The importance of memories and how they are shaped politically to influence identity perceptions is the focus of this paper. Specifically, how following mass trauma state actors select memories to...Show moreThe importance of memories and how they are shaped politically to influence identity perceptions is the focus of this paper. Specifically, how following mass trauma state actors select memories to nourish national narratives that build the post-conflict nation. Postgenocide Rwanda is explored and how centring the memory of genocide at the core of national identity redefines what it means to be Rwandan. Defining post-genocide Rwanda places Tutsi-victimisation and survivorhood at the forefront of Rwandan identity. This, disallows Hutu and Batwa public acknowledgment of their memories and marginalises the unacknowledged memories of Hutu and Batwa. Identity perceptions are reconstructed under post-genocide Rwanda explicitly as inclusive and promoting unity but this thesis shows that genocide identity perceptions remain in post-genocide Rwanda concealing ethnic discrimination under narratives of unity.Show less
How does the Chinese government use digital technology to sustain its political legitimacy? This paper seeks to offer new insight into the ways by which the Chinese state adapts to and utilizes...Show moreHow does the Chinese government use digital technology to sustain its political legitimacy? This paper seeks to offer new insight into the ways by which the Chinese state adapts to and utilizes technological advancements to their own advantage. At first, this paper provides an introduction of prominent existing literature on the relationship between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and authoritarian regimes. The overarching motivation for this exploratory paper is that previous studies do not provide for a comprehensive enough overview of the use of ICT by the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). As such, the findings of this paper largely moves away from the well-documented ways in the literature on “repression technology” in China. This paper argues that the Chinese government has successfully aligned its interests with private technological corporations within the country, thus giving it a new avenue to e-governance and maintaining political legitimacy. The most prominent example that will be discussed is the use of digital technology for poverty alleviation purposes. Finally, the paper sheds light on the false dichotomy of “liberation technology” versus “repression technology”, arguing that the case of China does not fall into either category.Show less
