Latin America counts as the most dangerous continent for journalists to perform their profession, leaving an open question on the causation of this. The academic debate on violations against...Show moreLatin America counts as the most dangerous continent for journalists to perform their profession, leaving an open question on the causation of this. The academic debate on violations against journalists in Latin America seems to be dominated by the independent variables freedom of press, media concentration and impunity as lack of rule of law in the context of globalization and democratization. While according to Josephi mostly Western evaluation is used in the Studies of Journalism (Mellado et al. 61), the thesis presented will include Latin American literature as well. One of these Western assumptions is, that democratization simultaneously leads to higher press freedom and less media control which will be investigated in the case studies of Chile and Mexico. Moreover, it will mainly be a comparison of especially Chile and Mexico in 2000-2016, because both countries illustrate two sides of a coin, Mexico as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists at the moment and Chile with no recent cases of murdered journalists and officially a free press. It will, therefore, be a comparison of two extreme cases which promises insight on the development of journalism in Latin America and the importance of emphasizing on local differences rather than generalizing a whole continent.Show less
The impunity in Mexicohas reached such a high level that there is an increasing necessity of international influence to improve the situation. In this thesis it has been investigated when the...Show moreThe impunity in Mexicohas reached such a high level that there is an increasing necessity of international influence to improve the situation. In this thesis it has been investigated when the international involvement is triggered and whether or not the corruption which results in impunity is less when the international community is more involved in the case. A diferatation is made between bilateral involvement and that of the whole international community (via the United Nations for example) and the focus lies on the latter. As a case study the disappearance of 43 students is taken.Show less
This thesis examines to which extend the Doha declaration, made by the World Trade Organisation in 2001 which promotes the universal access to medication and aims to protect human health, has had...Show moreThis thesis examines to which extend the Doha declaration, made by the World Trade Organisation in 2001 which promotes the universal access to medication and aims to protect human health, has had an impact on the provision of AIDS medication. In addition, since research has claimed that the provision of AIDS medication causes a drop in AIDS-related mortality rates, the second question which the thesis aims to answer arises whether the provision of the AIDS medication indeed contributed to a higher decrease in the AIDS-related mortality rates. Both questions will be examined in the context of Brazil since this country was the first developing/middle-income country which implemented the provision of free AIDS medication as a national policy. In order to answer both questions, this thesis compares the data found concerning Brazil's provision of the AIDS medication and Brazil's AIDS-related mortality rates, between the period before and after the Doha declaration in 2001. The comparison of the data shows that a negligible difference can be find in the provision of AIDS medication before and after the Doha declaration in 2001. Nevertheless, the difference in the data of the AIDS-related mortality rates in Brazil is rather significant and represents a high decrease in the AIDS-related mortality rates after the implementation of the Doha declaration in 2001.Show less
The rise of drug-related violence which Mexico has experienced since 2007 has attracted a lot of attention worldwide. The rise of violence is related to the administration of president Felipe...Show moreThe rise of drug-related violence which Mexico has experienced since 2007 has attracted a lot of attention worldwide. The rise of violence is related to the administration of president Felipe Calderón, which term of office began in December 2006. Although the violence within Mexico was already at a high level to begin with, the level of violence increased even further under his government. This was due to his ‘war on drugs’ which he launched immediately after his inauguration on the first of December. This meant an extremely militarized approach, in an attempt to diminish the activities of the drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) heavily present in the country. While the final goal of the president was to limit the extent of the drug cartels to such a degree that it would no longer be a threat to Mexican national security, but instead a problem for the country’s law enforcement, the Calderón administration failed severely in accomplishing this. This has also been illustrated by the Conflict Barometer, composed by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK), which classified Mexico’s armed conflict as an ‘intrastate war’ in 2010, which raised the level of conflict intensity from 4 to 5 (Lier 1). The focus of this paper will be the trade-off between security and human rights during the Calderón administration. With the government’s approach to enforce security in the country, they have increased both the levels of violence within the country, with disastrous results for the human rights situation in the country with not only the DTOs as perpetrators, but also the Mexican government. This paper will research whether the human rights violations by the governments can be allowed to ensure Mexican national security regarding the DTOs, and look into the factors which have influenced this. This will be accomplished by firstly establishing a theoretical framework for further understanding of the paper, followed by giving a historical context of the security issue within Mexico. For this will be looked to the period between 1970 and 2006, which should allow a clear understanding of the former authoritarian regime which is due to the recent transition to electoral democracy, extremely relevant to the security issues Mexico experienced under the Calderón government. Subsequently, it will also look into the policies related to the DTOs conducted by the governments before Calderón came into power and how these were influenced by external actors. This second chapter will also analyze the human rights situation under the authoritarian regimes before the careful transition to democracy in 2000. Naturally, both the earlier policies regarding the DTOs, and the human rights situation during earlier de Rijk 3 Mexican governments have strongly influenced the situation the Calderón government was dealing with, making it also extremely relevant to the trade-off between security and human rights during the ‘war on drugs’. The third chapter will look into the actual Calderón administration, and thoroughly analyze the policies employed during Calderón’s term of office and the human rights situation influenced by this, in order to finally make an extensive conclusion regarding the balance between security and human rights between 2006 and 2012.Show less
In 2003, Argentina took an apparent left turn, and a power couple, Néstor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ruled the country from 2003 until the final month of 2015. This work...Show moreIn 2003, Argentina took an apparent left turn, and a power couple, Néstor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ruled the country from 2003 until the final month of 2015. This work is interested in looking at the reorientation of Argentine foreign policy during the Kirchner administrations from alignment with Washington to enhanced friendship with Chávez’ Venezuela. It attempts to answer the following research questions: “What are the main reasons for Argentina’s close relations with Venezuela from 2003 to 2015?”, “in how far can the deepening of this relationship be explained and understood by Argentina’s domestic economic and political factors?”, and, lastly, “to what extent has pragmatism shaped Argentina’s rapprochement with Venezuela?”Show less
This thesis takes part in the discussion of citizenship in an age of migration and transnational identification. It argues that traditional conceptions of citizenship, that view legal and national...Show moreThis thesis takes part in the discussion of citizenship in an age of migration and transnational identification. It argues that traditional conceptions of citizenship, that view legal and national membership as singular, are becoming increasingly inadequate to reflect the the reality of our globalised world. Through transnational and migration theory, it is now understood that migrants, or transmigrants, are able to foster multiple identities and connections with the countries to which they travel, whilst maintaining ties with their countries of origin. The case of 1.5 generation Salvadoran deportees, who migrated to the U.S. as young children, provides a significant example of a group whose complex social and national identity did not correspond with their exclusive legal status as Salvadoran citizens. This group came to identify strongly with the U.S., having been socialised their from a young age, only to be later removed on the grounds of their lack of legal affiliation with the country. The contradictions inherent in the rationale behind their removal were later revealed through the groups continued identification with the U.S., and also their social alienation on return to El Salvador. Therefore, as opposed to conventional belief, this group shows that citizenship and national identity are not inextricably intwined, and can often conflict when the former is restricted to the jurisdiction of a single nation-state.Show less
During the mid-1990s, several Latin American countries became acquainted with conditional cash transfer programs (CCT’s). These government-financed programs provide cash grants to impoverished...Show moreDuring the mid-1990s, several Latin American countries became acquainted with conditional cash transfer programs (CCT’s). These government-financed programs provide cash grants to impoverished families, on the condition that they fulfil health- and education-related conditionalities (Lomelí, 2008: 476). The Brazilian government has been operating its Bolsa Família Program (BFP) since 2003. It is the CCT program with the highest amount of grantees worldwide (De Brauw et al,. 2013: 488). Cash grants are handed out to female grantees of the BFP (De Brauw et al., 2013: 487). The research of this thesis will focus on the question in how far the BFP has an impact on female empowerment. The first chapter will be centred on an academic debate of the concepts of empowerment and specifically female empowerment. Moreover, CCT programmes in general will be defined, as well as their pros, cons and their link to female empowerment. The second chapter will place the BFP within the wider, historical perspective of social assistance and earlier CCT programs in Brazil. Firstly, a concise history of the first social assistance initiatives and the first federal initiative will be provided. Then, the focus will lie on how the federal constitution of 1988 has broken with the old views on social assistance, and how it made social protection a right to the most vulnerable citizens of the state, such as the elderly and the disabled. Third, the social assistance schemes initiated by the Cardoso administration will be discussed. Finally, a brief summary of the social assistance schemes under the Lula government, including the BFP, will be provided. The third chapter will consist of a case study about the effect of the implementation of the BFP on female empowerment. The case study will discuss whether the BFP has contributed to an increased level of self-esteem of female beneficiaries, a positive effect on the social life of female beneficiaries, a positive effect on intra-household relations, an increased level of citizenship of female beneficiaries, a change of the traditional gender roles, and a positive effect on the decrease of the gender gap.Show less
This thesis investigates whether vigilante self-defense groups in Mexico's Tierra Caliente (Michoacán)can be considered legitimate in the context of the state failing to provide security to its...Show moreThis thesis investigates whether vigilante self-defense groups in Mexico's Tierra Caliente (Michoacán)can be considered legitimate in the context of the state failing to provide security to its citizens.Show less
In Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s [CFK] numerous speeches towards the Argentineans, other regional leaders and the members of the United Nations, CFK often criticises the West, International...Show moreIn Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s [CFK] numerous speeches towards the Argentineans, other regional leaders and the members of the United Nations, CFK often criticises the West, International Financial Institutions and neoliberalism. This thesis aims to discover what these speeches reveal about Argentina’s foreign policy issues [FPIs]. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the concept of State sovereignty, considering that CFK’s criticism towards the behaviour of the West is often reflected as colonialism and infringement of Argentina’s State sovereignty. In her speeches sovereignty is often reflected as of great importance to Argentina, but why? The research question is therefore formulated as: What do President Fernandez de Kirchner’s speeches on Argentina’s foreign policy issues reveal about the importance of State sovereignty to the Argentine Republic? This thesis will focus on CFK’s annual speeches before the UN General Assembly. We will discover that the speeches on FPIs reveal that in fact Argentina’s national interests are not secured and threatened, caused by the decision-making system of multilateral bodies [MBs]. These MBs are dominated by the developed countries and therefore reflect their interests and values. The developed countries therefore infringe Argentina’s State sovereignty by means of these MBs, by both the absence of mutual recognition and dealing on equal basis. CFK regards the behaviour of developed countries as unfair, abusing the weaker position of developing States for their own benefits.Show less
Chile's main police force, the Carabineros de Chile, is publicly perceived as the most legitimate institution of the country with even higher levels of confidence than the one of the government or...Show moreChile's main police force, the Carabineros de Chile, is publicly perceived as the most legitimate institution of the country with even higher levels of confidence than the one of the government or the Catholic Church. This is surprising and exceptional in the Latin American context, since the Carabineros have been actively involved on the side of the military regime during the dictatorship. Moreover, crime rates have kept rising since the return to democracy in 1990. This thesis seeks to investigate how the Chilean police has been able to construct such high levels of police legitimacy from 1990 to 2015. Furthermore, it explores the role of the media and the perception of insecurity in constructing police legitimacy.Show less
“A República Federativa do Brasil buscará a integração económica, política, social e cultural dos povos da América Latina, visando à formação de uma comunidade latino-americana de nações” - 1988...Show more“A República Federativa do Brasil buscará a integração económica, política, social e cultural dos povos da América Latina, visando à formação de uma comunidade latino-americana de nações” - 1988 Brazilian Constitution In the Brazilian constitution of 1988 it was already determined that regional integration of Latin America on various levels would be of great relevance to Brazil’s future foreign policy strategies (Gratius and Saraiva 3). Throughout history, Brazil has used its geographical size, population, and large economy as motives for Brazil to expand its influence in the international order. Economically, Brazil has the 7th highest GDP in the world (World Bank). Much has been written about Brazilian foreign policy during various periods and under different leaders (Burges “Brazilian” 6). This thesis examines Brazil’s foreign policy during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s and Dilma Rousseff’s presidencies. Through a theoretical framework of the concepts of pragmatism, autonomy, and regionalism, Brazil’s role in the international arena is examined. Although pragmatism and autonomy are relatively continuous elements of Brazilian foreign policy which have been discussed in academic literature extensively, their relation to the regional integration and increasing international influence of Brazil has not been researched as much. The theoretical framework thus aims to create a foundation on which further analysis of Brazil since 2003 can be based. Through a contextual analysis of post-Cold War Brazil in relation to the theoretical framework, insight is given in order to further understand Brazil’s foreign policy strategy since 2003. Thus by combining the theoretical framework with the historical background of Brazilian foreign policy, a case study of Brazilian foreign policy can be executed. Within the case study Brazil’s ambition to exert itself as a regional leader, and consequently gain influence in the international arena is discussed through Brazil’s position in Mercosur and other (regional) bodies. An analysis of Brazil’s foreign policy decisions under Lula and Rousseff regarding these aforementioned concepts give insight into the rising influence of Brazil. Furthermore, through this comparative analysis the policy implications for Brazil’s (near) future can be outlined. Thus this thesis answers the question in what ways has Brazil further established its regional and international presence through foreign policy decisions regarding regional bodies, such as Mercosur, since Lula became president in 2003? in order to gain greater insight into Brazil’s future position in the international order.Show less
