The Dispute over Gibraltar between Great Britain and Spain

This diploma thesis is dedicated to the dispute over Gibraltar between Great Britain and Spain. It aims to answer two predefined research questions. The first one deals with the dispute development between the early 1980s and the present. The second research question is concerned with the differences in attitudes of both state actors in the dispute in accordance with its five preidentified dimensions. These five dimensions include: 1) Importance of Gibraltar for the parties to the dispute; 2) Interpretation of Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht; 3) View of the actors in the dispute over sovereignty in the Gibraltar isthmus; 4) View of the actors on sovereignty in Gibraltar territorial waters and airspace; 5) View of the actors of the dispute on the question of decolonisation of Gibraltar. The thesis is divided into three main chapters. The first one is devoted to the theoretical and methodological basis of the thesis. It deals primarily with following terms: conflict, imperialism, colonialism and decolonisation. In the methodological part, the dimensions of the dispute and the way of achieving the aim of this thesis are presented. The second chapter focuses on the historical development of the Gibraltar dispute over the period from its beginning to the late 1970s. The third chapter is the practical part of the thesis, where the two above described research questions are analysed and answered.