At the beginning of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), the North and South were locked in a stalemate. The military strength of both sides could be considered roughly the same, and on the...Show moreAt the beginning of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), the North and South were locked in a stalemate. The military strength of both sides could be considered roughly the same, and on the battlefield, neither side could present a significant advantage over the other. Both sides raised vast armies and armed their soldiers with the rifled-musket, giving them increased firepower. In addition, the Union and Confederate soldiers shared the same military traditions, were trained in the same infantry tactics, and had either no combat experience or shared the same experience in federal service. The large scale and advanced weaponry presented opportunities as well as challenges. On the battlefield, commanding officers had to solve these ‘tactical problems’. The tactical insight of one officer, expressed by his ability and willingness to make effective use of those under his command, could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Therefore, on the battlefields of the Civil War, where both North and South were able to match each other’s military capacity, effective military command was pivotal. Still, how did an officer acquire the tactical insight to turn the tide of battle in his favour? Was it forged from the bottom up through the experience of combat, or did it descend from the top down revealed by the study of tactics?Show less
From the 1970s onwards, Britain’s weakened trade unions have attempted a rejuvenation of their orientations and strategies: chiefly in order to appeal to and represent precarity-prone workers in a...Show moreFrom the 1970s onwards, Britain’s weakened trade unions have attempted a rejuvenation of their orientations and strategies: chiefly in order to appeal to and represent precarity-prone workers in a more satisfactory manner than they had before. However, this rejuvenation process has occurred in a piecemeal and uncoordinated manner: orientations have only shifted partially, and certain rejuvenatory strategies have been far from effective. An interwoven process has occurred alongside, and helped necessitate, this attempted rejuvenation: Britain’s urban labour markets have become increasingly ‘ruralised’. That is to say, the British economy has been fundamentally restructured, and urban industrial relations in the ‘New Economy’ have come to increasingly resemble those long found in British agriculture. Britain’s Farmworkers’ Union has had to contend with ‘new economic’ institutional conditions – namely the norms of small-employee firms and interpersonal and/or triangular relations between employers and workers – for an extended period of time. It is therefore reasonable to assume that, from 1970 onwards, the Farmworker’s Union would have utilised those orientations and strategies adopted by Britain’s urban unions during their rejuvenation processes, but in a more systematic, coherent and effective manner, and from an earlier date. To interrogate this assumption I pose the following research question: in terms of form and effectiveness, how differentiated have the orientations and strategies of the Farmworkers’ Union been, with regards to precarity-prone workers, when compared to the wider Trade Union Movement, and why?Show less
In deze scriptie is een ideaalmodel ontwikkeld voor het politiek debat over morele controverses dat nauw aansluit bij de praktijk: het deliberatief democratisch discussiemodel. Op basis van de...Show moreIn deze scriptie is een ideaalmodel ontwikkeld voor het politiek debat over morele controverses dat nauw aansluit bij de praktijk: het deliberatief democratisch discussiemodel. Op basis van de theorie van de politiek filosofen Gutmann en Thompson over deliberatieve democratie is een initieel model ontwikkeld. Dat model is getoetst aan de in de Tweede Kamer gevoerde debatten over een verbod op de onverdoofde rituele slacht en het burgerinitiatief Voltooid Leven. Uitgaande van deze resultaten is het oorspronkelijke model op een aantal punten verbeterd, opdat het beter aansluit bij de parlementaire praktijk. Het uiteindelijke deliberatief democratische discussiemodel is zeer geschikt als normatief model voor het politiek debat over moreel controversiële onderwerpen, daar de gestelde normen haalbaar zijn en door de parlementariërs gedeeld worden.Show less
During the Reagan era, drug policy was altered forever and its effects touched American politics, law enforcement, justice systems, education, and even American culture. During the 1980s, arguably...Show moreDuring the Reagan era, drug policy was altered forever and its effects touched American politics, law enforcement, justice systems, education, and even American culture. During the 1980s, arguably the largest shift in American political attitude took place, partly stemming from public fear of drug crimes. This thesis focuses on the Reagan Administration's War on Drugs. It will outline the motivations behind launching the War on Drugs, how the policies were implemented and the outcomes of the War.Show less
The African-American church played an important role in the African- American society. A few researchers looked into the question why the African-Americans decided to leave the white controlled...Show moreThe African-American church played an important role in the African- American society. A few researchers looked into the question why the African-Americans decided to leave the white controlled churches after the abolition of slavery. This thesis looked into the general history of the independent African-American church. This research is based their conclusion on base of autobiographies and work of the most influential, leading religious figures after the abolition of slavery in 1865. This thesis proposed the hypothesis that the independent African-American church was formed by the aim to educate the just liberated African-American in both a spiritual and an educational way, as a form of protest and in order to uplift their race.Show less
This research investigates the diversity between the foundation period of leper houses in Holland and regions around Holland. The field of investigation are the surrounding areas England, central...Show moreThis research investigates the diversity between the foundation period of leper houses in Holland and regions around Holland. The field of investigation are the surrounding areas England, central and north French kingdom, Flanders, Brabant, the Rhine valley, gelre and Friesland. The leper houses of Holland are mostly founded after the great plague of the mid 1400’s, while the leprosaria of surrounding areas where in general founded in the 12th and 13th century. This diversity can be explained by the differences in the circumstances of these foundations. The early European leper houses are founded by the local nobility. They felt responsible for the wellbeing of the local community and felt an urge to found a leper house by religious motivations. These foundations of houses occurred in a period where a lot of houses of charity where founded by religious motives: hospitals, alms houses, orphanages, abbeys, and cloisters. The late European foundations, centred in north-west Europe, can be explained by the state of urbanisation of these counties. In growing cities in Holland arose an urban elite, consisting of wealthy merchants and craftsmen. These patricians controlled the daily life of the city. To form a Christian city solidarity and urban mentality in their city, it was important to ‘organize’ the city, construct a form of socials control, and manage the intern population. By this motivation, the new elite founded leper houses to control and maintain a strict border between the sick and the healthy, the poor and the wealthy.Show less
In deze thesis wordt geanalyseerd hoe gezinshereniging in de periode 1955-1983 in de Nederlandse kranten uitgroeide van een onderwerp tot een probleem. Aan de hand van een diepgravend...Show moreIn deze thesis wordt geanalyseerd hoe gezinshereniging in de periode 1955-1983 in de Nederlandse kranten uitgroeide van een onderwerp tot een probleem. Aan de hand van een diepgravend krantenonderzoek wordt dit problematiseringsproces nader bekeken.Show less
In February 1992, the twelve member states of the European Union ratified the Treaty of Maastricht, and thereby decided to introduce a common European currency by 2002, the euro. Whereas this was...Show moreIn February 1992, the twelve member states of the European Union ratified the Treaty of Maastricht, and thereby decided to introduce a common European currency by 2002, the euro. Whereas this was mainly a monetary act of union, previous literature has often assumed that the euro also has implications for European identity within the participating countries. Evidence from opinion polling data seems to point in the same direction: when Eurozone citizens are asked what symbolises the EU for them personally, a large majority states that this is the euro. However, this thesis argues that the impact of the euro has in fact been marginal – at least initially. The thesis uses three in-depth case studies to formulate a hypothesis about the influence of the euro on European identity in all EU countries. The case studies are France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for the period 1992-2013, examined through data from opinion polls and newspaper articles. A second section of the thesis tests the hypothesis through comparative analysis of data from three Eurobarometer questions. The results suggest that Eurozone citizens did feel more European at first, but that this sentiment of Europeanness has declined quickly with the advent of the euro crisis since 2009. From then onwards, the opposite of what was expected seems to be the case: non-Eurozone citizens have more positive feelings connected to the European Union.Show less
ABSTRACT-This thesis deals with one of the most important and violent revolutionary movements in the recent history of Latin America, and the only Maoist movement there to achieve a degree of...Show moreABSTRACT-This thesis deals with one of the most important and violent revolutionary movements in the recent history of Latin America, and the only Maoist movement there to achieve a degree of success: Sendero Luminoso. It attempts to trace and explain the contradictory theoretical and ideological claims made by Sendero Luminoso. The movement initiated its struggle in May 1980, but little attention was given by the State to its activities, and for years it remained severely underestimated and considered irrelevant. The movement’s seemingly innocuous beginning in many ways represented the paradox inherent in Sendero’s rise to becoming one of the largest and most violent guerrilla movements in contemporary Latin America, in which the Peruvian state was at the verge of collapse in the late 1980s. However, it did not succeed in its utopian goal of overthrowing the Peruvian bourgeoisie government and establishing a communist state. This thesis argues that this has been due to several major contradictions in Sendero Luminoso’s ideology and strategy. This research focuses on three inconsistencies, related to Sendero Luminoso’s discrepancy between theory and practice. First of all, Sendero claimed it embodied a distinctively Peruvian Marxism, while in practice it lacked a proper understanding of the society, and neglected several Peruvian characteristics that were crucial to making the revolution successful – it overlooked the ethnic divisions in Peruvian society and underestimated the social change that had made Peru predominantly an urban and not a rural society. Hence it based its Maoist ideology and strategy on a wrong assessment of the Peruvian society. Secondly, Sendero claimed that it initiated the struggle ‘for the people’, while in fact the most marginalized people of the society became the main victims of the war that was waged in their name. Thus, regardless of its grandiose claims, for most Peruvians Sendero Luminoso proved to be a deadly paradox: it aims were unrealistic and its analysis of society badly flawed, yet it still proved to be an effective revolutionary movement capable of threatening the very existence of the state. Lastly, in theory, Sendero desired a utopian New State with a classless society. Yet, in practice, the movement was extremely hierarchical, and the means to reach its goal were not classless at all. Its internal organization replicated the colonial stratification of society, in which a privileged white elitist intellectual commanded and ‘guided’ a mass of darker-skinned youth of humble origin, hence going against the grain of its principal goal that was aimed at breaking creole power. This thesis will place the conflict in a longer national history of racism and the marginalization of rural society that contributed both to the cause and consequence of this violent episode in Peruvian history. This research draws on several primary Peruvian sources and seeks to make a contribution to literature focusing on Sendero Luminoso. Its analysis stands apart from other work published so far, combining as it does both a historical and political approach to the conflict and mainly focuses on the crucial contradictions of the organization. Therefore, it contributes towards understanding the context surrounding the initial paradoxical success and the later defeat of Sendero Luminoso and, I hope, will be seen as a contribution to the debate on this remarkable revolutionary movement.Show less
This thesis will focus on the link between Thatcherism and privatisation, and what its consequences were for Britain and the rest of the world. The main question will be: was the rise of...Show moreThis thesis will focus on the link between Thatcherism and privatisation, and what its consequences were for Britain and the rest of the world. The main question will be: was the rise of Thatcherism intrinsically linked to privatisation and what were its consequences for Britain and the rest of the world? In order to answer this question, the thesis is divided in three chapters. The first chapter will look at the British economy since 1945. The perceived post-war consensus, the relative decline, difficult industrial relations and high inflation led to a seemingly ungovernable situation in the 1970s, culminating in the Winter of Discontent. This created a fertile ground for Thatcherism’s radical policies with the British electorate. The second chapter will focus on the actual principles of Thatcherism and how these were shaped by circumstances and the work of think-tanks such as the Centre for Policy Studies. Disillusioned by the state of the country in the 1970s, Thatcher was drawn to the radical policies of Keith Joseph. Only a radical break with the post-war consensus was seen by Joseph and her as the solution to Britain’s problems. Thatcherism was born out of this process of re-thinking the Conservative Party’s policy. Its main focus was controlling inflation, individual freedom and rolling back the frontiers of the state. The ultimate goal was creating a thriving enterprise economy. The third chapter looks at the large-scale privatisation programme under Thatcher. It analyses the state of the nationalised industries before 1979 and the economic policies during her administration, seeing a continuum with the overall objectives of the privatisation programme. One of the main objectives of this programme – the spreading of public ownership through shares – played a significant role in how privatisation was implemented from 1984 onwards. Privatisation through public share offering would eventually become the accepted privatisation method worldwide. The major privatisations of the 1980s reshaped Britain’s economic landscape and sparked privatisation programmes worldwide. In that regard, Thatcher’s privatisation programme changed the world economy. This thesis states that Thatcherism’s core principles and Thatcher’s privatisation programme were intrinsically linked to each other. The privatisation programme altered the British economy and inspired other countries to pursue a similar economic policy.Show less
