In deze scriptie is het gedrag van de Eerste Kamer bij het verwerpen van wetsvoorstellen geanalyseerd. De argumentatie van de Eerste Kamer is daarvoor vergeleken met die van de Tweede Kamer en...Show moreIn deze scriptie is het gedrag van de Eerste Kamer bij het verwerpen van wetsvoorstellen geanalyseerd. De argumentatie van de Eerste Kamer is daarvoor vergeleken met die van de Tweede Kamer en vervolgens zijn de verschillen tussen de argumentatie gekoppeld aan functies van de Eerste Kamer.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
closed access
The interaction of security and defence policy in United Kingdom has a distinct relationship. The relationship in this study was checked in the post-war stages of Iraq. The research found...Show moreThe interaction of security and defence policy in United Kingdom has a distinct relationship. The relationship in this study was checked in the post-war stages of Iraq. The research found interesting results on the interaction of policy and press. The nature of British press determines to a level the type of interaction between the two components. A combination of Hallin and Robinson’s theoretical framework was used to describe the interaction between news reporting and British defence and security policy in 2008. The empirical analysis found that the interaction in the entire period of analysis was in the level of policy dissent between the sub-systems and more specifically the political elite. The research also sought to find circumstances under which press attention to an issue such as defence and security policy would be amplified.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
2012-09-03T00:00:00Z
Over the past few decades a considerable literature, based on the populist notion of democracy, attempted to explicate the more or less successful translation of citizen demands into policy by the...Show moreOver the past few decades a considerable literature, based on the populist notion of democracy, attempted to explicate the more or less successful translation of citizen demands into policy by the political system. Yet maximizing political responsiveness need not be the highest good a democracy can aspire too. Following a liberal theory of democracy this paper moves political responsiveness to the position of the independent variable and shows that there is a connection high political responsiveness (and the risks for a tyranny of the majority this entails) and the freedom of the people living within the state. Drawing on data from the OECD and the Eurobarometer a measure of political responsiveness is developed based on behaviour, rather than attitudinal congruence. This allows the author to show the negative association between responsiveness and freedom (as captured through the CIRI Human Rights Project) in a sample of Western and Eastern European countries between 2006 and 2010.Show less
Federale begrippen die ontwikkeld zijn in een westerse context zijn moeilijk te gebruiken in de decentraliserende landen in Afrika, in casu Ethiopië en Nigeria, omdat de centrale overheid...Show moreFederale begrippen die ontwikkeld zijn in een westerse context zijn moeilijk te gebruiken in de decentraliserende landen in Afrika, in casu Ethiopië en Nigeria, omdat de centrale overheid noodgedwongen te veel macht heeft.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
closed access
Recent research of internal conflict has changed the conception of civil war from the clash of two major actors along clearly defined political cleavages because of both theoretical considerations...Show moreRecent research of internal conflict has changed the conception of civil war from the clash of two major actors along clearly defined political cleavages because of both theoretical considerations and observations of civil wars in the post-Cold War era. On one hand, micro-level inquiries of civil wars concentrate on the importance of local issues in civil war environments and call attention to the fact that such local considerations are usually more important in participation and picking sides than past research assumed. On the other hand, the binary perception of civil wars also challenged by the increase in the number of symmetrical non-conventional (SNC) civil wars, fought mainly in multiethnic states and by actors with balanced, yetmutually low military capabilities. I argue that in this type of warfare actors feel less compelled to realign along the main cleavage of the conflict as it has been shown by research on the fluidity of groupallegiance in such wars. By looking at the cases of the Armenian community during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war and the Baggara tribes of South Darfur in the Darfur conflict since 2003 I argue that SNC wars provide a good chance for pursuing neutral strategies. I argue that these neutral strategies are shaped by the values of two variables: the cohesion of the political leadership of the group and the relation between local intercommunal and supralocal national cleavages.Show less
Deze scriptie beschouwt het recht op zelfdeterminatie vanuit de politieke theorie. Eerst worden de verschillen tussen de huidige theorieën over dit thema uiteengezet, waarna er een alternatieve...Show moreDeze scriptie beschouwt het recht op zelfdeterminatie vanuit de politieke theorie. Eerst worden de verschillen tussen de huidige theorieën over dit thema uiteengezet, waarna er een alternatieve theorie wordt gepresenteerd. Hierbij wordt het recht op zelfdeterminatie voor volkeren gekoppeld aan de theorieën van John Locke.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
The South China Sea has been an area of perpetual tension between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, and Indonesia. Since 1970 there have only been a few...Show moreThe South China Sea has been an area of perpetual tension between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, and Indonesia. Since 1970 there have only been a few notable encounters between nations but plenty of strong discourse. What makes the conflict stand out is that during all these years there has been no escalation but no resolution either. There has been ample research done as to what possible solutions for the conflict may be, with varying degrees of feasibility. What is severely lacking is a better understanding of how this perpetual status quo is possible. This research looks for answers in three different theoretical schools, namely processual constructivism, hedging, and regional multilateralism. While the first particularly novel theory holds substantial explanatory power as far as China is concerned it fails to incorporate the behavior of other states. Hedging strategies in turn explain the absence of escalation rather well but not so much the absence of a resolution. It is a theory that focuses on Southeast Asian states and not all parties involved. Finally, regional multilateralism best explains the perpetuation of the conflict as well as the absence of a resolution. Ultimately, all these theories complement each other and altogether contribute to a much better understanding of the conflict.Show less
The European Union has become increasingly important in Dutch politics. The Dutch referendum on the Constitutional Treaty of 2005 marked a turning point, with a growing resistance to European...Show moreThe European Union has become increasingly important in Dutch politics. The Dutch referendum on the Constitutional Treaty of 2005 marked a turning point, with a growing resistance to European integration emerging. This study looks at the gap between Dutch MPs and Dutch voters in positions on European integration and finds that since the 2005 referendum the gap has all but closed.Show less
How is someone's level of political tolerance learned? This research explores the role of parents in learning political tolerance to their children in the ages 15 to 18.
It is interesting to look at what kind of norm the Responsibility to Protect truly is and what the effect of the norm in practice truly is. In theory a norm that creates a responsibility for the...Show moreIt is interesting to look at what kind of norm the Responsibility to Protect truly is and what the effect of the norm in practice truly is. In theory a norm that creates a responsibility for the international community to act when gross human rights violations occur sounds perfect. But, is the norm as perfect in practice as it is on paper? Is the Responsibility to Protect norm specifically created as a political instrument for states to call on so they have grounds to surpass the concept of state sovereignty? In the case that the Responsibility to Protect norm can be seen as a political instrument, is this out of humanitarian reasons or out of political motives? What are the consequences of a norm like the Responsibility to Protect in practice? These questions make clear that I’m curious about the purpose and the use of the Responsibility to Protect norm and for that I will look at different case studies. In these cases the Responsibility to Protect norm will be tested on usefulness to stop the violation of human rights. In order to establish the usefulness of the Responsibility to Protect norm I use four cases. Two prior to the official establishment of the norm, the Kosovo and Chechnya case. And, two case studies after the establishment of the Responsibility to Protect norm in order to see why the international community did or did not use the norm in these human rights crisis. These cases are: Libya (2011) and Syria (2012). I know it is very early to use Libya and Syria as case studies but they are already until this point in history very important to make my argument. In these cases the international community is involved in one way or another, but not always in the way intended by the Responsibility to Protect norm. This makes it interesting to see whether or not the Responsibility to Protect norm is just another hollow norm on paper, without any real effect in practice.Show less
Of het politieke landschap in parlementen wordt bepaald door één of meerdere scheidslijnen is een langlopend debat. In dit onderzoek tracht de onderzoeker door inhoudsanalyse van debatten in het...Show moreOf het politieke landschap in parlementen wordt bepaald door één of meerdere scheidslijnen is een langlopend debat. In dit onderzoek tracht de onderzoeker door inhoudsanalyse van debatten in het Nederlands parlement aan te tonen dat het Nederlandse parlement niet alleen in tweeën wordt gespleten door de scheidslijn van links en rechts, maar ook door een scheidslijn van lokalisme en globalisme.Show less
