In this thesis, the motivations behind the adoption of the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia will be explored. Three different explanations will be researched, namely that the law was...Show moreIn this thesis, the motivations behind the adoption of the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia will be explored. Three different explanations will be researched, namely that the law was adopted because of social movement activism, or to gain more control over the country’s natural resources, or, alternatively, in order to increase Bolivia’s international reputation. This thesis argues that all three explanations contributed to the adoption of the law.Show less
Environmental sustainability has become increasingly important in global politics and the promotion of renewable energy has received growing attention. Through its Southern European Neighborhood...Show moreEnvironmental sustainability has become increasingly important in global politics and the promotion of renewable energy has received growing attention. Through its Southern European Neighborhood Policy, the European Union invests in renewable energy in the MENA region, which has long lagged behind global renewable energy production while having major renewable energy potential. Though the EU stresses partner state development and climate goals as drivers for the ENP policy, existing literature has critically assessed the intentions of the ENP as a whole, suggesting that more Eurocentric motives drive this policy. Another set of literature surrounds the geopolitics of renewable energy and the consequences based on them. Various geopolitical incentives have been attributed to renewable energy promotion. However, there has been little formal theorization concerning the motives behind the renewable energy policy of the European Southern Neighborhood Policy. This thesis seeks to assess the intentions of EU policy for renewable energy in its MENA partner region.Show less
This paper answers the question “Why is the concept of Beyond GDP mostly implemented on the local level, and not on the national level?”. Global Domestic Product (GDP) has seen a lot of critique on...Show moreThis paper answers the question “Why is the concept of Beyond GDP mostly implemented on the local level, and not on the national level?”. Global Domestic Product (GDP) has seen a lot of critique on how it is measured, and in the recent years the concept of Beyond GDP has become more prominent. In short, Beyond GDP looks not only at economic development, but also at other indicators such as education and health. However, Beyond GDP has been mostly implemented on the local level, and not on the national level. This paper argues that the idea versus interest debate also applies for this topic. The paper proposes that ideas of policy makers do matter, and that the interest of powerful actors also play a role in this debate. The results of this paper find that ideas of policy makers do indeed matter and are important in the debate to move from GDP to Beyond GDP, both on the national and local level. On the other hand, interest play a mixed role, being somewhat important on the national level, but not important for the local level.Show less
Continuous human expansion on a planet with finite resources has intensified a variety of polluting practices and resulted in major resource inequality across the globe. Though the idea that...Show moreContinuous human expansion on a planet with finite resources has intensified a variety of polluting practices and resulted in major resource inequality across the globe. Though the idea that population control is an appropriate solution to the issue of overpopulation has seemingly disappeared from the sphere of politics since the mid 90’s, this thesis considers the resurgence of discussions to adopt a more coercive approach toward population management in India by investigating the extent to which Hindu nationalism influences contemporary demographic policymaking in India. While India’s Hindu nationalist legislators maintain that such a policy is a necessity considering the looming environmental crisis and lack of sufficient resources, there is a considerable disconnect between such claims and the country’s current demographic development. Therefore, this thesis aims to unveil governmental motivations behind the push for a two-child policy by examining policymakers’ attitudes and their framing of population growth as a justification for the novel two-child policy proposal.Show less
