Are future wars between states going to be waged in cyberspace without the necessity of mobilisation of armed forces? In the literature, on the one hand, pundits argue that cyber attacks against the critical infrastructure of states resemble war operations and consider these as the new face of bellicosity. On the other hand, it is argued that cyber weapons do not change the conduct of war because targeting critical infrastructure or defacing web pages is not sufficient to make adversary states comply. For this school of thought, war remains always a mixture of chance, passion and rationality. In this work, cyberspace is considered not as a mere technological product introduced in military operations but as discourse; the cyber discourse narrates life and social activity as a network of entities each one of which develops relationships with what threatens their existence instead of fighting against it. The objective of this work is to examine how the cyber discourse has influenced the British discourse on war from 1957 to 20 II. A corpus of defence and security policies was processed by means of Corpus Assisted Discourse Studies in order to unearth changes in the use of linguistic and semantic resources. This thesis argues that the use of cyberspace for military purposes presupposes the cybemetisation of war, namely the construction of a new conceptualisation of war and military power. This new meaningful construction conceives war as the process of adaptation to an inherently insecure and complex world system, and military power as the capacity to radiate to the world the feeling that Britain is a trustworthy power. The cybemetisation of war does not depend on the technology of cyberspace; it is a new understanding about war and power whereas cyberwarfare is the way that this understanding is put into practice i.e. how it is materialised.

This thesis offers a nuanced analysis and evaluation of the Maputo Development Corridor (MDC) the first cross-border corridor project in Africa. It considers the core debate that exalts this flagship cross-border development corridor as a model for growth and development in Africa, while simultaneously questioning why key academics remain critical of the model’s ability to deliver. The thesis critiques numerous one dimensional interpretations of the project that condemn the MDC as little more than a neo-liberal experiment. It suggests that the context is correct, but the outcomes are overly narrow. It draws together an impressive collection of data that encompasses South Africa and Mozambique. The resulting analysis offers a unique insight into this development corridor and its ability to deliver in this micro-region. It provides insight into the projects ability to deliver on its economic and social objectives, the latter of which has remained unexamined until this time. This is achieved through both qualitative and quantitative evaluation. It acknowledges the weaknesses in the MDC. Nevertheless, the positive results found here can be assimilated into a ‘corridor methodology’ which could then enhance develop mentalism in other micro-regions throughout Africa.

This piece of research develops and tests a model of rapporteurship allocation in the European Parliament, analysing the nature of populist and radical right parties’ engagement in the rapporteurship system, during the fourth and fifth parliamentary terms. The model of rapporteurship allocation builds upon previous research by Yoshinaka et al (2010), and develops the analysis with specific reference to populist and radical right parties. Having discussed the types of populist and radical right parties represented in the European Parliament, this piece of research presents a theoretical framework for studying such parties in a variety of legislatures. Populist and radical right parties are less likely than parties of other traditions to act as rapporteurs in the European Parliament. This is, in part, due to their anti-establishment position, which sees them advocating for a disenfranchised people unrepresented by the political elite. This anti-establishment position results in many populist parties, particularly those from the right wing, failing to fully engage in the European Parliament’s processes. This piece of research uses a number of quantitative techniques to analyse the effect certain variables have on the propensity of populist and radical right members to act as rapporteurs. Even when controlling for a variety of variables, I find that populism significantly, negatively, impacts upon the likelihood of a member to act as a rapporteur. This situation is amplified for Eurosceptic members. The qualitative element of this piece of research seeks to establish whether there is any link between populist and radical right party policy aims and the content of reports their rapporteurs write. Using a coding system derived from the Euromanifesto Project, I conduct a content analysis of reports. Overall, there is little correlation between Euromanifestos and reports, but there does seem to be some parity between general salient party goals and report content.

This thesis looks at the relationship between socialism and animal ethics. It argues that, after forty years of a dominant liberal bias in animal ethics, not much has changed for nonhuman animals. It therefore asks whether liberalism is missing something in relation to animal ethics, and whether socialism might be the best vehicle to fill this gap. More specifically, given the institutionalised nature of contemporary animal exploitation, I argue that liberal animal ethics is ill equipped to address the political economy of animal exploitation. I also argue that its strategies for change are problematic, and that more attention must be paid to the issues of class and political agency in relation to the animal protection movement. Socialism seems a promising alternative to liberal animal ethics for several reasons, not least the historical links in practice between socialists and animal protection. Yet no studies currently exist that investigate the ideological links these socialists perceived between their political and moral beliefs. This is therefore one of the contributions this thesis offers to the discipline. I argue that these ideological links relate predominantly to ethical socialist values (such as kinship), which provides a useful moral imperative to care about nonhumans, but does not offer us a complete alternative to liberal animal ethics, since it fails to adequately address the gaps left by the latter – namely, the role of capitalism in animal exploitation and the issues of class, political agency and strategy. On the other hand, Marxism has a long history of association with these issues; I thus propose a merged socialist approach to animal ethics, one that combines ethical socialism with a post-colonial, Marxist analysis in order to create a comprehensive and convincing alternative to liberal animal ethics. This constitutes the first sustained, comprehensive account of socialist animal ethics within the discipline.

This study attempts to place Social Contract theory within its philosophical and historical context. Eighteenth century manners used the notion of Social Contract to explain the manner in which transition to a stipulated political Ideal has been, or should be, implemented. The period before this event is referred to as the State of Nature, and its characteristics are usually sufficiently detrimental to make its removal appear highly desirable. This whole manner of argument is referred to as ' the Social Contract method', the relationship of whose parts is examined in the first chapter. It is suggested that usage of this method is closely related to acceptance of certain political values. These include belief in the construction of society by men, in a minor role for religion, in government by consent, in the value of human reason and in the possibility of social change. Together they form that will be referred to as 'the Social Contract value-system'. Consideration is given to the extent to which Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Paine and Burke can be associated with the Social Contract method and its value-system. Locke, Rousseau and, to a lesser extent, Paine, may be regarded as Social Contract theorists. Hume opposed the method while retaining mazy of its assumptions. Burke used Social Contract terminology to reach conclusions not usually associated with it. They all, however, made a distinctive contribution to our understanding of the method's potentialities. During the eighteenth century the implications of Social Contract theory gradually became apparent, and eventually proved destructive of the method from which they had emerged. Consideration is given to the decline of Social Contract theory, and the manner in which the ideas contained in the value-system were gradually separated from the method that had earlier furthered their emergence.

The Study is concerned with developing the hypothesis that the incipient racial crisis in South Africa will generate fracture between the nations of the Atlantic Community. Such fracture will be the result of the uneven spread of economic ties between individual Atlantic nations and South Africa. The development of the argument is set in three parts. The first focusses on the nature and scope of the process of community building in the Atlantic area. It argues that cohesion between the Atlantic nations rests on two chief considerations: economic and security. To this, a third centripetal force ensured the development of the Atlantic bargain, viz. community spirit. The second part of the study is concerned with the opposite process from that described in the first, namely the process of fracture between the Atlantic nations. Three such cases of fracture are analysed. In each of these, the Atlantic Community was prone to fracture over economic and security issues which ruptured the community spirit. The study's pivotal argument is set out in Part Three which analyses the nature and extent of the economic links between the Atlantic nations and South Africa. Two sets of empirical data are used to substantiate this demonstration - the dependency of the Atlantic nations on five non-fuel minerals from South Africa and the trade and investment links between three Atlantic nations - the United States, the United Kingdom and West Germany - and South Africa. It is demonstrated that interests between the Atlantic partners on these issues differ and, thus, that fracture between them over the South African question is likely to occur. The study offers some suggestions to prevent fracture between the Atlantic nations and these relate both to the extent of commitment which individual Atlantic nations have in South Africa and the policy postures which they have thus far preferred.

This study attempts to identify and analyze the perceived needs and considerations which governed the evolution of Iran's security policies for the period 1945-1979. Purpose The study is primarily concerned with l) An analysis of the Post-WWII transformation of power relationships; the shifts in international politics; balance of power considerations as an historical process; and the formulation of Iranian perspectives with particular reference to that process; and 2) Balance of power as a policy in the Iranian search for security from 1945 to 1979. Approach The study utilizes the historical (diplomatic) methodology. Detailed narrative accounts in each of the (central) chapters describe Iran's efforts to accommodate balance of power and alliance considerations into its security needs and perceptions. Analytical evaluation further complement the narrative. The significance of the policies is explained and underlined by the applicatior of power politics. Findings The study concludes that Iran's search for security took extraordinary dimensions and drastically changed both in character and in essence. The subordination of balance of power and alliance considerations to Iran's conception of its needs is demonstrated by the balance achieved between Russia and the West. The transformation in Iran's regional and international foreign and security policies is underlined from basically an extension of its alliance policy (through CENTO) in the 1950's to an assertive one, independently tailored to its own needs and perception and conducted with a greater degree of freedom, backed up by powerful armed forces, in the 1970's. These new policies aimed at maintaining the status quo in the Persian Gulf while at the same time expanding Iranian influence within that framework. The study finds that Iran failed in that direction, embarked upon assuming a self-relianc posture and adopted counter-defensive measures. As a postscript to the study, the implications of the security policies of the self-styled Islamic Republic are examined and contrasted with. The study defines the aims of 1945-1979.policies as the quest for the national interest outside, and the 1979-1986 as the external projection of national moods and concerns. Furthermore, the study concludes that Iran's security has been, and continues to be, inexorably dependent upon the security of the Persian Gulf.

The thesis studies and assesses the application of the Regime for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in Libya since the country started the negotiations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 2003 until the end of 2014. Regime Theory is used to separate the role of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from the role of the United States (USA) in the case of Libya. Using this approach leads to the conclusion that the OPCW was unable to work independently from the USA in Libya at any stage, and that this negatively affected the regime‘s ability to complete its task. The thesis uses Regime Theory to analyse Muammar Qaddafi‘s decisions to start the chemical weapons programme in 1980, and to end the programme in December 2003, it also examines the role of the OPCW in dismantling the Libyan chemical weapons programme since 2004. By doing so, the thesis studies the key role of the USA in administering the Libyan chemical disarmament process. The dominant role of the USA in Libya prevented the OPCW from carrying out its duty as the sole international actor responsible for supervising the dismantlement of chemical weapons stockpile. The thesis demonstrates the practical problems that faced the OPCW in Libya both during Qaddafi‘s era (2004–2011) and after his reign (2012-2014). These problems are reflective of the limitations that encounter the OPCW in the current international system. In the conclusion the thesis suggests some ways to improve the effectiveness of the Regime for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the future.

The thesis provides a systematic analysis of the international legitimacy of US foreign policy (US International Legitimacy, USIL) in the post-Cold War era (1989-2017), a topic not comprehensively addressed in scholarly literature. The thesis examines the extent to which US foreign policy can be considered legitimate in the post-Cold War era from an academic/scholarly perspective. It develops a framework consisting of four key elements (‘International Values and Norms’, ‘Inter-national Order’, ‘International Consensus’ and ‘International Society’), and combines this with the use of a ‘Family Resemblance Concept (FRC)’1 approach to analyse and compare these elements across US presidential administrations. This framework is utilised as a lens to evaluate the extent that each US administration’s foreign policy can be considered legitimate. The thesis makes five arguments and contributions to the scholarly literature: First, the thesis argues that the understanding of USIL evolved in the post-Cold War era. This was influenced by multiple different factors. Second, it shows that US foreign policy didn’t necessarily have to meet each of the four elements of the thesis’ framework to be considered legitimate. Third, it explains that in terms of USIL, there are differences between the various US administrations: The foreign policies of the George H.W. Bush and Obama administrations can be considered mostly legitimate, of the Clinton administration partially legitimate and of the George W. Bush administration weakly legitimate. Fourth, it illustrates that for hegemonic states like the US, USIL acts both as a constraining and enabling component of US foreign policy. Finally, the thesis concludes that US foreign policy can be considered relatively legitimate in the post-Cold War era.

The financial crisis of the Eurozone in 2008 has had major socio-political and demographic consequences. Since the 2008 recession, increasing numbers of Europeans have identified with Eurosceptic political parties, while their perception of EU institutions has steadily worsened. From a demographic perspective, the EU has also witnessed a significant increase in transnationalism (i.e. intra-EU mobility) from southern to northern European member-states (Lafleur and Stanek 2017). Despite the number of transnational Europeans steadily increasing since the 2000s, this phenomenon has not been sufficiently studied (Fligstein 2008; Kuhn 2015). Though the influence of transnationalism on European identity and voting behaviour has been investigated in the past (Day and Shaw 2002; Collard 2013; Favell 2008; Fligstein 2009; Favell et al. 2011; Kuhn 2015), the bulk of these studies have been rooted in specific disciplines, been predominately quantitative in nature and focused on data prior to the 2008 crisis. This thesis adds to past research by adopting an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods approach incorporating data of the EU-15 before and after the financial crash. More specifically, the mixed-methods design complements statistical analyses of Eurobarometer datasets (EU-15) with qualitative analysis of 58 interviews with transnational and non-transnational young Spaniards. Three main conclusions were derived from these analyses. First, transnationalism continues to have a positive effect on European identity. Second, transnationalism reduces the educational gap on European identity: lower educated transnationals feel more European than lower educated non-transnationals. Third, there is a trade-off to transnationalism: though it augments European identification, it also deters voting in the European elections. Previous explanations suggest that low voter turnout is a consequence of the second-nature of these types of elections. However, the in-depth interviews presented here shed light on this socio-political paradox, revealing that transnationals’ voting behaviour is strongly shaped by difficulties with electoral registration and other structural barriers.