The present study is a qualitative documentary analysis of Okinawan Youth activism. Through a qualitative documentary analysis of various initiatives raised from the attempt to stop the relocation...Show moreThe present study is a qualitative documentary analysis of Okinawan Youth activism. Through a qualitative documentary analysis of various initiatives raised from the attempt to stop the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma base to Henoko Bay, Nago, the present study aims to highlight the engagement and key role of young activists in the strive against military bases. The documentaries selected to answer the research question are (i) the documentary “Our Island’s Treasure” (2019) by activist Kaiya Yonamine on the relocation of Futenma base to Henoko, (ii) the book “Occupied Okinawa” (2019) by activist Robert Kajiwara and the website of the Peace For Okinawa Coalition he is director of, (iii) the YouTube channel “Uchina Arinkurin TV” by young activist Yuzo Takayama and the youth statement recently published by University students Yuto Ishikawa, Keigo Nishio, and Kazu Nakamoto. The findings show that Okinawan youth activism represents a form of translocal activism because of its five core tenets: (i) autonomy and self representation, (ii) environmental protection, (iii) postcolonialism and democracy, (iv) decentralisation and spontaneous action, (v) contentious space. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the Okinawan youth is active and engaged in the military base struggle, albeit not having experienced the war personally. Ultimately, the present study sheds further light on the Okinawan activism and its relationship with global protest movements.Show less
Thesis examines the Italian spy comic book series Alan Ford and its cross-cultural reading in Yugoslavia and ex-Yugoslav states as not only an ideological critique Capitalism, but also of Marxism...Show moreThesis examines the Italian spy comic book series Alan Ford and its cross-cultural reading in Yugoslavia and ex-Yugoslav states as not only an ideological critique Capitalism, but also of Marxism-Leninism and Yugoslav socialism.Show less
Small states particularly those in the Global South, have often been relegated to being objects of international relations rather than actors. When discussed by most scholars, much focus is put on...Show moreSmall states particularly those in the Global South, have often been relegated to being objects of international relations rather than actors. When discussed by most scholars, much focus is put on their ability to cooperate with big powers or form coalitions in order to achieve their goals. Only a few scholars discuss the ability of small states to independently hold power in international relations. Amongst those who do, only a small number go further than affirming that small states can exist independently in a world dominated by large power states. They often fall short in theorizing ways for small states to acquire and keep this independent power. By focusing on Fiji and its implementation of niche diplomacy, this thesis will argue that small states are not only capable of being independent actors of world politics, but that they can become leaders in a domain of international politics. Although niche diplomacy is a type of diplomacy often associated with middle powers who have the capacity of becoming big powers, this article will argue that it is in fact a strategy that can assist states who have the potential and capacity but not necessarily the window of opportunity needed to establish themselves as international powers.Show less
The North Korean abduction issue has long been an important factor in Japan’s foreign policy towards the DPRK, the Japanese government has made attempts at raising awareness among people living...Show moreThe North Korean abduction issue has long been an important factor in Japan’s foreign policy towards the DPRK, the Japanese government has made attempts at raising awareness among people living outside of Japan through various media. This research set out to analyze how the Japanese government used emotion in a video posted on the government-run rachi.go.jp website, in an attempt at gaining the support of English-speaking viewers for its stance on the issue. In this way, the research contributes both to the fields of emotion in IR, as well as to the extant scholarly work on the abduction issue. I have carried out the analysis by using discourse analysis, as proposed by other scholars in the field of emotion in IR. From this analysis, I conclude that the Japanese government attempts to create three primary emotions in the viewer: compassion, hope and outrage. These three emotions are created through various visual, as well as audible symbols, ranging from colors used in the video to the music played while giving general information on the issue. While the intended emotions are successfully created in the viewer, the full potential effectiveness of the video is not reached due to a lack of circulation caused by the obscureness of the website which hosts it.Show less
This paper looks at the representation of the comfort women dispute between South Korea and Japan in popular culture. Through the lens of popular culture, the representation of the dispute is...Show moreThis paper looks at the representation of the comfort women dispute between South Korea and Japan in popular culture. Through the lens of popular culture, the representation of the dispute is analysed and it is discussed how this influences the bilateral relationship between South Korea and Japan.Show less
Race in fantasy offers a ‘safe space’ to engage with racial discourse, but races are often narrowed down to one dimensional stereotypes. Guild Wars 2 is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing...Show moreRace in fantasy offers a ‘safe space’ to engage with racial discourse, but races are often narrowed down to one dimensional stereotypes. Guild Wars 2 is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game that features race in a similar way, but offers insight in various themes regarding racial discourse, postcolonialism and International Relations. Videogames more so than other popular media, have the power to be political because they allow for interactive engagement with the medium. This thesis presents the argument that engagement with fantasy games featuring racial discourse can open up valuable and critical discussions of multiculturalism, the meaning of race, Orientalism and postcolonialism in our real life societies.Show less
This thesis sets out to explore the ways in which coverage of President Trump’s border wall in late-night political satire challenges geopolitical representations of Latin America and Mexico. In...Show moreThis thesis sets out to explore the ways in which coverage of President Trump’s border wall in late-night political satire challenges geopolitical representations of Latin America and Mexico. In doing so, it establishes the border wall as a product of securitization practices that were fueled by a constructed geopolitical imagery of Mexico and Latin America. However, the case study shows that televised political satire reshapes this threatening image by desecuritizing the issue of migration. Bringing together critical geopolitics, political satire, and critical security studies, this thesis fills a gap in literature by demonstrating that political satire can, and should, be taken seriously as an object of study for the field of critical geopolitics and International Relations, more broadly.Show less
This thesis conveys an interpretation of the feminist timeline from the times of He Zhen and her Anarcho-feminist contemporaries in China, to Mao’s time, in which female Red Guards were second...Show moreThis thesis conveys an interpretation of the feminist timeline from the times of He Zhen and her Anarcho-feminist contemporaries in China, to Mao’s time, in which female Red Guards were second-class men, to recent times, in which feminist NGO’s are trying to obtain equal rights regarding gender equality. This thesis discusses the concept of agency as a praxis regarding the actions and speech of the main character of the popular Chinese TV Drama: The Story of Yanxi Palace. Agency as a praxis is the most fitting definition to use in the analysis of the portrayal of Wei Yingluo in The Story of Yanxi Palace. As a praxis, feminism is more practical and shows how a simple action could be called feminist, such as the speaking of Wei Yingluo and small actions individually. Post-Structuralist Deconstruction and Discourse Analysis have proven to be useful tools in analyzing the binaries present. Wei Yingluo stands up against a man of higher status. I argue that Wei Yingluo demonstrates agency in the scenes I discuss. In spite of the rules she walks her own path and finds a way out while both surviving and following her own set of morals. In this setting of Qing Imperial China, the rules and the balance of status were quite clear, yet speaking up was not easy. This thesis uses Post-Structuralist methods to deconstruct popular culture, in this case The Story of Yanxi Palace and argues that, using feminism as a praxis, Wei Yingluo shows agency in (almost) all of her actions and speech.Show less
