Thesis (Ph.D.)--Georgetown University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

The main topic of this thesis is the influence of the Kurdish Question on Turkey’s relations with Europe and the USA. Aiming to develop a triplex framework of (1) the Kurdish Question in Turkey, (2) Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy, and (3) Turkey’s Relations with Western Society, this thesis specifically studies the international dimension of the Kurdish Question. It has two basic arguments: first, the Kurdish issue is the major cause of the deterioration in the relationship between Turkey and the West, in spite of alliances that go back over half a century. Second, Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy is the main catalyst of that long-lasting troublesome relationship. The Kurdish Question is evaluated using empirical data that examines its impact on the relationship between Turkey and the West in the period 1989-2007. Within this the problem is examined by applying a normative approach and analyses that are carried out within a theoretical framework provided by a constructivist approach. In order to present research questions by empirical evidence, discourse analysis is used that goes in hand with the theoretical approach. Three Foreign and Security Policy norms are examined, namely “Sèvres Syndrome”- the suspicion of influence of external powers and interests on Turkey, the principle of “Status Quo” applicable in FSP and internal security arrangements, and finally, the “Westernism” that foresees being pro-Western in foreign policies and internal socio-political field. Findings suggest that those three norms played significant roles in shaping Turkey’s Foreign and Security Policy for decades, while important changes occurred within the recent years.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 364-375). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR29524

This study renders the current frame of global climate change policies as a mirror of a new era, marked by surpass of the once absolute limits to growth towards humanity&rsquo / s management and optimization of natural processes of the planet. A total of 24 interviews were realized with Turkish governmental and non-governmental experts on climate change, after application of a two-staged environmental attitude and policy questionnaire. Critical discourse analysis of interviews was performed to elaborate the results of the attitude and policy tests. Results demonstrate an assigned core value for technology as a means to survive the foreseen ecological crisis besides the given role of technology as a means to economic development. The reign of the discourse of sustainable development in Turkish expert discourse is actualized through frames of technological progress and efficiency. Another dominant discourse is the one of national interests, which is discussed in the context of international politics of North-South conflict. The gap between the environmental attitudes of experts and their choices of policy responses and institutional practices is also discussed.

This thesis employs the use of Carol Bacchi's "What's the problem represented to be?"(WPR) approach and sets out to analyze the articulation of sexual harassment in fifteenexisting and current US academia policies. The analysis was completed within the broaderframework of gender theories including radical feminism and intersectionality, examininghow patriarchal systems can or cannot influence the development and application of policydocuments within the context of gender and law. This thesis explores the real and impactfulimplications of policy interventions and scrutinizes the position of sexual harassment being agender-neutral issue and not a gendered one.

German-Russian relations have remained strong since the Cold War, despite continuing in traditions of multilateralism and integrated into the Western order. Despite recent tensions and deterioration since the Ukraine Crisis, German-Russian relations are a subject of intense debate between the political parties CDU/CSU and SPD that governed Germany in a coalition from 2014-2017. This thesis utilises a social constructivist method to focus on social factors and party-political legacies relevant in the evolving relationship. It then analyses the evolving discourse of the parties about Russia in the years 2014-2017, focusing on the different ways the discourse uses and connects with the factors and legacies. Although a parallel movement is discerned between the foreign policy positions of the CDU/CSU and SPD, the parties' positions do not converge but remain in conflict about the future of European security, cooperation with Russia and the desired foreign policy role of Germany. Throughout, the analysis suggests that contemporary theories about German-Russian relations and about Germany's foreign policy role should look at the internal debates and factors to get a more complete picture of German foreign policy. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Cyberspace offers many opportunities but is also a very hostile place for women. Studies claim that women are disproportionally affected by certain cybercrimes and suffer frequent rights violations in cyberspace. The aim of cybersecurity policies is, among others, to protect citizens from different cyberthreats and the EU has a vital role in designing such policies. This involves portraying what issues are seen as cyberthreats and in extension, which issues are prioritized over others. Therefore, it is important to problematize what key EU bodies depict as cybersecurity threats and how they incorporate gender in their cybersecurity policy and strategy. This study uses post-structural feminist theory to analyze the EU cybersecurity discourse and its implications for women’s rights. This is because the theory emphasizes the deconstruction of discourse to showcase hidden gendered power dimensions. It is a qualitative case study that uses the framing method to identify the discursive construction of threats, priorities, and key issues, and McPhail’s feminist policy analysis framework to investigate how gender is incorporated in the discourse. The findings confirm previous research, which states that cybersecurity is mainly state-centric and securitized and gender is silenced in the overall discourse. Among the five distinct frames that I identified in the discourse on cybersecurity, none includes a gendered perspective. No official EU document adopts or argues for a gender-sensitive approach to cybersecurity. Gender is only mentioned with regard to empowering women in the STEM sector, although the European Parliament stresses the need to target cyberviolence against women. The study concludes that a gender-neutral approach to cybersecurity has negative implications for women’s rights, as cybercrimes and violates women endure are overlooked and deprioritized in comparison to a gendered approach. This is because it is more likely that political measures can be taken if the policies and actors acknowledge the gendered issues, which then have positive implications for the protection of women’s rights in cyberspace.

This study investigates the construction of discourse on digital inclusion in Sweden by closely analyzing policy reports from various governmental entities responsible for the digitalization agenda spanning the years 2017 to 2023. The research forms a three-dimensional approach, which focuses on discursive motivations for bridging the digital divide, perceived access prerequisites for achieving this goal, and the primary target group for digital inclusion efforts within the policy discourse. Drawing upon van Dijk's Resources and Appropriation theory, the mezzo-scaleanalysis explores how properties of digital divides related to resource inequalities and adaptation were expressed within the discourse, forming the core framework of this thesis. Fairclough's critical discourse theory (CDA) guides the macro-scale analysis; however, the large-scale view, with a focus on power relations, is not the key framework in this study. Instead, they are drawn upon in the discussion section while evaluating the key findings.The methodology employed combines CDA through close reading with exploratory text mining techniques from the Digital Humanities, revealing three key discursive motivations: 1) social participation, 2) democracy and social equality, and 3) economic prosperity. Material/physical and skills access are identified as primary prerequisites, with a particular focus on people with disabilities. A critical evaluation of these findings provides significant implications for future research on the digital divide, particularly with regards to Swedish policymaking.

Czech cultural discourse in the Third Czechoslovak Republic The new situation occurring after World War II brought a number of changes, the reconsideration of values and searching for a new orientation in the social and political area as well as in the area of art and culture, which became the subject of often highly escalated controversy, usually conducted on the pages of the contemporary press. This diploma thesis is an analysis of the Czech cultural discourse in the Third Czechoslovak Republic that focuses not only on the textual statements themselves but even on their historical context, on the media environment in which they entered and on the positions of the actors and their access to the discourse. In the analysis, a network of interrelations between the statements, the processes of establishing key topics, forming a consensus, as well as taboo and the attempts for the appropriation of central collective symbols are monitored and reconstructed. The aim of the thesis is to become both a comprehensive characterization of discourse and a deeper insight into the diverse intellectual tendencies of the time.