Bücher von Ralph Myers

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Earth Science / Geography - Geopolitics, grade: 79%, University College Dublin, language: English, abstract: Humanitarian organisations have always realised that their activities have geopolitical consequences and that they are inseparably linked to the political world. However, since the 1990¿s, humanitarian organisations have increasingly begun acting upon this awareness (Barnett 2005: 724). The watershed for this transformation from minimalist assistance provision to goal-oriented humanitarianism, was the decision of numerous humanitarian organisations to pull out of Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire. The argument was that these camps were being used by Hutu genocidaires to launch violent attacks on Rwandan soil (Fox 2001: 279-280, 285-288). The shift to goal-oriented humanitarianism has resulted in ¿a broad trend towards an increased use of humanitarian assistance as part of a more comprehensive strategy to transform conflicts and decrease the violence¿ (Uvin 1999: 8). This paper identifies three strategies in which humanitarian organisations can address the root causes of conflict in the 21st century: disaster risk reduction (DRR), the decision to withhold or focus aid in specific areas, and speaking out. DRR is usually executed pre-conflict or during periods of reduced violence, whilst the latter two are relevant at the time of conflict.The main aims of this paper are to examine the phenomenon of civil war from a geopolitical perspective and identifying variables linked to both the onset and duration of civil conflict, specifically in the case of Colombia. The conclusions drawn here should assist humanitarian organisations present in Colombia, in identifying ways to implement the above three mentioned strategies so as to address the root causes of civil war. Halting conflict and preventing future reoccurrence of civil war is in the direct interest of Colombian based humanitarian organisations, as many of them work with internally displaced persons (IDPs). As Ibáñez and Vélez (2008: 672) note: ¿Violence and security perceptions are the major determinants of displacement and are, therefore, the key instruments in preventing displacement.¿

Scientific Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 75%, Dublin City University, course: International Relations, language: English, abstract: The region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) appears to be an exception when it comes to the persistence of authoritarianism. Whereas most other regions in the world have embarked upon a path of democratisation, trends in the MENA appear to be adverse. Not only is the MENA¿s record appalling in terms of electoral democracies, but the region, on average, has not experienced an improvement in civil liberties and political rights for the last thirty years. This paper will look at two aspects concerning the persistence of authoritarianism in the region. The principal aim will be to analyse what the principle cause for the persistence of authoritarianism in the MENA is. A secondary objective will be to establish whether the term MENA exceptionalism is applicable, or whether the persistence of authoritarianism in the region can be explained through general theories on the subject. The paper analyses the reasons why scholars deem the MENA to be exceptional, and which variables they believe contribute to the persistence of authoritarianism in the region. Those arguments are then refuted, arguing instead that rentierism is the principal independent variable with regards to the robustness of authoritarian regimes in the MENA. The focus then shifts to the concept of rentierism in general and more specifically its relation to oil rich countries. Finally the paper looks at how oil poor countries also benefit from rents and how it is possible that levels of authoritarianism in oil rich countries are not hugely affected by oil price fluctuations.

Scientific Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: 77%, Dublin City University, course: International Relations, language: English, abstract: Same Difference: Exploring the Divide between Critical and Conventional ConstructivismThis paper explores the similarities and differences between the conventional and critical strands of constructivism within International Relation. It concludes that there is a serious cleavage between the two, even though they might appear to be similar. The first paragraph of this paper tries to define some of the concepts used in this paper, particularly the terms ¿conventional constructivism¿, ¿critical constructivism¿, ¿research paradigm¿ and ¿methodology¿. The first part of the paragraph explains the importance of setting definitional parameters, in addition to suggesting an analogy to gain more appreciation for the cleavage, and particular the type of cleavage between critical and conventional strands that this paper will reveal. Then, using taxonomies put forward by a number of academics, the classification for both strands are given, in addition to identifying their most prominent academics. Definitions regarding methodology and research paradigm are examined through Kuhn¿s interpretation of paradigms. The second paragraph starts by giving an overview of similarities different academics have observed within the constructivist tradition. It focuses on the critique of positivism, interpretative methodology and the importance of socially constructed ideas. The third paragraph highlights the cleavage between critical and conventional constructivism. It argues that, although the position this paper classifies critical constructivists in a certain way which is rejected by some of those scholars, it is legitimised through Kuhn¿s interpretation of paradigms. Both differences in methodology and research paradigm are then exposed, and the main argument made is that critical constructivism is so radical that it not only alienates itself from other theories in IR but also conventional constructivism, using the aforementioned analogy to exemplify this.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Sociology - War and Peace, Military, grade: 73%, Dublin City University, course: International Relations, language: English, abstract: This paper poses the research question: what causes civil war? Since the end of World War II, both incidence and duration of civil wars have been on the rise, with disastrous outcomes for humanity. It is crucial that academics study this phenomenon and try to create theories which are able to explain and predict civil war onset for different countries. Two main competing theories have become prominent in the modern day literature surrounding the outbreak of civil war. On the one hand there are ¿greed¿ theorists employing econometric models to account for rebel opportunism. These theories centre around the notion that ethno-linguistically or religiously diverse countries experience civil war as a result of the incentive to rebel compared to the state¿s ability to counter rebellion. Greed theories focus largely on the ability of rebel groups to recruit and finance themselves, in addition to a number of other variables, which make civil war more or less conducive. On the other side are advocates of the ¿grievance¿ theory who argue civil wars start as a result of grievances, built up as a result of political and material discrimination. Depending on the level of grievance in combination with the ability of ethnocultural groups to mobilise and the state¿s response to initial protest, civil war occurs. This paper focuses on two case studies, with opposing dependent variables. The first is Uganda which has experienced multiple internal conflicts of varying intensity since gaining independence. The other is Kenya which has been spared the outbreak of a full-blown civil war, although it has experienced a number violent ethnic clashes. The case studies are relatively similar so as to control for third variables, yet chosen in such a fashion as to avoid bias or case fixing. For both countries the greed model is firstly applied followed by a more in-depth look at whether the rationale behind the given independent variables corresponds with political-economic realities. The second part of each case study looks at the applicability of grievance based theories and which set of explanations holds more power with regards to civil war onset. The analysis of both models in the context of the two chosen case studies should determine which theory holds the most explanatory power in relation to civil war onset.