Although jihadist organisations envisage a society segregated by roles between the sexes, they increasingly turn to women in pursuit of their goals. This is a double-edged sword for jihadist...Show moreAlthough jihadist organisations envisage a society segregated by roles between the sexes, they increasingly turn to women in pursuit of their goals. This is a double-edged sword for jihadist organisations: while female recruits increase the pool of followers, the discrepancy between their patriarchal ideology and women’s enlistment may have implications for their legitimacy. Whereas explanations have been offered as to how jihadists resort to patriarchal gender beliefs to legitimise their exclusion of women, questions remain regarding how jihadist groups use gender to legitimise their inclusion of women. Increased understanding of this gender component may yield insight into the organisational structure of jihadist organisations and their future direction regarding female recruits. Exploring the case of ISIS, this thesis analyses the extent to which the group adopted a gender perspective in legitimising its recruitment of women between 2015 and 2017. By conducting a critical discourse analysis, three gendered narratives are identified that ISIS employed in justifying its recruitment of women, depicting women as builders of the Ummah, as representatives of Islam and as guardians of the Caliphate. Rather than women challenging its patriarchal hegemony, the narratives illustrate how ISIS used this structure to create a set of gendered incentives and thereby attributed women (violent) agency.Show less
Conflicts do not naturally attract the interest of policy makers nor do they naturally garner international recognition and attention. It is therefore essential to understand, if conflicts are...Show moreConflicts do not naturally attract the interest of policy makers nor do they naturally garner international recognition and attention. It is therefore essential to understand, if conflicts are ignored, how inattention manifests itself in inaction, what are the consequences of inattention and why does inattention exist. This thesis will seek to answer these questions within the primary confines of the conflict(s) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It will be argued that attention is a commodity predominantly distributed by policymakers and media organisations who may choose to pay attention or not. The consequences of inattention, such as increased levels of severity and violence, can therefore be attributed to those purposefully ignoring conflict.Show less
This thesis examines to what extent the European Union economic accession criteria changed and how did this impact the aftermath of the accession for new Member States between 2004 -2014. The...Show moreThis thesis examines to what extent the European Union economic accession criteria changed and how did this impact the aftermath of the accession for new Member States between 2004 -2014. The thesis compares the enlargement rounds of 2004 and 2007, in order to examine the changes within this particular period.Show less
Level of representativeness of electoral systems have polarised the academia between the Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). The UK is one of the few examples in Europe...Show moreLevel of representativeness of electoral systems have polarised the academia between the Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). The UK is one of the few examples in Europe that uses FPTP as an electoral system and it has heavily been criticised by the scholars about the lack of representativeness of such system. The 2010 General elections have triggered the debate on the level of representativeness when Liberal Democrats could not obtain the expected number of seats when compared to the vote they have won. The 2015 General election have resulted in the traditional way of having two parties dominating the parliament, but this time UKIP obtained 12% but only 1 seat, which is an example of disproportionality.This paper also calculates the possible outcome of 2015 elections if the UK was using PR as a system. Then the comparison between the two systems are conducted by using diagrams and concrete number of seats under each system. In the end, comparison of each system on the basis of representativeness is discussed with the help of the vote/seat relation.Show less
Since a few years it is possible to achieve harmonisation within the European Union, if not all member states do agree. This thesis analyses this new form of the so-called Enhanced Cooperation and...Show moreSince a few years it is possible to achieve harmonisation within the European Union, if not all member states do agree. This thesis analyses this new form of the so-called Enhanced Cooperation and uses two case studies (Matrimonial Law and Patent Law) to do so.Show less