What are we to understand by the term ‘security’ in international relations? This thesis explores the theoretical foundations of security risks and threats in modern politics. Taking Thomas Hobbes and Michel Foucault as the paradigmatic theorists of modern political power, this thesis explains security as an inherently contingent and contextual phenomenon, intertwined and embedded in socio-historical discourses. Each of the three chapters explain how security manifests and operates as a type of discourse (discursive formation) under sovereignty, working to achieve particular social, political, and epistemological ends. The practical focus of this project is a case study analysis of the Canadian Liberal Government’s #WelcomeRefugees project, a government assisted resettlement project for displaced victims of the Syrian civil war. Drawing on the example of the case study, this thesis investigates the underlying political, historical, and theoretical conditions which mobilize and inform modern political regimes of security and risk management. / Graduate

Coping during stress has been a very researched topic within the field of religion and religious psychology. During the Syrian civil war, female journalist Waad al- Khateab decided to film her experience as part of the opposition which turned into the documentary film For Sama. The aim of this study has been to analyze how coping is portrayed in the documentary film. The research questions for this study are the following: How is Waad Al-Khateabs coping process portrayed in her story and documentary film For Sama? How can the portrayal of Waad Al-Khateabs coping process be understood through religious coping theory? The method for this study has been qualitative narrative analysis, while Pargament’s (1997) coping theory has been applied on the material as well. The result of the study showed that Waad’s copingprocess primarily changes due to her new role as a wife and a mother. Her coping process could be understood through religious coping theory in different ways. Not knowing the future was mentally stressful for her, and religion was a part of the coping process while other strategies were also involved.

The terms “refugees” and “refugee crisis” have been prominent in media discourse all over the world – especially since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and large incoming numbers of refugees into Europe since 2015. Germany, whose media initially celebrated its “Willkommenskultur”, has become increasingly critical of refugees; political and civic exclusion has intensified, and emphasis has been placed on belonging based on peoples’ passports and hence nationalities, which determine whether or not someone belongs in a country. The author Olga Grjasnow, born 1984 in Baku, Azerbaijan and who is of Russian-Jewish descent, took on the task of describing the horrific circumstances in Syria in the midst of its ongoing civil war in her latest novel, entitled Gott ist nicht schüchtern (2017). Moreover, she depicts individuals’ flight across the ocean and their eventual arrival and life in Germany. In her book, Olga Grjasnowa describes the lives of three young Syrian individuals and their extremely limited possibilities of leading a free, peaceful life due to their nationality and the resulting closing of diverse borders for them.Based on the scholarly discourse on transnational fiction and how this work may or may not fit into this notion, especially with regard to globalization and powerful nations’ economic interests, this thesis seeks to analyze how nationalist and capitalist policy makings affect people in drastic ways, as they find themselves uprooted and persecuted.By excluding a Western narrative voice, Olga Grjasnowa zooms in on the lives of Syrians and their hopeless circumstances, while showing how a “wrong” passport makes life for people difficult to navigate in Syria, Germany and beyond. By means of close reading, I analyze the novel pertaining to the war in Syria and the resulting politics, media coverage and individual “fate”, which is tied to limitations for people to escape these circumstances based on documents and national borders.

The civil war that started in Syria in 2011 began as a series of political disputes between government forces and opposition groups. Tension mounted when citizens of Syria called for their president, Bashar al-Assad, to step down from power. When government forces resisted the will of the people, and instead used force against them, the country descended into all-out war. Two distinct groups surfaced in opposition to one another, with opposition rebels fighting against the Syrian regime. But as the war progressed these two groups began to display religious characteristics. Opposition groups began to represent a Sunnī Muslim rebel force, while regime forces where represented by the Alawite sect, and as the war continued elements of jihādism began to surface within the fighting. Syria’s sectarian rifts began to reveal themselves as religious factions became more involved in the fighting. These rifts are a result of centuries of violence and tension between Sunnī Muslim and Alawites in the country. Their theological beliefs differ extensively from one another, and over the course of history these differences have led to clashes between the two groups. The study looks at the historical interactions between Sunnī Muslims and the Alawites in Syria, and identifies the theological differences between the two groups. The study then uses these two elements to understand the religious violence that Syria is experiencing, and why such intolerance is happening between the religious factions of the country. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Science of Religion and Missiology / MA / Unrestricted

Syrian Civil War has been occupying the international agenda since the year 2011. Despite the fact that most of the attention is paid to the conflict itself, peace processes are part of the international competition on Syrian arena, as well. For this reason, the thesis attempts to examine two major peace tracks: Astana and Geneva processes. The former is established among Russia-Turkey-Iran trio in late 2016 and functions as a regional mediation ground while the latter is led by the top world organization, the UN, as a ground for international actors with substantial interest in the Near East. Astana's relatively better performance in reaching certain outcomes is analyzed with hypotheses derived from three core International Relations theories: Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. In this regard, those assumptions analyze actors that are involved in the conflict within the framework of their relevant peace track. According to the conducted analyses, findings indicate that realist hypothesis is better at explaining Astana's "fruitfulness" than the other assumptions- especially field-level agreements but not the broader cooperation among the Astana trio. Hence, Geneva track with higher level of international participation carries greater importance for an ultimate resolution to the conflict.

The Syrian civil war and the subsequent displacement crisis it caused, changed the international community’s understanding of forced migration in the contemporary context. Even more than a decade after the conflict began, over half the population of Syria remains displaced indicating the continued importance of this crisis. The literature has overwhelmingly focused on those Syrians who crossed international borders. However, those who remain internally displaced, and the patterns that their displacement within Syria has taken, provide insightful information on the drivers of forced migration more widely. By looking at subnational variation in migration patterns, this study seeks to answer the question: what explains patterns of internal forced displacement within Syria? I argue that the patterns seen throughout the Syrian civil war are an outcome of state policies that push displacement in certain populations and regions of the country as a method of helping ensure regime victory. These tactics go beyond common decision-making explanations, putting culpability for displacement back onto government actors. A qualitative examination of strategies employed by the Syrian regime during the civil war as well as a spatial and temporal analysis of IDP movements within Syria between 2016 and 2019 show evidence for the tactics used by the regime that have driven Syrian internal displacement.

This study investigates the relationship between the current migration crisis in Europe and the escalation of far-right voting which has been witnessed since it's beginning. In order to do so this study utilized correlation experiments and detailed case studies to explore the relationship between legislative vote shares and asylum applications for the years 2009-2017 in the EU member states of Hungary, Germany, France, Greece and the UK. Control variables of GDP, unemployment and terrorist attacks have also been utilized to measure alternative causes of far-right voting. Results of these experiments vary quite a bit from state to state - finding differing potential causal factors in each case study. Germany, France and the UK show results which indicate that an increase in asylum applications potentially influence far-right voting habits. Greece does not show this type of result, but does show correlation with control variables. Hungarian experiments however do not produce correlation with any variables tested, but has the strongest presence of far-right activity which may indicate that Hungarian far-right success is attributed to their long history of far-right activity.

Despite the developments in the international arena to ensure and protect human rights, evidence from around the world showcase examples of organized and systematic violations of human rights in the form of war crimes, genocides, and crimes against humanity. Turkey is one of the countries that has shown decline in the last ten years when it comes to respect for human rights. Aftermath of the Coup d’etat from 2016, involvement in Syrian civil war, and Kurdish question raised concern within the international community regarding human rights. Consequently, this research aims to provide a deeper understanding of how Turkish government treats the civilian population in these three cases in order to assess if there is a risk of Turkish government committing crimes against humanity. Furthermore, in order to get a more objective view of the happenings, this paper will also examine Turkish actions through the lenses of Realism. A qualitative research with an abductive approach with case study design was conducted. Analytical framework, that presents 10 risk factors for committing atrocities and crimes against humanity, developed by Dieng and Welsh was utilized to make sense of gathered data. Realism, with focus on national interest and security, was used to examine Turkish actions. Findings suggest that all 10 risk factors are presented in each case through different indicators. Journalists, lawyers, professors, refugees, and Kurds face systematic threat of mostly arbitrary detentions and imprisonments. Furthermore, findings show that Turkish actions can be explained through national interest expressed through security and unitary national identity.

The Syrian Civil War has displaced millions of Syria’s inhabitants both around the region and throughout the world. These individuals carry different experiences, views, and perceptions regarding what they have left and their views on the conflict. This study seeks to identify the dominant frames used by 11 Syrian diaspora individuals living in Sweden when framing the Syrian Civil War. It also aims to identify individuals' views of the civil war. The study uses a qualitative framing analysis and applies Kuyper’s function of frames in a total of 11 semi- structured interviews. The study examines interviewees' frames regarding (a) The Arab Spring demonstrations, (b) The Syrian regime, and (c) International Interests. The study found the following frames on (a) horria (freedom), shohada al-thowra (martyrs of the revolution), extremist opposition, (b) dictatorial, dictatorship, fakher (pride), and (c) natural resources, the USA and Russia. The study argues that interviewees adopt different frames based on three factors, (I) media consumption, (II) sectarian affiliation, and (III) geographical origin. / Inbördeskriget i Syrien har fördrivit miljontals av Syriens invånare både runt om i regionen och över hela världen. Dessa individer har olika erfarenheter, åsikter och uppfattningar och syn på konflikten. Denna studie syftar till att identifiera dominerande gestaltningar som används av 11 syriska diaspora-individer som bor i Sverige vid gestaltning av det syriska inbördeskriget. Studien syftar också till att identifiera individers syn på inbördeskriget. I studien används en kvalitativ gestaltningsanalys och tillämpar Kuypers funktion av gestaltningar i totalt 11 semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien granskar respondenternas gestaltningar angående (a) demonstrationerna under den Arabiska Våren (b) den Syriska regimen och (c) internationella intressen. Studien fann följande gestaltningar (a) horria (frihet), shohada al-thowra (revolutionens martyrer), extremistisk opposition, (b) diktatur, diktatur, fakher (stolthet) och (c) naturresurser, USA och Ryssland. Studien hävdar att intervjuade antar olika gestaltning baserat på tre faktorer, (I) mediekonsumtion, (II) sekteristisk tillhörighet och (III) geografiskt ursprung.

Since 1976, Syria has suffered two separate but in nature similar rebellions which was different in terms of spreading, impact and size. The existing literature fails to compare these rebellions and answer the question on how two similar uprising can produce different outcomes. The objective of this study is to answer that question and produce a foundation that is usable when studying future uprisings in the Middle East and Syria. This is a qualitative research that uses multiple case studies that are compared in order to fulfil the objective of this study. The research if a desk study and uses an abductive approach. Two different theoretical concepts have been used in order to understand the dynamics that shaped the two rebellions. These are Frank H. Zimmerman's theory on why insurgencies fail and Frederick D. Miller's model of movement decline. The authors pinpoint different factors that makes a uprising prone to failure or success and these factors has been used as a lens when analysing the findings of this essay. The findings of this essay suggest that key differences that made an impact on the conflicts where the amount of local support, external support and the role of social media. In order to fully understand the dynamics that shapes modern rebellions, further research on the role of globalisation and social media is conflict must be conducted.