The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may be supporting the violation of the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions constituted by the illegal occupation of Western Sahara...Show moreThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may be supporting the violation of the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions constituted by the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by accepting extraterritorial nationally determined contributions (NDC) reports. Through the use of theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis investigates why the UNFCCC’s acceptance of extraterritorial NDC reports might influence the legitimacy of occupations. By conducting a case study of Morocco, the theoretical argument of this thesis is developed: Occupying powers seek legitimacy over their occupation by partaking in international organization processes which subsequently are approved by the international organization. This approval dissuades other states from objecting to the occupation and attempts to legitimate it, thereby perpetuating the status-quo which ultimately increases the external sovereignty of the occupation. By evaluating NDC reports, reports by the Western Sahara Resource Watch, and speeches at the UNFCCC, this study has identified the presence of the causal mechanism. Hence, this thesis contributes to the scholarly literature by addressing the influence that international organizations have on the legitimacy of occupations, a field that so far has gained little attention in academia.Show less
The 2016 Primaries were anything but ordinary: Trump and Cruz represented anti-establishment figures promising to fundamentally alter how the US operated. This thesis investigates the two...Show moreThe 2016 Primaries were anything but ordinary: Trump and Cruz represented anti-establishment figures promising to fundamentally alter how the US operated. This thesis investigates the two forerunners in the Republican Primary and how they utilised different discourses in their bid for The White House. Of particular interest are religious discourses as early commentators discounted Trump’s potential electability among ‘value-voting’ Evangelicals; and populist discourses, as both candidates utilised people’s disaffection with the contemporary system and the discourses surrounding immigrants and other non-American groups to mobilise supporters. To achieve its objectives, this thesis considers twelve speeches by Cruz and Trump that were given during the competitive leg of the 2016 Republican Primary (1st February to the 3rd May). Content and discourse analysis are used, finding that the candidates differed on their use of religious discourse; however, used similar populist discourse. Given the similarity in populist discourses and advantages Cruz had with his religious background the conclusion is drawn that it is not the content that distinguishes Trump, but perhaps his style.Show less
In 1946 the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) established the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Commission holds two-week...Show moreIn 1946 the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) established the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Commission holds two-week sessions every year during which UN Member States engage in a general debate and organize side-events with civil society organizations (UN Women, n.d. a). The participating civil society organizations typically hold liberal beliefs on human rights and adhere to the dominant beliefs of the CSW (Rincker et al. 2019, 3). It is therefore interesting to find that pro-life organizations have frequently hosted side-events at the CSW in the past. Especially the pro-life organization C-Fam which has hosted multiple side-events in the past decade in which they present their anti-abortion campaign (UN Women, n.d. b). Even more interesting is that pro-life organizations have actively been blocked from the CSW66 which was held in March of 2022 (Tuns 2022). This makes one wonder how pro-life organizations managed to get into the CSW and present their alternative view in the first place. Based on this puzzling observation this research aims to research the framing tactics of C-Fam. The research question is as follows: How did the Center for Family and Human Rights frame their anti-abortion campaign to align with the Commission on the Status of Women between 2014-2019? To gain better insight on the organization’s narratives, a constructivist and a rationalist approach will be embedded in the overarching model of framing theory and then traced throughout the corresponding campaigns via a thematic content-analysis.Show less
A central challenge in peace research is the limited evidence on how women’s participation contributes to peacemaking. The Sudanese Revolution has often been dubbed “a women’s revolution” in...Show moreA central challenge in peace research is the limited evidence on how women’s participation contributes to peacemaking. The Sudanese Revolution has often been dubbed “a women’s revolution” in international media outlets, although women were largely sidelined during the formal peace negotiations. Current research increasingly acknowledges the weight and gendered nature of peace agreements to achieve sustainable peace, but they fail to explain the prerequisites. At the same time, the literature overlooks the qualitative aspect of women’s involvement and influence in peacemaking. Against this background, this thesis sets out to explore women’s participation in peacemaking and the implications for gender inclusive peace outcomes. The thesis follows an inductive approach and studies the case of Sudan in-depth. The data consists of Sudan’s peace agreement, and five in-depth interviews with women active during Sudan’s peacemaking process (2018-2020). The findings revealed a mechanism of outside influence, in which women’s participation through a variety of informal channels exerted pressure on the negotiation parties to incorporate gender provisions in the peace agreement, concluding that considering women in their informal efforts is as important as advocating for more women at the formal peace table.Show less
Dit onderzoek probeert de mate van presidentialisme in Nederland meetbaar te maken. Er worden hiervoor negen variabelen onder de loep genomen die te maken hebben met het gebruik van parlementaire...Show moreDit onderzoek probeert de mate van presidentialisme in Nederland meetbaar te maken. Er worden hiervoor negen variabelen onder de loep genomen die te maken hebben met het gebruik van parlementaire middelen, de electorale context, de media-aandacht, de context van de ervaring in de regering en de middelen van het ministerie van Algemene Zaken. De uitkomsten van de principale-componentenanalyse tonen aan dat twee componenten inzichten in dit onderwerp kunnen geven. In plaats van presidentialisme als eendimensionaal beschouwen, zoals lange tijd gangbaar was in de literatuur, toont dit onderzoek aan dat het een tweedimensionaal concept is. De twee componenten, namelijk politieke personalisatie en de ondersteuning van de minister-president, hangen sterk samen met de onderzochte variabelen en kunnen dus sterk worden verklaard hieruit. De trend van deze twee componenten wijst op een toename van presidentialisme in Nederland in de periode van 1946 tot en met 2021. Dit onderzoek toont kwantitatief aan dat de staatsrechtelijke positie van de Nederlandse minister-president als primus inter pares is ingehaald door de praktische realiteit en dat er nu sprake is van een status als primus super pares.Show less
Since the implementation of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance (2020), also known as the Love Jihad Law, religious conversion for marriage has become illegal...Show moreSince the implementation of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance (2020), also known as the Love Jihad Law, religious conversion for marriage has become illegal in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). This law can be understood as an attempt from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prevent the conversion of Hindu women and to further stigmatize Muslim men. This thesis analyses how this law problematizes the lives of inter-faith couples in practice. For that purpose, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with Hindus and Muslims from UP, who are in an inter-faith marriage, and with experts from organizations that support inter-faith couples and women with their right to choose. The interviews are supplemented with online stories from couples in UP. With these interviews and online stories, this thesis incorporates the lived experiences from inter-faith couples. Therefore, this thesis does not only contribute to studies on love jihad and Hindu nationalism, but it also provides insights in how the lives from inter-faith couples, regarding their relationship or marriage, have changed since the implementation of the UP Ordinance. The thesis concludes that the UP Ordinance has not only made it close to impossible for Hindu-Muslim couples to marry in UP. The criminalization of inter-faith marriages has also (1) caused inter-faith couples to lose protection and cooperation from the authorities, (2) it has stimulated Hindu nationalist groups and individuals to harass inter-faith couples and intensified the disturbance of marriages, and consider this as an ‘act of civic duty’, (3) and it has deepened feelings of suspicion and enmity amongst friends, family members and entire communities, as inter-faith couples can be denounced by anyone to the authorities.Show less
China’s dominance in the rare earth elements (REE) market and the growing importance of applications of REE are grounds for concern about the security of the supply chain of REE. Although...Show moreChina’s dominance in the rare earth elements (REE) market and the growing importance of applications of REE are grounds for concern about the security of the supply chain of REE. Although multilateral cooperation could mitigate the supply security problems on the REE market, only little multilateral cooperation takes place on REE, with existing literature on other natural resources suggesting that securitisation might impact the willingness of states to cooperate. Therefore, this thesis poses the question: ‘How does the securitisation of REE by states impact multilateral cooperation?’ Through discourse and document analysis of the case study of Australia, it argues that in this case the securitisation of REE is accompanied by multilateral cooperation that is towards the middle of the spectrum from soft to hard law. This study provides further supports that multilateral cooperation in the area of REE is limited.Show less
The creation of cyberspace has drastically problematized how states interact with each other. This thesis aims to understand the dynamics of international norms of sovereignty and non-intervention...Show moreThe creation of cyberspace has drastically problematized how states interact with each other. This thesis aims to understand the dynamics of international norms of sovereignty and non-intervention in cyberspace, and how they relate to already existing norms established in the physical world. To study this, Antje Wiener’s theory of contestation is used as a conceptual tool for explaining how norms have developed in cyberspace in the last two decades. Contestation is a social practice in which states show their disapproval of norms, aiming to alter them in their favor. Through these instances of contestation, norm development can be identified. The theory is applied to United Nations dialogues on cyberspace norms, as well as two pivotal cyberattack cases. The results of the analysis show that cyberspace norms follow a rather recognizable development pattern, going through all the stages contestation theory puts forth. Furthermore, the content of the empirical evidence shows that cyberspace norms are highly based on comparable norms in the physical world. This results in a paradox, where eventually cyberspace norms are adopted from earlier existing norms, but still need a conventional norm development of over two decades before these norms are slowly being implemented, meaning that international agreements, such as the UN Charter did not speed up this process.Show less
Theories of political legitimacy are concerned, in short, with states’ moral right to create and enforce laws and regulations, and to see these respected by their citizens. Of all available...Show moreTheories of political legitimacy are concerned, in short, with states’ moral right to create and enforce laws and regulations, and to see these respected by their citizens. Of all available theories of legitimacy, so-called consent theories are often taken to be a straightforward and convincing way of grounding such a right. Despite this advantage, many also argue that virtually no existing state secures the valid consent of its citizens, undermining the theories’ success in the real world. In face of such challenges, several thinkers have proposed various societal reforms to bring about widespread, valid consent, thereby safeguarding states’ legitimacy. The work at hand offers an overview of three of the most convincing so-called reformist consent theories and argues that all face serious challenges. It then argues that panarchy, a largely overlooked meta-political framework that defends a plurality of non-territorial states and that places citizen’s direct express consent at its core, successfully answers these challenges, gaining the theoretical upper hand over other reformist theories. It then concludes by assessing some of the strongest objections against panarchy, underlining the strengths and weaknesses of the theory, and spelling out venues for further research.Show less
This paper examines Carl Schmitt’s notion of pluralism, and as such focuses on his conception of the political. To formulate an answer to this paper’s central research question – ‘Is the Schmittian...Show moreThis paper examines Carl Schmitt’s notion of pluralism, and as such focuses on his conception of the political. To formulate an answer to this paper’s central research question – ‘Is the Schmittian notion of pluralism fundamentally at odds with the concept of the political?’ –, a diverse landscape of arguments had to be traversed. As a first approximation, the results hold that the Schmittian notion is in fact at odds with the concept of the political. Ultimately, these considerations aim to enrich and complement the debate surrounding the theory of the political.Show less
In May 2017, during an election rally in Munich, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel said something that would create international headlines: ‘The times in which we could completely depend on...Show moreIn May 2017, during an election rally in Munich, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel said something that would create international headlines: ‘The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. […] We Europeans have to take our destiny into our own hands’. The developments that followed were unique for the EU. The EU’s limited military structures already in place were being expanded, became more autonomous, and new mechanisms were created to foster more defence cooperation among the member states. Closer defence cooperation within the EU is generally being ascribed to geopolitical pressures, so how do the narratives of the US and Russia influence EU member states’ sense of urgency to cooperate in the field of defence? I combine the constructivist idea of perception with the realist idea of necessity and look at threat perception and the perceived necessity to cooperate further in defence. By analysing the narratives of the German and French political elite regarding EU defence cooperation in 2018, I come to the conclusion that while the US narratives significantly increase EU member states’ sense of urgency to cooperate in the field of defence, Russia’s narratives do not have such a significant impact.Show less
The literature on women in state-rebel peace negotiations has profusely tackled women’s roles in peace processes. It has also overwhelmingly focused on women's formal or informal involvement at the...Show moreThe literature on women in state-rebel peace negotiations has profusely tackled women’s roles in peace processes. It has also overwhelmingly focused on women's formal or informal involvement at the negotiation table. However, it has underexplored the impact of guerrilla women on negotiations. More strikingly, very few studies have explored the link between women’s presence in the ranks of a rebel group and negotiations between the state and that rebel group. To address this gap, process tracing is used in the Salvadoran civil war (1979-1992) to answer the following question: how does the presence of women in a rebel group impact peace negotiations between the state and that rebel group? I argue that the presence of women in a rebel group makes the state willing to initiate negotiations. In fact, a rebel group that recruits women establishes a bond with the local population and enhances its reputation among external audiences that value gender equality. This, in turn, strengthens the rebel group’s position vis-à-vis the state, especially if the latter is indiscriminately violent towards civilians. The empirical findings match the theoretical expectations. This study has notable implications for scholarship and policy because it adds to the literature on intra-state negotiations and highlights the importance of considering the challenges of guerrilla women when framing the peace process.Show less
