A Masters graduate of International Relations and Bachelors graduate of International Studies, I specialise in Global Affairs, European affairs, Security Studies and authoritarian politics and genocide. I recently finished a student consultancy project with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and an internship with the Balkan Forum.
The presence of Western influenced IGOs and NGOs, whether they intend to or not, has only inflame... more The presence of Western influenced IGOs and NGOs, whether they intend to or not, has only inflamed a situation caused by colonial legacy as their response to the Ebola crisis has been divided based upon post-colonial ties. This has incubated a culture whereby the West African states affected are unable to work together to create a (sub)regional health governance apparatus and so are instead forced to rely upon the former-colonisers. Beyond being a threat to democracy, the NGOs and IGOs, especially the WHO, need non-state-centric academia to influence policy to allow for improved responses to threats to health in Africa as a whole. It appears that in order for the African populous suffering from colonial legacy to move forward, IR theory needs to go backwards and recover traditional tribal realism as the main theory when approaching Africa.
During the 20th Century, both Germany and Spain had atrocities committed against specific groups ... more During the 20th Century, both Germany and Spain had atrocities committed against specific groups of people at home under fascist leaderships. Both countries democratised with the death of their leader, leaving members from the previous regime in power. However, two very different approaches to reconciliation were taken. Germany prosecuted the leaders of the old regime, implemented collective guilt across the population, and either destroyed fascist memorials and insignias or actively challenged them with counter-memorials. As opposed to following the German path to reconciliation, the fruits of which could be seen during the democratisation of Spain, the new democracy decided to implement the 1975 Pact of Forgetting, an unwritten agreement to not bring up the atrocities committed under Franco for fear of retribution. In order to understand the events that led to two very different outcomes through the use of interviews, analysis of the Suárez’s cabinet, and analysis of the use of memorials in both cases, this paper will ask why did Spain choose to avoid a similar reconciliation process to the one taken by West Germany thirty years prior despite being in a similar state and what role did public history play?
In 2012, the ICTY saw the successful appeal of Croatian Military and Police figures as Operation ... more In 2012, the ICTY saw the successful appeal of Croatian Military and Police figures as Operation Storm, a four year offensive that saw the shelling of Serb majority villages, was deemed not a war crime and allowed Croatia to better present itself as a victim of the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s rather than a player that used a similar nationalist narrative to Serbia to expand and consolidate the nation state (The Guardian, 2012). This victim status has impacted academia greatly as there is a disproportionate focus in academia on the Serbian nationalist narrative compared with the Croatian nationalist narrative even though both used the same tactics based on the work of the same people. The problem with literature on Balkan nationalism is that the titles, like that of Van Winkle, will refer to Yugoslavia or the Balkans and then focus purely on Milošević’s narrative. Within the literature that does make reference to Croatian nationalism, academics like MacDonald purely focus on the development of the nationalism over time and do not link the propaganda with the conflicts of the 1990s to show the role that it played leading to a limited analysis. Current literature on Croatian nationalism during the Yugoslav Wars on the 1990s also lacks attention to the destruction of spomeniks, memorials constructed under Tito to memorialise the sites of Second World War battles and celebrate the unity seen in multi-ethnic partisan movement that saw Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks work together (Mottahedeh 144). With such gaps in literature on the subject of Croatian nationalism in the run up to and during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, this paper will utilise new approaches in answering the question how was nationalism used by Tuđman to expand and consolidate a Croatian nation state?
The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in mode... more The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in modern Europe. There are two leading schools of thought as to what caused the conflicts. Though both schools of thought are quick to accuse Milošević of playing a large part in the instigation of the conflicts, there has been a lack of literature analysing how Milošević helped to instigate the conflicts. This thesis aims to fill this gap in literature.
It is no secret that China wants to replace the United States as the global hegemon; Mao’s ‘great... more It is no secret that China wants to replace the United States as the global hegemon; Mao’s ‘great marathon’ is out for all to see (Pillsbury). However, China’s ambitions to be the global hegemon will not force global players or local players into a South nor East China Sea War. Rather, it is likely that we will see a new era of containment policies and military posturing, as this essay will explain through three concise points.
China has grown vastly in recent years without hindrance from foreign nations due to peaceful rhe... more China has grown vastly in recent years without hindrance from foreign nations due to peaceful rhetoric and policies that focus on a calm in the region. But with its growth has come power and China now feels that it has the right footing to stand up to the U.S. hegemon and lose the peaceful face leaving it with a more aggressive foreign policy as this essay will explain.
When the populous see an actor acting outside of their values, it is very common to see a search ... more When the populous see an actor acting outside of their values, it is very common to see a search for something to make them ‘other’ as to explain why they may act differently. This reaction has been seen recently with Pentagon psychologists diagnosing Putin as having Asperger’s syndrome; “A top secret Pentagon report has concluded that Vladimir Putin suffers from Asperger’s syndrome” (Bates). It is very important that society reforms its views as to truly understand and even negotiate with these actors that act differently, such as suicide bombers, we must approach with a mind clear of any preexisting assumptions, as vast majority of suicide bombers tend to be rational actors, as this essay will explain.
The presence of Western influenced IGOs and NGOs, whether they intend to or not, has only inflame... more The presence of Western influenced IGOs and NGOs, whether they intend to or not, has only inflamed a situation caused by colonial legacy as their response to the Ebola crisis has been divided based upon post-colonial ties. This has incubated a culture whereby the West African states affected are unable to work together to create a (sub)regional health governance apparatus and so are instead forced to rely upon the former-colonisers. Beyond being a threat to democracy, the NGOs and IGOs, especially the WHO, need non-state-centric academia to influence policy to allow for improved responses to threats to health in Africa as a whole. It appears that in order for the African populous suffering from colonial legacy to move forward, IR theory needs to go backwards and recover traditional tribal realism as the main theory when approaching Africa.
During the 20th Century, both Germany and Spain had atrocities committed against specific groups ... more During the 20th Century, both Germany and Spain had atrocities committed against specific groups of people at home under fascist leaderships. Both countries democratised with the death of their leader, leaving members from the previous regime in power. However, two very different approaches to reconciliation were taken. Germany prosecuted the leaders of the old regime, implemented collective guilt across the population, and either destroyed fascist memorials and insignias or actively challenged them with counter-memorials. As opposed to following the German path to reconciliation, the fruits of which could be seen during the democratisation of Spain, the new democracy decided to implement the 1975 Pact of Forgetting, an unwritten agreement to not bring up the atrocities committed under Franco for fear of retribution. In order to understand the events that led to two very different outcomes through the use of interviews, analysis of the Suárez’s cabinet, and analysis of the use of memorials in both cases, this paper will ask why did Spain choose to avoid a similar reconciliation process to the one taken by West Germany thirty years prior despite being in a similar state and what role did public history play?
In 2012, the ICTY saw the successful appeal of Croatian Military and Police figures as Operation ... more In 2012, the ICTY saw the successful appeal of Croatian Military and Police figures as Operation Storm, a four year offensive that saw the shelling of Serb majority villages, was deemed not a war crime and allowed Croatia to better present itself as a victim of the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s rather than a player that used a similar nationalist narrative to Serbia to expand and consolidate the nation state (The Guardian, 2012). This victim status has impacted academia greatly as there is a disproportionate focus in academia on the Serbian nationalist narrative compared with the Croatian nationalist narrative even though both used the same tactics based on the work of the same people. The problem with literature on Balkan nationalism is that the titles, like that of Van Winkle, will refer to Yugoslavia or the Balkans and then focus purely on Milošević’s narrative. Within the literature that does make reference to Croatian nationalism, academics like MacDonald purely focus on the development of the nationalism over time and do not link the propaganda with the conflicts of the 1990s to show the role that it played leading to a limited analysis. Current literature on Croatian nationalism during the Yugoslav Wars on the 1990s also lacks attention to the destruction of spomeniks, memorials constructed under Tito to memorialise the sites of Second World War battles and celebrate the unity seen in multi-ethnic partisan movement that saw Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks work together (Mottahedeh 144). With such gaps in literature on the subject of Croatian nationalism in the run up to and during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, this paper will utilise new approaches in answering the question how was nationalism used by Tuđman to expand and consolidate a Croatian nation state?
The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in mode... more The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in modern Europe. There are two leading schools of thought as to what caused the conflicts. Though both schools of thought are quick to accuse Milošević of playing a large part in the instigation of the conflicts, there has been a lack of literature analysing how Milošević helped to instigate the conflicts. This thesis aims to fill this gap in literature.
It is no secret that China wants to replace the United States as the global hegemon; Mao’s ‘great... more It is no secret that China wants to replace the United States as the global hegemon; Mao’s ‘great marathon’ is out for all to see (Pillsbury). However, China’s ambitions to be the global hegemon will not force global players or local players into a South nor East China Sea War. Rather, it is likely that we will see a new era of containment policies and military posturing, as this essay will explain through three concise points.
China has grown vastly in recent years without hindrance from foreign nations due to peaceful rhe... more China has grown vastly in recent years without hindrance from foreign nations due to peaceful rhetoric and policies that focus on a calm in the region. But with its growth has come power and China now feels that it has the right footing to stand up to the U.S. hegemon and lose the peaceful face leaving it with a more aggressive foreign policy as this essay will explain.
When the populous see an actor acting outside of their values, it is very common to see a search ... more When the populous see an actor acting outside of their values, it is very common to see a search for something to make them ‘other’ as to explain why they may act differently. This reaction has been seen recently with Pentagon psychologists diagnosing Putin as having Asperger’s syndrome; “A top secret Pentagon report has concluded that Vladimir Putin suffers from Asperger’s syndrome” (Bates). It is very important that society reforms its views as to truly understand and even negotiate with these actors that act differently, such as suicide bombers, we must approach with a mind clear of any preexisting assumptions, as vast majority of suicide bombers tend to be rational actors, as this essay will explain.
The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in mode... more The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in modern Europe. There are two leading schools of thought as to what caused the conflicts. Though both schools of thought are quick to accuse Milošević of playing a large part in the instigation of the conflicts, there has been a lack of literature analysing how Milošević helped to instigate the conflicts. This thesis aims to fill this gap in literature.
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