The thesis provides a multilevel analysis of how democratic ideas of post-secularism can result in undemocratic policies of anti-secularism. Although AKP initially supported as a cure to Turkey's...Show moreThe thesis provides a multilevel analysis of how democratic ideas of post-secularism can result in undemocratic policies of anti-secularism. Although AKP initially supported as a cure to Turkey's existing problems resulted from Kemalist secularism, and this approach is supported by the EU in the process of integration, the unexpected result is the authoritarian desecularization and populist Islamization of policies in Turkey. The thesis analyzes the desecularization of policies under AKP in three main areas of education, family, and the public sphere.Show less
This thesis seeks to answer the research question: What are the factors that changed and contributed to the success of the 2019 protests as opposed to the 2011 protests in Sudan? By juxtaposing the...Show moreThis thesis seeks to answer the research question: What are the factors that changed and contributed to the success of the 2019 protests as opposed to the 2011 protests in Sudan? By juxtaposing the two protests, this thesis aims to identify which aspects of social mobilization contributed to the success of the protests in 2019. The insights obtained about the success of these protests can serve to make predictions about other similar protests.Show less
This thesis seeks to explore and understand the manner in which elite actors in Iraq constructed the sectarian violence in 2006 between the Shia and Sunni communities. To comprehensively analyse...Show moreThis thesis seeks to explore and understand the manner in which elite actors in Iraq constructed the sectarian violence in 2006 between the Shia and Sunni communities. To comprehensively analyse this period, this paper will make use of Dexter and Jackson's framework "the Social Construction of Organised Political Violence". It will show how elites – called agents of political violence – used specific discourses and discursive sites to bring about the conditions necessary for political sectarian violence. However, this paper also argues that one cannot understand the sectarian violence in 2006 outside of the context of the U.S' invasion and subsequent occupation.Show less
Climate change is the most pressing threat to our planet and activism has been formed to urge policymakers to counter the effects of climate change and to stabilize the climate. Globally,...Show moreClimate change is the most pressing threat to our planet and activism has been formed to urge policymakers to counter the effects of climate change and to stabilize the climate. Globally, environmental protest movements have been formed, yet the Middle East shows significantly little environmental activism. This thesis focuses on governance of the Arab Gulf States and identifies the rentier-state and its dependency on oil as the main driver of the non-existence of environmental protest movements. The regime’s repressive nature hinders civil participation and therefore prevents activism at its core. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates serve as examples of this observation.Show less
This thesis aims to demonstrate that the Kurds were instrumental in defining the course of Iraq-Iran conflict. To achieve this objective, the concepts of sectarianism and nationalism are considered...Show moreThis thesis aims to demonstrate that the Kurds were instrumental in defining the course of Iraq-Iran conflict. To achieve this objective, the concepts of sectarianism and nationalism are considered in relation to the position of the Kurds in Iraq, and their cultural relationship with Iran. With this thesis I have shown that the Kurds are a good example of how sectarianism was misunderstood and reduced to being considered as a rebellion hence undermining the community’s pursuit of a national identity.Show less
This thesis will bring to light the Maronite Christian argument that, in its waning days, the Ottoman Empire conducted a well-planned genocidal policy vis-à-vis the Christian subjects of its...Show moreThis thesis will bring to light the Maronite Christian argument that, in its waning days, the Ottoman Empire conducted a well-planned genocidal policy vis-à-vis the Christian subjects of its Eastern Mediterranean provinces, and expressly suppressed or silenced the history of this policy. In particular, this thesis will focus on the Maronite Christians of the Ottoman Province (Sanjak) of Mount-Lebanon, and the crimes perpetrated against them, as part and parcel of the better known Ottoman policies against the Armenians, the Assyrians, and the Pontus Greeks during the Great War period. This thesis will stress the importance of studying and remembering history, including the minorities’ perspective and experience of it, admitting it into “official” histories, and explaining how official histories may have consequences in unresolved and recurring issues of memory and identity in modern Lebanon. This thesis will bring to bear recent scholarship and recently released archival sources relative to Ottoman Lebanon, in order to help illuminate a time period that is still shrouded in obscurity. I rely on numerous primary and secondary sources such as memoirs, biographies, histories, historiographies, and lyrical accounts. These sources are varied in perspective as some are written by Eastern Christians themselves, other Ottoman subjects, and both local and foreign bystanders privy to the events on Mount-Lebanon between 1914 and 1918. This thesis will be organized into three chapters, which will attempt to shed light on the historiographical debate, the Christian memories of the Great Famine of Mount-Lebanon, the Christian perspective of an Ottoman genocidal policy vis-à-vis Mount-Lebanon; attempt to explain the reason for the silenced history, and the consequences faced today, in a modern (Greater) Lebanon that is in many ways the outcome of the events of 1914-1918.Show less
In international politics and throughout academic literature, the current civil war in Yemen (2015-present) has regularly been discussed as being a proxy war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and...Show moreIn international politics and throughout academic literature, the current civil war in Yemen (2015-present) has regularly been discussed as being a proxy war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a consequence, the international community’s military interference in what has been labelled by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world has been rather limited. This research aims to counter the general proxy warfare narrative, and to provide an alternative explanation of the causes and dynamics of Yemen’s devastating conflict. Therefore, this thesis will critically analyze the context, development of events, and transformation of the war in Yemen and discuss how to characterize the internationalization of Yemen’s internal conflict over the period 2014-2018. To formulate an answer to this question, the thesis will first discuss the Saudi-Iranian rivalry in the contemporary Middle East and the use of proxy warfare in their regional balance of power. Then, the theoretical framework of internationalization of civil war will be discussed to explicate the connection between domestic and international dimensions of conflicts. Next, the thesis will analyse the internal social and political causes of the war in Yemen to assess the original nature of the conflict, and discuss the developments from the outbreak of the civil war to its present internationalized condition. Together with an analysis of the extent and motivations of the Saudi and Iranian military interventions in the conflict, this research will develop the argument that the war in Yemen (2014-2018) is essentially an internationalized civil war. The proxy warfare narrative fails to accurately describe the causes, dynamics, and international intervention processes of this internationalized internal conflict, and the use of this rhetoric by Saudi Arabia should be interpreted as a political tool to justify its military intervention in Yemen’s domestic struggles to secure its own regional strategic objectives. Moreover, the limited support of Iran to the Houthis remains far too marginal to have any significant impact on the balance of power in Yemen. The research and arguments will be substantiated by academic study of regional politics experts and by analysing UN reports, reportages from independent journalists, and interviews with policymakers. Understanding the highly local and non-ideological origins and dimensions of the war in Yemen is fundamental to any future attempts at conflict resolution at the international level. Analysing the process of internationalization, as well as the contemporary nature of the conflict, will provide significant insights regarding what type of mediation would be most effective. Furthermore, emphasizing the escalated and internationalized nature of the Yemeni civil war since its outbreak in 2015, as opposed to the general proxy warfare narrative, will hopefully contribute to the international community’s recognition of the necessity and responsibility to resolve this humanitarian disaster. Academically, the research will contribute to the academic body of literature on the internationalization of internal conflicts. In addition, 1 this thesis will generate a greater understanding of proxy warfare and expose the dangers of the use of proxy war frames.Show less
Since 2011, the political arena of the Middle East has transformed dramatically by the events known as the “Arab Spring. After years of deep-rooted authoritarianism and autocratic rule, citizens of...Show moreSince 2011, the political arena of the Middle East has transformed dramatically by the events known as the “Arab Spring. After years of deep-rooted authoritarianism and autocratic rule, citizens of many states in the region took to the streets in attempting to embark on a process that would democratize their nation. Scholars argue over the exact reasons for the uprisings, however, consensus exists over the fact that it stems from political, economic, and social dissatisfaction. The revolts started in Tunisia and set a chain reaction in motion, eventually reaching the shores of Gulf Cooperation Council, an economic and political union comprising of the Arabian Gulf States of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Although the kingdoms of the Arabian Gulf are rather similar in their socio-economic and political build-up, the GCC witnessed both minor and major uprisings kind of revolt and the respective nations responded in different manners to its domestic uprisings. This BA thesis seeks to create a detailed analysis of the distinct nature of the uprisings that took place within the borders of the GCC. Most GCC members experienced some sort of public unrest one way or another with Bahrain and Oman witnessing persistent violent street protests. After doing preliminary readings, it has become clear that the GCC-states can be divided into three different groups based on the intensity of the riots as well as the governments’ responses to the demands of its citizens. The first group consists of those countries that witnessed enduring riots resulting in the deaths among its citizens, like Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The second group of nations consists of those which experienced minor protests that did not result in any deaths among protestors. The only country fitting into this group is Kuwait. Lastly, the governments of both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates did not have to deal with domestic uprisings, however, there was some unrest, especially through online activism. Specifically, my research will attempt to disclose the plausibilities behind the distinct levels of intensity of the civil uprisings which took place in these structurally similar kingdoms. The presence of the rentier state undoubtedly plays a crucial role in the lives of GCC citizens as well as in the preamble of the uprisings in the GCC, however, the question regarding the rationale behind citizens’ discontent as well as the intensity of governments’ counteractions remains. The research for this BA thesis aims at assessing sources through means of qualitative research by examining reports, news articles, nevertheless focussing on engaging with the academic literature on the topic. By analyzing these sources, I will be able to draw analogies and comprehend the discrepancies which took place during the Arab Spring’s civil uprisings in the GCC. Moreover, my thesis will evaluate GCC member states’ different sorts of uprisings and their dissimilar responses to the revolts within their own physical and symbolic space. Additionally, the paper discloses the GCC’s revolts and respective reactions without delving into the main causes of the Arab Spring. The paper is structured as follows. The first section will introduce the GCC’s socio-political climate, the concept of the rentier state, and its usefulness to describe the rationale behind the discrepancies between the civil uprisings in each different country. The central part of the thesis will discuss the GCC’s the dissimilarity in the civil uprisings’ intensities as well as the unalike approach governments took regarding their citizens’ demands. The final section will reveal the research’s findings and draw several conclusions. In addition to this, a prediction will be made for the future based on the reactions and concessions made by governments at the time of the uprisings and whether this will prove beneficial in the long-term.Show less
This paper attempts to analyse the incentives and the procedures of the political transformation of the Muqtada al-Sadr movement during the Iraqi Civil War, 2003-2008. To provide a better...Show moreThis paper attempts to analyse the incentives and the procedures of the political transformation of the Muqtada al-Sadr movement during the Iraqi Civil War, 2003-2008. To provide a better understanding of the political struggle and violence in the Iraqi domestic political scene. To explain and analyze the role of militant movements, the Shia especially. How the power dynamics were developed in the post-Saddam Iraq after the USA invasion and occupation.Show less
