Iraq is currently one of the most unstable countries in the world. Its political instability can be attributed to different factors, such as internal (armed) conflicts, wars with neighbouring countries, and invasions. Political scientists such as Toby Dodge argue that the state that the British created …

This dissertation provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of the ethno-religious complexities of Iraq and Syria (past and present), followed by an explorative analysis in order to determine whether ethno-religious partition would increase the political stability in both countries.

Following the withdrawal of large scale military contingents from Afghanistan and Iraq, enthusiasm in the Western world for what has been called armed state-building seems to have sunk to an all-time low. This is not entirely surprising given the high stakes and the meagre results of the massive efforts …

The moral dimension of exit is closely related to the moral dimension of entry. Notably, when the entry is highly questioned from a moral perspective, by many different actors, there are bound to be moral problems with regard to exit as well. This point will be illustrated by a discussion of the situation …

Since the announcement of the establishment of the Islamic ‘caliphate’ in the Middle East on June 29 2014, the number of people leaving Western European countries to join the ISIS military has dramatically increased. It is estimated that over 1,430 French, around 700 British and at least 180 Dutch nationals …

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the foreign policy changes that the EU experienced due to the Iraq crisis. The increasing complexity of the global security environment has played an important role in the EU foreign policy evolution by challenging the EU’s effective management of …

An estimated 6,000 EU citizens have left their home country to join the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS) in battle. The Netherlands has contributed approximately 260 foreign fighters to IS since 2012. Several attacks on European ground, such as Brussels and Paris, have been carried out by foreign …

The deep political and security crisis in Iraq can only be described as a failed SSR effort. Since the U.S. led invasion of 2003, became the Stabilization Force in Iraq (SFIR) responsible for the reformation of the Iraqi SS. The present Iraqi security circumstances show that since the last U.S. troops …

According to several provisions of Iraq's Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and its obligations under International Law, at first sight it seems that minority women and girls of Iraqi Kurdistan are adequately protected under Iraqi and International Law. However, in reality these minority women suffer …

In this dissertation, the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to Common Foreign Security Policy (CFSP) in order to address and improve the coherence of the EU's external action are examined. In order to understand the coherence problem that existed in the EU's external action before the Lisbon Treaty …