La tesi analizza le presidenze di Mahmūd Ahmadīnezhād (2005-2013) all’interno del fazionalismo iraniano postrivoluzionario, mettendo in luce gli aspetti caratteristici e peculiari dei cosiddetti ultraradicali. La prospettiva storica che introduce all’Iran contemporaneo attraverso l’analisi dei principali avvenimenti del Novecento, dalla Rivoluzione Costituzionale (1906) alla nascita della Repubblica islamica (1979), affianca un’analisi politica sull’ascesa al potere degli ultraradicali. La tesi esamina le reazioni e le relazioni politiche interne, la rinnovata postura internazionale, le politiche socioeconomiche e l’eredità lasciata dalle presidenze Ahmadīnezhād. È tracciata una panoramica storico-politica sull’esperienza degli ultraradicali per comprendere le cause socioeconomiche e politiche che hanno determinato la loro ascesa, i cambiamenti introdotti all’interno dell’élite postrivoluzionaria e, in ultimo, gli effetti interni e internazionali della loro parabola politica. L’approccio storico si è altresì servito di uno studio dei vocaboli in uso nella letteratura occidentale e dei termini persiani utilizzati per riferirsi al gruppo, al fine di individuare le etichette politiche impiegate e il loro rispettivo valore. Vi è quindi, in definitiva, un’analisi della categoria politica del radicalismo per decretare se, per quali aspetti e secondo quali schemi interpretativi, Ahmadinejad e il suo gruppo di alleati possano essere considerati e interpretati come radicali. / The thesis analyses the presidencies of Mahmūd Ahmadīnezhād (2005-2013) within the post-revolutionary Iranian factionalism, highlighting the characteristics and the peculiar features of the so-called hardliners. The historical perspective introduces the main turning points in contemporary Iran, from the Constitutional Revolution (1906) to the foundation of the Islamic Republic (1979). The political analysis looks therefore at the political ascendancy of the hardliners, the following internal reactions, the renewed international posture, the socio-economic policies and, ultimately, the legacy left by the Ahmadīnezhād presidencies. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the hardlines’ political experience to disclose their domestic and foreign postures and their effect within the post-revolutionary political debate. The thesis also examines the category of radicalism by looking at labels used by both the Western literature and Persian language to refer to the hardliners. This thesis aims to address whether, for which aspects and according to which perspective, Ahmadinejad and his close circle of allies could be considered and interpreted as radicals.

No description available.

Targeted sanctions have become increasingly utilized as conflict management tool to safeguard global peace and security. In recent years, there have been a global push to utilize this tool to specifically address conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Yet, there is a dearth in research on how the imposition of targeted sanctions effect the prevalence of CRSV. This thesis aims to contribute to this alarmingly understudied relationship between targeted sanctions and CRSV by investigating the following research question: what impact do targeted sanctions have on the perpetration of CRSV by rebel groups? Thus, I employ a structured, focused comparison of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda to test a theoretical theory which argues that targeted sanctions may increase the prevalence of CRSV perpetrated by the targeted rebel group. The empirical findings give partial support to both the proposed hypothesis and the theorized ‘selective incentive’ casual mechanism. However, the findings also suggest less effective sanctions may result in the hypothesized increase in wartime sexual violence perpetrated by the targeted actor, while more effective, debilitating sanctions may a decrease alongside other interventions.

Dissertation "The Image of Freedom in the Views of Historical Sources of Czech Society of Non-aristocratic Origin in the Revolutionary Year of 1848" The political tensions of the first half of the 19th century, a very stormy period from the political and social points of view, culminated in a significant revolutionary movement in 1848. Although Europe of the early 19th century was strongly influenced by the Enlightenment and ideals of the French Revolution, the Czech Lands were also subjected to long-term Napoleonic wars, which were followed by the conservatively oriented regime of Emperor Franz I. and his chancellor Prince Metternich. These developments profoundly influenced the mental worlds of people of non-aristocratic origin, even though this same social group still remembered the image of the enlightened "Peasant Emperor", Josef I., as well as the mottos of French Jacobins. Finally, this society gradually became acquainted with the liberal ideas then spreading from Western Europe. These liberal ideas encouraged this social group to fight for a juster social order and greater recognition for itself. Their ideas about freedom supported the reestablishment of society on new political, social and economic bases. The Revolutionary Year of 1848 brought fundamental changes and new ideological...

Successful product development has been a fundamental part of many of today's companies and their continued prosperity depends on continuing to develop new products in the future. There are many models of product development. The two most common classes of development are market pull (MP) and technology push (TP). TP product development differs from MP in that the development begins with a specified technology rather than a specified customer. Because TP development is generally considered more difficult and challenging, most of the product development research has focused on MP development and many researchers and practitioners favor MP development over TP development. However, successful TP development has been shown to be a source of innovation that cannot be realized through MP development and is performed by many companies. The research in this thesis focuses on developing a comprehensive TP model to guide product developers on how to implement TP development successfully. This new TP model is developed by comparing recently published TP models to published best practices of TP development and known deficiencies of TP models. The comprehensive TP model makes improvements to the existing TP models through the addition of processes and tools that overcome deficiencies and incorporate best practices. The new comprehensive TP model includes elements of existing generic MP models, a "Technology Application Selection" (TAS) process and several new processes and tools associated with prototypes and network groups. Some of the new processes and tools are demonstrated through a case example. The comprehensive TP model provides product developers with the necessary step-by-step guide to TP product development. The model effectively deals with deficiencies of previous TP models, is sufficiently comprehensive and detailed to guide product developers, is complimentary and consistent to existing design processes and terms, is applicable to most TP product development projects, and is useful and repeatable in making product development decisions.

The IRGC, or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Iran have utilized soft power to increase their influence within the Middle East. By using military superiority; ideological influence; and trade, both the Iran and the IRGC established dependency between themselves and patron states. Of these patron states, the research focuses on Iraq; Syria; and Yemen, and how Iran and the IRGC affect them through soft power. This research suggests that Iran and the IRGC is using the disability of the aforementioned states to increase their own influence by making them dependent on Iranian military supplies; cultural indoctrination to align with Iranian ideology; and economic dependent on Iran. As Iran's influence grows within these states, its power in the Middle East grows and becomes a security risk for Saudi Arabia; Israel; and any other regime that does not have its interests align with the Iranian regime.

This thesis is a study of William Gilmore Simms' novels that deal with the Revolutionary War.

This thesis provides an analytical interpretation of the critique Dutch nineteenth-century statesman-cum-historian Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801-1876) articulated of French revolutionary ideology. It achieves an original reading of Groen's thought as Protestant right-order theory. This reading achieves a clarification of the functions that Scripture, 'nature', and 'history' have in his thought, and connects his thinking to that of a small group of contemporary British-based political theologians, notably Oliver and Joan Lockwood O'Donovan, and their minority view on the ontological grounding of justice. Our comparison of Groen's argument of 'history' with that of Edmund Burke achieves original critical leverage on their concepts of 'history', and draws out that Burke's critique of the Revolution purposes to re-affirm English common law, while Groen's is an apologia for Christianity.

This dissertation is interested in what kind of self and techniques of resistance are acquired in order to be a revolutionary in the contemporary West. While I was conducting an ethnographic research between 2008 - 2015 following young activists from Germany in urban spaces of demonstrations, riots, direct actions, jails, the Internet, universities, housing projects, parent's homes in Germany as well as during solidarity trips to Mexico, Argentina, Israel/Palestine, Denmark or Italy, it was discovered that a concept of political versatility may be helpful here. Young revolutionaries are what I call revolutionary amoebas. Revolutionary amoebas acquire capacities to discuss at universities or public debates, write texts, talk, but they manage to argue beyond the discourse by throwing stones or burning cars in riots, organizing direct actions, smashing corporate properties, beating neo­nazis, attacking ultra­nationalists, or actively defending themselves against the police. As citizens of advanced liberal democracy, they enter public discussions of contested opinions, persuade people with their critical arguments and a few of them even vote, but they as well explore the political terrain considered illegal. Many of them know how to get funded from the state, The EU,...

This dissertation is interested in what kind of self and techniques of resistance are acquired in order to be a revolutionary in the contemporary West. While I was conducting an ethnographic research between 2008 - 2015 following young activists from Germany in urban spaces of demonstrations, riots, direct actions, jails, the Internet, universities, housing projects, parent's homes in Germany as well as during solidarity trips to Mexico, Argentina, Israel/Palestine, Denmark or Italy, it was discovered that a concept of political versatility may be helpful here. Young revolutionaries are what I call revolutionary amoebas. Revolutionary amoebas acquire capacities to discuss at universities or public debates, write texts, talk, but they manage to argue beyond the discourse by throwing stones or burning cars in riots, organizing direct actions, smashing corporate properties, beating neo­nazis, attacking ultra­nationalists, or actively defending themselves against the police. As citizens of advanced liberal democracy, they enter public discussions of contested opinions, persuade people with their critical arguments and a few of them even vote, but they as well explore the political terrain considered illegal. Many of them know how to get funded from the state, The EU,...