Over the last two decades, Muslim communities have been confronted with prejudice and hostility as an effect of the War on Terror and the narrative that Islam is synonymous with terrorism and...Show moreOver the last two decades, Muslim communities have been confronted with prejudice and hostility as an effect of the War on Terror and the narrative that Islam is synonymous with terrorism and violence. Instead of viewing radicalisation as a process involving deep-rooted societal issues such as discrimination and social exclusion, a disproportionate focus is put on the ideological push factor that is Islam to understand and combat radicalisation. This article examines the degree to which Islamophobia has been present in Dutch policies on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) through discourse analysis. Previous research examined the effects of elements of Islamophobia being present in governmental discourse on the Muslim communities, but there showed to be a gap in the research on how this anti-Muslim sentiment is reflected and can be recognized in governmental texts. Ten Terrorist Threat Assessment Reports that were published in the early stages of the War on Terror were compared with the ten most recent reports based on the framework of elements of a closed and open view of Islam as established by the Runnymede Trust in 1997. The analysis reveals that elements of Islamophobia have been present ever since the War on Terror in the form of constructing Muslims as the enemy and overgeneralising various factions within Islam, but have seen an increase in recent years, leading current reports to reinforce Islamophobic sentiment. This research allows for elements of Islamophobia in government texts to be recognized and confronted.Show less
This paper argues that Sam Mendes' 1917 (2019) can be viewed as a War on Terror war film rather than a First World War war film. By comparing the film to Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 film The Hurt Locker...Show moreThis paper argues that Sam Mendes' 1917 (2019) can be viewed as a War on Terror war film rather than a First World War war film. By comparing the film to Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 film The Hurt Locker, I compare the two films to show how much contemporary war culture has influenced Mendes' film, what this tells us about contemporary war culture, and also briefly discuss what this could mean for the future of American war media.Show less
After the devastating terrorist attack on September 11th 2001, the United States changed the types of counter-terrorism polices used against the threat of international terrorism. While the George...Show moreAfter the devastating terrorist attack on September 11th 2001, the United States changed the types of counter-terrorism polices used against the threat of international terrorism. While the George W. Bush administration has been greatly studied by various scholars and journalists there is little research that combines the ideology of norm decay to President George W. Bush and human rights. Specifically, in regards to the physical and mental human rights violations that occurred during the War on Terror. An in-depth analysis through the use of a theoretical framework that consist of three benchmarks will be applied to two sperate case studies; focusing on the policy tool of extraordinary rendition and the prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. By analyzing the potential pattern that emerges from the case study analysis it will allow us to determine whether there is a decay in human rights norms. The two aforementioned case studies will be evaluated against three criteria and the outcome of this will determine if there is a consistent pattern of decay. The first criteria, analyzes the number of cases of human rights violations and how these have changed during the George W. Bush administration. The second, analyzes the changes in procedures and polices enabling prisoner abuse and human rights decay. The third, analyzes accountability focusing on how the George W. Bush administration interfered in legal proceedings enabling more abuse. Conceptualizing how a norm, regarding physical and mental human rights could decay. In this context, this thesis examines how the terrorist attacks on the domestic United States resulted in a change in counter-terrorism policies, and how those changes influenced human rights as a social norm leading to a decay.Show less
Hugo Chavez Frías’ virulent discourse has until his death fed the appetite of media, politicians and academics. Mostly known for his social and anti-imperialist program as well as the success of...Show moreHugo Chavez Frías’ virulent discourse has until his death fed the appetite of media, politicians and academics. Mostly known for his social and anti-imperialist program as well as the success of his leftist movement across the Latin American region, the former Venezuelan President has also attracted attention with his denunciation of the Bush administration, the neoliberal system, and more generally the United States’ foreign policy. Publicly shaming the American government for the invasion, bombing, and killing of thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq at the 2006 United Nations Assembly, there were no doubts for the international community that Chavez’s anti-imperialist ideology had definitely shifted into an anti-American one following the 9/11 attacks and the launching of the War on Terror. That popular thinking was however challenged in the last decade by academics who passionately debated on the origins of Chavez’s anti-Americanism, some advocating a definite shift -yet unrelated to the events of 9/11, others defending the linearity of his discourse. For years, three theories have thus evolved around the figure of Hugo Chavez and the nature of his discourse. With the support of a strong theoretical framework, historical reflection and Political Discourse Analysis, this thesis ultimately aims to solve this discussion.Show less
This thesis focuses on the portrayal of American exceptionalism in American cinema. Particular attention is paid to exceptionalism during times of war with different chapter covering World War II,...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the portrayal of American exceptionalism in American cinema. Particular attention is paid to exceptionalism during times of war with different chapter covering World War II, the Vietnam War and the War on Terror respectively.Show less
Cross-border terrorism has been on the rise in South Asia, thereby costing lives of thousands civilians and creating an immense security threat. This thesis examines the influence of the Kashmir...Show moreCross-border terrorism has been on the rise in South Asia, thereby costing lives of thousands civilians and creating an immense security threat. This thesis examines the influence of the Kashmir conflict on Pakistan's political role in the War on Terror. It argues that there exists a counterterrorist gap in the War on Terror due to the spill-over effects of the Kashmir conflict. This has resulted into Pakistan's ambiguous role in the post-9/11 period, which in turn explains the security threat.Show less
The War on Terror was initiated by President George W. Bush as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The War on Terror was not just a concept, it was a range of strategies,...Show moreThe War on Terror was initiated by President George W. Bush as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The War on Terror was not just a concept, it was a range of strategies, ideologies and expectations to justify the American response to the attacks and an expression around which the American public could rally. It shaped the nature and the scope of the American counterterrorism strategy to the terrorist attacks, into a specific form of conflict. This thesis demonstrates what the two different counterterrorism strategies entailed, and the different interpretations President Bush and President Obama gave to the War on Terror. Bush approached the attacks as an ‘act of war’, and rationalized the event through the Just War theory. Whereas Obama framed the conflict as a ‘crime’, of which the perpetrators should be brought to justice, in order to end the conflict as quickly as possible. During his campaign, Obama gave the impression of a foreign policy strategy that radically moved away from Bush. However, Bush had embedded a strong hegemonic discourse regarding the War on Terror in society. This social structure was complex to change, since it was entrenched in rhetoric, media and real-life institutions. Thus, Obama faced great difficulty during his first term, in order to change this hegemonic discourse, and was severely limited in executing his intended foreign policy regarding the Middle East.Show less
This thesis argues that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as part of the War on Terror declared by President Bush in the aftermath of 9/11 can be seen in the light of American Exceptionalism. American...Show moreThis thesis argues that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as part of the War on Terror declared by President Bush in the aftermath of 9/11 can be seen in the light of American Exceptionalism. American Exceptionalism has actively been used as a discursive tool to justify US foreign intervention in the past. By looking at the historical context of American Exceptionalism one will see how American Exceptionalism originated, how it was adapted and how it was often manipulated by prominent figures in a way that served national interests throughout time. Myths and illusions surrounding American Exceptionalism were created which became part of a discourse that shaped and strengthened US national identity over the centuries. However, in the aftermath of 9/11, these pre-existing beliefs were shattered and a national identity crisis followed. Nonetheless, President Bush managed to once again accommodate and reaffirm the pre-existing national truths and to simultaneously reshape and reform them in a way that made American Exceptionalism become a state fantasy. The discourse surrounding this state fantasy became an important tool for President Bush to justify the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.Show less
In a public Congressional Hearing in 2013, Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni activist, testified to the horrors of the drone strikes conducted by the US in Yemen. Yet the story of death and destruction...Show moreIn a public Congressional Hearing in 2013, Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni activist, testified to the horrors of the drone strikes conducted by the US in Yemen. Yet the story of death and destruction that he presented was vastly different from the sterilized images created by the Obama administration’s officials. By analysing the rhetoric of drones in political speeches and the reasons for choosing drones as the “weapon of choice”, this thesis identifies how the rhetoric and use of drone warfare has sanitized the “War on Terror” in Yemen and the effects and implications of this.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
open access
This Bachelor-thesis focuses on the development of the Afghan state since the regime of the Taliban was toppled by the invasion of the United States. This thesis explores the notion that...Show moreThis Bachelor-thesis focuses on the development of the Afghan state since the regime of the Taliban was toppled by the invasion of the United States. This thesis explores the notion that misconceptions about the manner in which the regime of the Taliban governed Afghanistan have contributed to the ongoing violence and unrest that plagues Afghanistan until this day. Firstly, the functioning of a state is examined through the works of Michel Foucault and James Scott. This provides the framework in which the regime of the Taliban and the government of Hamid Karzai are analyzed. The concept of a 'failed state' as outlined by Noam Chomsky and others is used to examine to what extent the pre 9/11 Taliban-regime as well as the post 9/11 government of Hamid Karzai constitute a 'failed state'. This thesis argues that by determining that the Taliban controlled a 'failed state', the approach of the US and NATO forces used to occupy Afghanistan and build a democratic state has failed. The idea of the Taliban as a movement that did not develop state institutions or govern Afghanistan has resulted in a lack of development of state institutions by western forces. The United States and its allies believed that holding democratic elections without developing the capacity of the state would result in a stable Afghan state. This thesis argues that the Taliban was not, like many believed, simply a barbaric Islamic fundamentalist movement that presided over a 'failed state'. Rather, it is argued that the Taliban by pacifying large parts of the country, implementing a system of Islamic law and developing institutions to exert its power, governed a territory that did not wholly constitute a 'failed state'. The developments in Afghanistan can not be accurately described without analyzing the foreign policies of the Soviet Union, the United States and the neighboring countries towards Afghanistan during and after the Cold War. The spread of Islamic fundamentalism from the 1980's onward is also essential. Authors such as Ahmed Rashid and Thomas Barfield provide the accounts of these policies and developments. When the rise of the Taliban is set in the historical developments that had taken place and by taking the policies of the neighboring countries into account, an image of the Taliban as a government presiding over a state which functions to a certain extent emerges. The thesis link the misconceptions about the Taliban to Edward Said and his notion of Orientalism. Cases are analyzed which show that the Taliban can be viewed as a calculating and pragmatic movement, rather than a barbaric fundamentalist movement. Mullah Omar claimed in 1996 to be the 'Amir al-Momineen', the 'Commander of the Faithful' and therefore the rightful successor to the prophet Muhammed. Many voices in the West see this as proof of the Taliban constituting a fundamentalist movement with an erratic leader. This thesis argues that this was a calculated move by the Taliban in order to present themselves as the movement with the legitimate leader that would steer the country away from the tribal and ethnic struggles which had destroyed Afghanistan, despite being at its core a mainly Pashtun-movement which had incorporated many Pashtun tribal codes in its version of Islamic law. Incorporating many aspects of the Pashtun tribal codes can also be seen as a pragmatic policy in order to be able to govern the mainly Pashtun south of Afghanistan. This contradicts the image of the Taliban as a barbaric movement implementing a version of Islamic law which is rejected by the entire population. Another case this thesis explores using various authors is the destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan. The world reacted to this with disgust and blamed the strict Islamic policies of the Taliban and described the movement as being ignorant about the outside world. This thesis argues that the decision to blow up the statues was a calculated reaction of the Taliban to not being recognized by the world community with the exception of Pakistan, Saudi-Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan and that the movement was very much aware about its position in the arena of international relations. The occupation of American and NATO forces without developing the Afghan state created a situation in many regions of the country, especially in the south and the border area with Pakistan, where a functioning system that had been in place during the reign of the Taliban was not replaced by another system or the presence of the government. This has resulted in the reemergence of the Taliban as a rival to the power of the state in present day Afghanistan and through this, the present government of Afghanistan shares many features of a 'failed state'.Show less
