Thesis advisor: David DiPasquale / For forty-four days in the fall of 2020, Armenians and Azeris fought a bitter war for control of Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s victory upset the region’s uneasy status quo and plunged the South Caucasus into a renewed state of uncertainty. While the most recent war was fought with twenty-first century weapons, the roots of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over Artsakh stretch back well over a century. In order to unravel the causes behind Azerbaijan’s invasion last fall, this thesis delves into the history behind the present conflict, engaging both with Artsakh’s ancient past as well as the more recent developments that have shaped the region in the post-Soviet era. This thesis also offers a comprehensive account of the war, examining the factors behind Azerbaijan’s military success. In doing so, this thesis seeks not only to offer insights into past events, but also to identify the political dynamics that will continue to influence the region in the years to come. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Political Science.

The thesis analyses two modern surprise attacks - the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and Great Britain; and the 2016 April War (also known as the Four Days War) among Azerbaijan, Armenia, and de facto Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Using literature of the Theory of Surprise, the study tries to determine the reasons why states chose the strategy of surprise, and how did they decide on the timing of the wars. It also displays the shortcomings inherent in the strategy of surprise, and points out where the mistakes, false assumptions of the belligerents in these two cases studies lay. Finally, a comparative study of the cases highlights the ideas that can improve a state's preparedness and hopefully avoid surprise attacks in the future. Thesis title: The Element of Surprise: A Study of Two Modern Surprise Attacks Author: Tatevik Tadevosyan Study programme: Security Studies Supervisor: Dr Jan Ludvík, PhD Year of the defence: 2020

Author Samuel Lavoie Thesis Diplomacy and Diplomatic Institutions of Unrecognized De Facto States Somaliland, Transnistria and Artsakh (2020) Abstract As a topic, international recognition has been increasingly studied over the past twenty years, particularly since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008. This thesis attempts to advance our understanding of the underlying causes of the inability to gain political recognition by examining several factors that have been omitted from the academic literature. Specifically, it examines several key aspects of the diplomatic institutions, personnel, and approaches of three unrecognized de facto states that meet most of the criteria for statehood under international law, but have so far received no recognition recognized states. These entities are Somaliland, Transnistria, and Artsakh. This paper also draws on partially recognized states and finds that geopolitical and ideological factors generally prevail over diplomatic ones as the main drivers of political recognition. This is especially true when an entity is located in an area of fierce rivalry for influence, such as the PMR and the Republic of Artsakh. However, while remaining a secondary factor, diplomacy becomes more important for international recognition when the interests of...