Civil society inclusion in peace processes has been recognised to be crucial in achieving sustainable peace. The author first reviews the existing academic literature on this, before looking at how civil society, and especially civil society in non-western contexts and armed conflicts can be conceptualised. The variety of approaches and the limitations of Western actor-based concepts in non-Western contexts explains the choice of a function-based model of civil society being chosen to analyse it in the context of international peacebuilding efforts. Its involvement in formal peace processes and negotiations meanwhile is analysed using nine models of inclusion.  The case that is chosen for this exploration is Afghanistan. As a multi-facetted country with a long history of armed conflict and foreign involvement, the developments in the past two decades provide an interesting case study. The inductive desk research, using secondary data, is guided by the questions; which concept of civil society has informed the peace building process in Afghanistan in the past twenty years, how civil society in Afghanistan can be conceptualized and how this has affected the peace building process.  The findings paint a distinct picture of a country that has been shaped by armed conflict, tracing its roots back to the early days of modern Afghanistan and contrasting existing societal and political structures with Western concepts of civil society and state building. Civil society involvement is being analysed using exemplary stages of peace processes and external peace building efforts.  The research concludes that civil society inclusion has been limited by Western concepts of civil society being unfittingly applied to far more complex local realities, thereby excluding relevant actors and limiting the legitimacy and ownership of the peace process, with the prospect of peace being a long way off.

The aim of this study was to find out how the war in Afghanistan is framed both in national and international context. This was conducted by comparing the national tv channel TOLOnews from Afghanistan with the international tv channel SVT Nyheter from Sweden. A qualitative text analysis as well as a semiotic photo analysis were implemented on four news articles and two photos from each channel respectively. Framing theory, agenda setting, and news values provided the theoretical background to be able to carry out the study. The significant findings of the study show that SVT Nyheter uses various secondary foreign sources for their articles in comparison to TOLOnews which uses only first-hand sources as can be expected of international and national tv channels. Furthermore, SVT Nyheter concentrates mostly on facts such as the number of people killed in attacks whereas TOLOnews concentrates more on the personal stories of the local people affected by the attacks. Finally, the study discusses what could be the underlying reasons of the findings of the study and thereby the differences of the framing of the war in Afghanistan by the two tv channels.

American Ways of War and Strategic Culture: A Reflection in Domestic and Foreign Cinematography Katarína Kondrótová Abstract This thesis examines the portrayal of American strategic culture in movies from the USA and two countries with which the USA has been in conflict with - Vietnam and Afghanistan. The research focuses on comparing them with official US strategies and contrasting the different national portrayals among themselves. The aim is to discover how the USA and its way of war is depicted at home and abroad through movies - a popular medium with the power to shape perceptions. The research is anchored in the international relations theory of post-structuralism and the concepts of strategic culture and national ways of war. They serve as a lens through which the most popular war movies from each country are analyzed. The findings showed that American movies were more precise in depicting their real-life strategic approaches and tended to be more derogatory in their portrayal of their adversaries. They also showed a more critical depiction of US conduct in Vietnam compared to Afghanistan. When it comes to the foreign movies, Vietnamese films were more critical of the USA than Afghan films, but not as disdainful of the enemy as the USA. Afghan depictions exhibited the dual nature of their opinion of...

The main objective of thesis ''Narcoterrorism: Crossroads between drug trade and political violence'' is to describe and analyze the phenomenon of narcoterrorism, a concept that combines in its core the politically-motivated violence, the illicit drug trade, and the use of terrorist methods. The goal will be to establish a comprehensive theoretical framework for the various types of narcoterrorism and the different supportive types that may occur between the politically-motivated or ideological groups, and the drug-trafficking criminal groups. This framework will be later primarily tested on the case of Colombia, where various warring ideological and criminal groups will be observed and analyzed. Other cases that will be secondarily used to further prove the established assumptions, will be focusing on other countries which seen in recent history a surge of political or criminal violence, and are either manufacturing or trafficking illegal drugs. These will include Peru, Mexico, and Afghanistan. In the final section of the thesis, the theoretical framework will be assigned to real historical cases, and a question of the prerequisites of narcoterrorist emergence will be discussed.

This diploma thesis aims to explore whether international intervention can be the main cause of suicide terrorism. To determine this causal relation between suicide terrorism and international intervention, it tests Robert Pape's nationalist theory. The research sample of the cases of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Palestine was selected based on the Suicide Terrorism Attack database. The thesis applies the empirical-analytical methodology and the method of multiple case study to confirm or refute the validity of the research hypotheses. The outcome of the thesis is that the main trigger for a suicide terrorist campaign is a significantly stronger adversary, a social climate conducive to self- sacrifice, and an individual sense of hopelessness. The presence of international intervention fulfils all these features, but the theory has its limits - an exclusive focus on foreign intervention and state centrality.

For almost two decades Sweden has been a part of NATO: s missions in Afghanistan to create security and ensure that the country will not become a safe haven for terrorist organisations. The discussion how to counter terrorism and insurgency in the 21st century is today a topic where the foundation of modern counterinsurgency is questioned. Critiques against counterinsurgency strategy states that counterinsurgency does not work but merely is a utopia. This essay has studied two periods of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan by testing Zambernardis theory of counterinsurgency trilemma, with the purpose to contribute with new information of conditions within counterinsurgency to the discussion. The theory aims to show that of the three main goals of all counterinsurgency’s; force protection, distinction between enemy combatants and non-combatants and the physical elimination of insurgents, only two can be achieved simultaneously. The study compared the two cases differences regarding casualties to reach the conclusions.The result of the study shows that ISAF achieved two goals simultaneously during the two periods in line with Zambernardis theory. The result of the study shows that when discussing counterinsurgency operations, the relationship between casualties in counterinsurgency’s ought to be included.

Transboundary water treaties are often expected to prevent conflicts over waters from shared rivers. However, empirical evidence shows that some upstream countries continue to experience conflict after signing a water treaty. This study explains why some upstream countries experience high post-treaty transboundary water conflict levels while others do not. Departing from theories on the character of states, I argue that weaker upstream countries are more likely to experience post-treaty transboundary water conflict than stronger upstream states. This is because a weak upstream state has fewer capabilities, which creates an imbalance of power with its downstream riparian neighbor and presents a zero-sum game condition. As a result, the upstream state is more likely to experience a high level of conflict after signing an agreement. The hypothesis is tested on two transboundary river cases, the Helmand River Basin and the Indus River Basin, using a structured, focused comparison method. The data is collected through secondary sources, including books, journals, news articles, and reports, government records. The results of the study mainly support the theoretical arguments. It shows a significant relationship between the character of the upstream state and the level of post-treaty transboundary water conflict in the upstream state.

Changing environment of international relations, changing conflicts character, and new threats and risks influence North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its role in international system. Clear structure of international system ended with end of bipolar division of Cold War. Unclear political equilibrium brought the question of future of NATO. Political concept that was used during Cold war was not sufficient and the Alliance stated again in front of transformation needs. Also during the Cold War the role of national security had been changing. Subject of this research is character of transformation of NATO and its adherence to theoretical premises of neoliberal institutionalism. International institutions are often subject of research in international relations. This thesis reacts on the deficiency of interest about changes and survival of institutions in literature. The thesis works with the theory of Robert O. Keohane that is rooted in the end of the Cold War but has been modified by further author's works. After basic analysis three variables were identified. These are three transformation areas - institutional development, and mission conduct. On the base of theoretical approach analysis three independent variables were added. These were - level of institutionalization, character of...

American relations with Pakistan went through various ups and downs from being allied during the Cold war to imposing sanctions in last decade of the twentieth century. After 9/11 attack on World Trade Center and Pentagon Pakistan quickly joined the United States in the War on Terror. In my thesis I analyze positions and influence of Pakistan during invasion to Afghanistan. and seven next years of the Operation Enduging Freedom during George W. Bush administration. At first I concentrate on historical experience of Pakistan and development in the area before american invasion to Afghanistan. I also surveying terrorist movements on Pakistani soil, which are important for later development and are connected to Pakistani secret service ISI. ISI tried some years after 2001 to maintain friendly relations with Taliban and other terrorist groups along Afghan - Pakistan border, but terrorists, basically anti-system movements, wanted to establish in Pakistan and Afghanistan states constituted as Islamic emirates. President Musharraf under pressure of forthcoming events and the United States understood that supporting Taliban is no longer sustainable policy and decided to act against terrorist groups home in Pakistan. This move however triggered suicide bombings and massive uprising which hit in 2006/2007...

The rise of market globalization creates challenges for business executives seeking to pursue foreign direct investment (FDI) in least developed countries (LDC), such as Afghanistan. Multinational corporate (MNC) executives need strategies that will improve the timely delivery of minerals for mining projects in LDCs. Guided by the force field analysis theory, the purpose of this holistic, single-case study was to explore the strategy that 5 MNC executives in Beijing, China, used to improve the timely delivery of minerals associated with the Aynak copper mine project in Afghanistan. Semistructured interviews were used to elicit detailed narratives from MNC executives about their experiences to develop strategies for mining projects in LDCs. A review of company documents, as well as member-checking of initial interview transcripts, helped to bolster the trustworthiness of final interpretations. Study results included 2 themes. Theme 1 was determinants of mine investment strategies in LDCs that included an exploration of driving forces, restraining forces, neutral forces, and the effect of those forces. Theme 2 was FDI strategies for copper mine projects in LDCs that included the comparison of cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, and combination of cost leadership and differentiation strategies. By implementing a cost leadership strategy and best practices, MNC executives were able to achieve greater success to improve timely delivery of minerals associated with FDI copper mine projects in LDCs. Social implications include ongoing efforts of Afghan government leaders to implement effective economic policies that decrease unemployment while reducing poverty.