In the absence of a continued military presence in Iraq, the United States must use alternative means to achieve its foreign policy goals. Stated goals include maintaining influence, increasing stability in Iraq, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula, and ensuring Iraq's territorial integrity. This paper suggests leveraging the power of American oil and gas firms operating in Iraqi Kurdistan given the relative ineffectiveness of the embassy in Baghdad and the hostility many Iraqis exhibit toward American diplomats. It first outlines American policy toward Iraqi Kurdistan from the end of the Gulf War to the present. Next it provides a brief overview of the current state of affairs in Iraqi politics and Iraq's oil and gas industry. Then the paper describes four specific ways in which supporting American oil and gas firms in Iraqi Kurdistan can help the United States achieve its foreign policy goals. First, it can check undue Shi'a centralization of power and keep Iraq from drifting too far into the Iranian sphere. Second, it can strengthen the Kurdish bargaining position with Baghdad and push Iraq toward resolving the status of Kirkuk and enacting a comprehensive hydrocarbons law. Third, oil and gas extraction through profit sharing contracts (PSCs) rather than technical services agreements (TSAs) would promote foreign direct investment and spur economic growth. Finally, private sector oil and gas companies could be a critical component in maintaining American influence with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq (GOI) through their strong local ties. The last chapter is devoted to policy prescriptions for achieving the aforementioned goals.

Master thesis ExxonMobil International Marketing Strategy deals mainly with brand management and communication strategy of ExxonMobil Corporation and its selected competitors (Royal Dutch Shell plc, BP p.l.c.). Elements of these strategies are compared and based on the SWOT analysis strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of ExxonMobil strategy are identified. In conclusion, the thesis introduces recommendations for possible changes in ExxonMobil marketing strategy. The work itself is divided into 4 chapters. The first chapter introduces the corporation, its structure and strategy. Second part describes ExxonMobil's brand management and communication strategy. The following part is focused on the description of the selected aspects of marketing strategy within the competitors - Royal Dutch Shell plc and BP p.l.c. The final chapter presents comparison of the competitors' strategies, SWOT analysis for ExxonMobil marketing strategy and offers recommendations for possible changes in the corporation strategy.

Climate change denial is a widely spread phenomenon in the United States that has for decades shaped the country's response to the numerous environmental challenges it has been facing. This thesis deals with the role of the American fossil fuels lobby in the analyzed matter, as it constituted the main force behind its rise. The main goal of the thesis is to prove that the success of the climate change denial orchestrated by the fossil fuels industry was enabled by its ties to the political establishment. Moreover, it argues that this was done by using professionally drafted strategies, which turned a once-widely-accepted fact - backed by a scientific consensus - into a matter of debate, opinion, politics, ideology, and identity. In order to do that, the thesis firstly covers the historical development of the climate debate in the United Sates. It looks at the major milestones in the country's approach in dealing with the problem of the environment as well as the emergence of the climate change denial campaign itself. Secondly, it analyzes the various connections between U.S. politics, special interests, and climate science from the 1970s until the end of the George W. Bush Administration. Next, it introduces the specific tactics and methods employed by the climate change denial campaign. Moreover,...