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This paper represents the root causes of Hazaras persecution in Afghanistan through ethno-religious and psycho-cultural approaches, using Protracted Social Conflicts (PSC) and Relative Deprivation (RD) frameworks. The Hazara community has been subject to persecution in variety of ways including assassinations, physical torture, enslavement, forced displacement, kidnapping, and target attacks by both state and non-state actors. This study explored multifrontal causes consisting international connection, structural inequalities, communal cleavages, access to economy and power, and interpersonal and ingroup values contributed to Hazaras persecution in Afghanistan. This study argues that the excessive persecution and discrimination against Hazara community was founded, particularly by Abdul Rahman in 1890s which shaped the ethno-religious and psycho-cultural approaches of Hazaras afterward. The ethno-religious and psycho-cultural approaches led the common thinking against Hazaras in the form of wrong identification, wrong myths, false consciousness, and ill-definition of Hazaras as monolithic Shi’as who have consistently been labelled as “Kafirs,” unbeliever, and decedents of Genghis Khan. The persecution of Hazaras can be studied through the lens of PSC, manifests the longstanding inter-state and intra-state conflicts, and RD depicts comparison of disadvantagedness of an individual or a group with other individuals and groups.

The question of the stability of American hegemony has consumed U.S. International Relations discourse since the Post-Cold War narrative. With the rapid changes in the international realm and the countless U.S. humanitarian and military operations around the globe, it is no surprise that many well-known researchers have taken the time to look at the impact of American hegemony under strict observation. However, more analysis must be made of these operations' strategic purpose and success. This thesis strives to fill this gap by conducting in-depth case studies on various U.S. military operations from the early 2000s to the present in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and East Asia. These case studies were selected with the research tool "Comparative Case Study" method to limit any bias in which country or historical event to include in the case study chosen section. With the aid of Structured Analytical Techniques (SATs), an analysis is made using the historical information gathered by the case studies to determine whether the success and impact of U.S. presence in these regions are secure enough to go against a rising Chinese state. Contrary to the resources and attention given to these military operations, the lack of agreement among American presidential administrations on a strategy could have deteriorated American hegemonic presence abroad.

The United States has always been a very prominent user of hard power and has in most of its existence wielded a great amount of it, seen by their long military history. Another power the United States has a vast amount of is soft power, begging the question how this power has been utilized in the past, to for example create public support for military intervention. As soft powers impact on global security is immense, seen by the Ukraine-Russia war, recognizing how it has been used to justify military intervention in the past, and how it is used now. The importance of this effect and study is tremendous as it displays how a country can justify wars and influence public opinion and could possibly be used to identify a country in the process of trying to replicate the effect. The thesis proposes that there exist 2 effects known as culturally moulding and culturally swaying, which when used properly can affect the public opinion to a certain extent, which likely has been used to influence public opinion in the U.S on the 2 military interventions discussed. This subject falls in the line of security and power studies, wherein the main concept will be Joseph S. Nye’s concept of hard, soft and smart power, and it will be a qualitative study. The study will examine public opinion on military interventions and view them from a soft power perspective and consider why specifically these interventions were seen as justified. The delimitations to this study will be to keep the study to America, though there are plenty of other examples, and keep the case study to 2 military interventions, Afghanistan and Taiwan.

The thesis purports to assess the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in maintaining international peace and security and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in prosecuting individuals who have committed severe violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international law, during humanitarian and counter-terrorism operations. The thesis endeavours to highlight the failures of both institutions, firstly, the UNSC being unable to fulfil its institutional mandate, which is mainly attributed to the abuse of veto privileges granted to the five permanent members (P5). This has effectively allowed individuals from the militaries of the P5 and their allies elude criminal liability, promoting a culture of impunity. The UNSC’s failure to prevent P5 members use of unauthorised military force in pursuing counter-terrorism operations and interpose expeditiously in humanitarian crises, have also contributed to the erosion of the institutions’ legitimacy, which is further perpetuated by the USA’s continued ‘War on Terror’ doctrine after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Secondly, the ICC’s inability to prosecute individuals for crimes under the Rome Statute will also be highlighted as the principle of complementarity and the court’s inability to enforce arrest warrants are significant factors contributing to the institutions inability to administer international criminal justice. The thesis draws upon practical examples to substantiate the failures of both institutions by referring to the conflicts in: Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Libya. Before concluding the UNSC and the ICC have become futile, the thesis will then make recommendations for reform and propose a novel solution to restore legitimacy back to both institutions.

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