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

Magister Scientiae - MSc / The 20th century has witnessed several wars and genocides worldwide. Notable examples include the Armenian and Jews genocides which took place during World War I and World War II respectively. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 is a more recent example. These wars and genocides have impacted on the socio-economic and demographic transition with resounding crisis. The present study focused on the Rwandan genocide which affected households and families by reducing the fertility rate. Hence the fertility transition in Rwanda was analyzed for the period before, during and after genocide. / South Africa

In Central Africa, wildlife populations are increasingly influenced by humans, even in protected areas. This raises the question how spatial patterns of wildlife abundance are affected by human activities and habitat and how these patterns change over time. I address these questions by developing spatial models combined with line transect survey data in two forest sites in Central Africa. In the Odzala National Park in the Republic of Congo, I examine elephant dung abundance data in relation to human threats and protection. In the Okapi Faunal Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I developed spatio-temporal models for elephants and other forest ungulates to examine temporal changes in their densities as a result of changes in human impact in the context of a civil war that took place in the region between the two surveys. Covariates related to human influences dominated the observed patterns at both sites. In Odzala, elephant dung densities were mainly influenced by protection. They were higher inside the protected area and closer to anti-poaching patrol routes. In the Okapi Faunal Reserve, populations of all ungulate species declined severely between the two survey periods. Declines in elephant abundance were relatively higher closer to the park boundary and areas of intense human activity. After the war, elephant densities were higher in a small area in the centre of the park that may have acted as a refuge. Forest duikers also declined, but the spatial pattern of their decline was different than that of elephants. Densities dropped more in the southern part of the reserve, probably due to pre-exisisting higher levels of hunting there. Besides explaining spatial patterns of abundance, spatial modeling was shown to be useful in improving the precision of density estimates and in predicting densities across a surface in the Odzala National Park. In summary, humans overwhelmingly determined the distribution and abundance of ungulates in both sites. The civil war in DRC led to a dramatic increase in elephant poaching for ivory which caused a major decline in elephant populations. It aggravated the bushmeat hunting of duikers whose populations also declined sharply. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

There is little question that Hobbes's Leviathan and Behemoth are largely responding to the civil conflicts that were tearing seventeenth-century England apart, but scholars disagree in their interpretations of Hobbes's diagnosis and prescription for the civil war. Complementing previous interpretations, my MA thesis suggests that Hobbes also traces the source of the civil conflicts to Western philosophical tradition (WPT) itself both methodologically and substantially. Methodologically, ancient Western philosophers do not start their ratiocination process with definitions of the terms used, and Hobbes argues that this lack of adequate method leads to all kinds of absurdities and consequently a whole false reference world. This critique is largely based on Hobbes's materialist accounts of philosophy and mind. Substantially, Hobbes suggests that Aristotle's natural, moral and civil philosophies in particular contribute to the chaotic opinions and the civil conflicts. After detecting this source, Hobbes undertakes perhaps the most ambitious endeavor to exorcise the demon of the tradition in Western history, by radically scientizing the philosophical tradition and establishing a science of politics. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

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Problem: The problem in this thesis was to determine the role of field artillery in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesborough and Chickamauga in the western theatre of the American Civil War — between April 6, 1862, and September 21, 1863. Little has been written about the role of artillery in any theatre of the war, and nothing about its significance in the west. Method: To develop a basis of information, it was necessary to become acquainted with the literature used by Civil War artillerists. By studying the two artillery text-books in use during the period, a theoretical model of the role of the guns could be constructed. This basis was reinforced by the reading of secondary material on the employment of artillery in other areas of the war, as well as general studies of the four battles on which this thesis is based. Having become conversant with both artillery theory and the general background of the campaign, it was then possible to design the research methods necessary to deal with basic primary sources. The reports printed in the Official Record form the core of the research done for this thesis. They contain two types of information, reports and correspondence, and statistical data. The statistical data provided a method of analysis of the organization and equipment of the field artillery units. A separate data sheet was set up for each battery in each of the four battles, and all information about the battery which was suited to statistical analysis were entered. The content of the sheets varied because the same data were not available for all units. This created problems in collating the information. In the end, the material was reduced to statistics which included the numbers of men, numbers of horses, types of weapons, numbers of casualties, ammunition used, and the parent formation to which the battery had been assigned. The mass of statistical data was then checked against the written reports published in the Official Record and other sources. Much of the material relevant to the study of artillery is not available in the former, however, so certain assumptions made in the thesis may be wrongly weighted. Nonetheless, the role of the guns has been reconstructed with some success. Conclusions: The thesis concludes that artillery functioned primarily in support of infantry. In attacks, the guns rarely influenced the outcome of the battles studied. When used to support a defence, field artillery could often lend valuable assistance. In at least one case, the guns played an important part in stopping a major Confederate attack. Between April 6, 1862,and September 21, 1863, both the Union and Confederate armies increased the numbers of their field artillery, an indication that, although they were not decisive in the battles studied, the armies must have considered the guns to be of value. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

In l86l the Confederacy faced a major problem in military administration. She had to develop a system for the organization, training, and direction of her armies. Military and political leaders alike recognized the problem, and drew on the military theory and practice of the old United States Army in repeated attempts to evolve an effective administrative system for the Confederate armies. The commanders of the Army of Tennessee tried to solve the problem by appointing three principal administrative officers. The chief of staff exercised a general supervision over the several staff departments, and at his commander's discretion also assisted in the direction of line operations; the adjutant general headed a department responsible primarily for the issue of orders; and the inspector general through his department maintained discipline and efficiency. The appointment of chiefs of staff, the co-ordination of administrative work at all command levels through a departmental structure, and the emergence of the inspector general's department were all innovations, unknown in the old Army. The success of these innovations varied according to the qualifications of each staff officer, the commander's interpretation of the officer's role, and the ability of the two men to work well together. Success also depended on the willingness of subordinate line commanders and junior staff officers to accept the authority of the headquarters staff. Thus in the Army of Tennessee field administration was conditioned less by rules and regulations than by personal factors. To reduce the personal element President Jefferson Davis and the War Department wished to establish a centralized system of administration, which would increase the War Department's control over the field commanders, and at the same time make the staff more independent of the line. The commanding generals of the Army of Tennessee successfully opposed this plan, insisting on their authority over their own staff. The personal equation therefore continued to be the most striking feature of Confederate military administration. At different levels of the military hierarchy it stimulated the traditional rivalry between staff and line, encouraged a significant rejection of the principle of subordination, and contributed to a lack of harmony between command and administration. As a result the Confederacy failed to develop an efficient administrative system. The failure derived in part from the personal rivalries and jealousies which plagued the Southern armies, and in part from the disputes inherited from the old American army over the nature and distribution of military authority. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This thesis looks into the ways in which religion influenced the civil war in Lebanon. The basis for the analysis of religious influence is taken from several theoretical publications dealing with the general ways in which religion influences politics and international relations. Based on those theories, the thesis examines the influence of religion on the civil war in three parts. First, it examines the effect of religion on the identity of the participants in the war. Second, it shows to what extend religion was used as a source of legitimacy by those participants. Third, it ascertains whether religion encouraged the internationalization of the civil war. At the end, religion is compared with the other factors which explain the outbreak, the process and the nature of the civil war in Lebanon.

This diploma thesis analyzes the ideological basis of islamism and deals with the reasons, why this political ideology is becomimg more and more popular in the Middle East and the West. The thesis also analyzes the phenomenon of globalization, in other words the interconnection between islamists in today's world. The last chapter summarizes the facts about the civil war in Syria, where both - islamists from the Middle East, as well as islamists from the West, are involved. The main objective of this thesis was to prove that the civil war in Syria will have an influence on the spread of the political ideology of islamism.

This study attempts to explain why some countries experience multiple civil wars while others who have experienced a civil war build long-term stability from the rubble of conflict. The explanation of why civil war recurs focuses on the collective action problem, centering on the rebel leaders' ability to solve the Rebel's Dilemma. I further argue that once the Rebel's Dilemma has been solved once it is much easier for rebel leaders to solve it again and again. The empirical finds suggest that the political situation resulting from the first war plays a strong role in the solutions to the collective action problem and thus the long-term stability following a civil war. Namely, the level of democracy, partition and third party enforcement of the peace all affect the ability of the rebel leaders to solve the collective action problem and the likelihood of another civil war.