When thinking of African dictators who will be remembered as terrible tyrants and authoritarian leaders, Mobutu Sese Seko and Joseph Kabila, both former presidents of the Democratic Republic of...Show moreWhen thinking of African dictators who will be remembered as terrible tyrants and authoritarian leaders, Mobutu Sese Seko and Joseph Kabila, both former presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are just two that immediately spring to mind. Despite the worldwide condemnation, African authoritarian regimes have persisted, such that it seems as if the majority of Africa lacks global freedom. These regimes' capacity to rule for so many decades raises the question: how do African systems contribute to the stability and longevity of African authoritarian regimes?Show less
While crises accumulate in the developing countries, major donors decrease their aid budget. Consequently, understanding determinants of aid effectiveness is crucial to improving health around the...Show moreWhile crises accumulate in the developing countries, major donors decrease their aid budget. Consequently, understanding determinants of aid effectiveness is crucial to improving health around the World. Previous research has put forward the positive influence of democratic regimes on health improvements. Nonetheless, little is known about the role of recipients' political regimes on the success of aid project implementation. This paper seeks to clarify this relationship by answering the question “What is the effect of regime type on the effective implementation of project-aid targeted to health?”. The study focuses on the World Bank projects in the health sector in Africa. An OLS approach is chosen to investigate democratic mechanisms, data is retrieved through the Independent Evaluation Group and Freedom House. The results show a positive but weak non-significant effect of democracy on aid effectiveness. Hence, findings do not provide evidence that democracies are better at implementing health aid projects. Using a larger sample is recommended for future studies.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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In mijn scriptie heb ik geprobeerd mijn onderzoeksvraag “hoe gebruiken auteurs African Wax om hun verhaal te vertellen?" te beantwoorden. Hiervoor heb ik in mijn eerste hoofdstuk gekeken naar de...Show moreIn mijn scriptie heb ik geprobeerd mijn onderzoeksvraag “hoe gebruiken auteurs African Wax om hun verhaal te vertellen?" te beantwoorden. Hiervoor heb ik in mijn eerste hoofdstuk gekeken naar de geschiedenis van de stoffen van Vlisco. Deze stoffen zijn gebaseerd op de traditionele Indonesische Batik. De stoffen worden geproduceerd in Nederland, maar krijgen in Afrika betekenis door marktvrouwen. Ik heb gekeken welke termen passen bij de stof die het bedrijf maakt en tevens kritisch gereflecteerd op deze geschiedenis. Zo zijn er mensen kritisch op de termen die Vlisco gebruikt op hun website, waaronder ‘rijke geschiedenis’ en ‘interconnectedness’. Vervolgens heb ik in het tweede hoofdstuk onderzocht of de stof te lezen is als een narratieve tekst en / of een cultuurtekst. Ik heb hiervoor de theorie van Bal en Meijer gebruikt en toegepast op een was-print van Vlisco genaamd Don’t get married empty-handed. In mijn derde hoofdstuk heb ik de films ( en in het bijzonder het gebruik van was-prints) Xala van Abderrahmane Sissako en Bamako van Ousmane Sembène geanalyseerd. Uit mijn analyse kwam naar voren dat er overeenkomsten, maar ook verschillen zijn in de manier waarop de auteurs de was-prints gebruiken. Als laatste heb ik in mijn vierde hoofdstuk het gebruik van African Wax en prints in twee werken van de kunstenaar Yinka Shonibare bestudeerd: Space Walk en Leisure lady (with pugs). Voor Space Walk maakte Shonibare een eigen was-print, waar hij in Leisure lady juist een imitatie maakte van een Vlisco stof. Ik heb het betekenis effect? van beide prints in beide werken onderzocht. Ook heb ik de werken gebruikt om te reflecteren op uitspraken gedaan door van het hoofd van de ontwerpafdeling van Vlisco. In mijn conclusie zal blijken dat auteurs African Wax in hun films verwerken, vaak om een bestaande boodschap te versterken, maar soms ook om extra betekenis toe te voegen.Show less
This paper examines the intrinsic relationship between the Western model of nature conservation and the forced removal of pastoralists, the Maasai, in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The...Show moreThis paper examines the intrinsic relationship between the Western model of nature conservation and the forced removal of pastoralists, the Maasai, in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The historical background contextualises the origins of so-called fortress conservation in the colonial period and the establishment of protected areas. The research takes a political ecology approach to establish a connection between nature conservation activities of international actors, national policymaking in conservation areas and the impact on the Maasai’s livelihood. The case of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area illustrates the enhancement of securitised nature conservation concerning biodiversity protection of ecosystems. However, this approach excludes indigenous peoples from the discourse of ecosystem protection and is inherently neo-colonial. For a better understanding, it argues for the equal inclusion of indigenous peoples in nature conservation efforts.Show less
This thesis compares the archaeobotanical remains from two Roman-era, Egyptian port sites: Berenike and Myos Hormos. A focus is put on the origin of the discovered materials, particularly in the...Show moreThis thesis compares the archaeobotanical remains from two Roman-era, Egyptian port sites: Berenike and Myos Hormos. A focus is put on the origin of the discovered materials, particularly in the context of the Silk Routes trade network of which these ports were a part. It concludes that Berenike seemingly had a larger focus on trade with Africa than Myos Hormos. Also, while both ports had Indian goods in their record, none seemed to have had a more pronounced focus on that subcontinent, although that was hypothesized beforehand. Furthermore, Berenike shows a decrease in the variety of goods traded after its period of inactivity in the 2nd and 3rd century, especially in regards to Indian goods. However, the variety and amount of local and African goods increased. The concurrent demise of Myos Hormos in this period did not seem to have an effect on the traded goods. Finally, this thesis served as a good example of how comparitive research beyond the level of the individual site could benefit the field of Silk Routes research, and which challenges this approach faces.Show less
This thesis analyses the role of political factors in conflict arising from climate change through a single case study of the farmer-herder conflict in Laikipia, Kenya. A better understanding of...Show moreThis thesis analyses the role of political factors in conflict arising from climate change through a single case study of the farmer-herder conflict in Laikipia, Kenya. A better understanding of climate change and conflict is necessary, as there is no clear consensus among scholars. This thesis uses political ecology that states that political factors, such as politicised ethnicity, access to land tenure, and perception of identity have a direct influence on conflict. It criticises the environmental scarcity theory, which states that resource scarcity due to climate change directly influences conflict. Mixed methods are used to analyse the role of political factors. The process tracing method is used to test whether power relations in politics influence conflict and the qualitative content analysis method is used to support process tracing by providing inside into the political factors presented in three major Kenyan newspapers. The results show that perception of identity, access to land tenure, and politicised ethnicity all contribute to a negative impact on the ability of pastoralists to access and influence the distribution of resources. This causes the competition for resources to become violent. The findings also show there is indirect link between climate change and conflict. These findings are in line with political ecology theory. Therefore, this thesis contributes to the theory and discussion in the literature about climate change and conflict.Show less
This thesis is concerned with economic development in Gabon and how it relates to the large oil industry in Gabon. The thesis will discuss how oil effected politics in Gabon and discuss why the...Show moreThis thesis is concerned with economic development in Gabon and how it relates to the large oil industry in Gabon. The thesis will discuss how oil effected politics in Gabon and discuss why the presence of large oil reserves that resulted in high revenues did not result in broad economic development. Through a historical analysis this thesis will explore how current economic conditions were shaped by politics, governmental policy, and Gabon's history of colonialism. The thesis concludes that the unique relations with France, bad public policy and a volatile commodities market resulted in limited economic growth.Show less
This paper researches Burkina Faso, an African country that is known for its performance of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a form of violence against women and girls. Does a higher level of...Show moreThis paper researches Burkina Faso, an African country that is known for its performance of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a form of violence against women and girls. Does a higher level of education for women decrease the performance of FGM in developing countries? The research is about FGM in Burkina Faso which eventually allows us to say more about the influence of educational levels on the performance of FGM in general. In Burkina Faso, we have seen a decrease in the prevalence of FGM over the last 10 years. Even though FGM has been banned since 1996 the practice is still very common. Even now more than 70% of girls and women underwent this operation (Equality Now, 2021). We will do a statistical analysis to show the relationship between education and the prevalence of FGM. We also highlight the social norms and convention theory that lay behind this causation. The findings indicate that a higher level of education increases the chance that a woman is uncircumcised, controlling for Type of Place of Residence, Religion, Worked in the Last 12 Months, Ever Heard of Female Cutting, Wealth, and Husbands/Partner’s Education. We also found that the odds of being uncircumcised rise when women have educated partners. When educated men become more willing to marry an uncircumcised woman it suggests a break, caused by education, from the social norms and beliefs that form the traditional practice of FGM within Burkina Faso.Show less
This research investigates whether or not the resource curse remains applicable when a state transitions from oil dependency to water dependency. In the context of Sudan, this thesis investigates...Show moreThis research investigates whether or not the resource curse remains applicable when a state transitions from oil dependency to water dependency. In the context of Sudan, this thesis investigates the strategic choices of the Salvation Regime during this transition from the '60s till the fall of the regime in '19. Results of this research indicate that (continued) strategic dependency on foreign powers and distributive efforts to capture the voting block domestically by the government strongly reflect on symptoms predicted by the resource curse model.Show less
This research project attempts to answer how the European Union has evolved its policymaking perspective towards Africa and the Africa Union in particular, in the light of developments over the...Show moreThis research project attempts to answer how the European Union has evolved its policymaking perspective towards Africa and the Africa Union in particular, in the light of developments over the past 15 years. It does so by building a broad theoretical framework based on different perspectives within IR, applied to the EU-Africa relationship. The framework consists of neorealism, neoliberal, constructivist perspectives, as well as the literature on Market Power Europe. Joint policy documents by the European Union and the African Union, as well as statements and speeches by top-level EU officials constitute the means by which these policymaking changes can be captured. Any captured change or shift in the perspective and motivation of policymakers could then be situated within the theoretical framework provided. It was found that there had indeed been a shift in policymaking perspective over the stated period, from a more basic neoliberal understanding of international relations and particularly cooperation and development, to a more robust normative and assertive geopolitical and cooperative stance. It is likely that these policy shifts were informed at least in part by the changes global and geopolitical landscape. This paper affirms the continued importance of the EU-Africa relationship, not just to the EU or Africa, but to the world as a whole.Show less
