Although the topic of international mediation has been debated frequently amongst academic scholars, most literature has failed to address the notion of threat perception. This thesis examines the impact of threat perceptions from ideational and material force on the prospects for successful international mediation. In this comparative case study, I argue that threat perception is an influential factor conditioning the road towards peace agreements, by examining one case of failure and one case of success in international mediation of interstate conflicts. The first case in the comparison consists of the conflict between Armenia-Azerbaijan in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where the OSCE Minsk Group has conducted mediation efforts. The second case examined is the conflict between Israel-Egypt which predominately have been mediated by the US. A conflict which ending was marked by the Camp David Accords in 1978 and resulted in a peace treaty the year after. The analysis shows that threat perception is indeed a factor of importance for outcome in relation to international mediation. Compared to previous research largely focused on material factors, the result shows that ideational factors should be considered to the same extent and are influential in both cases. This contribution to the field of war studies and international mediation literature also reflects the interconnectivity between threat perceptions from ideational and material force. An insight which I argue is pivotal for the comprehension of why some interstate conflicts appear to be resistant to resolution.

De nu rådande teorierna kring småstater och deras säkerhetspolitik har kritise- rats för att vara allt för knutna till västerländska och europeiska småstater. Den här forskningen har därför undersökt orsaker och motiv för en afrikansk småstat att välja att gå in i en allians. I och med detta har säkerhetspolitiska teorier prö- vats utanför Europa och dess generaliserbarhet kunnat ökas. Genom en metodskapande och teoriprövande forskning har teorierna kring små- staters alliansval prövats i en fallstudie om Botswanas militära samarbete med Kina. Såväl Kina som Afrika är högaktuella såväl internationellt som för svensk försvarsmakt. Forskaren skapar en metod bestående av tio indikatorer för att en småstat ska välja att gå in i en allians. Resultatet av en jämförelse med fallstudien pekar på att teorierna kring småstater kan appliceras även utanför västerländska och europeiska småstater. Den skapade metoden har också framgångsrikt prövats. / This study tests the applicability of traditional small states security strategy theory to African small states. Existing theories in this area have been criticized for their focus on western and European countries particularly on the grounds of their limited applicability to other states. This method building and theory testing study searches, in existing theories of small states strategies, for reasons and probable motives why small states enter an alli- ance. The theory is tested using a case study of Botswana’s emergent relationship with China. For the purpose of the study, a new model testing alliance building tendencies was constructed. Based on this, a method of ten indicators that are pre- dictive of when a small state might choose to enter an alliance has been derived. These indicators are then used to compare Botswana’s reasons and motives to enter an alliance and military cooperation with China. The comparison finds that seven of the ten indicators could be found, one was not found and the final two could not be tested in this study. This research concludes that African small states choose alliances for the same rea- sons that western and European state do. Furthermore, this study also suggests that the model of ten indicators to test a small state’s likelihood to enter an alliance is effective.

The project “Telling Sounds” (www.mdw.ac.at/imi/tellingsounds) has the goal of preparing online available audio-(visual) sources (clips) as a basis for understanding contemporary musical history. The metadata of these clips will be enriched and grouped according to thematic aspects as a starting point for case studies. As a basis for such a digital research environment, a special tool will be developed which makes it possible to visualize the connections between clips and the entities and meanings, thus open them up for further research. As an example of the consequences and possibilities of such a music-historical representation, the following text relates different musical and media forms of expression in Vienna in the 1970s: the Beethoven anniversary, the history of Austropop, the communication of women-related topics on the radio and the propagandistic significance of this medium during the Cold War in connection with the topos “Music Country Austria” are thus made comprehensible as facets of music-related constructions of meaning in a concrete historical time and place.

This dissertation chronicles the development of a series of plays, collectively referred to as The Arab Shakespeare Trilogy, from the perspective of their playwright Sulayman Al-Bassam. Together, The Al-Hamlet Summit (2002-2005), Richard III, An Arab Tragedy (2007-2009), and The Speaker's Progress (2011-2012) register the eruptive social, political, and cultural contexts of the Arab world during the first decade of the twenty-first century while negotiating the adaptation of Shakespeare's plays to a form thought-provoking and entertaining to audiences both within and outside the Middle East. The document outlines the inception of the project, which includes both personal and historical context, and provides more specific commentary on the production of each play individually. In addition to its focus on the specific impact of 9/11, and its global consequences, on the development of these dramatic works, it attends to topics including the technical and ideological challenges of linguistic and cultural translation, the adaptation of Shakespeare in Arabic theatre, the politics of art and drama in the Arab world, and the involvement of art in the shaping of the ethics of cross-cultural representation. Of particular interest are the linguistic conditions bearing upon the adaptation of English language texts into multi-lingual and cross- cultural works, the effects of the globalisation of politics and media, and the international touring life of the plays between the Arab region and wider world. The play texts of the Trilogy make up the second part of the document. The methodology of this dissertation deploys historical contextualisation, autobiographical memoir, literary analysis and creative improvisation. The play-texts are dramatic adaptations of specific Shakespeare texts to the Arab world.

A la rupture de la paix d’Amiens, le Premier Consul retient en otage les Britanniques présents sur le sol de la France en réponse au gouvernement britannique qui détient aussi des Français. Mais la raison est avant tout économique. Les Anglais sont séparés des autres prisonniers de guerre et ne servent que dans les domaines où ils excellent comme les filatures. Leur dénombrement s’avère difficile, à cause de documents incomplets ou de mutations trop fréquentes. Les dépôts, au nombre de quatre en 1803, passent à douze en 1810, puis à quinze à de la fin des hostilités.La vie en société s’organise et les prisonniers ont tendance à recréer la vie « à l’anglaise » particulièrement festive dans divers dépôts. Mais les jeux d’argent sèment la discorde et entraînent les duels et les dettes. Les évasions nombreuses provoquent la colère du Ministère de la guerre. Les échanges sont rares et blessés et invalides font l’objet de tractations pour les échanges.La santé reste un problème majeur, la qualité de la nourriture est douteuse. La mortalité est importante.Hormis les mariages et les naissances, ils ont laissé peu de choses puisqu’ils n’ont rien bâti mais demeure le souvenir. / After the breaking off of the Peace of Amiens, the Premier Consul keeps the British who were present on the French ground as hostages as a reply to the British Government who keeps also French prisoners. But the true reason is more economical. The British prisoners are treated differently from prisoners of war and are only used in what is useful, such as spinning factories.Having a precise census of the British population in the depots was difficult: the documents are incomplete and the transfers from depot to depot too often. There were four depots at the beginning but it went to twelve in 1810 and 15 by the end of the war.Social life is organized and the prisoners tend to recreate the “British way of life” with much rejoicing in the various depots. But money games bring quarrels and debts. Escapes arises hunger in the French War Ministry. Exchanges are seldom and wounded and disabled men are part of these exchanges. Health remains a major problem and food is of poor quality. Death rate is severe. Except weddings and births, they have not left anything as they did not build but remembrance is still there.

Portant sur la période de tensions politiques extrêmes 1937-1982, la thèse propose de considérer autrement le statut de la traduction à partir des œuvres d’Aragon, de Landolfi et de Nabokov, écrivains et traducteurs de Pouchkine. Discutant et prolongeant la pensée d’Henri Meschonnic, ce travail défend, à travers le cas exemplaire de ces écrivains-traducteurs, l’existence de liens étroits entre le contexte, l’écriture et la traduction. Après une présentation des trois circuits éditoriaux principaux de la période, le face à face entre le traducteur et les forces politiques est étudié. L’analyse du corpus de traduction permet de révéler la grande activité d’Aragon, de Landolfi et de Nabokov sur la période considérée. Il s’agit ensuite de réfléchir aux modalités des échanges éditoriaux Est-Ouest en s’intéressant notamment aux anthologies et aux retraductions. La question de l’historicité des traductions de Pouchkine conduit à revenir au contexte. L’étude révèle que les communistes comme les capitalistes refusent de prendre en compte véritablement l’expérience du mal absolu que résume le nom d’Auschwitz. En guise de réponse, le littéralisme, souvent affiché durant la Guerre froide, a eu l’ambition de prendre en compte la volonté de l’auteur disparu. Le choix de traduire Pouchkine entend également apporter une réponse à la division du monde. Pouchkine questionne le face à face dans ses œuvres, le poète russe affrontant ainsi la question du mal tout en proposant une écriture morale. La dernière partie de ce travail défend l’idée d’une continuité entre l’activité de traduction et l’œuvre des écrivains. Elle montre combien le nom, la figure, les œuvres de Pouchkine nourrissent le travail d’Aragon, de Landolfi et de Nabokov. Elle propose enfin de considérer d’une autre manière la prose poétique, la parodie et l’histoire littéraire. / Focusing on the extreme political tensions during the 1937-1982 time span, this work suggests that the status of translation can be considered from a different angle based on the works of Aragon, of Landolfi and of Nabokov, writers and translators of Pushkin. Studying the examples of those writers and translators, discussing and expanding upon the theory of Henri Meschonnic, this work defends the idea that close links exist between context, writing and translation. The three main translation circuits of the period are initially presented introducing the study of the confrontation between the translators and the political forces. A closer look at the corpus of translations shows the important activity of Aragon, Landolfi and Nabokov at that period. The third part of this work concentrates on the ways of editing translations of Russian literature in the West through the study of anthologies of translations and retranslations. The historical character of the translations of Pushkin’s works leads to reconsider their links to the context. The study reveals that Communists and Capitalists refused to actually take into account the Evil experience that the name “Auschwitz” summarizes. In response, on a literary level, literalism promoted by Aragon, Landolfi and Nabokov during the Cold War has for vocation the respect of the will of the deceased author. The decision to translate Pushkin also represents a reaction to the division of the world. The Russian poet questions the conflict in his works and does not refuse to confront the question of Evil through a literary style based on morals. The final section of this thesis promotes the idea of continuity between the translations and the other works of Aragon, of Landolfi and of Nabokov. It demonstrates to what extent the name, the figure and the works of Pushkin influenced those writers and translators. Finally, poetic prose, parody and literary history are reconsidered from an entirely new angle.

In 2010, the discovery of the malicious computer worm Stuxnet shocked the world by its sophistication and unpredictability. Stuxnet was deemed as the world’s first cyber weapon and started discussions concerning offensive cyber operations – often called “cyber warfare” – globally. Due to Stuxnet, rapid digitalisation and evolving technology, it became vital for decision makers in the US to consider formal norms such as laws, agreements, and policy decisions regarding cyber security. Yet, to obtain a holistic understanding of cyber security, this thesis uses constructivism as its theoretical framework to understand changing informal norms and social factors including the ideas and morals of the US society regarding offensive cyber operations. This thesis critically analyses the discourse of three of the largest US newspapers by circulation: the New York Times, the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. A significant shift was discovered in the US media’s publications and in informal norms regarding offensive cyber operations and the use of cyber weapons in just one decade, by comparing the discourses relating to Stuxnet in 2010 and the US presidential election in 2020. This thesis concludes that it is equally important to consider ideas and morals when researching a technical field such as cyber security by arguing that informal norms guide the choices actors make when developing formal norms at the international level. The findings of this thesis are intended to provoke a normative, urgent, and focused discussion about cyber security. The findings are also intended to shift attention to how language is used in discussions about the cyber sphere, offensive cyber operations and cyber weapons as components of the traditional battlefield.

Écrivant une histoire totale de la Première armée française entre le débarquement en Provence, le 15 août 1944, et la capitulation allemande le 8 mai 1945, cette recherche a pour ambition de penser ensemble ses dimensions guerrières, diplomatiques et politiques, mais aussi coloniales, sociales et culturelles. Reconstituée en Afrique du Nord à partir des Français libres et des conscrits colonisés et européens de l’armée d’armistice en Afrique, renforcée en métropole par des combattants de la résistance intérieure, puis par des appelés, cette armée présente une forte hétérogénéité. Lui est pourtant confié un triple rôle, diplomatique, politique et militaire. Instrument de reconquête de la grandeur nationale quatre ans après la défaite, il lui incombe non seulement de faire la preuve, sur le champ de bataille, de la capacité du pays à se libérer lui-même, mais aussi de le hisser au rang des puissances victorieuses. Elle doit aussi, en intégrant des milliers de combattants venus de la Résistance, agir comme le symbole de l’unité retrouvée de la nation. Enfin, héritière de l’armée de la défaite et de l’armée de Vichy discréditées, elle doit faire face aux aspirations de rénovation que réclame la société française de la Libération. En mai 1945, ces défis ne sont que partiellement relevés. Certes, sur le champ de bataille, l’armée française est sans conteste victorieuse, ce qui permet à la France d’arracher à ses alliés une zone d’occupation en Allemagne, bien que ses succès militaires soient ternis par les crimes commis par ses soldats en territoire ennemi. Dans l’épreuve commune du feu, les fractures politico-militaires sont certes atténuées, mais l’union forgée ne résiste pas à la sortie de guerre et l’armée de l’après-guerre est faiblement renouvelée. De plus, en l’absence de mobilisation générale en métropole, colonisés et Européens ont payé de loin le plus lourd tribut, alors que la réponse du Gouvernement provisoire aux revendications nationalistes dans l’empire est un échec manifeste. Ainsi, en 1945, le lien entre la nation et son armée, mais aussi entre la métropole et l’empire, loin de s’être renoué, s’est encore distendu. / By writing a complete history of the First French Army from the Provence landing on August 15, 1944, to the German surrender on May 8, 1945, this dissertation aims to connect the military, diplomatic and political dimensions of this campaign with its colonial, social and cultural aspects. Born in North Africa from the fusion between the Free French and the so called ‘’Armée d’Afrique”, reinforced in metropolitan France with volunteers coming from the Resistance and with conscripts, it was an extremely heterogeneous army. Nevertheless it had to fulfill a challenging set of diplomatic, political and military objectives: to restore the national grandeur four years after the defeat and to get France a seat at the table with other victorious nations, to implement a national unity program and to deal with the aspirations for change coming from French society.In May 1945, these challenges had only been partially overcome. Even if its successes were tarnished by incidents of rape and looting, the French army was victorious on the battlefront and France obtained control of an occupation zone in Germany. Political and military tensions among soldiers decreased while they were fighting a common enemy. But peace brought these tensions back. The Post-War army was only marginally renewed. And as general mobilization was never decreed in metropolitan France, natives and Europeans born in the empire paid the harshest price to deliver the mother country as contestation of the colonial order increased. In 1945, the gap between the nation and its army, and between metropolitan France and its empire was wider than ever.

Space technologies and the tools of space warfare are proliferating across Earth. The use of spacepower in conflict necessitates strategic thinking. Strategic theory can guide and improve strategic thought about outer space. Drawing on strategic theory, this thesis develops a spacepower theory in the next step of a collective theory-making effort about warfare in the Space Age. This spacepower theory is based on seven distinct, complementary, and interacting propositions that aim to shift the debate of spacepower away from space weaponisation and the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), and towards a more holistic view of the vast possibilities granted by spacepower. This spacepower theory proposes that space warfare only has meaning in so far it works towards the command of space; that the command of space is about manipulating celestial lines of communication; that spacepower in Earth orbit is a place to conduct strategic manoeuvres to influence the wider war and grand strategic goals; and that the command of space can have direct meaning for battlefield success through its dispersing effects. The theory is based on three major strategic analogies from terrestrial strategic theory and experience. First, space warfare is a continuation of terrestrial politics. Second, space is like the sea in its most basic concepts. Third, Earth orbit is like a coastal region. The contributions of this work are a theory that assists the individual’s education on warfare in the Space Age that takes emphasis away from space-based weaponry and the RMA, and a treatise that demonstrates and encourages a pedagogical method of analysis in strategic studies. This has tentative implications for wider discussions of astropolitics in International Relations (IR) as well. IR will continue in its usefulness in the cosmos, while Terran IR today must account for the realities of the Space Age.

This essay investigates the post-war international intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Treaty was welcomed as the first multilateral agreement amongst countries since the end of the cold war, including Russia. The treaty sought not only to end a war but wrote the Bosnian constitution. We see examples of state-building through international intervention in other parts of the world post-9/11 (Afghanistan, Iraq). The state-building actions in Bosnia was the first multilateral action after the cold-war it is therefore interesting to research the measures that were taken and to follow-up and investigate if it was a success or a failure. Bosnia today is falling behind other neighboring countries,  economically and democratically speaking. Neighboring Croatia has just recently become a new member state of the EU, many scholars along with member states of EU and the International Community agree that Bosnia should aim to reach the same goal as Croatia in order to ensure political and economical stability. However there seems to be conflicting agendas between the International Community and the local politicians. The essay will focus on the effects of the international intervention through state-building operations in Bosnia and how the international community took upon itself a major responsibility and the results of those efforts till today.