In 1994, almost a million Tutsi and some Hutu were massacred in Rwanda during the 100 day genocide. Between 1995 and 1998, nearly the same number of Hutu and some Tutsi died, while in flight, primarily in the former Zaire. In the years following genocide, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans have been accused of genocide related crimes. There is not a person in Rwanda who is not directly affected by past violence and the country is in a process of healing and reconciliation. Much of the violence in Rwanda can be traced to perceptions of history and identity. This thesis seeks to unearth narratives of history and identity as a way of exploring possibilities for healing and reconciliation. Through an in-depth examination of four life stories, interviews with leaders in the field of reconciliation in Rwanda and informal interviews with a broad spectrum of Rwandans, this research sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in terms of healing. It finds that through critical engagement with our own and broader socio-political narratives we can expand the possibilities of our own narratives, allowing scope for personal healing as well as leading to a deeper understanding of the other. This can form the basis for sustainable reconciliation. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

With the uprising of the Arab Spring in Syria in 2011, a myriad of news articles covering Syrian people' protests were published in the international media. However, it was after the Islamic State’s (IS) attacks on Syria and accordingly, Rojava region ​– the ​Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, de facto Autonomous Region ​– in 2014, that the region became the attention center of the international media. A considerable number of academic articles have analyzed the representations of the Kurdish female fighters in the Western media in different angles, such as the framing of the female fighters, their motivations, their roles in the war etc. There may exist a limited number of academic papers analyzing the Kurdish female fighters from the non-Western media perspective which might present a different picture from that of Western media analysis. Applying framing theory in combination with a qualitative content analysis approach, this study is intended to explore the Kurdish female fighters’ framing in Arabic, Kurdish and Russian media, namely Al-Jazeera, ANF and RT, respectively. Moreover, orientalism theory, feminist theory on militarization and war, and war and peace journalism theory are implied to investigate the framing of the kurdish female fighters in the three media.

This thesis explores the concept of hybridity within the context of rebel-to-party transformation, with a particular focus on Renamo during the period of 2015-2017 in Mozambique. This timeframe was marked by a resurgence of organised systematic violence, disrupting the relative peace that had prevailed in Mozambique since 1992. The central conflict revolved around the issue of local self-governance, with Renamo asserting its claim to govern in six out of Mozambique's ten provinces. During this period, Renamo operated both as a political party with a significant presence in parliament and as an armed group engaged in systematic violence. The rebel-to-party literature has sparked discussions about groups that seem to retain elements of their violent past while transitioning into political parties, leading to the emergence of the concept of hybrid parties. However, this concept remains relatively undefined and underexplored. This thesis seeks to contribute to this discussion through an in-depth qualitative study of Renamo's elite-level politicians, aiming to enhance our understanding of hybrid parties. The study, conducted during the conflict years, closely examines how elite politicians in Renamo navigate their dual roles. It encompasses 14 months of fieldwork from February 2015 to January 2017, drawing on elite interviews, elite-level public statements, and elite observations of parliament, enriched by ethnographic sensibility. The analysis is grounded in a theoretical framework that allows for an exploration of Renamo's behaviour and perceptions as both an armed group and a political party, particularly concerning the issue of local self-governance. Through this analysis, the study aims to elucidate the intersections, thereby advancing our comprehension of how hybridity manifests. The main findings suggest that Renamo's hybridity predominantly manifests through processes related to contemporaneity in behaviour, elite-level legitimisation, and one key political issue. Furthermore, I argue that the hybridity is maintained through narratives of democracy and a charismatic leader. The thesis advocates for a deeper exploration of these processes to enhance both empirical understanding and the theoretical discussion surrounding hybrid parties.

In the years following the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden was still recovering from the loss of Finland in 1809. The country had set on a path to rebuild itself and reshape its national identity, but the new geopolitical circumstances had not yet established any far-reaching thoughts on neutrality. There is not much information about what Swedish officers thought of Sweden's new position. However, there exists several speeches and texts by officers at the time, preserved in the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences' documentations, which reveal their thoughts on the concept of war and its significance for the Swedish nation. This material could provide an insight into the perceptions of high-ranking Swedish officers and members of the academy about the concept of war, along with their own views on post-Napoleonic Sweden. The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of the Swedish officer corps’ perceptions of war from 1815 to 1845. The research question it seeks to answer is what perceptions of war Swedish officers had in the years following the Napoleonic Wars, which will be answered with the premise that attitudes to war among European militaries changed after the wars. The dissertation will apply theoretical frameworks about belief systems and typologies that classify attitudes to war and peace, in addition to using text analysis as a methodological tool, to analyze and interpret the source material. The results reveal that Swedish officers seemed to have a mainly defense-oriented attitude towards war during this period, where they wanted Sweden to avoid war, but not take its peace for granted. They called for certain actions, such as prioritizing the national defense, reforming the defense system, and making Sweden as a nation more ready for war. These results correspond to previous research and show that Swedish officers immediately adopted the war-skeptical attitudes shared by their European counterparts after the Napoleonic Wars.

The duality of the United States’ relationship with international criminal law and human rights atrocities is a fascinating theme that weaves through all of American history, but most distinctly demonstrates the contradictory nature of American foreign policy in the latter half of the 20th century. America is both protector of human rights and perpetrator of human rights atrocities, global police force and aggressor. The Cold War exacerbated the tensions caused by American military dominance. The international political and physical power of the American military allowed the United States to do as it pleased in the 20th century with few consequences, but that power also brought watchfulness from the global community and an expectation that the United States would intervene when rogue states or leaders committed crimes against humanity. The international legal community has expected the United States to act and illegally intervene in some situations, but to pursue policy changes peacefully through diplomatic channels on other occasions.

In a golden era for comic based media, this paper uses the hypothetical emergence of superheroes to analyze the assumptions and predictions of three international relations theories: realism, liberalism, and constructivism. Comics consistently reflect the real world, paralleling events and concepts discussed in foreign affairs dialogues. The thought experiment, and the comic genre itself, provides a vehicle for thinking broadly about the political and social ramifications of successful or failed problem solving, state interaction, and scientific advances.

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O presente trabalho tem como objetivo desenvolver uma análise comparada da representação de Napoleão Bonaparte por meio do estudo da obra de Lev Tolstói, Guerra e paz, e dos exemplares da Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro. Para tanto, foi realizado o mapeamento de tais escritos com a finalidade de identificar as referências à figura de Napoleão e o contexto em que estão inseridas. Desta maneira, foi possível identificar as aproximações e os afastamentos entre os dois tipos de representações de Napoleão e a dimensão do mito napoleônico no imaginário de russos e luso-brasileiros. / This work aims to develop a comparative analysis of Napoleon Bonaparte representation through the study of Lev Tolstoys work, War and Peace, and Gazeta do Rio de Janeiros issues. Therefore, the mapping of such writings was done in order to find references to Napoleons figure and the context in which they are inserted. Thus, it was possible to identify the approaches and departures between two types of Napoleons representations and the size of Napoleonic myth in the minds of Russians and Portuguese-Brazilians.

La présente thèse étudie le lien entre la capacité à construire un monde de paix et la place accordée aux femmes dans la société. Elle étudie plus particulièrement les instances dont la charge principale de sauvegarder la paix leur a été confiée par la Communauté Internationale - les Nations Unies et le Comité International de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge - que ce soit au sein de leurs systèmes propres, qu’au sein des programmes et missions conduits par ces dernières à travers le monde. Cette thèse cherche à montrer en quoi la paix est un concept qui ne se caractérise pas uniquement par l’absence de conflit et de destruction entre des nations et des peuples, mais aussi par la construction et le développement de sociétés modernes, libérées, justes, ainsi plus sûres. Et en quoi les inégalités qui touchent les femmes dans l’ensemble des sociétés, le non-respect de leurs droits, ainsi que leur marginalisation dans les milieux de pouvoir, politique et militaire, sont en contrepartie de réels facteurs d’instabilité, d’insécurité et un risque pour la paix mondiale. / This thesis studies the link between peacebuilding throughout the world and women’s position in society. It studies more particularly the main institutions which were entrusted the responsibility of protecting peace by the International Community – the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red-Cross and the Red-Crescent – within their own system and within programs and missions worldwide. This thesis tries to demonstrate that peace is a concept which is not only characterized by the absence of conflict and destruction between nations and people, but also by the development of modern, freed, right, equal, then safer, societies. And in what, as the disparities between women and men and the disregard of women’s rights, as their marginalization in the political and military circles of powers, threaten world stability and security, and constitute a risk for international peace.

This thesis investigates how and why U.S. policies and agencies are ill-equipped to respond to narco-terrorism and offers some policy recommendations for remedying that. Narco-terrorism is the merging of terrorism and drug trafficking. Terrorist organizations and narcotics traffickers each have much to offer the other; there is potential for symbiosis in the form of cooperation and even hybridization. Examination of the dynamics between terrorist organizations and drug traffickers, combined with an evaluation of the US responses to narcoterrorism in Colombia and Afghanistan, makes it clear that current US policy responses fail to recognize narcoterrorism as a unique challenge, and instead attempt to deal separately with terrorism and drug trafficking. This approach has the potential to actually worsen both situations. The US needs a narcoterrorism strategy and institutions in place to implement it.