In the mid-10th century there was an increase of Byzantine coins to the Baltic area alongside the shift from the eastern Islamic dirhems to a western focus on German coins. This thesis sets out to study networks around the Baltic area from a perspective of Byzantine miliaresion minted by Constantine VII and Romanus II, Nicephorus II, John I Tzimisces and Basil II. The material consists of coin finds in foremostly hoards but also some grave finds from Gotland, mainland Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Belarus, Estonia and Finland. This essay will combine the use of two different methods, first a network analysis in Pajek and then a spatial analysis in GIS. With these two methods I want to investigate what the Byzantine coins can tell us about the transition period between the import of Islamic coins and German coins. Together with the Byzantine coins I will use other materials from Gotland such as shorttwig and longbranch runes, a type of metal vessel found in graves and a type of clay vessel with a special mark on the bottom. They will highlight different aspects of the Viking age networks, with a focus on Gotland. The result showes that the import of Byzantine silver coins into the Baltic in the 10th century consists of two phases. The first phase consists of miliaresia minted by Constantine VII and Romanus II, Nicephorus II and John I Tzimisces which were probably imported through Poland. On their way through Poland they mixed with early southern German coins from Bayern and Schwaben on their way to Denmark and Gotland. With the second phase the eastern coin import temporarily gets an upswing. The coins minted by Basil II are more commonly found on Gotland and in Estonia which lead me to conclude that these could have been imported by Gotlandic individuals on their travels east.

Diploma thesis "Nordic countries and their support of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on their way to European structures" deals with foreign policies of Denmark, Sweden and Finland towards three Baltic countries in the 1990s. The paper is focused on Danish, Swedish and Finnish bilateral support of three Baltic countries on their way to European structures, particularly to the EU. The thesis strives to explain a rationale and motives which were behind decisions of Nordic countries to help Baltic countries in the 1990s. Although the thesis is primarily focused on a development in the 1990s, a short part is also devoted to a historical development of the relations between Nordic and Baltic countries. This historical excursion helps to identify changes of Nordic foreign policies (Baltic policies) which occurred in the 1990s. The main proposition of this thesis is a statement that though there were several motives behind decisions of Nordic states to help Baltic countries, the main factor which caused high involvement of Denmark, Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea area were security related factors. The thesis also offers a summary of some motives which were behind high involvement of Nordic countries in the region and provides some similarities and differences in Baltic policies of Denmark, Sweden and...

Since its inclusion in the Copenhagen criteria, the protection of minority rights has been an important political condition set by the European Union (EU) for candidate states. This thesis examines the effectiveness of EU conditionality on the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to change their ethnic policies and its affect on the Russian-speaking minority of the states. The main argument of this thesis is that the European accession process has promoted minority rights in the three Baltic states, following which the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltic States have been partially integrated. However, the domestic opposition and the potential threat from Russia hindered EU's efforts to influence outcomes of the domestic policies.

While there are many examples to turn to regarding the thriving phenomenon of private persons being exploited to launch cyber attacks on behalf of states, this thesis will direct it’s attention onto two special cases. Russia has been accused of being the state actor behind the cyber attacks on Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. The cases are chosen as Estonia have been recognised as the first coordinated cyber attack on a foreign country, and Georgia being the first case were cyber attacks have been utilised in synchronisation with military action. The purpose of the thesis is to analyse the facts of each case in relation to the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (DARSIWA). The analysis will work through article 4, article 5, article 8 and article 11. The main question is how Russia may be hold as legally responsible under international law for the private conduct of ’patriotic’ hackers, the Nashi Youth Group and the Russian Business Network. The thesis concludes that while the circumstances of each case highly indicate state-involvement, this cannot be proven under the respective criterias of the articles and Russia does therefore not bear legal responsibility.

203 12 Dissertation Summary Dissertation title: Democracy in the Lack of Interest: the Effects of Remote Internet Voting Implementation in the Electoral Process of Selected Countries Name and Surname: Karel Sál Field of Study: Political Science Place of Work: Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague Dissertation Supervisor: PhDr. Petr Jüptner, Ph.D. No. of Pages: 203 No. of Appendixes: 30 Year of Defense: 2016 Keywords: internet voting; remote internet voting; electoral turnout; crisis of democracy; theory of participation; rational choice theory; Estonia; Switzerland; France; Norway; Spain. Abstract: The dissertation thesis named Democracy in the Lack of Interest: the Effects of Remote Internet Voting Implementation in the Electoral Process of Selected States reflects the phenomenon of the last decade - incorporation of new media into the political process. Internet voting is one of the discussed and suggested solutions of the so-called crisis of democracy, which could possibly stop the negative trend of diminishing voter turnout in advanced western democracies. The entire academic debate can be summarized into one question: It is possible, that the way of ballot casting can affect the voter turnout in that scale, that we can recognize a significant-positive...

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無論是沙皇政權或是蘇維埃政權，都會在侵略併吞而來的土地上實行俄化或是蘇維埃化的政策，希望能建立一個大一統的國家，創造一個享有共同文化、共同語言、甚至是有共同認同的民族。但是，1991年蘇聯的解體，不只打破了蘇共創造「蘇維埃民族」的美夢，還證明了蘇聯民族政策的嚴重錯誤。 19世紀以前，進入波海地區的俄羅斯人數量並不多。19世紀之後，沙皇政府開始在此區實行大規模的俄化，並開始將大批的俄羅斯人遷移至此。從第一次世界大戰以後到第二次世界大戰這段期間，波海三國享有了一段短暫的獨立國家時期。這個時期，基本上，波海三國對其境內的俄羅斯人是採取尊重的態度。第二次世界大戰爆發，因為德蘇密約的簽訂，使波海三國再次地被蘇聯併吞。史達林佔領波海三國之後，立刻大規模地流放波海三國的人民，並將大批的俄羅斯人引進，使愛沙尼亞與拉脫維亞兩國在人口統計學上的俄化情形十分嚴重。 1985年戈巴契夫上台以後，波海三國利用改革的機會，追求獨立，最後，以非暴力的方式獲得成功，重建獨立國家。波海三國獨立以後，俄羅斯人的地位有了很大的改變，一下子從優勢的統治地位變成弱勢的少數民族。愛沙尼亞與拉脫維亞因為懷疑俄羅斯人的忠誠度以及擔心會被滅族，所以採取了排外的公民權法，使大部分的俄羅斯人都無法獲得公民權。另外，因為大部分的俄羅斯人都不會說愛沙尼亞語或拉脫維亞語，所以不僅在取得公民權上有困難，在經濟與社會處境上也變得比較差。至於俄羅斯人的認同，可以說是複雜的。大多數的俄羅斯人在政治上是對所居住的共和國忠誠，在文化上還是認為自己是屬於俄羅斯文化的一部份。至於立陶宛，賦予境內大部分的俄羅斯人公民權，因此，立陶宛的族群關係較緩和。 俄羅斯政府自認為是境外俄羅斯人權益的捍衛者，但是，對於波海三國的少數民族政策所能造成的影響並不大。相反地，西方政府的批評與建議常常能成功地影響波海三國的決策。主要的原因在於波海三國急切地想回歸歐洲、西方政府與組織能提供援助、滿足國家安全需求與歐安組織派遣使節到愛、拉兩國。 / No matter what it was the Czar’s regime or the Soviet government, it would always implement a policy of Russification or Sovietization on invaded lands, in order to establish a united nation with common culture, shared the same language and national identity. However, since the breaking down of the Soviet Union in 1991, not only the dream of the ‘Soviet People’ broke down, but it also suggested a misleading of ethnic-national policy. Before the 19th century, there were not many Russians in the Baltic area. After the 19th century, the Czar’s regime started to implement the policy of Russification on a large scale, and it also moved many Russians to settle there. During the period of the First World War and the Second World War, the Baltic States had enjoyed a short period as independent nations. In this period, the Baltic States basically treated the Russians within their states with respect. Because Germany and Russia had signed a treaty before the Second World War, therefore, when the war erupted, the Baltic States were once again occupied by the Russia. After Stalin took over the Baltic States, he exiles people from the Baltic States on a large scale, while moving many Russians into these countries. As a result, Estonia and Latvia were seriously Russificated demogranphically. In 1985, Gorbachev gained the power. While the Russia government was reforming its political entity, the Baltic States seized the opportunity to go independent. They successfully gained their independence through non-violent method and rebuild themselves as independent states. Ever since the Baltic States became independent, the status of the Russians within their regions had changed rapidly. The Russians were once the dominant ruling class and suddenly became the ruled minority. Estonia and Latvia are concerned with the issues of royalty of the Russian people, also they were worried that they would become extinct as an ethnic group, therefore, they adopted an exclusive citizenship laws. Because most of the Russians could not speak Estonian and Latvian languages, therefore, they had difficulties to acquire the citizenship and they also did poorly financially and politically within these two nations. As for the notion of the Russian identity, it was a very complicated issue. Most Russians are politically royal to the Republics they reside, but culturally they still considered themselves as part of the Russian culture. In Lithuania, it granted most of the Russians that reside in its nation the citizenship; therefore, the ethnic relationship within the country was less tense comparatively. Russian government always views itself as the protector of the rights of its people that reside in other countries. However, this does not affect the policies regarding the minority in the Baltic States. On the other hand, the criticism and suggestions from the western governments can often affect the process of the policy-making in the Baltic States. The main reason is that the Baltic States are eager to return to Europe, and they can acquire aids from the western governments and organizations, securing their nations. Another reason is Estonia and Latvia hopefully get rid of the representatives from OSCE as soon as possible.

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This thesis is about the geopolitics of feminist knowledge and the role of the visual arts in conceiving and reconfiguring postsocialist feminist imaginaries. Its central concern is to contest the fantasy, prevalent within Western feminist theorizing, of a “lag” between Western and former Eastern Europe. The thesis explores these imaginaries on a micro scale, zooming in on the deeply personal and political artwork of a contemporary feminist and lesbian-identified Estonian artist, Anna-Stina Treumund. This partial and limited focus on Treumund’s photographic self-portraiture enables us to look into the intensities and specificities of individual experience in postsocialist space. Throughout, the thesis evokes a whirling subject as a feminist figuration. This is simultaneously a reference to the embodied and the relational structure of knowledge-systems and world-making. Drawing on postsocialist, postcolonial, queer and feminist visual culture studies, the author argues that Treumund’s art is always already embedded in the local context, as it builds on and problematizes the existing discussions of feminist generations, theorizing, activism and art practices. Combining close readings of Treumund’s artworks with contemporary theoretical debates in feminist studies, encounters with the artist and autobiographical narratives, this thesis asserts: there is no “lag”. More importantly, it is of utmost ethical and political importance to pay closer attention to geopolitical locatedness as an axis of difference that matters in contemporary feminist theorizing. / Den här doktorsavhandlingen handlar om geopolitik i feministisk kunskap och bildkonstens roll i förståelse och omskapande av postsocialistiska feministiska föreställningar. Dess huvudsakliga fokus handlar om att bestrida den i västerländsk feministisk teori ofta förekommande fantasin om att före detta Östeuropa på olika sätt ”släpar efter” i relation till väst. Doktorsavhandlingen utforskar dessa föreställningar på mikronivå då den zoomar in på det djupt personliga och politiska bildkonstarbete utfört av den samtida feministiska och självidentifierat lesbiska estniska konstnärinnan Anna-Stina Treumund. Avhandlingens partiella fokus på Treumunds fotografier i form av självporträtt möjliggör för oss att få inblick i de intensiteter och specifika förhållanden som utgör en individuell erfarenhet av att befinna sig i det postsocialistiska rummet. Genomgående i doktorsavhandlingen används det virvlande subjektet som feministisk figuration. Figurationen innebär simultant en referens till den förkroppsligade och den relationella aspekten av kunskapssystem och skapande av världen. Med utgångspunkt i postsocialistiska, postkoloniala, queera och feministiska studier av visuell kultur argumenterar författaren att Treumunds bildkonst alltid redan är inbäddad i en lokal kontext, detta sedan den växer fram ur och problematiserar de diskussioner som pågår mellan feministiska generationer, i teori, aktivism och bland konstutövare. Genom att kombinera närläsning av Treumunds konstnärliga arbete med samtida teoretisk debatt inom feministiska studier, med möten med konstnärinnan, och med självbiografiska berättelser, försäkrar denna avhandling: det finns ingen “eftersläpning”. Än mer väsentligt är att betona att det är av yttersta etisk och politisk vikt att ägna mer uppmärksamhet åt geopolitiska lokaliseringar som skillnadsskapande faktor i samtida feministisk teoribildning.

This paper describes problems of eGovernment and proposes way to measure e-Government services. Described is the state of the Czech eGovernment in detail to selected projects and in international comparison. The description shows that the development is still ongoing, but in a much slower pace than in the electronically advanced countries. Main identified problem is inconsequent strategic management and resortism, which is constraining deployment of cross-resort projects. Based on the description of the current situation and on the international experiences, author offers specific recommendations to future development of the electronization of public administration in the Czech Republic. In response on management problems is in this paper proposed and tested methodology for measuring the effectiveness of e-Government services. This methodology is an objective procedure of measuring the effectiveness of e-services which is providing feedback for service providers. Testing of methodology evaluates three services from taxation agenda and highlights their weaknesses, including the proposal of corrective solutions.