After the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s, with the emergence of the multipolarity and the formation of new entities in the Eurasian space Turkey search for new ways due to the declining role in the West-East tensions forced it to turn to the East. In this area, rapprochement with Azerbaijan from a national and ethnic point of view to be an optimal way out. On this way, the master's thesis aims to analyze the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations in the 1990s. For this purpose, the following tasks have been set. Analysis of rapprochement trends in relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey after independence, analysis of the role of internal and external factors in this area, as well as the role of the legal framework in building relations.

This is the first study of official relations between South Africa and Australia as conducted through resident High Commissions or Embassies. It reaches the conclusion that, though neither country loomed large on the other's scale of priorities, the relationship was at the outset perceived to be of greater value to Australia than to South Africa. It was initiated by the Australian government in 1945 as was the airlink which connected the two countries in 1952. Then flown by propeller-driven aircraft, the air route led to the expansion of Australian territory when the United Kingdom transferred to Australia sovereignty over the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, eight hours flying time from Perth and an essential refuelling stop en route to Southern Afnca. The first Australian High Commissioner, Sir George Knowles, arrived in South Africa in August 1946. The Smuts government did not attach much value to the relationship. Pleading shortage of staff, and to the embarrassment of the Australian government, it had not reciprocated with its own appointment by the time of its fall in May 1948. On assuming office the following month the new Prime Minister, Dr Malan responded positively to an Australian reminder about the lack of a South African High Commissioner. Dr P.R. Viljoen was appointed to the position and arrived in Canberra in June 1949. The relationship lacked substance and for relatively lengthy periods in the 1950s the High Commissioner's post was left vacant on both sides. The Australian government had proposed the establishment of relations on grounds inter alia that members of the British Commonwealth should be informed about each other's attitudes, policies and problems in the work of the United Nations. Yet it was the United Nations, particularly its composition, which subjected the relationship to its greatest strains. In focusing on the role and functions of individual diplomats the study throws light on what the profession or occupation of diplomacy encompassed at the time. Also canvassed is the development of the South African and Australian Departments of External Affairs from their beginnings to the early 1960s. / D. Litt et Phil. (History)

The overarching aim of the thesis is to present a framework that makes possible an understanding of bilateral relations that challenges mainstream International Relations (IR) approaches through a study of the “history issue” in Sino-Japanese relations. A secondary aim is to provide an alternative understanding of this issue. Discussions of the issue are often highly influenced by the objectivism, rationalism, state-centrism and agent-centrism common in mainstream IR theory. This has several consequences, primarily that the focus is chiefly on behaviour and that equal emphasis is rarely put on both contexts. In order to address these consequences, the question of what kinds of narrative, as expressed in museum exhibitions about war in both countries, can be found and which ones dominate is addressed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The narratives, which contain the stories “we” tell about “our” past, are important components in and instantiate the abstract images that are identities, through which people make sense of the world. The context-sensitive analysis confirms the constructivist assumption that narratives matter by demonstrating that political actors strongly believe narratives shape people’s minds and act accordingly. It also shows that different narratives are present in both countries. It is suggested that the narratives are closely linked to domestic identity politics. Nonetheless, the depiction of self and other in these has consequences for bilateral relations. This has several implications, for example, that changes in the behaviour of leaders, while they may have a positive impact on relations, are insufficient as solutions to the problems. This has consequences for approaches preoccupied with behaviour. The study contributes to constructivist IR through a close textual analysis of narrative structure that illustrates the significance of labelling and categorizing in identity construction that is easily missed by less fine-grained analyses.

This is the first study of official relations between South Africa and Australia as conducted through resident High Commissions or Embassies. It reaches the conclusion that, though neither country loomed large on the other's scale of priorities, the relationship was at the outset perceived to be of greater value to Australia than to South Africa. It was initiated by the Australian government in 1945 as was the airlink which connected the two countries in 1952. Then flown by propeller-driven aircraft, the air route led to the expansion of Australian territory when the United Kingdom transferred to Australia sovereignty over the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, eight hours flying time from Perth and an essential refuelling stop en route to Southern Afnca. The first Australian High Commissioner, Sir George Knowles, arrived in South Africa in August 1946. The Smuts government did not attach much value to the relationship. Pleading shortage of staff, and to the embarrassment of the Australian government, it had not reciprocated with its own appointment by the time of its fall in May 1948. On assuming office the following month the new Prime Minister, Dr Malan responded positively to an Australian reminder about the lack of a South African High Commissioner. Dr P.R. Viljoen was appointed to the position and arrived in Canberra in June 1949. The relationship lacked substance and for relatively lengthy periods in the 1950s the High Commissioner's post was left vacant on both sides. The Australian government had proposed the establishment of relations on grounds inter alia that members of the British Commonwealth should be informed about each other's attitudes, policies and problems in the work of the United Nations. Yet it was the United Nations, particularly its composition, which subjected the relationship to its greatest strains. In focusing on the role and functions of individual diplomats the study throws light on what the profession or occupation of diplomacy encompassed at the time. Also canvassed is the development of the South African and Australian Departments of External Affairs from their beginnings to the early 1960s. / D. Litt et Phil. (History)

Abstract Perceptions of Finland and Finns held by Canadian government decision-makers underscore the relations between the two countries. The individuals involved had definite views of what Finland and Finns were like and these images were at times openly expressed or inferred from the archived government departmental files. Using an analysis of images, the evolving bilateral relations between Canada and Finland from the recognition of Finnish independence in 1919 until the early Cold War in 1948 can be understood from the Canadian perspective. The images are analyzed on a scale in terms of their positive or negative connotations. Positive images regarded Finland as a friendly, Northern, country, a borderland, cultured, Western, modern, progressive, liberal, and democratic. When these images were applied to Finns they were seen as honest, hardworking, reliable and the payers of debts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Finland was an enemy and a trade competitor. The Finnish people could also be seen with negative images as dangerous and radical. These images existed before the establishment of diplomatic relations and carried over to interactions involving immigration, the League of Nations, trade, and scientific exchanges. They are also evident in relations between the two countries during the Winter War, in the decision to declare war against Finland during the Continuation War, during the armistice period, the peace process, and the during the early Cold War when normalized relations were established. The findings suggest that relations between Canada and Finland were most often impacted by events in Europe. The images of Finland and Finns did not directly impact relations as such, since the policies and actions taken were based on what decision-makers considered realistic assessments of the situation, as well as Canada’s national interests and capabilities. However, the images appear frequently as a means to narrow the range of acceptable options, rationalizations for specific polices, and justification for particular actions. / Tiivistelmä Kanadan hallituksen päätöksentekijöiden näkemykset Suomesta ja suomalaisista korostavat maiden välisiä suhteita. Hallituksen arkistot paljastavat, että päättäjillä oli selvä näkökuva Suomesta ja suomalaisista, ja siihen viitattiin joko avoimesti tai peitetysti. Kanadan ja Suomen suhteet Suomen itsenäisyyden tunnustamisesta vuonna 1919 aina kylmän sodan alkuun saakka vuonna 1948 ovat ymmärrettävissä Kanadan näkökulmasta käyttämällä näkökuva-analyysia. Näkökuvat analysoidaan joko positiivisella tai negatiivisella asteikolla. Positiiviset näkökuvat Suomesta kuvaavat sitä ystävällisenä, pohjoisena rajamaana, joka oli sivistynyt, länsimainen, nykyaikainen, edistynyt, suvaitsevainen ja demokraattinen. Suomalaiset nähtiin rehellisinä, ahkerina, luotettavina ja velkansa maksajina. Asteikon toisessa päässä Suomi nähtiin vihollisena ja kauppakilpailijana. Suomalaiset voitiin myös nähdä negatiivisesti vaarallisina ja radikaaleina. Nämä näkökuvat olivat läsnä ennen maitten välisten diplomaattisuhteiden perustamista, ja jatkuivat vuorovaikutuksissa koskien siirtolaisuutta, Kansojen liittoa, kauppaa ja tieteellistä vaihtoa. Ne ovat myös nähtävissä suhteissa talvisodan aikana, päätöksessä julistaa sota Suomea vastaan jatkosodan aikana, aserauhan aikana, rauhanteon aikana sekä paluussa normaaleihin suhteisiin kylmän sodan alussa. Euroopan tapahtumilla näytti olevan myös suuri vaikutus Suomen ja Kanadan suhteisiin. Näkökuvat Suomesta ja suomalaisista eivät suoranaisesti vaikuttaneet maitten suhteisiin, koska käytännöt ja toiminnat perustuivat päättäjien mielestä realistiseen arvioon tilanteista sekä Kanadan kansallisista eduista ja kyvyistä. Tästä huolimatta näitä näkökuvia käytettiin usein rajoittamaan hyväksyttävien vaihtoehtojen valikoimaa, järkeistämään tiettyjä käytäntöjä sekä oikeuttamaan joitakin toimintoja.

The thesis will be discussing the relation between India and the European Union (EU) after the biggest enlargement. After the inevitable setting of the historic background of these two entities in the 60-ties of the 20. century, we will focus on the period almost half of the century after, where India and the EU started working on stronger relational structure. Besides the cultural and social familiarity of two mutually completely different cultures, the stress is essentially put on the political and economic aspect. Till today, strengthening of this structure is created mainly by the organization of regular meetings. The part of summits' work undoubtedly consists in the common trade between India and EU, that will also obtain the opportunity to be mentioned. That one will be supplemented with the economic and political view of the Indian bilateral trade with three selected member states, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Protectionism, nowadays still very integral to the majority of foreign commerce relations in the world, will be the last but one topic that makes at the same time the introduction to the final one, key part of my work, critical perspective on the India - EU relation.

This thesis deals with the theme of bilateral relations between the EU and Switzerland, focusing on the current phenomenon of migration. The EU and Switzerland cooperate on bilateral sectoral basis, since Switzerland (hence the citizens of Switzerland) does not want to integrate into the European internal market to maintain its sovereignty and autonomy. Within the first series of bilateral agreements between the EU and Switzerland an agreement on free movement of persons was signed, thereby Switzerland opened its labour market to EU citizens. In February 2014, however, the citizens of Switzerland used the institution of direct democracy and adopted by a narrow majority the initiative to stop mass immigration. This step disrupted the agreement on free movement of persons and the complex negotiations started in order to solve this impasse. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the impacts of immigration on the Swiss economy and the subsequent evaluation of the reasonableness to mitigate the immigration through a citizens' initiative.

This thesis is an analysis of the bi-lateral relations between Peoples Republic of China and Federal Republic of Nigeria and the relations between Peoples Public of China and Republic of Sudan. The thesis will explain the changes with the international relationships that have occured over time caused by the evolving position of, not only China, but also Sudan and Nigeria. The thesis defines economic, political and security dimension of international relations and their advances connected with the development of international community. Furthermore, it analyses the position of Sudan and Nigeria in international relations, the evolution of their bi-lateral relations with China and the current state of those relations, where the thesis applies the phenomena defined in the first chapter. In conclusion, it compares the similarities and differences between the relations of China and Nigeria and China and Sudan to find the answer to the question, whether the international position of the both Nigeria and Sudan have an influence on Chinese foreign policy towards them.

The thesis deals with bilateral relation of Slovakia and Hungary in terms of collective identities. Partial objective of the thesis is to explain Slovak-Hungarian relations from the perspective of constructivist theories and identity perspective. As a consequence both actors perceive historical development of the Central European area and common history differently. The main aim of the thesis is to research the nature of policy of Slovak government towards Hungarian minority living in Slovakia, as well as how this policy affects Slovak - Hungarian bilateral relations. Regarding the hypotheses, we believe that the Slovakia-Hungarian relations are strongly influenced by the structure of Slovak and Hungarian identity and the perception of other side as "the other" (another, foreign, enemy), resulting in a different understanding of the historical development of the Central European area and common history. Currently it expresses itself mostly in different attitudes and opinions on the issue of territory, respectively the border between Slovak republic and Hungary, and the status and rights of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. As for the main hypothesis, the policy of the Slovak government against Hungarian minority living in Slovakia is affected by the identity of the Slovaks. This applies in...

The master thesis concentrates on studying the relations between the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein from 2000 until 2015. The Czech Republic and the monarchy share a long common history, reaching all the way to the Middle Ages. The Liechtensteins constituted autonomous political power in the Czech lands for centuries and this power played a significant role not only on the regional but also on the continental level. Historical development in Czech territory in 20th century interrupted this continuous symbiosis, the Liechtensteins lost all their Czech property in a short period of time and decided to leave Czech land permanently. Due to the confiscation of property by the Czech state, long-lasting litigations between the two states were created. Even the establishment of the democratic Czech Republic did not bring any change. It was only in 2009 when diplomatic communication was re-established, but ownership issues of different properties remain a challenging issue of bilateral relations. The opening part of the thesis summarizes the historical development in 20th century. The second part analyses property disputes between the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein from the historical perspective. The third part concentrates on contemporary political and economic system of Liechtenstein. Specific...