“In 2012, violence erupted in Myanmar’s most Western state Rakhine between the Muslin population, the Rohingya and the Buddhist Arakanese. Like a fire, anti-Muslim violence spread across the...Show more“In 2012, violence erupted in Myanmar’s most Western state Rakhine between the Muslin population, the Rohingya and the Buddhist Arakanese. Like a fire, anti-Muslim violence spread across the country. Buddhist monks organised and spread a narrative of Buddhism in danger and a Muslim threat. Through sermons, they incited violence across the country. Hence, this thesis has asked what roles have monks played in the outbreak, and how through these roles they could spread a narrative of Muslim threat- It further discusses which narratives they have spread and why these narratives resonated in Myanmar and incited violence. The thesis will approach the issue from a historical approach by analysing the development of roles of Buddhist monks in Myanmar’s society before approaching it from a socio-political angle, discussing the role of monks within society. Research shows that through the roles as teachers and counsellors, as well as having authority over morality, monks have been able to exert immense influence over the Burmese society and people’s behaviour. Through their access to large parts of society, monks have been able to spread a narrative of a Muslim threat and a vulnerable Buddhist society. This narrative could resonate within the population due to historic preconditions and uncertainty in Burmese identities through the political transition.”Show less
"The enforcement of Sharia law in Aceh, the northern-most province of Indonesia, has influenced debates on the preservation of women’s rights under Islamic rulings. Practices pursued by the local...Show more"The enforcement of Sharia law in Aceh, the northern-most province of Indonesia, has influenced debates on the preservation of women’s rights under Islamic rulings. Practices pursued by the local government have gained significant international attention. Certain rituals are considered infringements of fundamental human rights by international institutions; however, they could be sought by women and considered important steps in their personal growth. Through a case-study analysis on two main practices under Sharia law, namely caning as corporal punishment and female genital mutilation, this thesis will contribute to the global understanding of women’s rights and their relation to Islamic law and its cultural traditions. It will do so by generating insights into the potential violation of their rights in Aceh. Particularly, it will define how the separation of powers in the region and the incompetence of the law enforcement lead to discrimination against women. Finally, the thesis will suggest future research to focus more on a culturally dependent notion of human rights and analyse its impact on women’s rights."Show less
The rapid rate of global environmental degradation has stressed the need to protect our ecosystems. This environmental issue is often approached by applying the status of a ‘protected area.’ This...Show moreThe rapid rate of global environmental degradation has stressed the need to protect our ecosystems. This environmental issue is often approached by applying the status of a ‘protected area.’ This research seeks to explore the controversy of protected areas as a conservation method, through a case study analysis of the indigenous Karen people located in Thailand. The legal status of protected areas has led to instances of forceful evictions, harassment, and restrictions on accessing resources due to the exclusive nature of this conservation method. However, the Thai decentralisation since 1997 argued for greater local participation and inclusion in decision-making processes. Therefore, this analysis focuses on two factors, firstly, the various ways how the Karen people have been marginalised through protected areas, and secondly, to what extent the decentralisation of Thailand’s political system has contributed to the oppression of the Karen. With the use of this case study, this thesis intents to contribute to the field of political ecology and provide a deeper understanding of how state power has legitimised the negative consequences on indigenous communities through the application of protected areas for the sake of conservation.Show less
In 2020, the Indonesian government entered a new type of social contract with the citizens whereby the government situated itself as a major player of social welfare provision in the daily lives in...Show moreIn 2020, the Indonesian government entered a new type of social contract with the citizens whereby the government situated itself as a major player of social welfare provision in the daily lives in Indonesia. JKN is an ambitious project of universal health coverage that, in legislation, allows Indonesians to receive healthcare coverage at no cost or substantially lower prices than before. Despite promising affordable and effective health insurance, the Indonesian healthcare regime remains beset by the persistence of healthcare inequality, affordability, inaccessible access to care, and insufficient qualify of service provision. Fundamentally, this paper argues JKN has not substantially led to effective increases in public health due to the lack of attention paid to service provision aspects of the healthcare regime. Here, JKN has increased the demand for care, but not increase the supply of access to care nor quality of care.Show less
The vulnerability of workers in the Indian textile is a well-discussed issue in popular discourse aswell as in academic literature. This thesis aims to analayze the reasons why Corporate Social...Show moreThe vulnerability of workers in the Indian textile is a well-discussed issue in popular discourse aswell as in academic literature. This thesis aims to analayze the reasons why Corporate Social Responsibility efforts of western clothing brands in the Indian clothing industry thus far have been unsuccessful in reducing the vulnerability of the workers. In order to do so, this thesis will situate the debate into the current academic discussion and analyse the historical and current state of the Indian clothing industry. Based on a summative content analysis this thesis will pay special attention to informality and agency as key variables. This thesis discusses, to which extent the informality of the industry and the lack of agency of workers are limiting CSR effectiveness. This thesis identifies, the reproduction of the power of capital in a capitalistic system as an intervening variable and discusses its relationship with CSR. This thesis concludes, that informality and agency of the worker are contributing to the failure of CSR are however alone not able to explain it. It is argued, that as long as CSR operates within a capitalistic production system, which focusses mainly on the reproduction of capital instead of labour, it will be unable to reduce the vulnerability of the worker substantively.Show less
Rising concerns of climate change and environmental degradation is an increasing issue globally. In order to counter global warming and climate change, renewable energy is regarded as the key...Show moreRising concerns of climate change and environmental degradation is an increasing issue globally. In order to counter global warming and climate change, renewable energy is regarded as the key driver. Despite an abundance of renewable energy resources in Indonesia, the country has only marginally seen growth in this sector. The purpose of this research is to examine why Indonesia has been reluctant to transition towards renewable energy by taking the nexus of economic growth and (renewable) energy into account, as well as the various stakeholders that are related to Indonesia’s renewable energy sector. Using qualitative research methods, this study analyses Indonesia as a case study in order to effectively comprehend this multidimensional issue. It closely aligns with the assemblage theory in order to create a better understanding of various interests, fractions, rivalries, synergies and contradictions between the stakeholders in Indonesia’s renewable energy sector. Powerful stakeholders that have demote renewables, political ‘short-termism’ and social factors (that have negative effects on inflows of FDI) were found to play the greatest obstacles in facilitating the transition towards renewable energy development. Furthermore, this study adds to the debate regarding renewable energy development and economic growth.Show less
The Malaysian government and Malaysian NGOs engage in a variety of institutional collaborations to protect their numerous endangered species from extinction. However, there is a general tendency...Show moreThe Malaysian government and Malaysian NGOs engage in a variety of institutional collaborations to protect their numerous endangered species from extinction. However, there is a general tendency among such institutional conservation collaborations to fail to achieve their goal(s), resulting in a delay of the aspired outcome of the collaboration or in the extinction of the endangered species. This thesis aims to understand why such collaborations fail to reach their goal(s) by examining the institutional collaboration on the conservation of the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, involving the governments and NGOs of Malaysia and Indonesia as well as their international partners. The general findings indicate that possible inequalities in the position, interests and priorities of the actors involved, and a resulting lack of goal congruence, are vital concerns to take into account and to address, as they obstruct the conservation progress.Show less
Southeast Asia is a region at high risk of various natural disasters, with flooding being one of them. Often thought of as a purely natural hazard, in reality it is amplified by social, political...Show moreSoutheast Asia is a region at high risk of various natural disasters, with flooding being one of them. Often thought of as a purely natural hazard, in reality it is amplified by social, political and economic factors. Urban flooding in particular is a problem heavily influenced by these factors. Nevertheless, the problem is still frequently treated as a natural one that can be solved by technological measures. I argue that this approach is not efficient and forms the reason why urban flooding has not been solved yet. Instead, a deeper understanding of society is necessary in order to find sustainable solutions that benefit everyone. In the current situation, the urban poor are more at risk than the wealthy and mitigation efforts should consider these inequalities. Only by actively fighting inequality as underlying cause of urban flooding is it possible to ease the impacts of urban flooding and to create a resilient society. This thesis looks at the cases of Metro Manila and Bangkok to obtain a clearer picture of the complexity of the problem.Show less
This paper examines why the Indonesian government has a vested interest in protecting the current practice of Balinese Hinduism. It argues that the Indonesian government wants to protect Balinese...Show moreThis paper examines why the Indonesian government has a vested interest in protecting the current practice of Balinese Hinduism. It argues that the Indonesian government wants to protect Balinese Hinduism from external influences, because the tourism industry in Bali is extremely profitable and valuable to the Indonesian economy. Since it has been observed that tourists mainly come to Bali for its religious-cultural artifacts and heritage, it can be contested that invoking the monotheistic element of Pancasila justifies Balinese Hinduism’s continued existence as a unique religion and culture that should be preserved and protected from external influences such as radical Islam and Indian Hinduism. Therefore, this thesis has used secondary data analysis and qualitative research to prove that the tourist industry in Bali is very profitable and essential for the Indonesian economy and that different political strategies were employed to ensure that the Indonesian government can benefit from the preservation of Bali’s monotheistic hinduism.Show less
The Global Slavery Index accounts that the number of human trafficking victims (modern slavery) as of 2016 amounted to 40.3 million people, 71% of which are women and 99% of them are forced labor...Show moreThe Global Slavery Index accounts that the number of human trafficking victims (modern slavery) as of 2016 amounted to 40.3 million people, 71% of which are women and 99% of them are forced labor victims inside the sex industry (GSI 2018, i and ii). With Southeast Asia accommodating the largest hub for sex trafficking in the world, this raises international concern regarding security of victims and migration issues. The thesis considers the evolution of the global anti-trafficking movement in leading to the adoption of the 2000 UN Trafficking Protocol’s human trafficking definition. Scholars and foreign governments have pushed ASEAN to solve its trafficking issue in the region. However, this research questions whether the organization is suitable to combat the problem by firstly, examining the role of non-sovereignty and human rights in ASEAN, unveiling varying local perceptions and definitions of trafficking in Cambodia and Thailand, and then analyzing the impact of globalization on the sex industry. The research concludes that ASEAN could only take on the role of a facilitator providing a platform for Member States to cooperate in discussing effective anti-trafficking measures, rather than creating a mechanism of their own. No matter how hard ASEAN enforces anti-trafficking programs, the will to prevent sex trafficking must come from Member States to ensure the security and well-being of its citizens.Show less
In light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in...Show moreIn light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in Thailand from 1945 to 1997. The research question of this thesis is as follows: to what extent are changing public spaces in Bangkok representative of the dynamics of economic development and urbanisation in Thailand? Through the use of theories of development – development economics and the modernisation theory – this thesis unlocks new insights into the contingent relationship between development, modernisation, and urbanisation. The final conclusion of this thesis is that sustained development has brought Thailand economic and social growth in all aspects. Economic development helped garner a state of modernity, however increased urbanisation as a cause of sustained development came at the cost of social implications in the form of friction in urban aspects of identity, modernity, and the notion of development itself. The conclusions drawn from this research provide insight into the understanding of Thai development of the previous century, as do they lay a foundation for the understanding of Thai development of the 21st century.Show less
