This study analyses in full the history of the Kuwait oil concession, which has proved to be one of the most valuable in the world. Interest in Kuwait's oil deposits first arose more than twenty years before the oil concession was finally secured by an Anglo-American combine. Many parties were actively involved in the quest for oil in Kuwait during the long negotiations which spanned the years 1912-1934. Companies backed by the British and United States Governments were all bargaining tor the concession while the Shaikh was determined to secure the best financial terms possible. Moreover, events in Kuwait were inter-related with and parallel to negotiations in Bahrein and Saudi Arabia, where American interests succeeded in securing exclusive oil concessions. This commercial success, which eventually drew the United States Government deeper into the Persian Gulf, was achieved despite a relatively early British recognition of the political and strategic importance of the region's oil concessions. This thesis discusses the formulation and application ot the policies of the various participants. It also provides an account of the way in which the American oil companies competing against British companies established themselves firmly in a region which was under British influence.

The thesis examines the effects of interventions by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on peace, justice and conflict processes in northern Uganda and Libya. The 'peace versus justice' debate, wherein it is argued that the ICC has either positive or negative effects on 'peace’, has spawned in response to the Court's interventions into active and ongoing conflicts. The thesis is a response to and engagement with this debate. Despite often seeming persuasive, claims within the 'peace versus justice' debate have failed to set out a coherent research agenda on how to study the effects of the ICC's interventions on 'peace'. Drawing on theoretical and analytical insights from the fields of conflict and peace studies, conflict resolution and negotiation theory, the thesis develops a novel and nuanced analytical framework to study the Court's effects on peace, justice and conflict processes. This framework is applied to two specific cases: the ICC's interventions in Libya and in northern Uganda. The core of the thesis examines the empirical effects of the ICC on each case. Approximately 80 interviews were conducted with key figures in Libya, Uganda and at the ICC. In its comparative analysis, the thesis examines why the ICC has the effects that it does, delineating the relationship between the interests of states that refer situations to the ICC and the ICC's self-interests and arguing the negotiation of these interests determines who / which side of a conflict the ICC targets and thus its effects on peace, justice and conflict processes. While the effects of the ICC's interventions are ultimately mixed, the thesis aims to contribute to a more refined way to study the effects of the ICC and to further our understanding of why the ICC has the effects that it does.

<p>I argue that the justice cascade--the recent trend toward holding leaders accountable for massive human rights violations--produces both positive and negative effects by influencing the post-tenure fates of leaders. On the negative side, the justice cascade exacerbates conflict. By undermining the possibility of a safe exile for culpable leaders, the pursuit of international justice incentivizes such leaders to cling to power and gamble for resurrection during conflicts when they would otherwise flee abroad. On the positive side, the justice cascade deters atrocities. Precisely because leaders know that committing gross human rights violations will decrease their exit options if they need to flee abroad, international justice effectively increases the cost of atrocities. Taken together, these predictions form the justice dilemma: ex ante deterrence and ex post gambling for resurrection are two sides of the same coin.</p><p>To test my argument, I exploit remarkable variation over time in the threat international justice poses to leaders. Specifically, I examine the arrest of former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet in the United Kingdom in 1998--the first time a leader was arrested in a foreign state for international crimes--as the watershed moment in the push for international accountability for culpable leaders. Before 1998, leaders lived in an impunity era where the expected probability of international punishment for atrocities was virtually zero. Starting in 1998, the world shifted toward an accountability era in which a slew of culpable leaders have been arrested and transferred to international courts, causing other leaders to update their beliefs on the likelihood of facing international justice.</p><p>Three main empirical results provide compelling support for the theory. I show that the decision of leaders to flee into exile is conditional on their expectations of post-tenure international punishment. Whereas culpable leaders are no more or less likely to flee abroad than nonculpable leaders before 1998, culpable leaders are about six times less likely to go into exile than nonculpable leaders after 1998. Rather than flee abroad, culpable leaders now have incentives to fight until the bitter end. Indeed, while there is no evidence of a relationship between leader culpability and conflict duration before 1998, I demonstrate that civil conflicts last significantly longer when culpable leaders are in power during the post-1998 period. This dark side of justice, however, creates a benefit: deterrence. Since leaders want to keep the exile option open in the event they need it, leaders are about five times less likely to commit mass atrocities after 1998 than they were previously.</p> / Dissertation

This study sets out to analyse the dynamics and complexities of Moroccan-Spanish relations “from above and from below” over a period of 22 years (1990 to 2012) by exploring the impact of the supra-state (EU) and the sub-state (Catalan) entities on the bilateral relationship. While the Rabat-Madrid nexus is the main focus, the thesis also surveys Moroccan-EU and Moroccan-Catalan relations, focusing on economic, migration and cooperation policy areas where Spain, the EU and Catalonia have shared but varying degrees of competence. The investigation seeks to examine whether the complexity of relations and actors turn out to be beneficial or detrimental to the Rabat-Madrid bilateral ties, and strives to produce a theoretically informed investigation by framing the dynamics of this complex relationship in theoretical terms. Multi-level governance, Europeanization, Complex Interdependence and Omnibalancing are the main theoretical frameworks discussed. With regard to the central relationship (Moroccan-Spanish relations), the research highlights its complex, multifaceted and cyclical nature. It underlines some of the structural problems plaguing the bilateral ties such as the dissimilar political systems, the territorial squabbles, economic interests and disparities, migration and security challenges, and the negative public opinion; and it also points to the flourishing web of interdependencies forcing the two neighbours to cooperate such as the intensifying economic, political, and social issues. As to Morocco-EU relations, it transpires that Madrid looms relatively large in most EUMoroccan ties, especially in economic (fisheries and agricultural) and migration issues. Brussels also plays an on-going structural role allowing Madrid to de-problematize some of its dealings with Rabat, by providing resources and a platform allowing Rabat and Madrid to focus on more constructive issues. Importance of Moroccan-Catalan relations is illustrated by the large proportion of Moroccan immigrants living in the autonomous region and the sustained economic and official relations between Barcelona and Rabat. Although Catalonia has its own priorities linked to its economic interests, identity, security, international prestige, and influence in Spanish politics, Barcelona’s impact on Rabat-Madrid relations has mainly been positive, if not complementary. The research also highlights the lingering and potential structural problems in the inter-state bilateral relationship including territorial issues, economic interests and disparities, security challenges, negative perceptions, etc. However, it concludes that the proliferation of actors and the diversification of interests has largely generated a shield of common interdependencies that mitigate tensions and prevent potential conflicts. The thesis argues, therefore, for Complex Interdependence as a fairly satisfactory theoretical base, albeit with limitations. The theory has the potential to frame the dynamics of this complex relationship where increased interdependencies seems to create a buffer of common interests withstanding conflict. Within this framework, the EU and Catalonia can be perceived as external actors and contact channels, largely facilitating relations and alleviating tensions.

The problematique driving this research stems from the different approaches concerning Turkish foreign policy (TFP) under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) since 2002. Moreover, the controversy about TFP, also expands to a theoretical debate within the International Relations, and Foreign Policy Analysis, literature. However, although more balanced approaches have emerged in recent years to explain TFP, a comprehensive and systematically integrated approach that deals with TFP drivers, causal chains and foreign policy behaviour is yet to be seen; and this is a gap that this thesis seeks to fill. In this light, this thesis’ objective is to explain TFP towards the Middle East under the AKP. Thus, the central and overarching question to be answered is: what are the foreign policy-making dynamics under the AKP? The goal is to trace the causal relationship between the (independent and intervening) variables (system and domestic level) vis-à-vis the dependent variable (foreign policy behaviour) in terms of the foreign policy outcomes of “revisionism” and “status quo.” In answering the overarching question, the thesis also addresses a set of sub-questions: how are domestic developments linked to external developments? Is there evidence of revisionism or ideological incentives in TFP? Answering such questions also allows for inferences on long-standing questions about TFP to be made. For example: is Turkey turning away from its traditional Western allies? Has Turkey been promoting peace and cooperation, or have its policies created polarisation between international actors? The main argument is twofold. First it is argued that TFP under the AKP towards the Middle East has been revisionist. This stems from the fact that AKP elite ideology is revisionist and the domestic driver that has the primary role in filtering systemic dynamics and leading to the foreign policy outcome. Thus, whenever the circumstances – namely, little to no external or domestic effective opposition – allow AKP policy-makers to act according to their ideologically-charged rhetoric, TFP behaviour is revisionist. When AKP is constrained by other external or domestic drivers, TFP is more prone to maintaining the status quo. As such, system-level drivers (international power relations, external threat perceptions and international economic interdependencies), and most importantly international power relations, play the primary role in shaping and causing shifts in TFP but always in conjunction with unit-level variables. Lastly, it is suggested that the region’s volatility will keep forcing Turkey to switch back and forth in its alliance with the West not least because of the gap between its revisionist aspirations and its limited capabilities. The same aspirations will unavoidably be challenged as they face the reaction of other regional and international players.

This study examines the strengths and influence of International News Media Coverage in Politics as manifested in the "Arab Spring." Key variables that shape global news coverage are examined with Western media institutions in particular being the focal point. The analytical agenda or purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between international news media and politics by evaluating news media coverage of protests, demonstrations and uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, in an effort to determine how the Western media has shaped political views on those countries and other parts of the world using its technology, political principles and advantages. A case study analysis approach was used to explore the systemic factors that influence international news coverage and how these factors determine the volume and content of news that flows from various parts of the world. The researcher found that news coverage does not change the policy, but it does create the environment in which the policy is made and that the media remains crucial in focusing international attention on the Arab Spring, but they do not determine the policy, the key decisions, nor their implementations. The conclusion drawn from the findings suggests that although global news media is increasingly becoming a source of rapid real time information, it is used by politics to convey its ideological messages and propaganda.

When will the domestic audience be responsive to publicly made threats in international disputes by their leaders? Theoretical models and empirical evidence suggest that audience costs can be strategically invoked by leaders to credibly signal their intentions in conflict bargaining situations. However, an emerging literature points out that audience costs depend on individual-level behavioral processes within the domestic political environment. This dissertation further explores the factors that influence whether voters mobilize audience costs when leaders renege on public threats specifically, in regards to two distinct issues. One, when are citizens attentive to foreign disputes that their leaders publicly signal in, and what effect does this have on audience cost mobilization? Two, will citizens automatically punish leaders for reneging in foreign disputes they are attentive to, or will the decision to punish be subject to normal candidate evaluation processes. Using experimental evidence I find strong empirical support for both factors attenuating audience cost generation in foreign crisis disputes. Finally, unlike previous work on audience costs, this dissertation demonstrates that factors outside of a leader's direct control influences the degree to which they can credibly signal through publicly made threats. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / October 28, 2015. / Audience Costs, Bargaining, Domestic Politics, Experiments, Voting / Includes bibliographical references. / Sean Ehrlich, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Grant, University Representative; Mark Souva, Committee Member; Brad Gomez, Committee Member.

This dissertation contributes to the political violence literature by examining the impacts of refugee communities on the likelihood of international conflict, repression, and domestic terrorism. The main message of this study is that the co-ethnicity of refugees with politically relevant groups in the receiving countries is crucial to the understanding of potential security risks created by refugee populations. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 11, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Mark Souva, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Grant, University Representative; Sean Ehrlich, Committee Member; Inken von Borzyskowski, Committee Member.

Among the most enduring diplomatic projects in the postcolonial Third World, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN has for long inspired antipodal reviews ranging from the celebratory to the derisive. These judgments notwithstanding, the varied practices of ASEAN’s diplomacy have impressively grown in scope, ritual, and ambition in the years following the Cold War and well into the contemporary post-unipolar conjuncture where ASEAN has emerged as a default manager of a geopolitical landscape bookended by the material and symbolic power struggles of China and the United States in Asia. Despite the abundance of writings on ASEAN and Asian security, much about its routine production and performance remain enigmatic. Little is known about the everyday practices that constitute this diplomacy; the varied kinds of labour nourishing its production; the sociological biographies of its practitioners and the endowments of class, language, and social capital shaping their shared dispositions; and the vernacular idiom in which this diplomacy is performed. This thesis interrogates ASEAN’s diplomatic practice with an eye on these concerns by pursuing ethnographic fieldwork for 13 months in a site of ASEAN diplomacy par excellence. This site is the ASEAN Secretariat in South Jakarta and a field of multilateral diplomacy of Great and Middle Powers clustered around it in a city that has laid claim to becoming “ASEAN’s diplomatic capital” (Ibukota diplomatik ASEAN). The thesis constructs two arguments. First, it argues against pervasive understandings of the ASEAN Secretariat’s inconsequentiality. As the only bureaucratic ‘organ’ to physically attend and memorialise every ‘ASEAN meeting’, the Secretariat is a key institution coordinating the burgeoning apparatus of activity in and through which a lexically and ritually coherent ‘ASEAN’ is produced. More importantly, as ‘servants’ of states, Secretariat staff render their ‘emotional labour’ to level the tortured inequalities of the ASEAN diplomatic field. Through practices of face-work, staff deploy an exacting solicitousness to ensure that ASEAN’s state representatives – with varying endowments of linguistic, cultural, and social capital– are not threatened with embarrassment by which they may ‘lose face’, be ‘out of face’ or ‘shamefaced,’ as they gather among each other and their vaunted foreign partners as equals. Second, by analysing the everyday practices of Secretariat staff, ASEAN diplomats, and foreign diplomats based in Jakarta, this thesis draws on the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and Erving Goffman to construct a wider argument about ASEAN’s diplomatic practice. It argues that ASEAN’s diplomacy is produced in everyday life not by prevailing representations of the ‘ASEAN Way’ but instead through a stock of historically structured, sociologically patterned, and embodied, dispositions and tacit know-how – a diplomatic habitus. This diplomatic habitus is organised around a perennial concern among ASEAN’s practitioners to save the physical and figurative ‘face’ of the state – instantiated by its representatives – to enable their performances of a mythic sovereign equality among each other and satisfy their demands for recognition from Great and Major powers, especially as they strive for ‘centrality’ in the performative games of Asian security.

The aim of this thesis is to explore a specific feature of post-Cold War Italian foreign policy, throwing light from a perspective blending Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) and other International Relations (IR) insights, on the interactions occurred in the 1990s between the Italian state institutions and the Community of Sant’Egidio (CSE), a Catholic lay organisation, one of the most influential non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based in Italy, with a remarkable level of international activity. Firstly, this work offers a detailed account of the Italian “Foreign Policy Community” (Santoro 1991; Hilsman 1967 and 1993) and of the Community of Sant’Egidio, taking into consideration the international and domestic changes occurred after the demise of the Cold War, in order to understand where foreign policy governmental actors and a non state actor (NSA) such as Sant’Egidio fit within the bigger picture of the foreign policy process in Italy. This mapping exercise demonstrates that the country’s foreign policy setting is rather fragmented, featuring a) centres of power and influence scattered along different “rings”, according to the different issues and subpolicies at stake, on a case-by-case basis; and b) an institutional “inner ring” with a relatively high number of “access points” for external actors, i.e. a proactive NGO such as Sant'Egidio, which is located in the “second ring”. Secondly, after identifying slowly emerging “policy subsystems” (Verbeek and van Ufford 2001) in the specific foreign policy subfields of a) preventive diplomacy/crisis management and b) peace-making, in which the Italian governmental foreign policy machinery and the Community are among the extremely small number of actors playing a role and enjoying a certain degree of policy autonomy, this thesis focuses on these two foreign policy areas, in order to try to understand how relations unfolded between the two actors in the cases of the Algerian crisis of 1994-1998 and of the Mozambican peace process of 1990-1992. The examination of these events has showed both competitive (even conflicting) and cooperative relations, respectively on the Algerian dossier and in the Mozambican case. This thesis argues therefore that “coopetition”, a concept borrowed from literature on regulatory theory, and defined as “a flexible mix of competition and cooperation between governmental and non-governmental actors” (Esty and Geradin 2000), is – with some modifications – possibly the most accurate definition to capture the nature of interactions analysed.