analysis, comparative analysis and theory triangulation. In this study we seethat dancers and choreographers complement today's diplomats, we find that the implications of cultural diversity expand an understanding of contemporary diplomacy, and that new emerging practices of dance diplomacy contribute to “new diplomacy” findings. Furthermore, practices of dance diplomacy could be described as parts of cultural diplomacy, public diplomacy, instruments of soft power or forms of nonverbal communication. This illustrates that contemporary diplomacy is somehow shaped by culture, public, power and communication, and therefore it could be understood from all these perspectives. Besides this, a chosen historical perspective and a background of the dance diplomacy help us to see that dance diplomacy is a natural consequence of the evolution of diplomacy. At last, it is relevant for the academic society to ground it on a scientific theoretical basis, which could expand our understanding of contemporary diplomacy.

European security and defence policy has developed at a significant rate since the late 1990s. As a growing field of analysis, there have been few studies to date that have explored the foreign and domestic implications of the European Union's emerging security and defence policies. This thesis seeks to assess the quality and effectiveness of the present day defence policies of the European Union through an examination of its commitment to civilian and military missions abroad. In so doing, this thesis suggests that these missions stem from a misguided belief that the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law beyond its border is the most effective means by which to achieve security within Europe. This thesis concludes that the economic and political tools available to the European Union provide a better means by which to ensure security in Europe and around the world.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the real position of the European Union in the global economy and to evaluate its ability to present common interests, priorities and objectives of the Member States and achieve its acceptance on the international scene. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first one deals with global and economic governance and G20, a forum for international cooperation in the field of economic and financial problems. The second chapter is focused on the European Union, one of the twenty members of G20, and macroeconomic position of the EU in G20. There are also mentiond economic, fiscal and trade policy of the European Union. The last part is devoted to the Union's negotiating power within the G20. Negotiating power is evaluated on the basis of EU's common position on the G20 agenda compared with the G20 summit declarations. In conclusion of this thesis is evaluated the strength and position of the Union within the framework of the G20.

Incorported in Russia's public diplomacy arsenal towards France is memory diplomacy, according to which Russian authorities seek to integrate their own historical narratives with those of France and to export commemorative practices there. This often overlooked diplomacy type is one of the most covert soft power tools. This thesis examines how has Russia utilized memory diplomacy as a soft power towards France from 2000 to 2019. It argues that Russia has deliberately omited to promote its past role, whether direct or indirect, when local interpretations of a shared event in France are too fragmented. In more consensual conditions and particularly regarding the Second World War, Russia's memory diplomacy has been versatile in its methods, using both traditional and new public diplomacy tools. With soft power as a goal, the Russian authorities have targeted the diverse Russian diaspora communities in France and French politicians through this memory policy to have them relay the Kremlin's political position.

The overall purpose of this thesis is three folded; to analyze Turkey's constantly changing influence since the 1990s in the Western Balkans, consider the failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey and the anti-Gülenist campaign by Erdogan in the region (with Kosovo as the focus), and to delve into the international and local media discourse surrounding the deportations of suspected Gülenist from Kosovo with the help of Turkish intelligence on March 29, 2018. Employing a mixed methodology approach, the author evaluated existing sources in an attempt to answer the research question; "In what ways has the 2016 Coup d'état attempt in Turkey resonated in the Western Balkans, and how did the local and international media discourse portray the 2018 Gülenists extraditions from Kosovo to Turkey?" The research holds that while the media discourse displayed Kosovo and Turkey's actions as being in violation of numerous international laws, the issue was quickly swept away from the spotlight. Since 2012 (the beginning of the Erdogan-Gülen rift) and especially following the 2016 failed coup attempt in Turkey, Erdogan has been emboldened by his growing personal relationships with key Balkan politicians. This has led to continued demands (thus far met with little success) that Western Balkan states arrest and deport...

The Soviet Union population was unified under the shared belief of being a part of a common goal for proletarianism, in disregard of religion. These sentiments were prevalent up until the union’s dissolution. Something which created an identity void, reinvigorating the need for spirituality. The idea of belonging to a Church was encouraged, in which Orthodoxy emerged as a solution for the lack of identity and provided a source of piety for the people. Amalgamating the scattered religious community, essentially providing a catalyst for creating an identity based on a cultural belonging to a historical past. This thesis presents the Russian Orthodox Church’s politicised role in Russia, that in turn has created an identity marker for Russians. From this, an understanding stems for the outcome of Russia’s and the ROCs attempt to exert cultural values through Soft power on Ukraine and Belarus. Fundamentally illustrating that the two states’ preconceived identities differs to the extent that they either welcome or reject these notions.

The ultimate aim of this thesis is to contribute to the development of the concept of repulsion in soft power studies. This is achieved through the operational aim, which is to understand the concept of repulsion by exploring how a feeling of repulsion can be engendered in a state or region by the actions or inactions of the agent. As the antithesis of attraction, I argue that repulsion can be elicited in the subject (state or region) through the culture, values or policies of the agent. Australia’s much maligned climate change response and how it has been received in the Pacific islands was selected as a case study. It was concluded through the application of a repulsion framework that Australia’s response to climate change has likely elicited a feeling of repulsion in the Pacific islands. Through the development of a bespoke repulsion framework, in conjunction with an appropriate methodology that supports the identification of repulsion engendered in a subject by an agent, this study contributes to the advancement of repulsion as a cogent concept in soft power studies.

This master's thesis examines how powerful and determining Japanese cultural influence is and how it impacts today's globalized world. It primarily focuses on the Czech audience and its relationship to Japan. The aim of this research is to assess the current efforts made by the Japanese government to export its culture, and compare them with the image that Czech society has on Japan. The primary source of this research is quantitative data collected from Czech and Slovak respondents. . Data was collected by a semi-structured questionnaire that consisted of both open and closed questions and that was spread in electronic form. The first section of the thesis empirical. The main theoretical, historical, and socio-cultural concepts of Japan. are defined and explained in the context of modern convergence culture and the Japanese media mix theory. Japanese cultural diplomacy and the application of soft power as the primary bearer of influence over the West are explained through the critical analysis of specific campaigns. Then, the methodological section analyzes the answers of 1,609 respondents across three predefined samples. Analysis shows that Japan's cultural promotion efforts in the Czech Republic are limited, and that take place primarily through official agencies or directly through the fans of...

This study focuses on the similarities and differences between Russian and Anglo-Saxon strategic narratives in relation to the interventions in Syria 2015 and Libya 2011. The aim is to investigate the imitation theory further as it has been described by Krastev and Holmes (2019) and if it is possible to claim that the Russian regime has used imitated strategic narratives from the United States and the United Kingdom as a soft power tool in the Syrian intervention. By using narrative analysis, 12 speeches made by Putin, Medvedev, Lavrov, Camron, and Obama have been analyzed in order to find similarities and differences between Anglo-Saxon and Russian strategic narratives in connection to interventions in countries affected by the Arabic Spring. The results show indication of imitation from the Russian side regarding themes such as the United Nations and people’s right to choose their own governanc