/library/oar/handle/123456789/6259 2025-11-19T15:12:25Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/23360 Title: Is Obama’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ enough to maintain US influence in East Asia? A look at security issues and the Senkaku Islands dispute Abstract: The 20th century has been defined as the American Century, however, the history of the 21st century will be written in Asia. Today East Asia is home to a third of the world’s population and includes some of the world’s largest economies. Hence the US has placed more emphasis on the region, to strengthen its economic ties and to show its long term allies that it has not forgotten about them. Disengagement from the Middle East and the rise of China has meant that the US has again turned its focus to the Asia-Pacific and East Asia, a region rife with old, long seated distrust and territorial disputes. The dissertation will focus on how the US is executing its ‘Pivot to Asia’ focusing on the many security issues which it must deal with, both those involving its allies and those involving its strategic rivals. All while trying to maintain its influence over East Asia in the face of a rising China. Whilst the US is welcomed by some and unwelcomed by others, the dissertation will try and determine whether the US’s renewed interest will contribute to the prosperity of East Asia or whether the US will again be bogged down in a region where it is not welcomed. Description: B.A.(HONS)INT.REL. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6334 Title: The role of the world bank in the dam projects in Ethiopia : a case of inconsistency? Abstract: The scope of this dissertation is to examine in a single, interpretative case study, the role of the World Bank (henceforth ‗the Bank‘) in the construction of Gibe III Hydropower plant, one of the largest hydropower projects in Ethiopia, in the southern part of the country on the Omo River, which provides about 90% of Lake Turkana‘s freshwater. The Bank has provided financial lending for more than 150 projects across Ethiopia, and it is currently involved in the financing of other 25 projects in different sectors in the country. In 2009, the Bank agreed to become involved in providing fund for the Gibe III Dam, the aim is to increase power production in Ethiopia, enabling it to generate revenue from the export of power to neighbouring countries that are less endowed with hydropower generation capacities. However, a number of local and foreign civil society groups together with academics and analysts declared their strong opposition to the Gibe III Hydropower project, citing several important social and environmental issues of great concern. The Bank stopped its financing plan and discontinued its feasibility studies, complaining on the lack of transparency in government and administration in Ethiopia, in particular the absence of competitive bidding for the prime contractor for the construction of the dam. For the critics, the Gibe III Dam project does not only violate domestic laws but also infringes the Bank‘s set of ‗safeguard policies,‘ even though the Ethiopian government claims that it has made a comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). In July 2012 the Bank agreed to facilitate a loan for the building of Eastern Electricity Highway Project (EEHP), also in the energy sector in Ethiopia, which connects it with neighbouring Kenya. The EEHP is transmission line on which the Gibe III Dam project depends. The Ethiopian government, Chinese Hydropower Company, and Chinese Banks have provided the necessary financial support for the Gibe III Dam that will become fully operational to generate power by early 2016. Critics argue that the government assessment disregards trans-border negative impacts, and it was approved by the government‘s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) three years after construction of the project was begun. Many questions have been raised concerning the decision of the Bank to provide fund for EEHP that has strongly facilitated the development of Gibe III Dam through the backdoor. The part played by the Bank, through the EEHP, in the construction of a destructive hydropower plant has generated controversy and debate. However, available literature offers little information on the role of the Bank, and on some of the most significant aspects of the main challenges to the society and environment as a result of the dam. The research-guiding question for this dissertation is whether the role of the Bank in the development of the Energy sector is a case of inconsistency, in terms of its own ‗safeguard policies‘ designed to ensure that indigenous people and the environment are not negatively affected as a result of Bank-funded projects. The research is set to expound on the importance of the EEHP for the transfer of power supply from Gibe III to Kenya, review the ESIA that was published by Ethiopian government, and elaborate the social and environmental costs of Gibe III project. The dissertation also highlights the legacies of large dams – funded by the Bank – and their adverse impacts and economic performances in developing countries. It underlies the multifaceted and complex challenges behind the array of figures of economic analysis. The theoretical perspectives are utilised to assess some of the most critical implications of the Bank‘s rational choices. The methodology employed to collect data is elaborated. The primary and secondary data are collected to reveal as much of the information about the research. The main conclusion is that the special interests of interest groups frequently appear to preside over legitimate concerns of the rural poor and environment. Description: M.A.INT.REL. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6333 Title: Malta’s role during the Libya crisis and its Impact on UN humanitarian affairs Abstract: This dissertation sets out to research Malta’s role during the Libya crisis and its impact on UN Humanitarian Affairs. It aims at understanding whether this role had an influence on the international humanitarian community and deciphering the factors that enabled Malta to play a crucial part in the humanitarian intervention throughout the Libya Crisis. To do this, the dissertation relied on semi-structured interviews with International Organisations that operated through Malta, to generate data on the bearing the Maltese Government had on the operations. Moreover, how the effect was brought about was further analysed through interviews with officials from the Maltese Government that worked on the humanitarian hub set-up in Malta. This data was then theoretically contextualised by means of the Idealist paradigm in International Relations, to assess the driving force behind such a humanitarian response by the Maltese Government; and Small State theory, to map out the functions and mechanisms that made such a response possible, despite Malta’s size limitations. The findings suggest that political will and the public administration mechanisms of a small State were the contributory elements for the fast and effective decision-making that made the Malta-model so successful in facilitating a humanitarian response for the international community to deliver aid to war-torn Libya effectively and efficiently. This dissertation explores whether the Malta-model may serve as a blue print for the improvement of existing practices pertaining to supply chain management, especially for the United Nations World Food Programme’s Logistics Cluster, other International Organisations (IOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Description: M.A.HUMANITARIAN ACTION 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6332 Title: Migrant rescue at sea : a humanitarian view of search and rescue in Malta Abstract: This study set out to determine whether international human rights obligations are relevant to, and incorporated into, the training of rescue officials working with the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM). The study delves into the topics of migration, human rights and maritime law, and training pertaining to persons involved in rescue and border control in the Mediterranean. Dilemmas associated with national security and human security, postcolonial ties to migration, and organisational work within a fast-changing environment are also explored in relation to the AFM‟s work. Literature on the topics indicates that education on human rights law would be of benefit to rescuers and border guards operating in the Mediterranean at present. The research also includes a field study, consisting of in-depth interviews with members of the AFM and representatives of external organisations working in the sphere of migration. The research findings determined that further training on human rights law is required for members of the Maritime Squadron involved in the rescue of migrants at sea. Furthermore, the study has uncovered that diverse actors working in the area of migration stand to benefit from more interagency communication in order to fill gaps in knowledge and enhance mutual understanding. The research takes an interdisciplinary, holistic approach throughout. It comes at a time which has brought together the fields of migration, humanitarian action and fundamental human rights, and its findings reflect the necessity to tackle issues pertaining to all sectors in unison. Description: M.A.HUMANITARIAN ACTION 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z