The tendency after the end of the Cold war to downsize national armies on the one hand and persistent armed conflicts in unstable African, Near East and Balkan regions on the other created opening conditions for the revival and rapid evolvement of the private business structures that provide military and security services. Prevailing viewpoint that PMSCs and their personnel represent the new form of the mercenary is not correct from the IHL perspective and could lead to serious human rights abuses. Numerous cases and analysis of the scholar literature shows that inaccurate qualification of the PMSCs’ employees’ status results into deprivation of certain scope of protection from private contractors. Moreover, since there are no accountability and control mechanisms, a high risk for the abuses and impunity for violations of the IHL occurs. Present master thesis aims to analyze international legal status of the PMSCs and their personnel in the context of armed conflict. It also assesses conformity of the existing practice to the IHL norms. In order to conclude a comprehensive research, author provides historical perspective of the warfare privatization, surveys factors that contributed to the outsourcing of military functions, defines what is PMSC, what are their types and capacity of each type, highlights distinguishing features between mercenaries and private contractors and gives a review of the contemporary practice of their use in the armed conflicts. Hypothesis that... [to full text] / Pasibaigus Šaltajam karui išryškėjusi tendencija valstybėms mažinti savo ginkluotąsias pajėgas ir nuolatiniai kariniai konfliktai nestabiliuose Afrikos, Artimųjų Rytų, Balkanų regionuose sudarė palankias sąlygas atgyti ir sparčiai plėtotis privačių, karines ir saugumo paslaugas teikiančių, kompanijų verslui. Vyraujantis požiūris, kad PKSK-jų darbuotojai atstovauja naują samdinystės formą nėra teisiškai korektiškas ir gali lemti grubius žmogaus teisių pažeidimus. Gausi praktika bei mokslinės literatūros analizė rodo, kad privačių kompanijų darbuotojų teisinis statusas klaidingai ir skirtingai kvalifikuojamas pagal tarptautinę humanitarinę teisę. Viena vertus tai sąlygoja kad kompanijų darbuotojams nesuteikiama jiems priklausanti apsauga. Antra vertus, nesant aiškių tarptautinės PKSK-jų atskaitomybės ir kontrolės mechanizmų, susidaro sąlygos piktnaudžiavimui bei nebaudžiamumui už įvykdytus nusikaltimus. Šiame magistro baigiamajame darbe siekiama išanalizuoti PKSK-jų ir jų darbuotojų tarptautinį teisinį statusą ginkluotų konfliktų metu ir įvertinti egzistuojančios praktikos atitikimą tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės normoms. Siekiant atlikti išsamų tyrimą, iškelti uždaviniai pateikti istorinę karo privatizacijos apžvalgą, aptarti procesą skatinančius faktorius, apibrėžti, kas yra PKSK, kokie jų tipai ir kiekvieno iš jų kompetencija, išryškinti skiriamuosius privačių karių ir samdinių bruožus bei apžvelgti dabartinę praktiką šioje srityje. Remiantis pirmine literatūros analize... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

The object of this thesis is to ascertain the influence of the basic combatant sports on the fitness of the pupils in the first degree of elementary school. For this purpose training programme karatedo was created on the basis of my experience and experience of many specialists (trainers and scholars). Their valuable advices and observartions have been an inspiration for my work. Gathered information were then properly analysed in the thesis. On this ground an educational programme have been established. It could serve as a useful instrument not only for the teachers and trainers but also for others interested in this area.Before establishing the actual programmme, It had been necessary to examine the pupils' condition in order to be able to define the inicial and final level of pupils's fitness. For this reason the compilation of tests of motoric performance and fitness called EUROFIT was applied. Obtained information were recorded and on the basis of the results the final resume on the influence of the basic combatant sports on the fitness of the pupils in the first degree of elementary school was elaborated.

Student Number : 0513998G - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / This study aimed to investigate how specific needs of the Rwandan child combatants who fought in the Great Lakes Region are being addressed in the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) processes. Data collected by the use of semistructured interviews of demobilised child combatants and key informants revealed that many children were recruited after being orphaned, separated from parents, or because of their search for physical and psychological security which was threatened by war and its immediate effects. Further, it was found that child combatants experienced harsh living conditions in the bush due to both the nature of their work as combatants and their physical and mental immaturity. As far as the DDR processes are concerned, the study revealed many weaknesses in addressing the specific needs of child combatants at least until January 2004. However, there has been a significant positive shift in dealing with the same needs since then. The absence of female child combatants in the DDR process was noted. This research concludes with a number of recommendations for both future interventions and further research.

Can Americans who join terrorist organizations and fight against United States troops be charged with treason? Does the January 6th riot in Washington D.C. constitute “levying war”? Despite ongoing acts of levying war, and providing aid and comfort to enemies, the United States has not had a treason conviction since the 1950's. Courts and prosecutors actively avoid the charge, leading to a substantial lack of case law and legal guidance. Today, legal scholars disagree on how the Treason Clause should be applied. In this thesis, I discuss the disappearance of treason, and analyze opposing views on how the treason charge should be utilized in the twenty-first century. Specifically, I argue that treason holds significant constitutional importance, and should return as a viable charge in criminal law.

No description available.

Community service has become an integral component of post-conflict reintegration efforts, aiming to foster reconciliation between former combatants and civilian communities. Since 2010, Colombia has implemented a unique and comprehensive reintegration process requiring former combatants to participate in non-remunerated community service. Despite its widespread implementation by practitioners and its recognition by policymakers as a valuable component of ex-combatant reintegration, community service remains surprisingly under-researched. Drawing from existing literature on social reintegration, intergroup reconciliation, and desistance, this study investigates the conditions under which such programs contribute to former combatants’ willingness to reconcile with civilians. Twelve in-depth interviews conducted with young Colombian former combatants served as data for a qualitative process-oriented analysis. Higher levels of willingness to reconcile are encountered when former combatants work with civilians, when the program enables them to engage in a dialogue with civilians or to be in direct contact with the beneficiaries of their work. Certain community services thus seem to positively affect former combatants’ attitude towards reconciliation, both accelerating the attitude change and broadening its effects to a wider array of individuals. These findings inform practices of social reintegration in Colombia and Central America, offering further insights for worldwide applications.

The research conducted for this master’s thesis determined that the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) current participation in military operations other than war (MOOTW) does not make significant contributions to its ability to develop its capability to conduct a large-scale war. Research was performed on the PLA’s MOOTW missions from 2008 in the areas of humanitarian aid and disaster response (HA/DR), noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO), and counterpiracy. General trends indicated that the PLA’s participation in these operations improved basic military capabilities that are fundamental to performing advanced tactics, but did not directly contribute to its ability to dominate air, land, and sea domains. Research also concluded that China is extremely concerned about how the international community views its role as a responsible stakeholder as an emerging global power. Consequently, the U.S. should be concerned with China’s growing capability to project goodwill as a result of its rapid military modernization. Besides the obvious military competition presented by the PLA’s modernization efforts, the U.S. should share an equal, if not greater concern for the resultant global political competition from China. This research develops a military cooperation framework based on the comparison of relative political goals and political interests between two nations. When applied to Sino-U.S. relations, it presents a spectrum of options available to U.S. decision makers, but suggests that U.S. should only participate in military cooperation with the PLA if there are relative political advantages to the U.S. Finally, it warns against decisions made out of the convenience of short-term interest alignment that do not contribute to solutions for achieving long term political goals.

Since the First World War ended in 1918 and anthologies began to emerge, limited attention has been paid to the poets of this era. While a few select male poets have achieved canonicity, women war poets of this era have fallen into enigmatic obscurity. The intention of this paper is to expound, explicate, and expose the difficulties relating to gaining entry into the canon of English literature, especially where the poets of The Great War are concerned. This paper discusses the absence of the most profound and foreshadowing poems written during the war through research of scholarly journals and out-of-print poems. The paper also seeks to prove that the defenses offered up which exclude certain poems in the anthologies have had repercussions extending into the twenty-first century. Beyond all human imagination, the excluded poetry of The Great War is languishing, wanting, and imploring for exploration and canonicity.

<p>The construction of International Humanitarian Law and the norms regarding protection of prisoners of war have evolved as a reaction to the horrors of war. After September 11 and the following war on terrorism the notion of POWs has been widely debated. The USA holds prisoners at the navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba without granting them status as POWs; this thesis is placing the treatment of these detainees within a historical context. The norm concerning rights of POWs is today both internationalized and institutionalized, but that has not always been the case. This thesis illuminates how the norms have evolved during World War I, World War II and Vietnam War; finally the war against terrorism and the treatment of the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay is analyzed. The intention of the thesis is to use a historical overview of the evolution of IHL, and the rights of POWs in particular, to formulate a wider assumption about the implication of IHL in the war against terrorism and the future.</p><p>The thesis adopts a theory which combines constructivism and John Rawls´ theory of justice and uses constructivist ideas about the nature of the international system applied to Rawls´ notion of justice. The constructivist theory and ontology are the basis of the theoretical framework of this thesis and Rawls´ definition of justice as the base of social institutions are viewed from a constructivist perspective. IHL and the norms regarding protection of POWs are thus considered as social facts, constructed and upheld through social interaction between states.</p>

The construction of International Humanitarian Law and the norms regarding protection of prisoners of war have evolved as a reaction to the horrors of war. After September 11 and the following war on terrorism the notion of POWs has been widely debated. The USA holds prisoners at the navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba without granting them status as POWs; this thesis is placing the treatment of these detainees within a historical context. The norm concerning rights of POWs is today both internationalized and institutionalized, but that has not always been the case. This thesis illuminates how the norms have evolved during World War I, World War II and Vietnam War; finally the war against terrorism and the treatment of the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay is analyzed. The intention of the thesis is to use a historical overview of the evolution of IHL, and the rights of POWs in particular, to formulate a wider assumption about the implication of IHL in the war against terrorism and the future. The thesis adopts a theory which combines constructivism and John Rawls´ theory of justice and uses constructivist ideas about the nature of the international system applied to Rawls´ notion of justice. The constructivist theory and ontology are the basis of the theoretical framework of this thesis and Rawls´ definition of justice as the base of social institutions are viewed from a constructivist perspective. IHL and the norms regarding protection of POWs are thus considered as social facts, constructed and upheld through social interaction between states.