<p>The aim of this bachelor thesis is to make a theoretical analysis of the democratic development in the Iraqi Kurdistan and to distinguish its democratic character. It has occurred a radical change in the political structure after the Kurdish uprising in the northern region of Iraq in relation with the Kuwaiti war in 1991. The situation in the Kurdish region became more and more acute when they where exposed of international sanctions mandated under UN and economic embargo by the Baghdad regime. This political vacuum led ironically to the establishment of the political institutions in the region. The theoretical framework is constructed thru the democratic theory presented in Robert Dahls discussion of polyarki and Arend Lijpharts theory of consociational democracy. Thus my method of this thesis is a qualitative case-study research. The empirical sources contain one interview and the rest is different types of documents. The result of the study shows that the Kurdish democracy contains elements of polyarki and consociational democracy, but it fails on the fundamental democratic principle: freedom of speech. Even though there are insufficiencies in the freedom of speech, the Kurdish democracy can be classified as a developing democracy.</p>

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The theory of dyadic intrastate conflict cause and resolution containing transnational ethnic kin is under development. One of the things current research share is the focus on the cases where conflict erupts, or where conflict resolution fails, and its causes. The aim of this study is to try to contribute and develop the generalizing theory. The focus on the study rests on the impact that state apparatus characteristic has on risk for conflict. The research builds on theoretical framework from the consociational theory. The subject is of relevance both for the field of peace and conflict research as theory development, and for policy makers. The study has resulted in two observations. First, it supports the claim of consociational theory that enhanced presence of its nine favorable factors diminishes the risk for intrastate tension and violence. Second, it proposes that a successful decentralization is the possible key explanatory characteristic of state apparatus that decreases risk for dyadic intrastate conflict. The causal mechanism here being heightened credibility and legitimacy of constitution because of increased trust and lowered fear of further ethnic discrimination. It is necessary to verify these results before further theory development can be done.

Toward the end of the Troubles, the notion of an Ulster-Scots ethnicity, culture, and language began to be pursued by certain unionists and loyalists more desirous of ‘something more racy of the soil’ (Dowling 2007:54). Peace-building in Northern Ireland had undergone something of a cultural turn: the armed struggle over constitutional and civil rights questions began in the eighties to be ‘ethnically framed’ (Brubaker 2004:166). With cultural identity politically potent, the conception of an Ulster-Scots ethnic group began to gain traction with a tiny but influential subsection of unionists and loyalists. Since the nineties, this movement has gained considerable ground. This thesis represents an intersectional investigation of the inclusion of Ulster-Scots education into schools in Northern Ireland. I contend that Ulster-Scots studies represents an ethnicisation of the conception of a discrete Protestant politico-religious “community” within Northern Ireland, holding considerable potential for the deepening of senses of intercommunal differentiation. Rather than presenting the potential for the deconstruction of ideas of difference, such a pedagogy of reifies, perpetuates, (re)constructs and even deepens such ideas of difference by grounding notions of difference in ethno-cultural and genealogical bases. Ulster-Scots is often described as a means of waging cultural war in post-conflict Northern Ireland (Mac Póilin 1999). Contrariwise, I contend that it represents neither the uncritical, sectarian, loyalist pedagogy of its critics nor the pragmatic and innocuous solution to a problem of durable collective identities of its protagonists. Rather, Ulster-Scots education is embedded in the politics of consociational peace. The logic of consociationalism explicitly entails the maintenance of stark boundaries of ethnic difference. This research does not merely critique of Ulster-Scots pedagogy, but calls into question the whole consociational logic in which it, and the Northern Irish peace process in general, has been embedded.

This thesis Position of Roma minority in the First Czechoslovak Republic focuses on position of ethnic and national minorities in the First Czechoslovak Republic between 1918 and 1938, specifically on position of Roma minority. Many scholars have already focused on the topic of position of minorities in the First Czechoslovak Republic, but only few focused their work on position of Roma minority. This topic still remains quite unexpolred. In the first part of my thesis, I will focus my research on disprooving claim, that we can consider Czechoslovakia as consociational democracy, by apllication of four basic consociational mechanisms on the political system of the First Czechoslovak Republic. In the second part of my research I will focus on position of Roma minority in Czechoslovak society by analyzing origins of Roma minority, laws focused on Roma minority and position of political parties and majority society towards Roma minority.

Diploma thesis "The Theory of Consociational Democracy and the Development of the Northern Ireland's Conflict" examines the ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland and also the possibility to apply this theory in this particular case. The principal objective of research is to analyze the long-standing conflict and explore the possibility to apply one of the most famous political science's theories, the author of which is Dutch political scientist A. Lijphart, currently on situation in Northern Ireland. This conflict lasting for many decades culminated in the 60s of the last century accompanied by violent and bloody clashes between opposing groups. Actors led by British government tried to solve this situation through the introduction the principle of power-sharing. This research offers an analyses of this conflict and also his changes in time, but also different actors and transformation of their attitudes, which were the reason of the movement from violent and armed conflict to the peaceful solution. This research offers not only an analyses of the conflict of itself but what more an analyses of the peace process, in which shows if the conflict resolution in Northern Ireland has had elements of consociational. One more objective of the diploma thesis is make a statement, if there is any possibility...

This paper examines how the serbian president Milorad Dodik in Bosnia and Herzegovina positions himself in regards to the Dayton agreement. The paper focuses on three theoretical positions that Dodik can position himself with; Arend Lijpharts consociational democracy, Sam Smoohas ethnic state, and secession. To investigate which position he takes, I use a content analysis wherein I have chosen statements made by Dodik. These statements are then compared to the three theoretical approaches to see which one Dodik positions himself with. The result shows that Dodik mentions all of the possible positions but does not clearly mention which he positions himself with. However when looking at the result I find that he positions himself with the ruling types that go outside the Dayton agreements consociational democracy sixteen times but positions himself with the Dayton agreement only six times. Therefore Milorad Dodik positions himself outside of the Dayton agreements consociational democracy.

Sectarianism has shaped Lebanese culture since the establishment of the National Pact in 1943, and continues to be a pervasive roadblock to Lebanon’s path to development. This thesis explores the role of religion, politics, and Lebanon’s illegitimate government institutions in accentuating identity-based divisions, and fostering an environment for sectarianism to emerge. In order to do this, I begin by providing an analysis of Lebanon’s history and the rise and fall of major religious confessions as a means to explore the relationship between power-sharing arrangements and sectarianism, and to portray that sectarian identities are subject to change based on shifting power dynamics and political reforms. Next, I present different contexts in which sectarianism has amplified the country’s underdevelopment and fostered an environment for political instability, foreign and domestic intervention, lack of government accountability, and clientelism, among other factors, to occur. A case study into Iraq is then utilized to showcase the implications of implementing a Lebanese-style power-sharing arrangement elsewhere, and further evaluate its impact in constructing sectarian identities. Finally, I conclude that it is possible to eliminate sectarianism in Lebanon and move towards a secular state. While there are still many challenges to face in overcoming a long-established system of governance, I highlight the anti-sectarian partisan movements that are advocating for change, and their optimistic path to success.

Power-sharing has become a frequent approach to conflict resolution and postconflict reconstruction in deeply divided multi-ethnic states. Although most of the power-sharing arrangements failed within the first years after their establishment, a few contemporary cases are associated with successful power-sharing, namely with the consociational model. This work aims to determine the impact of the power-sharing arrangement on conflict dynamics and vice versa, thus the development of the model in the long term. Designs, aims and theoretical predictions of two power-sharing models, specifically consociational and centripetal models, are elaborated and subsequently compared with the after-civil war development in Lebanon and Burundi from 2005 to 2019. The periods are divided into time units bounded by amendments of the power-sharing arrangements and peace agreements. That enables to observe the development of both conflict dynamics and models. Political and civil society developments, conflicts registered in the UCDP database and political crisis are considered and put into the context of power-sharing arrangements. Based on the results, I claim that conflict dynamics from the last civil war are maintained on elites' level in the long term, while the gap between elites and masses has widened. Also, the...

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