This thesis applies the concept of religious (national) identity to the cases of Saudi Arabia, Iran and their proxy allies - state and non-state actors - in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. The aim was to show that in the Middle East, Sunni and Shiite affiliations matter in the relationship between the regional powers and respective proxies, as opposing to realist statement that alliances, conflicts and political developments are only governed by pragmatic power interests. Additionally, the work examines whether religious national identities have impact on the dynamics of proxy conflicts. Overall, the objective was to establish comprehensive image of how ideational/constructivist and pragmatic/realist factors work in combination to influence alliances, enmities and conflicts in the Middle East. Using qualitative methods of research, religious (national) identities of Saudi Arabia, Iran and their allies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen were constructed so as to create ideational and realist points of departure, and then interlinked to show how convergence of religious identities helps in creating durable alliances if used in targeted manner as a strategic tool which can help safeguard national interests. The work shows notable differences in the use of this tool between Saudi Arabia and Iran, suggesting that it...

The principal aims of the research are to identify the nature and scope of Turkish foreign policy change towards Iran in the period 2002-2012 - the first ten years of the successive governments of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Then, individual sources of foreign policy change and their respective roles in shaping Turkish foreign policy toward Iran will be investigated. As the research is theoretically grounded in the subfield of foreign policy analysis known as foreign policy change, the reader is familiarized with a variety of different models used in the study of foreign policy change. In order to assess the relevance of the individual sources, an alternative explanatory model is designed. The application of the designed foreign policy model highlights the necessity of applying a wider approach in the quest to assess Turkish foreign policy change, taking into account the different domestic and international sources in order to achieve a comprehensive explanation that can evaluate the relative power of international and domestic political, economic, and ideational sources serving as its driving mechanisms. The role of economic factors - long seen as fundamental in shaping Turkey's foreign policy toward its neighbors - and the role of security concerns are subsequently identified as...

The thesis deals with the former Bush's plan of the so-called third pillar of the American missile defense system in Poland and Czech republic. We demonstrate on this topic the value of several key (neo)realist theoretical concepts. Specifically, the exact types and functioning of security dilemmas are analyzed in the framework of American-Russian, American-Iranian and American-Czech/Polish relations. The thesis also illustrates the importance of related modalities of deterrence and shows, which states and how balanced the US. In addition to that, attention is paid to the question whether the "shield" was motivated by defensive realist worries about security or rather by offensive realist struggle for power and gains at the expense of others.

The work deals with Czechoslovak-Iranian relations in the interwar period and reflects their political, cultural and in particular economic dimension. The entrepreneurial activities of Czechoslovak enterprises that managed to break into Iranian market represent the main theme of the work. The economic relations based primarily on foreign trade are examined within the context of political negotiations and the issue of expatriates. The case study explains the process of market penetration of Czechoslovak export companies into Iran and analyzes the activities of Société Iranienne Skoda within the context of factory (i.e. plant and equipment) orders and infrastructure development. The work focuses on penetration of Czechoslovak armament factories (Škodovy závody, ČKD and Zbrojovka Brno) into Iranian market. Czechoslovak export of munition became especially in the 1930s the main pillar of relations between Czechoslovakia and Iran. The export of armament into Iran comprised more than half of total Czechoslovak export into Iran.

Master thesis deals with the concept of "rogue states" and strategies of the United States that are used towards rogue states. Concretely, attention is focused on two such labeled countries - Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Strategies used by the United States are further observed during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama and with regard to two typical characteristics of rogue states - effort to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the support of terrorism. Despite expectations, it appears that strategies used by the United States differ significantly and they are often influenced by historical experiences and strategic interests. Bush's and Obama's foreign policies were significantly different on the rhetorical level. However, as shown in the thesis there can be found certain continuities between the strategies towards rogue states.

There are not many countries in the world whose relations were as turbulent as in the case of the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since 1979 the U.S. military, diplomatic and economic assistance towards Iran has been replaced by sanctions and hostilities. Author of the M.A. thesis On the Edge of Dependency: Iran in the Foreign Policy of the United States, 1979 - 2009 assumes that the geopolitical interests of the United States were to make Iran weak, isolated and dependent on the periphery of the world system, thus to enforce a heteronomous structure of domination. To answer the research questions the critical discourse analysis has been performed. Based on the constructivist rule-based approach and speech act theory the U.S. political elites in the process of meeting their foreign policy objectives should have been using a commissive language. The analysis of the U.S. political discourse has shown, however, the United States since 1979 strived for hierarchical structure of domination over Iran. The long-standing lack of stability in the U.S.-Iranian relations can be therefore explained that Iranian political elites reject the rules Washington has been trying to apply.

The thesis "Nuclear Iran Oversecuritized? The Politics of Benjamin Netanyahu's Speeches" is concerned with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speeches held in front of the UN, American Congress, Jewish lobby in the US AIPAC and foreign audience by several special occasions. It is based on the assumption that language is not only a neutral communication tool, but also a political tool serving the aim of achieving political goals. The aim of the thesis is to identify the linguistic tools of categorization, legitimization and securitization which Netanyahu used in order to persuade the international audience about the imminence and existential character of the threat posed by Iranian nuclear programme, and finally to achieve its elimination or at least tough punishment for Iranian non-compliance. Moreover, the thesis provides the reader with the overall context, namely the effect of Netanyahu's speeches, the nature of Iranian nuclear programme and its consequences for the situation in the Middle East.

Master thesis "Strategy of Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict resolution by participating states and key external actors"deals with the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the center of which lies the dispute about the Nagorno Karabakh. Using qualitative analysis of grand strategy of Armenia and Azerbaijan and grand strategies of key regional and external stakeholders it uncovers interests, objectives and postures of the players in their strategic environment. On the basis of comprehensive analysis of the grand strategies I assess their effectiveness in relation to fulfillment of the state's goals and also the role, which conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan plays in their strategy. In theoretical part I present short overview of the evolution of the concept of grand strategy and also operationalization of assessment of the strategies. In the second chapter I describe the historical background of south Caucasus, which is crucial for understanding of the conflictive nature of some interstate states in the region. In the third chapter I analyze grand strategies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Russia, USA and EU. In the last chapter I summarize the effectiveness and relevance of chosen strategies.

This Master Thesis aims to present the current existential threats to Israeli security. Israel is a Jewish country in the middle of the Muslim region and her demise is wished by many involved parties. The Author describes sophisticated security systems of Israel, their efficiency and its unofficial nuclear program. From the state actors, it is Iran that has become the number one perceived threat in Israel thanks to its officials' rhetoric, its support towards terrorist organizations and its nuclear program. Israel is often involved in asymmetrical conflicts against non-state actors like Hamas and Hezbollah. The new extremist group Islamic State can also potentially pose a threat. Has Israel got reasons to worry about her existence? Has the Arab Spring brought about positives, negatives, or new possibilities? The Author aims to answer these questions.

The thesis "Attempt at Democratic Transition in Iran 1997-2000" analyzes the developement of restricted liberalization and democratization, which was started in Iran in Spring 1997 by election of reformist presidential candidate Muhammad Khatami into office. The essay looks on theese events as a result of the longer cultural change which occured in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and as a consequence of the cleavages which split the Iranian political space into several different streams. The thesis uses a theoretical perspective based on the idea that Iran, in the course of 20th century, constantly evolved in the form of modern national state for which the Islamic revolution was but a regime change, which replaced one authoritarianism for another with a different ideology. Based on this perspective the events after the Khatami election are analyzed in terms of the transitologic theory through which the essay examines the specific dynamcis of political contest between the softliners who push for a democratization of the regime and the hardliners who take pains to preserve the authoritarian practice based on the theory of "The Rule of the Jurisconsult" articulated first by the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini.