Chinese development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are promoted as being “value-free”- in contrast to western development projects that are promoted in terms of western values...Show moreChinese development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are promoted as being “value-free”- in contrast to western development projects that are promoted in terms of western values such as human rights and democracy. Chinese development projects in countries where oppressive or marginalising structures are already present are thus expected to worsen this situation. The China-Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) has received criticism for leading through Balochistan, where the Baloch people have been marginalised for decades. Constructivist norm diffusion assumes that the marginalisation of the Baloch people is a result of China’s norms diffusing through CPEC. According to this theory, China’s norms of “harmonious society”, which are guiding norms of China’s approach to its own oppressed minorities, will be transferred to Balochistan. However, this perspective oversimplifies the matter and disregards that the BRI can also be considered from a Critical Development Studies (CDS) angle, as it follows the scheme of elite-led capitalist development. Past research concerning CDS argues that capitalist projects, by design, further the marginalisation of oppressed groups. In the case of Balochistan, the marginalisation of the Baloch people is better understood as a consequence of the BRI being a western-type capitalist project rather than being a consequence of the diffusion of “harmonious society”.Show less
Chinese development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are promoted as being “value-free”- in contrast to western development projects that are promoted in terms of western values...Show moreChinese development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are promoted as being “value-free”- in contrast to western development projects that are promoted in terms of western values such as human rights and democracy. Chinese development projects in countries where oppressive or marginalising structures are already present are thus expected to worsen this situation. The China-Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) has received criticism for leading through Balochistan, where the Baloch people have been marginalised for decades. Constructivist norm diffusion assumes that the marginalisation of the Baloch people is a result of China’s norms diffusing through CPEC. According to this theory, China’s norms of “harmonious society”, which are guiding norms of China’s approach to its own oppressed minorities, will be transferred to Balochistan. However, this perspective oversimplifies the matter and disregards that the BRI can also be considered from a Critical Development Studies (CDS) angle, as it follows the scheme of elite-led capitalist development. Past research concerning CDS argues that capitalist projects, by design, further the marginalisation of oppressed groups. In the case of Balochistan, the marginalisation of the Baloch people is better understood as a consequence of the BRI being a western-type capitalist project rather than being a consequence of the diffusion of “harmonious society”.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
Russia is frequently accused of spreading disinformation through their established media network. Technological advancements have put new instruments into the researcher’s hands, in order to...Show moreRussia is frequently accused of spreading disinformation through their established media network. Technological advancements have put new instruments into the researcher’s hands, in order to analyze large quantities of text. In this thesis recent packages for the free software environment R, more precisely Newsmap, STM and Quanteda, are used to conduct a geographical and topical analysis of Russia Today Deutsch from 2014 to 2019. The thesis argues and demonstrates these methods as necessary and useful for political scientists. The results of the quantitative analysis are further subjected to a qualitative discourse analysis, providing an interpretative insight into the generated data to strengthen the findings through triangulation. It was depicted that Russia Today Deutsch does allocate a large proportion of articles to crime, accidents and the German media. Discourse analysis of the German media highlights an anti-West ideology by RTD.Show less
