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This thesis concludes that (1) Immediately following the July Revolution, the Paris government refused to concede the right of search to British commanders. (2) Due to France's isolation in 1831-1833, she sought British support by negotiating the conventions of 1831 and 1833. (3) In response to Palmerston's insistence and to preserve France's influence Sdbastiani signed the protocol of a five-power accord to suppress the slave trade. Guizot accepted the Quintuple Treaty to facilitate an Anglo-French rapprochement. (4) Opposition encouraged by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, however, forced Guizot to repudiate this new agreement. (5) As a concession to Guizot,Aberdeen dropped the demand for a mutual right of search and negotiated the Convention of 1845, establishing a system of joint-cruising.

This study analyzes recent developments in U. S.- Iranian relations during the Nixon administration and attempts to portray the principal objectives of the United States and Iran vis-a-vis each other. Complex Interdependence is the model for development of the arguments. Due to the circumstances, however, the study substantially draws on Realism as well. Chapter I discusses methodology. Chapter II focuses on the Nixon Doctrine and its impact on U. S.-Iranian relations. Chapter III discusses the evolution of mutual interests between the two nations in the Gulf area. Chapter IV drawing on the previous chapters, concludes that an interdependent relation between the two nations has developed to the extent that in some areas policy of one nation would have an impact on the other, i.e., increase in the price of oil.

This thesis examines modern politics in Thailand, its policy, and its search for national security, by showing the impact of the United States on Thai politics. The thesis maintains that politics in Thailand are results that come from attempts of the Thai government to adapt to American involvement in Thailand. The thesis describes the Thai government scene from 1945 to 1972. It analyzes the elements of American involvement and factors in Thai society that are pressured by this involvement. The attempts of the Thai government and its politicians to bring their policy more into line with the changing situations are shown in their reactions to problems of Southeast Asia--the focus of which is on the problems of Vietnam, the problems of China, and the withdrawal of the U.S. to a profile of low visibility.

In 2018, the Syrian Civil War will enter into its ninth year of conflict. From an international relations perspective there are few, if any, studies on state actors in regional sub-state systems. What can an intrastate conflict teach us about future dynamics of the regional interstate hierarchy? It is worthwhile to examine The Syrian Civil War for three reasons. First, Syria lies in the heart of the Middle East lending proximity to regional actors. Second, the breakdown of order in Syria represents a microcosm of the global anarchic environment. Third, Syrian Civil War is an intrastate war that encapsulates both state and non-state actors. This paper intends to provide a clear regional hierarchical analysis with future possibilities and perspectives. For the last century realism then neorealism dominated the field of international relations, yet they are unfit theories for analyzing the Middle East's hierarchy. To address anomalies realists and neorealists incorporated preference and satisfaction, which undermined the core tenets of their theories. Power Transition Theory (PTT) incorporates satisfaction while maintaining structural organization. The addition of power and satisfaction give PTT the necessary tools to assess regional hierarchies and estimate the likelihood of conflict. This PTT theoretical framework will be used to assess the global hierarchy, the status quo set by the United States, and Syria's relation to the status quo. A synopsis of the Syrian Civil War will be provided to contextualize the actors and dyadic comparisons between actors before and after the Iranian-Russian-Syrian victory in Aleppo. The dyadic comparison indicates power and satisfaction among interested parties and if they change during the course of the conflict. Conclusions indicate that the actors and the environment in the Syrian theater are suitable for Power Transition Theory and the data acquired by researching the Syrian Civil War affirms Yeşilada and Tanrikulu's assessment that Russia tops the Middle East's hierarchy with Turkey and Iran following at near parity. The findings reveal the veracity of Lemke's claim that PTT can be utilized for intrastate conflict. The findings substantiate my claim that intrastate conflict can inform us of a region's hierarchy.

Cross-border conflicts on the African continent have increased tremendously in the post-colonial years. The widespread border conflicts on the African continent have been attributed to the arbitrariness with which Africa’s national boundaries were drawn during the colonial period. The colonial boundaries have left the doors open for perpetual conflicts among African states. This thesis proposes to investigate the prospects of grassroots diplomacy as an option of dealing with border conflicts with specific reference to the case of Lesotho/South Africa border relations. This is done by critically evaluating the role the District Liaison Committees (DLCs) have played in border relations between Lesotho and South Africa. The Lesotho and South African governments have institutionalised the resolution of border conflicts at grassroots level through the establishment of the DLCs. The DLCs consists of representatives of border communities in Lesotho and South Africa. The paper introduces a not so familiar concept of involving people at grassroots levels in the conducting of diplomacy between the two neighbouring countries. The central issue implicit in this paper is that grassroots diplomacy is succeeding in the case of Lesotho and South Africa. The DLCs have managed to reduce tension between the two countries along the borders which had existed over a long period of time, thereby, relieving the central governments of some of their duties. The thesis contents that high level conventional diplomacy is not always the answer to cross-border conflicts. The example of Lesotho and South Africa could be followed by other African countries in similar situations.

The topic of my doctoral dissertation is Washington's Indochina policy from 1973-6. My thesis seeks to shed new light on the period and aims to clarify the central points that have been raised in the surrounding academic controversy. In the study it is argued that neither the so-called "decent interval" nor the "permanent war" theory adequately captures Nixon and Kissinger's post-Paris Agreement strategy. Moreover, my study attempts to highlight both the accuracy and shortcomings of Nixon and Kissinger' s own accounts. In so doing, it aims to offer a new interpretation of Nixon, Kissinger, and later Ford's Indochina policy that centers on the concept of an "insurance policy." In my disse1tation it is argued that the protagonists followed a twofold strategy of making a major effort to uphold South Vietnam while at the same time maintaining a fallback strategy of downplaying the overall significance of Vietnam, stressing good relations with the Soviets' and Chinese, and creating an image of touglmess to counterbalance possible defeat in Indochina. In addition to telling the story of the "war after the war" in Vietnam, my dissertation places Nixon, Kissinger, and Ford's Indochina policy in the broader Cold War context of the 1970s. Contrary to previous analyses, it is argued in the study that the three men's concern with great power relations and American credibility does not seem to have led to a simplistic understanding of the situation in Indochina. Moreover, the link between domestic and foreign policy constitutes a central element of my analysis. While it is concluded that Nixon and Kissinger rightly considered the Watergate scandal as the detennining factor for the actual passage of the long-sought congressional funding cuts for Indochina, it is also argued that Watergate was a self-inflicted mistake rather than a tragedy. More generally speaking, it is maintained that domestic political considerations were important on Nixon, Kissinger, and Ford's side, but did not oveITide the protagonists' foreign policy concerns. Finally, my doctoral dissertation provides a reevaluation of Ford that stresses the president's agent role in implementing a hawkish Indochina policy. In sum, my analysis of Washington's Indochina policy highlights Nixon, Kissinger, and Ford's concern with flexibility and their attempt to respond to the challenges of the turbulent 1970s with a coherent, adaptable realpolitik.

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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Scholars and laymen alike have in the past lamented the ambiguous and confusing nature of post-apartheid South African foreign policy, specifically with relation to humanitarian crises on the African continent. Regularly the principles of promoting human rights and democracy on the continent seemingly fall to the wayside in favour of a stubborn adherence to respecting state sovereignty and African solidarity. No two cases exemplify this more than President Thabo Mbeki’s continued reliance on the policy of Quiet Diplomacy in addressing the political and economic crises in Zimbabwe and the alleged genocide in Darfur, Sudan, both of which occurred in the early years of the 21st century. Some International Relations scholars have previously suggested the influence of Mbeki’s anti-Western-imperialist convictions as a constructivist explanation to this foreign policy ambiguity, but all of them attempt to address the ambiguity only within the specific contexts of Sudan and Zimbabwe, none attempting to create an overarching exploration of both cases. This thesis attempts to use constructivist methodologies to a) rationally establish, through a logical and structured approach, anti-Western-imperialist considerations as a common variable that was able to influence the foreign policy decision in both Zimbabwe and Sudan, and b) explain how anti-Western-Imperialism was able to exert such an influence. Firstly, a Rule Based Language Orientated Constructivist (RBLOC) approach is employed to create two language games, one for each case (Sudan and Zimbabwe), utilising primary and secondary sources to recreate verbal and non-verbal speech acts for the actors involved. Through the dialogical analysis of these language games, the common variable of ‘anti-Western-imperialist considerations’ is identified as essential for the rational conclusion of each language game. Secondly, Securitisation Theory, extrapolated to a regional, interstate level, is used to explain how anti-Western-imperialist convictions on the part of President Mbeki were able to influence the policy responses in the respective case studies. Ultimately it is the aim of this thesis to prove that in both cases the presence of President Mbeki’s psycho-cultural disposition, a shared referent object (anti-Western Imperialism), and the securitisation of Western Imperialism can be confirmed and that the presence of these variables can be used to rationally explain Mbeki’s use of Quiet Diplomacy in those instances. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die skynbaar dubbelsinnige en verwarrende aard van Suid-Afrika se buitelandse beleid, veral ten opsigte van humanitêre krisisse op die Afrika-vasteland, is deurgaans deur kundiges en leke betreur. Beginsels soos die bevordering van menseregte en demokrasie op die vasteland is op gereelde grondslag verbeur ten gunste van ’n weerbarstige aanhang van staatsoewereniteit en Afrika-solidariteit. Twee gevalle wat hierdie verskynsel uitstekend illustreer is Pres. Thabo Mbeki se beleid van stille diplomasie ten opsigte van die politieke en ekonomiese krisisse in Zimbabwe en die beweerde volksmoorde in Soedan se Darfur-streek, albei gebeure van die vroeë 21ste Eeu. Menige Konstruktiwiste het gepoog om die dubbelsinnighede van hierdie twee gevalle aan die hand van Mbeki se toentertydse anti-Westerse-imperialistiese oortuigings te verklaar, maar niemand het nog gepoog om ’n omvattende ontleding van albei gevalle te doen nie. In hierdie tesis word gepoog om twee duidelik onderskeibare Konstruktiwistiese metodologieë in te span om a) deur ’n logiese en gestruktureerde benadering te bevestig dat die anti-Westerse-imperialistiese oorwegings ’n gemene veranderlike was wat ’n invloed kon hê op die uitkomste in Zimbabwe sowel as in die Soedan, en b) om te verklaar hoe hierdie anti-Westerse-imperialistiese oorwegings so ’n invloed kon uitoefen. Eerstens, word ’n Reël-Gebaseerde, Taal Georiënteerde Konstruktiwistiese benadering aangewend om twee spraakspeletjies, een vir elk van die gevallestudies, te skep. Primêre en sekondêre bronne word gebruik om die spraakhandeling van die betrokke rolspelers in albei gevalle te herkonstrueer. Deur die dialogiese aard van hierdie spraakspeletjies te ontleed, word die gemene veranderlike van die anti-Westerse-imperialistiese oorwegings uitgewys as onontbeerlik vir die rasionele volvoering van elke spraakspel. Tweedens, beveiligingsteorie,ge-ekstrapoleer tot interstaatsvlak in streeksverband, word toegepas om te verklaar hoe Mbeki se anti-Westerse-imperialistiese oortuigings ’n invloed gehad het op beleidmaking. Die tesis voer aan dat Pres. Mbeki se keuse tot stille diplomasie in albei gevalle rasioneel verklaar kan word aan die hand van Mbeki se psigo-kulterele ingesteldheid, ’n gemene verwysingsvoorwerp (anti-Westerse-imperialisme), en die sekuritisasie van Westerse-imperialisme deur die betrokke rolspelers.

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