The diploma thesis analyzes the way of promoting the national interest of the Czech Republic in Georgia and describes possible changes as a result of the Czech EU Presidency. The national interest is examined based on the assumption that the state foreign policy is the expression of the national interest. Therefore, the primary sources for this analysis are official foreign policy documents of the Czech Republic. The aim is to confirm or disprove the hypothesis that Czech foreign-policy towards Georgia in the period from 2007 to 2011 was driven by the aim to maximize own profit through EU structures. Given the size of the Czech Republic and its geopolitical importace, the analysis is based on the theory of neo-liberal institutionalism, and in accordance with this theory the national interest operationalized into four criteria, namely: 1) Compliance of EU and Czech interests, 2) Profiting from the EU presidency to promote the Czech interests, 3) Long-term consistency of interests, and 4) Economic interests as the main priority. The set of criteria helped to identify whether the Czech Republic behaved in accordance with the theory of neo-liberal institutionalism, and whether the Czech interests were promoted either through multilateral or bilateral relations. The analysis shows that in the studied...

This diploma thesis deals with the impacts of the performance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the effectiveness of multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the introduction, I present the theoretical framework of the whole thesis which is based on the approach of Victor Kremenyuk and his definition of basic analytical elements of multilateral negotiation. Further, I describe the development of the relationship between the WTO and NGOs and I also introduce the various options of involvement of NGOs into the work of the WTO including the NGOs' activities by means of which they influence the negotiation effectiveness. Through the analysis of the NGOs' performance at the ministerial conferences in Singapore (1996), Geneva (1998) and Seattle (1999) I explore the participation, options of involvement and activities of NGOs. On a concrete case of NGOs' campaign for the acceptance of the commitment to respect the basic labour standards in WTO I examine the impacts of the NGOs' performance on particular elements of negotiation - actors and their strategies, issues, structure, process and outcomes of the negotiation. In the last part of this thesis I assess the overall performance of NGOs and consequently analyze its impacts on the effectiveness of multilateral...

Denna explorativa studies syfte är att undersöka förekomst och former av interkulturellt perspektiv i två tryckta läromedel i historia för årskurs 1-3. Frågeställningen är utöver förekomsten och formerna, att undersöka huruvida en potential i detta perspektiv – att bidra till att ge eleverna en mångsidig historieförståelse – utnyttjas. Studien lutar sig mot etablerad teoribildning inom interkulturella perspektiv på historieundervisning, men undersöker de obeforskade yngsta årskurserna. Övrig relaterad forskning redogörs för översiktligt. Kvalitativ textanalys används som metod, med en analysmodell inspirerad av textanalysmetoden och av den forskning som gjorts i Sverige om historieundervisning relaterat till interkulturellt perspektiv. Modellen består av dimensioner som representerar olika formerav interkulturella perspektiv. I resultaten som redovisas framgår att en begränsad förekomst av interkulturellt perspektiv finns i båda läromedlen, och att innehållet även till något större del består i vad som definierats som perspektivets motsats. Resultaten är därmed motsägelsefulla, och potentialen hos perspektivet i att bidra till en mångsidig historieförståelse kan sägas både utnyttjas och inte utnyttjas.

This study examines the comparative impact of multilateral trade agreements on intra-regional trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regions in Africa. Annual data was gathered from 2000 to 2018 and dynamic panel data and econometric techniques were used to control for individual country characteristics, endogeneity, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and interdependencies between the countries in each region. Two estimations were done, one using the tariff measures of multilateral agreements, the second using non-tariff measures of multilateral agreement. The results of the empirical analysis show that the SADC region has a slight edge over ECOWAS in terms of technological progress and investment, especially in trade infrastructure. However, the ECOWAS levels of employment and economic growth are higher than those in the SADC region. These differences further translate into differences that drive intra-African trade in these regions, and how they relate to the role of multilateral agreements in intra-African trade in each of these regions. While technology and investment are key drivers and enhancers of intra-African trade in SADC countries, economic growth and employment stand out as key enhancers of intra-African trade in ECOWAS, especially where multilateral agreement is represented by tariff measures. This study reports that when non-tariff measures are used to represent multilateral agreements, export trade costs, in addition to investment and technology, are the key drivers of intra-African trade in SADC countries. For ECOWAS, under non-tariff measures of multilateral agreements, only economic growth drives intra-African trade. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Business Management)

Clear changes occurred in the field of conventional arms control in the last two decades. States adopted a multitude of norms on especially small arms control in various multilateral control instruments. In addition, non-governmental advocacy actors often established themselves as active participants in control debates with governments. The changes are surprising because they took place in the security sphere and therewith in an area traditionally understood to be the exclusive domain of governments. This research project investigates the significance of the changes for the traditional understanding of security governance. Specifically, it investigates the emergence of control norms and the role and policy impact of non-governmental actors in the promotion of the norms. It asks whether the normative changes and significance of nongovernmental actors therein challenge the understanding of security governance that underpins many established approaches to international relations theory.

In 1998 the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were developed following years of crises faced by the millions of people experiencing forced displacement, especially those internally displaced. These Principles were widely considered to be precedent setting, both historically and normatively. However, the examination of the construction of the international norms that underpin the Principles indicates that there are important epistemological weaknesses in widely used constructivist frameworks that understand normative shifts in international relations. They are critiqued as being impedingly linear, temporally compressed and analytically obstructive in its agent-centric view of norm cascading. This research aims to address some of these gaps with an enhanced life-cycle model using cluster genealogies and the processes of replication and particularization. The reformulated framework is tested for robustness and feasibility using two preliminary cases – UNSC Resolution 1325 and the Chemical Weapons Convention. It is then used to conduct an in-depth original analysis of the development of the 1998 UN Guiding Principles. The findings in the case of the Guiding Principles show, for example, that though the acceptance of the IDP definition was a big leap, the replication and particularization of human rights limits the humanitarian scope of the Guiding Principles, and also brings into question existing humanitarian protection of IDPs under the Geneva Conventions. Meanwhile, rooting them in ‘sovereignty as responsibility’ has not shifted the community of states’ intersubjective take on sovereignty, but it has added to the existing normative tension – individual vs. state – that underpins the very understanding of sovereignty.

This dissertation examines the rise of global health assistance among states, multilateral institutions and NGOs. Resources devoted to global public health expanded rapidly in the 1990s and 2000s, outpacing other areas of development. New agencies have emerged to address public health issues, and existing organizations such as the UNDP, World Bank and EU have expanded their global health operations. Critics fear that the global health regime will become inefficient as it grows, duplicating tasks and skewing resources. The regime complex literature predicts similar suboptimal outcomes. These fears are overblown. While certain inefficiencies are likely as any regime expands, data shows that the allocation of resources generally reflects global health needs. Increased competition, thought to lessen efficiency, has actually pressured multilateral actors to specialize. Specialization offsets the problem of overlapping tasks. The modern global health regime is characterized by increased size, competition, specialization, and a prevailing consensus that emphasizes health as a central component of international development. This consensus holds that societal health prefigures economic growth. The international community, moreover, should cost effectively use increased aid to address the worst disease burdens in the poorest countries. In the cases of states, domestic interests play a role in shaping specialization patterns. Pressure from increased international competition has pressed multilateral institutions to reform and adapt to changing conditions in order to remain relevant in a denser global environment. The diverse cases explored in this dissertation (US, Japan, Sweden, Canada, World Bank, WHO, UNDP and EU) show high degrees of specialization and a surprisingly similar adherence to the consensus. / Political Science

This thesis conducts an analysis of the Intersessional Process (ISP) of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) between 2001 and 2006. Specifically, it aims to assess the extent to which the ISP has resulted in progress towards strengthening the BTWC. The fulfilment of the research aim is derived from three discrete approaches: firstly, an assessment of problems and weaknesses faced by the Convention; secondly, an assessment of common or converging understandings around measures to respond to such problems and weaknesses; and thirdly, an assessment of what effective action has been achieved between 2001 and 2006. To achieve this, this thesis uses a framework that structures the assessment around four dimensions of the BTWC and their evolution within a changing geostrategic and scientific context. The four dimensions identified are compliance, development, institutional and research. The conclusions drawn from this thesis suggest that although the compliance dimension has made some considerable progress in the area of national legislation and biosafety and biosecurity, it remains clear that other areas of the compliance dimension remain underdeveloped and deeply divisive. The development dimension has also made progress over the course of the ISP and, significantly, achieved much greater convergence in its focus around disease surveillance and detection. However, changing dynamics in security and science have negatively affected other areas of the development dimension. In terms of the institutional dimension, there has been a modest progress with regard to the BTWC¿s institutional and procedural evolution; however, legitimate concerns remain in relation to quantity and quality of membership of the BTWC relative to other agreements. Finally, there has been some motion towards the emergence of a more coherent dimension of research; although certain advances in science research remain neglected in the BTWC forum, and the issue of biodefence has been conspicuously absent from discussion during the ISP. Based on the analysis conducted, this thesis argues that the BTWC has made cautious progress over the course of the ISP, and there is evidence of a convergence in responses and effective action in some areas. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest there has been ¿major progress towards strengthening the Convention¿ and many issues require much greater attention.

This study is about the economic diplomacy of Namibia, as a small state, for the period 1990 – 2015. Liberalism, as a theory of International Relations (IR) studies, is the adopted analytical framework. Namibia’s economic diplomacy is anchored in the foreign policy principles enshrined in article 96 of her constitution, which advocate, inter alia, the maintenance of mutual beneficial relations. Namibia, further enacted laws and adopted policies that serve as domestic instruments of economic diplomacy. The stakeholders in Namibia’s economic diplomacy include both state and non-state actors. The study adopts a population of 8 million as the benchmark for small states, plus one of the following characteristics of small states: small size of the territory; low economy and the perception by the government leaders and nationals. Namibia’s bilateral economic diplomacy covers over one hundred countries. Her major trade partners, in terms of export trade and inward investments are Angola, Canada, China, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, The United Kingdom and the United States. Bilateral economic diplomacy is further pursued through the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) exports. The Namibian Government pursues multilateral economic diplomacy with the European Union, as part of the Africa Caribbean Pacific states and with regional and international economic and trade organisations such as the Southern Africa Customs Union, the Southern Africa Development Community, the United Nations Conference in Trade and Development and the World Trade Organisation. Namibia also adopts conference diplomacy as a form of multilateral economic diplomacy. The study makes an epistemological contribution to the study of IR, that the world is constructed under the hierarchical order that constrains power-based relations and minimises conflicts in international trade. A minimal trend of pursuing interests is, however, observed. The study further makes an ontological contribution to the study of IR, that the behaviour of state and non-state actors are inclined to cooperation on the continuum of conflict and cooperation. The study concludes that, contrary to the assumptions in small states literature, that small states have limitations of capacity and play an insignificant role in multilateralism, Namibia has skilled negotiators who have led negotiations in regional and international organisations. / Political Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil. (International Politics)

A comunidade internacional tem se convencido sobre a seriedade da mudança climática e a necessidade de respostas urgentes para combatê-la. No entanto, a ausência de um regime universal com metas para os principais poluidores faz com que cada país adote ações individuais de maneira descoordenada. Esse descompasso levanta preocupações sobre possíveis impactos para a competitividade e a eficácia dos esforços dos países com políticas climáticas mais ambiciosas. Com o escopo de neutralizar tais ameaças, desponta a alternativa de adoção de ajustes de carbono na fronteira para equalizar os encargos ambientais entre a indústria doméstica e as importações. Nesse contexto, a presente tese defende a criação de disciplinas internacionais para orientar o uso de ajustes de carbono em sintonia com os valores do livre comércio e da preservação do clima. Recomenda-se que as negociações internacionais sejam lideradas pelas Nações Unidas, na moldura do regime climático, porém, em estreito diálogo e cooperação com a Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC). A partir da análise de possíveis cenários, o trabalho expressa preferência por disciplinas multilaterais. Reconhece-se, contudo, méritos em arranjos intermediários, como os instrumentos setoriais. Por fim, indica-se um roteiro sobre os principais aspectos da aplicação dos ajustes de carbono que mereceriam apreciação em plano internacional. / The international community has acknowledged the need for urgent responses to address climate change. However, in the absence of a global agreement setting binding targets for all major polluters, countries pursue individual actions in an uncoordinated fashion. Such a situation raises concerns on competitiveness impacts and on the environmental effectiveness of climate policies of most countries, especially those leading the way. As a solution to level the playing field vis-à-vis international competitors, countries evaluate the use of border carbon adjustments. Against this background, this analysis supports the design of international disciplines to guide the use of border carbon adjustments in line with the goals of free trade and climate protection. It argues that the United Nations should lead those negotiations in the framework of the climate regime, in close dialogue and cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO). Based on an analysis of multiple scenarios, this essay favours the adoption of multilateral disciplines. It recognizes, however, advantages in alternative approaches such as sectorial agreements. Finally, it proposes a roadmap on key aspects concerning the use of border carbon adjustments that merit consideration in the international arena.