The objective of this thesis is to help explain why the Oromo people do not rebel against the current government in Ethiopia as they rebelled and ousted the Derg in 1991. The theory deployed, which seems to be of particular relevance when seeking an answer to absence of rebellion, is the Why Men Rebel model by Ted Gurr (1970; 2000). The findings indicate that seven out of 16 variables presented in the theory, have changed in their variety of presence. Six variables have changed in variety to be dependent, a lesser risk to rebellion, and one to be dependent, a greater risk of rebellion in 2013 compared to in 1991. Altogether, Gurr’s theory on Why Men Rebel helps to explain why the Oromo people do not rebel in Ethiopia, and it also seems to be a suitable use, not only for quantitative studies but for in-depth qualitative research as well.

(in English): The political and social circumstances of the Koryŏ period gave rise to the phenomenon of the so called rebels. The official chronicle Koryŏsa recorded their cases in thirty-eight biographies that were supposed to serve as a warning for the posterity. What models of rebels and sorts of revolts did exist according to the chronicle and what conditions did enable their occurrence?

As already the title of the diploma thesis is saying " Conflict minerals and the Democratic republic of Congo" aims at discussing issues around conflict minerals produced in DRC, including illicit trade, exports, smuggling minerals from DRC and committing crimes such as human rights abuses including rapes, sexual violence, executions, forced recruitment, abduction, child work etc. The militarisation mostly in eastern parts of the country leads to escalated conflict, in which rebel groups are warring in order to obtain power and control over rich natural resources in country. Long lasting conflicts, insecurity in the country, failed governance, wide-spread corruption, illegal exploitation of natural resources and of miners as well have reach the level of poverty, economic weakness, as well as political inability to lead the country and control its own natural wealth and prevent from any kind of foreign touch, mostly by armed or rebel groups. This thesis presents measures, which have to be taken in order to mitigate rebel groups power in the country, enhance transparency, remove corruption and exercise due diligence for responsible supply chain and thus strengthen economic and political development as well as human right

This thesis seeks to answer the question of why some rebel movements choose to take on a religious character, and why some do not, even in cases where they share many characteristics. This thesis argues that a religious or secular framing is a tool that can be tactically utilised by rebel groups in order to further their goals and strengthen their position.   Given the fact that rebel groups usually start out at an inherent resource disadvantage, securing external support is paramount for any rebel group to stand a fighting chance. External actors need to be talked into supporting these rebel groups, and are more likely to support rebel groups with whom they share certain characteristics. This thesis argues that one of the main ways in which insurgent groups can seek to lobby or appease external actors is through aligning its religiosity to fit that of the external actor. Through examining the lifespan of two separate ethnic insurgencies in Pakistan, that of the Baloch and of the Pashtun, and tracing that to the religiosity of the latest iterations of insurgent groups within these long-standing conflicts, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), which have taken very different paths when it comes to religiosity despite their similar origins, and examining their potential external backers and the influence they may have had, this thesis found that foreign backer religiosity might be a powerful determinant in influencing insurgent religiosity.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether higher quality troops would perform better in civilian protection within UN-peacekeeping missions. The appropriate method to answer this question was through a Structured Focused Comparison and the most similar system design. The theory suggested that higher quality peacekeepers would be more effective in combating armed groups and directly protecting civilians during civil wars. However, the case comparison did not fully answer the given hypothesis. Instead, it showcased another dilemma that high-quality troops exhibit. These peacekeeping troops seemed reluctant to utilize their high-quality equipment and assets effectively for the mission. Instead, they displayed risk-aversive behaviour and difficulty to cooperate with other troop contributing nations. These findings have important implications for policy making.

The aim of this thesis is to answer the question of why rebel groups engage in conflict with each other despite sharing an identity. Previous research suggests that a shared identity should promote cooperation, but recent conflicts between rebel groups in Syria seem to suggest that shared identity can instead be a cause for rivalry. This thesis investigates this puzzle by using Pischedda’s theory on windows of opportunity and vulnerability and Hafez theory on proxidistant ideologies. The cases of the thesis are the conflicts between Ahrar Al-Sham and IS in 2014 and between Ahrar Al-Sham and the Al Nusra Front in 2017. The results indicate that shared identity does cause rivalry, and both theories receive support for their explanation of inter-rebel conflict. All three rebel groups are labeled as extremists, which supports Hafez theory that extremist groups are more likely to engage in conflict with rivals. The military strength and the possible costs of attack of the rebel groups seem to support Pischedda’s theory that rebel groups use specific windows in time to attack their rivals. There are however some problems that neither theory can explain, such as Ahrar Al-Shams friendly relationship to Al Nusra between 2014 and 2017. This thesis provide insight into the understudied field of inter-rebel conflict of War Studies by highlighting the importance of identity.

En Cinco horas con Mario, Delibes nos cuenta la historia de una Carmen que representa al sector conservador de la España de la época. Sin embargo, si profundizamos en el texto también nos vamos a encontrar a una Carmen que se rebela y que es víctima del franquismo. Esta tesina tiene como propósito demostrar que en el texto de Delibes va a aparecer una Carmen multifacética que hará que la novela consiga reflejar desde distintos puntos de vista la situación social en la que la mujer se vio envuelta durante el periodo franquista. / In Cinco horas con Mario, Delibes tells us the story of a Carmen who represents the conservative sector of Spain at the time. However, if we delve into the text we will also find a Carmen who rebels and is a victim of Francoism. The purpose of this thesis is to show that a multifaceted Carmen will appear in Delibes' text which will make the novel reflect the social situation in which women were involved during the Franco period from different points of view.

The answer to if peacekeeping is successful or not is still debated. The focus has mostly been on internal characteristics of peacekeeping missions. While external factors, have been largely overlooked. This thesis aims to explore the effects external involvement in intrastate conflicts may have on the success of peacekeeping deployment. It poses the following research question: how does foreign state sponsorship to rebel groups affect the success of peacekeeping operations? The main argument made is that the causal mechanisms presented for why peacekeeping operations are effective, do not have an effect on the sponsors and their incentive to stop fighting. Hence, it is hypothesized that peacekeeping operations are less effective in decreasing the duration of intrastate armed conflict when rebel groups are sponsored by foreign states. The argument is tested using a discrete-time survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard models on all intrastate conflicts between 1970-2017, and foreign state sponsorship is treated as an interaction effect. The findings did not support the hypothesis but rather suggest that the presence of peacekeepers has a dominant positive conflict-intensity reducing effect. These results scratch the surface of what the effects external involvement may have on peacekeeping success and indicate that peacekeeping is successfully undermining sponsorship.

The literature on rebel cohesion/fragmentation currently presents valid macro-level explanations for rebel group cohesion/fragmentation, yet no model currently exists exploring non-utility-based motivations regulating pro-group behaviour. This thesis tests the assumptions of a novel social psychological framework – Identity Fusion Theory – on rebel cohesion. Using a primarily quantitative approach applying a logistic regression model to primary data gathered on the Syrian Civil War, and a smaller qualitative element comparing groups with “fused” and “non-fused” memberships during the war, the thesis tests the hypothesis that “groups with highly fused memberships will be less likely to fragment during the course of a civil war than groups with non-fused memberships”. The results of the analysis show a strong, positive relationship between fused memberships and rebel cohesion. The results of the thesis are to some extent limited by potential omitted variable bias (suggested by high R2 values) and the use of Syria as the only population from which to sample. Nevertheless, the relatively large number of observations in the dataset (63) as well as heterogenous nature of groups involved suggest the findings are generalisable. In conclusion, we did find a positive relationship between fusion and rebel group cohesion. The main implications of this thesis being that future academic research may benefit from focusing on social psychological factors when examining rebel dynamics while policymakers potentially shape better responses to insurgencies and rebellions.

Dissertation "Myths of the Czech Music Alternative in the 1980s" presents an anthropological view of the phenomenon of a parallel culture in a limiting situation. On the basis of biographical narratives, additional interviews and data gained from other types of sources, "myths" are constructed for seven major figures of the Czech alternative scene. This is an insider's ethnomusicological interpretation, based on Mircea Eliade's and Bronislaw Malinowski's concepts of myth as recurrent and exemplary models of behavior. The described personalities, Jazz Section (Prometheus), Miroslav Wanek ("hero's journey") Karel Babuljak ("search for paradise lost"), Pavel Zajíček (Odysseus), Mikoláš Chadima ("Rebel"), Oldřich Janota (Hermes), and Marka Míková (Psyche), represent some of the main trends in creative processes of the Czech music alternative scene with myth being used as a metaphor. The metaphor is understood here in the terms of Timothy Rice, i.e. as an organization principle of our thinking, as well as an illuminating image.