Suchergebnisse

Critical security studies have become increasingly popular among Czech scholars, but most studies in this field are based on securitization theory and other discursive approaches to security analysis. This paper argues for broadening the scope of theoretical approaches to security studies and introduces International Political Sociology as a promising strand of research in this respect. International Political Sociology is based on the study of security as practice, and offers a more complex understanding of how security is constructed and performed. The article discusses the theoretical roots of this approach, reviews the main strands of contemporary International Political Sociology research, and introduces its analytical tools. Finally, the paper critically reflects on the theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects of International Political Sociology and outlines possible avenues for this research in the Central European context. Adapted from the source document.

A major representative of Kurdish nationalism in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) renewed its violent activities while ending a ceasefire that lasted for almost five years in 2004. The nature of its armed struggle is in many aspects different from that of the period of 1984-1999. The issue of the Kurdish question in Turkey has been once again becoming increasingly dynamic in the last years, and the violent manifestations connected with this issue have been increasing as well. The presented case study deals with the offensive tactics of the PKK during its armed struggle in Turkey in the period from 2004 to 2011. The activities of the PKK are framed in the concept of insurgency. The analysis is focused on a description and interpretation of the nature of the PKKs offensive operations. On the basis of the analysis of the operational level of the PKKs activities, the pursued insurgent tactics are identified. The PKK pursues and combines four kinds of typical insurgency tactics - provocation, intimidation, protraction, and exhaustion, with the first two being the most important. In the background of the PKKs campaign, we can observe that the PKK plans and times its operations very carefully. At the same time the PKK focuses on getting and maintaining popular support for itself. Adapted from the source document.