The scope of this research is to figure out why, despite all the “infrastructure for resources” kind of investments undertaken by the Chinese, Sub-Saharan countries have not yet solved their...Show moreThe scope of this research is to figure out why, despite all the “infrastructure for resources” kind of investments undertaken by the Chinese, Sub-Saharan countries have not yet solved their widespread poverty issue. More specifically, the focus will be on Angola; a country that experienced extraordinary GDP growth in the first years of the economic partnership with China, yet poverty among the population remains rampant. Therefore, in order to discover what might explain a lack of economic development in a particular country that receives a great amount of infrastructure-related investments from China, I will firstly list four aspects that have been claimed to be destructive for the sustainable economic development of a country. These are: the non-interference approach adopted by China, the Chinese companies’ hiring policy, the lack of good governance and the disadvantage of the resource curse, by which many African countries are affected. After that, I will analyse these aspects in the more specific case of Angola in order to investigate which obstacles are inhibiting its economic development in actuality. Finally, I will argue that if the Angolan government solves its governance issues and adopts adequate measures to change the structure of the national economy, then, China will presumably be able to provide good opportunities to further stimulate economic development. However, if nothing is changed at the governance level, it is very unlikely that an economic transformation will ever take place.Show less
As the Global War on Terror increased counterterrorism in Indonesia, Indonesian Jihadi groups found themselves in a new position. On the one hand, counterterrorism units destroyed their...Show moreAs the Global War on Terror increased counterterrorism in Indonesia, Indonesian Jihadi groups found themselves in a new position. On the one hand, counterterrorism units destroyed their organization. On the other hand, it encouraged them to ally with international terrorist networks such as Al-Qaeda and ISIL. This thesis provides an analysis of the Indonesian government’s counterterrorism strategy towards the rising threat of terrorism. In order to understand this relationship, this thesis looks into the role of counterterrorism on the alliance formation process of local Jihadi groups with larger international network. After the Bali bombings in 2002, the Indonesian government started to build its counterterrorism capacity according to good governance principles. Counterterrorism efforts where sharpened, and with success: Indonesia’s largest Jihadi group Jemaah Islamiyah, was largely dismantled by Indonesian counterterrorism units. However, through the funding of Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah was able to conduct several other attacks. This left the government no choice than to increase the role of the Indonesian Military in counterterrorism operations. More raids, arrests and killings of Indonesian Jihadi members stimulated the number of terrorist attacks against the Indonesian government and thus, revenge became one of the primary reasons for terrorism. This thesis finds that the relationship between counterterrorism and terrorism is an increasing spiral of violence. Furthermore, counterterrorism units have been able to weaken local Jihadi groups’ internal strength. The findings show that this internal breakdown has influenced some of the local Jihadi’s group decision to ally with larger international networks such as Al-Qaeda and ISIL.Show less
