Through an analysis of state legitimacy theory, this thesis comparatively explores the Pinochet regime and Piñera administration. Using three widely accepted requirements of state legitimacy -...Show moreThrough an analysis of state legitimacy theory, this thesis comparatively explores the Pinochet regime and Piñera administration. Using three widely accepted requirements of state legitimacy - rationality, participation, and morality- the thesis analyzes the degree to which both governments can be considered legitimate. Particularly, the 2019 Chilean social uprising is investigated through both a contemporary and historically comparative lens in order to determine whether or not the Piñera administration is facing a legitimacy crisis.Show less
This thesis analyses the role of these paramilitary groups in the palm oil industry in the Meta department in central Colombia and aims to answer the question: To what extent has paramilitary...Show moreThis thesis analyses the role of these paramilitary groups in the palm oil industry in the Meta department in central Colombia and aims to answer the question: To what extent has paramilitary involvement in Colombia’s internal armed conflict facilitated the expansion of the palm oil industry in the Meta department?Show less
This thesis took around four months to get completed. During this time, over 13,000 people were murdered in Brazil – more than the total of Syrian War victims in 2019 (Globo 2019; SOHR 2020). But...Show moreThis thesis took around four months to get completed. During this time, over 13,000 people were murdered in Brazil – more than the total of Syrian War victims in 2019 (Globo 2019; SOHR 2020). But comparing tragedies is not this work’s purpose. Instead, the aim is to contribute to the understanding of the complexity of violence and security in the state of São Paulo, the most populated federal unit of Brazil. The violence has become so dire in the whole country that major media, as well as international organizations, started calling it an epidemic (World Bank 2018; Boechat 2018). To understand how the epidemic works, public security is approached with the perspective of perception of safety, which is argued to be underrated in the Brazilian context. The first chapter offers an overview of the current academic debate, with public security and perception of safety being the guiding concepts. The second part has a rather political point of view. Public policies in the field of security are analyzed, with an emphasis on the paradigms that guided legislative decisions. That is also how the chapter with the case study begins. The effectivity and consequences of individual decisions are questioned. Next, the perspective shifts from political to social, challenging the way security and violence are put in numbers and arguing that homicide is overestimated as an indicator. Additionally, the reliability of how crime data are collected and published is assessed. For there is a vigorous debate about what made homicide rates drop so much in São Paulo, but very little effort has been made to question the data on which this debate is based. Since the fall is confirmed, the factors that could explain the consistent drop in killings in the state since the turn of the century are analyzed. Then, the link – or better, its absence – between homicide rates and perception of security is examined. Despite a considerable murder reduction, São Paulo is still far from not being regarded as dangerous by its people. Therefore, public security elements that deserve greater heed are outlined. Finally, the conclusion zooms out from the case study and places it in a wider perspective.Show less
Political clientelism has persisted in Peru since its independence from Spain, and after the return to democracy in the 1970s. Peru is an interesting case in regards to political clientelism: while...Show morePolitical clientelism has persisted in Peru since its independence from Spain, and after the return to democracy in the 1970s. Peru is an interesting case in regards to political clientelism: while this phenomenon is normally tied to internal party organization, Peru’s parties lack consolidated organizational structures. In the 1990s the party system that developed after the democratic transition collapsed and led to the election of a political outsider, Alberto Fujimori, as president. Since then, political clientelism as it was known before the collapse of the party system disappeared and has given rise to new strategies to acquire political support.Show less
US foreign policy after the Cuban Revolution changed the way that the Cuban nation legitimated itself, which in turn influenced its national interests, and the way it interacted with other states...Show moreUS foreign policy after the Cuban Revolution changed the way that the Cuban nation legitimated itself, which in turn influenced its national interests, and the way it interacted with other states on an international level. This thesis and its following research contextualizes itself in the Cold War era - in 1959 after the Cuban Revolution up until recent history - and examines the key concepts of legitimacy, national security, and foreign policy while investigating their specificities in regards to the Cuban state. It also attempts to understand how political struggle with the US has shaped these things, and has forced the Cuban state to adapt. The first chapter introduces the key concepts, and provides a theoretical framework which remains the backdrop throughout the other two chapters. The second chapter introduces the case of Cuba, and provides a historical contextualization of the period after the taking of power of Fidel Castro and the Revolutionary government up until the end of Castro’s leadership. The third chapter dives into the start of the period after Castro’s exit from Cuban politics, and examines how the period of Obama’s administration from 2008-2016 is unique in comparison to its preceding history. It also analyses how the use of state legitimacy in Cuba has changed. Finally this thesis attempts to answer the question: To what extent is Cuban state legitimacy impacted through aggressive foreign policy with the US?Show less
After an era in which Hugo Chávez was the leader of one of the wealthiest countries of Latin America, a country that adored their president due to his charisma and background, Venezuela got itself...Show moreAfter an era in which Hugo Chávez was the leader of one of the wealthiest countries of Latin America, a country that adored their president due to his charisma and background, Venezuela got itself into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. How is it possible that a country that was once so wealthy, envied by its neighbouring countries because of their stable democracy, now experiences hyperinflation, migration, and hunger? This thesis analyses the nutrition crisis in Venezuela through the concepts of crisis management and politicization.Show less
Feminicidal violence continues to plague Latin America. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, most cases of feminicide have gone unsolved, and the authorities/state officials have insisted that the crimes are...Show moreFeminicidal violence continues to plague Latin America. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, most cases of feminicide have gone unsolved, and the authorities/state officials have insisted that the crimes are merely a result of domestic violence, or, more recently, the war on drugs. This narrative is one of many which seek to obscure the systemic nature of feminicide, and to discredit the idea that is is a symptom of much larger and deeply ingrained structural issues. Neoliberalism connects these issues. Though It cannot be stated precisely to what extent neoliberalism has exacerbated, or facilitated the occurrence of feminicide in Ciudad Juarez, it is clear that neoliberal policies, and their effects on society and culture, created the conditions in which feminicide was able to flourish in Ciudad Juarez from the mid 1990s through the early 2000s.Show less
Extractive industry in Peru is accompanied by significant challenges when it comes to public policy. This research provides an understanding of the problematics of the extractive industry with...Show moreExtractive industry in Peru is accompanied by significant challenges when it comes to public policy. This research provides an understanding of the problematics of the extractive industry with regards to social and environmental interests and priorities to be set for public policy in general. My research question is: To what extend does Peru’s public policy determine the ability to create sustainable development in the mining industry? I will answer this question through means of the following sub questions: ‘How did public policy develop throughout the 80s and 90s in Peru?’ and ‘What has been the impact of public policy on the mining industry, the environment and local communities?’.Show less
This thesis examines the tense dynamics of trust and hatred within Latin America and looks into the involvement of the United States in its military and economic support for rightist governments in...Show moreThis thesis examines the tense dynamics of trust and hatred within Latin America and looks into the involvement of the United States in its military and economic support for rightist governments in Latin America. It starts with an analysis of the bilateral relations, the regional integration and the authoritarian state. Following is an extensive examination of the development of regional integration in Latin America, the threat of Communism and authoritarian responses to it. The authoritarian regimes threatened the social lives of millions of Latin American people and allowed a military regime to maintain the domestic economic and political structure according to the objective of the authoritarian leader and the military junta, which was centred around the eradication of Communism. Within Latin America, regional integration caused bilateral and multilateral successes and failures and conflicts. The high quantity of natural resources in several countries such as Venezuela, Brazil and Chile for example, provides the opportunity to maintain relations with other countries in the international system and to increase foreign investments. However, geographical factors limited bilateral relations in various countries in Latin America and territory remains a crucial factor in the analysis of bilateral relations within the region. The final chapter scrutinizes the bilateral relation between Chile and Argentina in the years from Pinochet’s coup d’état in 1973 until his successor Aylwin took over presidency in 1989. These 17 years are divided in two time periods. The first period goes from 1973 until 1983, a period in which military diplomacy acted out by both countries symbolized territorial conflicts, but where both countries’ governments and secret services cooperated to protect their countries against Communism in Operation Condor. The second period starts with the Peace and Friendship Treaty in 1984 in which it seemed like conflicts softened, and where the democratic transition in Argentina contributed to the lowering of the long-lasting binational security dilemma between Chile and Argentina. Hence, this thesis identifies the major factors that have been contributing to and have been restraining the bilateral relation between Chile and Argentina. The contextualization is characterized by military responses to the threat of Communism within both countries, territorial interventions in the Southern Cone of Latin America and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1984 which fostered the incentives for bilateral integration and economic cooperation between Chile and Argentina.Show less
