Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Julius Caesar beschrijft in de De Bello Gallico dat hij 430.000 Usipetes en Tencteri heeft gedood. Een enorm aantal slachtoffers dat in onze maatschappij al snel de stempel genocide zou krijgen. In...Show moreJulius Caesar beschrijft in de De Bello Gallico dat hij 430.000 Usipetes en Tencteri heeft gedood. Een enorm aantal slachtoffers dat in onze maatschappij al snel de stempel genocide zou krijgen. In de Romeinse tijd werd Caesar hier niet voor aangeklaagd, maar werd er een aanklacht ingediend tegen hem om het breken van officieuze internationale wetten. Dit laat al een verschil in perspectief zien tussen de Romeinse en onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek wil ik in kaart brengen wat het verschil is in perspectief van de Romein en van de moderne mens met betrekking tot de vele Germaanse slachtoffers in de veldslag tussen Caesar en de Usipetes en Tencteri in 55 v.Chr en hoe Caesar dit beeld heeft kunnen beïnvloeden door middel van het schijven van de Gall.Show less
In 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue,...Show moreIn 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue, appropriate responses to it and responsibility to be taken. As linkages were drawn between the perception of the rainforest fires as a global environmental problem, and ramifications for the pursuance of economic interests, the case of the political discussion around the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires is illustrative of valuations of the environment within a Global Political Economy (GPE) context. In order to further understanding of these valuations, this thesis looks into the use of particular conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales, which both come forward in political ecology literature. Through a textual analysis of statements by civil society actors, Amazonian countries and foreign governments, it finds that ecological change is made political, and political legitimacy is created or limited for different involved actors, through references to the value of the Amazon rainforest and the scale of this value. This leads to the conclusion that conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales reflect and have implications for the ways in which we define environmental problems, politicize the environment and allocate forms of environmental responsibility to different actors.Show less
This thesis explores the role of the OEEC in the management of Western European overseas colonies. Through a qualitative historical research drawing mainly on the archival collection of the OEEC,...Show moreThis thesis explores the role of the OEEC in the management of Western European overseas colonies. Through a qualitative historical research drawing mainly on the archival collection of the OEEC, it argues that beyond its primary objectives of administering Marshall Aid, the OEEC became a platform in which Western European powers organized their relations with their overseas territories. Beyond economic concerns, these territories were considered as a political question, and the OEEC developed into a venue in which the interests of Europe were safeguarded, at the crossroads between integration and decolonization.Show less
Chinese dynasties are often described in terms of “universal emperorship”, because their territory was vast and they had a large influence on the wider region. This has also been applied to the Han...Show moreChinese dynasties are often described in terms of “universal emperorship”, because their territory was vast and they had a large influence on the wider region. This has also been applied to the Han dynasty, which is the first major Chinese dynasty. However, there is much evidence suggesting that the Han empire used a more limited notion of empire, which challenges the theory of universal emperorship. Therefore, this paper explores the question: to what extent does the foreign policy of the Han dynasty reflect the principle of universal emperorship? To answer this question, historical evidence about the foreign policy of the Former Han dynasty is analyzed according to three aspects of universal emperorship: political emperorship, geographical emperorship and cultural emperorship. This case study yields the conclusion that the foreign policy of the Han empire does not reflect the theory of universal emperorship. Instead, the Han dynasty accepted the independence of other states, and sought for equal relations with their leaders. This result suggests that the association between Chinese empires and universal emperorship has to be revised.Show less
Trust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between...Show moreTrust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and trust in the European Parliament is influenced by nationalism. The question central to this thesis is: To what degree does nationalism affect the relation between Eastern orthodox religiousness and an individual's level of trust in the European Union in Bulgaria and Cyprus? The objective of the research is to find how strong the relation is between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust in an environment where the potential link between Eastern orthodoxy and nationalism is at its strongest. Excising literature suggested that in majority Orthodox countries, there seems to be a strong tie between nationalism, a variable with a historic negative relation to European support, and Eastern orthodoxy, a variable that has a historic positive relation with European support. Therefore the expectation is that when excluding nationalism from the analysis, the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust would be more negative compared to the analysis with nationalism included. However, through a multiple regression analysis using the data from the European Social Survey, this hypothesis finds no supporting evidence for the supposed relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust. The inclusion of nationalism into the regression does not make a significant change to this result. Instead, nationalism seems to be a strong predictor for European trust without heavily affecting the effect of Eastern orthodoxy. This leads to the conclusion that to understand Euroscepticism, factors like country of residence and emotional attachment to a country make for stronger predictors of Euroscepticism compared to religion.Show less
This Masters’ thesis aims to answer the question of how China employs the pursuit of equitably distributed economic growth within the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster (or shorter: Cheng-Yu cluster)...Show moreThis Masters’ thesis aims to answer the question of how China employs the pursuit of equitably distributed economic growth within the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster (or shorter: Cheng-Yu cluster) in promoting the cluster in East Asian international production networks (IPNs). A proper and efficient division of labor across multiple locations – when well managed and guided by the government – factors significantly in the success of the city cluster, which is part of IPNs. This thesis intends to contribute to earlier research on the cluster by looking at the geographic differences in terms of development within the cluster. I conclude that the Chinese government envisions the promotion of the Cheng-Yu cluster in East Asian IPNs through the pursuit of equitably distributed economic growth by way of assigning roles to specifically defined cities, but the allocation of roles is very broad and a more well-defined distribution of roles may benefit the equitability of growth distribution and the effective incorporation in IPNs.Show less
De journalistiek ligt de laatste tijd steeds meer onder vuur. Van buitenaf klinken geluiden dat journalisten nepnieuws verspreiden of zich voor het karretje laten spannen als een propagandamachine....Show moreDe journalistiek ligt de laatste tijd steeds meer onder vuur. Van buitenaf klinken geluiden dat journalisten nepnieuws verspreiden of zich voor het karretje laten spannen als een propagandamachine. Hierdoor neemt de druk op de journalistiek steeds meer toe, waardoor deze zich ook moet verdedigen tegen de kritiek van buitenaf. Het doel van dit onderzoek is om te achterhalen hoe Nederlandse journalisten omgaan met kritiek en haatdragende taal van buitenaf. Om hierachter te komen staat de volgende onderzoeksvraag centraal: Op wat voor manier(en) verweren Nederlandse journalisten van nieuwsmedia zich tegen kritische opmerkingen en hate speech van buitenaf? Om deze vraag te beantwoorden zijn elf journalisten van tien verschillende Nederlandse nieuwsmedia een-op-een geïnterviewd. Alle elf de journalisten zijn gevraagd naar hun visies en ervaringen op zes onderdelen: de journalistieke professie, maatschappelijke taken van de journalist, de relatie tot het publiek, de kritiek en soorten kritiek, het omgaan met de kritiek en ten slotte de effecten van de kritiek. Uit de antwoorden zijn verschillende manieren van omgaan met kritiek naar voren gekomen, waarbij meerdere journalisten aangeven dat zij de kritiek makkelijk van zich laten afglijden. Bovendien zijn meerdere journalisten bereid om te reageren op kritiek, al stopt die welwillendheid vaak wanneer er scheldwoorden aan te pas komen.Show less
With the adoption of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 the EU renewed its quest for attaining strategic autonomy. However, the EU document did not specify what would constitute European...Show moreWith the adoption of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 the EU renewed its quest for attaining strategic autonomy. However, the EU document did not specify what would constitute European strategic autonomy (ESA), so, as is the case with the EU’s external policies, the national perspectives of Member States are its obvious basis. Historically, the Netherlands has been an obstructionist when it came to European security and defence integration due to its Atlanticist position, begging the question: how is European strategic autonomy represented in Dutch politics? To understand the Dutch perspective and positioning regarding ESA, this thesis drew from the field of Critical Geopolitics, conducting an interpretive-explanatory research employing discourse analysis by analysing statements made by party representatives in the Tweede Kamer during the period of 2016-2021. Three distinct schools of thought underpinning the representations of ESA in the Dutch debate. The Sovereigntists are Eurosceptics who present ESA as an attempt to establish a European army and a threat to national sovereignty. The Europeanists actively champion ESA and envision it as an emancipatory project to make the EU able to act independently of the US because it is an increasingly unreliable ally. The Atlanticists present ESA as an opportunity to take responsibility within NATO and improve burden-sharing with the US. This thesis found that the Dutch debate regarding European security policy has substantially Europeanised. While the Atlanticists are still cautious, they no longer take an active obstructionist position, instead adopting Europeanist talking-points from the 90s. Considering this Europeanist momentum, there is potential for the Netherlands to become an active and serious promotor of ambitious European security commitments.Show less
This thesis looks at the role of Japan during the negotiations of a large-scale free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)....Show moreThis thesis looks at the role of Japan during the negotiations of a large-scale free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Previously, academic discourse such as the pivotal state theory by Solís and Katada has focused on role of Japan during mega-FTAs. However, most of this research has been focused on Japan during CPTPP negotiations. This thesis looks at Japan’s role within RCEP, as it is the first mega-FTA with China. How does Japan’s influence compare to China during RCEP negotiations? By way of methodological triangulation, this thesis will measure the influence of Japan. While there are limitations, Japan was able to influence some regulations, especially regarding tariff reduction, intellectual property and e-commerce. That being said, while Japan hoped to include India within RCEP, India withdrew in the last stage of negotiations. This is because that Japan’s position within negotiations was hampered among others by its interventionist agricultural lobby. As Japan’s influence within RCEP was limited, it remains an unlikely pivotal state while China’s influence grows. With its analysis, this thesis will contribute to a broader academic discourse on the pivotal state theory, as well as the developments of mega-FTA negotiations in general.Show less
