From the era of Daoud Khan to the rise of the Taliban, Pashtun-centric ideology has consistently influenced Afghan political discourse. This thesis investigates the impact of colonial legacies,...Show moreFrom the era of Daoud Khan to the rise of the Taliban, Pashtun-centric ideology has consistently influenced Afghan political discourse. This thesis investigates the impact of colonial legacies, Orientalist paradigms, and power dynamics on the shaping of Afghanistan's socio-political landscape. By analyzing the connections between national identity formation and ethnicization, the study aims to deepen the understanding of Afghanistan's complex political dynamics. Ultimately, it seeks to promote a more inclusive and diverse dialogue on Afghan politics and identity.Show less
In this thesis, research has been done into the role that the US Radio broadcast played before and during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The overarching research question was: Does the United...Show moreIn this thesis, research has been done into the role that the US Radio broadcast played before and during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The overarching research question was: Does the United States share part of the blame for the Hungarian Revolution because of the anti-communistic radio propaganda they send to the Hungarian people before and during the Revolution in 1956? Two methods were used to find an answer to this question. Firstly, a wide variety of literature to determine the state of the historiographical field and a stand in the discussion if the US shares part of the blame. With this literature, the essential background information was provided to be able to understand the historical setting of the primary sources. Secondly, a case study was carried out while reviewing a good amount of primary material (93 interviews with Hungarian Refugees in the U.S. provided by the Columbia University Research Project on Hungary (CURPH) in 1957 and 1958) in a qualitative way. With this combination, new information about the thoughts and views of the Hungarian people on the Western radio broadcast and their influence embedded in the existing debate was provided. The final conclusion of this thesis is that the Hungarian people enjoyed listening to the radio programs that were sent to them by the U.S. It gave them news and entertainment from the outside world and therefore a sense of freedom. Yet, they did not believe everything they heard and remained critical, especially on the RFE. The influence of the anti-communistic propaganda was that most people expected help from the western world, especially the U.S., if a revolt were to take place. During the Revolution, the U.S. radio broadcast kept giving the Hungarian people this hope, but the U.S. did not intervene in the Revolution. Therefore, many Hungarians were rightly disappointed in the U.S. It can therefore be stated that the U.S. does indeed share part of the blame for the Hungarian Revolution.Show less
“How did American Nuclear Diplomacy and Cold War Culture Facilitate the Making of a Japanese Nuclear Powerhouse in Postwar Japan?” This thesis examines the introductory phase of nuclear power to...Show more“How did American Nuclear Diplomacy and Cold War Culture Facilitate the Making of a Japanese Nuclear Powerhouse in Postwar Japan?” This thesis examines the introductory phase of nuclear power to Japan from 1945 to 1960 with a focus on political and cultural enabling factors towards the country`s decision to “go nuclear”. The central argument of this thesis constitutes that understanding nuclear developments in Japan requires acknowledging American nuclear diplomacy efforts, Cold War dynamics and strong cultural beliefs in Science and Technology developments at that time, mainstream economic or ecological reasoning is insufficient. This thesis concludes that Japanese nuclear developments were fueled by American nuclear diplomacy efforts, an existing Cold War culture and ideological beliefs in the superiority of pioneering science and technology developments in the postwar era, which made the Japanese government and society euphoric for nuclear power, enthusiastic for nuclear adoptions. This paper enhanced understanding of the introductory phase of nuclear power from a global to a national level, exemplified and explained through Japan as an Asian regional case study deconstructed via a historically situated political and cultural contextualization.Show less
This thesis focusses on the relation between Singapore’s economic development and US geopolitical interests. Problematically, Singapore’s economic development has been predominantly analysed...Show moreThis thesis focusses on the relation between Singapore’s economic development and US geopolitical interests. Problematically, Singapore’s economic development has been predominantly analysed through an inward-centric and economically-oriented lens, which has prescribed a neglect of external geopolitical drivers. This thesis aims to fill this gap by researching Singapore’s post-war industrialization from an approach that considers external geopolitical influences as an important driver of economic development. In line with this approach, I focus on the relation between US geopolitical interests and Singapore’s post-war industrialization by building on the main theoretical insights from hegemonic stability theory and economic statecraft. Interestingly, the empirical findings of this thesis establish a substantive relation between US geopolitical interests, channelled through capital support to the city-state, and Singapore’s economic development. This is based on the empirical finding that Singapore received economic aid in the late-1960s when US geopolitical interests were threatened by suddenly emerging Singaporean instability. Accordingly, by having connected Singapore’s economic development to US Cold War interests, this thesis has complemented the contemporary state of the literature.Show less
This thesis will investigate the correlation between Italy’s oil expansionism in the USSR and tense US-Italian relations between 1958 and 1963. Given the international importance of Italy’s oil Neo...Show moreThis thesis will investigate the correlation between Italy’s oil expansionism in the USSR and tense US-Italian relations between 1958 and 1963. Given the international importance of Italy’s oil Neo-Atlanticism in the Soviet Union, as well as the academic debate concerning other factors shaping US-Italian early Cold War relations, it is relevant to understand the extent to which this element affected ties between Rome and Washington. On this note, this study will address the following (sub)question(s): How did Italy’s Neo-Atlanticist oil policy toward the USSR influence US-Italian Cold War relations between 1958 and 1963? What was the importance of the Italian oil agenda in the Soviet bloc within the wider systemic Cold War? An answer will be provided based on a qualitative assessment of two core episodes of Italian oil expansionism, namely the 1960 ENI-SNE barter agreement and the Druzhba pipeline project. Such thematic will be investigated in a decentralized Cold War system, applying Italy’s perspective of the conflict. The conclusions reached are that Italian oil Neo-Atlanticism made the US drift apart from Italy. Furthermore, through its assertive oil agenda, Italy proved its agency in the international system by (1) partnering with the USSR when convenient whilst remaining in the Western Alliance, and (2) contributing to triggering a brief period of relaxation between the two superpowers.Show less
After a military coup in 1952, the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser developed into the leader of the Arab nationalist movement that was spreading quickly throughout the Middle East. This research will...Show moreAfter a military coup in 1952, the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser developed into the leader of the Arab nationalist movement that was spreading quickly throughout the Middle East. This research will examine how Nasser challenged the pursuit of American Cold War interests in the Middle East. Nasser’s entire period of leadership will be covered: from January 1953 when the coup had just taken place until September 1970 when Nasser died. By means of a very extensive examination of the archival documents of the Foreign Relations of the United States series, this research will show that Nasser, as a powerful leader of a secondary power, was capable of seriously obstructing the pursuit of Middle Eastern interests of a superpower like the United States. Interestingly, this case study of the relations between Nasser and the US interests in the Middle East over the course of 18 years will show that Nasser’s ability to challenge the pursuit of American interests in the Middle East mainly derived from the continued American attempts to get closer to Nasser, even though he proved time and again that he could not be trusted to cooperate with. The Americans apparently valued the influence of powerful secondary powers in the Cold War very highly and therefore put a lot of effort in the attempts to get these powers to align with the American side of the global Cold War rivalry.Show less
This thesis explores different neo-fascist perspectives on the European unification process as well as on the development of a form of European identity in the 1950s and 1960s. More precisely, the...Show moreThis thesis explores different neo-fascist perspectives on the European unification process as well as on the development of a form of European identity in the 1950s and 1960s. More precisely, the research focuses on Italian and French neo-fascist magazines and actors and adopts a transnational and intellectual historical approach. Attention is also devoted to the non-European influences on the development of such neo-fascist ideas.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
2023-01-29T00:00:00Z
During the summer of 1958 Iran, Israel and Turkey concluded a secret agreement to share intelligence data and information gathering techniques. This agreement, the Periphery Pact (‘Pact’), was...Show moreDuring the summer of 1958 Iran, Israel and Turkey concluded a secret agreement to share intelligence data and information gathering techniques. This agreement, the Periphery Pact (‘Pact’), was initiated by Israel who was anxious to establish relationships with countries on the periphery of the ring of hostile Arab countries that encircled it. The Pact signatories, engaged in a diplomatic marketing initiative to sell the Pact to their Cold War sponsor, the United States in the belief that US support for the Pact was beneficial. Existing research tells us little about how the United States reacted to this sales pitch or what US policy was towards the Pact. My research of the US diplomatic archives indicate that the US response to the Periphery Pact arrangements was decidedly lukewarm. This appears inconsistent with US regional policy which was to stimulate the creation of regional defense arrangements by its regional allies to counter Soviet threats to the region. I argue that the response of the United States to the Pact may not be a complete surprise if analyzed in the light of the US response to the Baghdad Pact, a contemporaneous defense arrangement in the region. I also investigate how the US intelligence services reacted to the Pact. This aspect of the US policy towards the Pact is under-researched. This is surprising given Israel’s track record in clandestine diplomacy and its use of its regional intelligence gathering capabilities as an argument when marketing the Periphery Pact to US officials. My research indicates that the CIA displayed more interest in and provided resources to the intelligence sharing mechanism of the Periphery Pact. It may well be that the United States used clandestine diplomacy in parallel, rather than as a substitute, for normal diplomatic channels.Show less
The thesis examines the factors (experience of communism, secret police, government post-1989 and lustration) that led to the post-1989 transitional justice methods utilised in both Hungary and...Show moreThe thesis examines the factors (experience of communism, secret police, government post-1989 and lustration) that led to the post-1989 transitional justice methods utilised in both Hungary and Estonia.Show less
After more than 400 years of European imperial powers influencing the region of Mozambique and exploiting its population and a 10 years independence war (1964-1974) Mozambique gained independence...Show moreAfter more than 400 years of European imperial powers influencing the region of Mozambique and exploiting its population and a 10 years independence war (1964-1974) Mozambique gained independence in 1975. But the country that FRELIMO inherited was a country with divisions along cultural, linguistic and rural, urban lines. The country lacked a national identity as well as a developed state with resilient and established institutions. The idea of self determination and national identity, in an increasingly globalised world, has become more prominent. This has led to different strategies to aid the creation of a national identity being employed by governments of newly independent African nations. Thus, with the help of academic articles as well as the two documentaries Kuxa Kanema and Treatment of Traitors, this thesis will look at the different strategies employed in the creation of national identity and the challenges in the case of Mozambique after it’s independence until the democratic era of Mozambique. This paper will take a multi-disciplinary approach analyzing the strategies used in the domain of media, politics, linguistics and culture.Therefore, arguing that the multicultural nature of Mozambique could be used to form a Mozambican identity based on duality.Show less
The Zanzibar Revolution reflected the decades of racial oppression and injustice on the African majority population. From the Portuguese to the Omani Sultanate to the British, and once Zanzibar...Show moreThe Zanzibar Revolution reflected the decades of racial oppression and injustice on the African majority population. From the Portuguese to the Omani Sultanate to the British, and once Zanzibar became independent, A political party dominated by the Arab minority, the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP), came into power. This triggered the Zanzibar Revolution and resulted in a new government forming with a coalition between the Afro-Shirazi Party and the Umma Party. At the same time, the influences of the Cold War played an important factor in the revolution.This leads to the research question: how did foreign intervention influence the Zanzibar Revolution? By analysing the influence that the choice of ideology can have and how it can affect the types of intervention, it becomes clear that the communist bloc had a significant influence on the Zanzibar revolution and especially on the new Zanzibar government.Show less
A bachelor thesis research about the depiction of several communist interventions in East Europa through the eyes of Dutch communists and their newspaper De Waarheid.
