This thesis deals with the territorial integrity of Iraq within American foreign policy, and argues that American support of Iraq's territorial integrity hinges on strategic assumptions and wishful...Show moreThis thesis deals with the territorial integrity of Iraq within American foreign policy, and argues that American support of Iraq's territorial integrity hinges on strategic assumptions and wishful thinking. By reviewing the history of American foreign policy in regards to the territorial integrity of Iraq, and zooming in on the policies of the Clinton and Bush W. Bush administrations, this thesis explains how the idea of a unitary Iraq has become so persistent within American foreign policy.Show less
An analysis of the emotive portrayal of Dutch-Israeli relations by Dutch scholarship, looking at three case studies between the years 1979-1982 to see if there is sufficient empirical evidence for...Show moreAn analysis of the emotive portrayal of Dutch-Israeli relations by Dutch scholarship, looking at three case studies between the years 1979-1982 to see if there is sufficient empirical evidence for this emotive portrayal in academic studies.Show less
The study delves into the convoluted relationship between women and war and analysis the reasons that led Israel and Palestine to admit women in their combat units in the early 2000s.
Since its foundation in 1996, Al Jazeera and its English subsidiary Al Jazeera English, established in 2006, have revolutionized the Middle Eastern news media landscape by critically reporting on...Show moreSince its foundation in 1996, Al Jazeera and its English subsidiary Al Jazeera English, established in 2006, have revolutionized the Middle Eastern news media landscape by critically reporting on events in the immediate region and by emphasizing the experiences of people from the Global South. This lead to the coining of the term ‘the Al Jazeera effect’ by Philip Seib. However, the only directive issued by its main sponsor, the Qatari government, is that it should not put the monarchy in a negative light. While different countries in the Middle East have begun following Qatar’s footsteps by establishing English-language news media of their own, an issue that is materializing in parallel is the worldwide declining trust in the news media. As various news networks around the globe are seeing their credibility—the quality of being trusted—questioned, this thesis ties these two developments together by asking how Al Jazeera English, as well as two of its English-language competitors in the region, being PressTV from Iran and TRT World from Turkey, go about establishing their credibility. More particularly, how do these three networks fare when they report on a conflict in their proverbial backyard, the Syrian Civil War, the outcome of which concerns Qatar, Iran, and Turkey alike? By borrowing from the existing scholarly literature on the analysis of news media credibility, this thesis looks at YouTube material on the Syrian Civil War in the first five months of 2019 from the flagship current affairs discussion program on each network, Inside Story on Al Jazeera English, The Debate on PressTV, and The Newsmakers on TRT World in order to demonstrate whether the latter two networks cater for their own ‘effect’ in the Middle Eastern news media arena. Moreover, this thesis hopes to expand our understanding of how we should view the three news outlets: as critical watchdogs of political institutions, or as mouthpieces for their respective governments.Show less
This thesis asks why the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, has become a prominent issue within the British Labour Party. Further, it seeks to examine whether or not positions on...Show moreThis thesis asks why the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, has become a prominent issue within the British Labour Party. Further, it seeks to examine whether or not positions on the conflict and expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians by members of the Party follow a general trend, and which external and internal factors have brought about the relative prominence of the conflict within the Party. It uses textual and discourse analysis to examine these questions and focuses on the formation of discourses around Palestine in the elite of the Labour party in the post-war period, with a particular focus on the period following the 1973 October war.Show less
The Ulster Loyalist community of Northern Ireland have long regarded themselves as a people besieged by Irish Republican ideology. While lacking international support, the Loyalists have formed a...Show moreThe Ulster Loyalist community of Northern Ireland have long regarded themselves as a people besieged by Irish Republican ideology. While lacking international support, the Loyalists have formed a geographically and culturally unusual bond with the State of Israel. Loyalist support for Israel increased visibly during the 2002 Intifada and Loyalists continue to make declarations of support for Israel. Yet, the governing Likud Party in recent years has commemorated Zionist insurgents, who committed acts of terror against the British administration in the 1940s. The Israeli government’s actions have led to criticism from the Her Majesty’s British government, which the Loyalist community aims to stand alongside, to maintain the Union and prevent the triumph of Irish Republicanism. Despite British public support for Israel declining during the past few decades, Ulster Loyalist support for the Jewish State is believed to be one of the strongest in Europe.Show less
Alliance politics and securitisation theory have been studied and theorised. However, research on a possible link between these fields remains absent. Yet, when we look at prevalent alliance theory...Show moreAlliance politics and securitisation theory have been studied and theorised. However, research on a possible link between these fields remains absent. Yet, when we look at prevalent alliance theory by Walt, we see that security and threat perceptions play a great role in the formation and persistence of state alliances. We would then expect that the discursive construction of these threats would too. This research takes the “special relationship” between the United States and Israel and their most recent rift over a nuclear Iran as its case study. Other than most analyses of the construction of threat within foreign policy discourse, this research aims to trace interaction between two converging or diverging formal state discourses. A Post Structuralist discourse analysis of formal speeches given by Netanyahu and Obama on policy towards Iran will show that over the eight years of their simultaneous leadership, interaction between their respective discourses increased and took an a more direct form. Results thereby illustrate that securitisation discourse should perhaps more often be studied as not simply emanating from and interacting with the domestic realm. It is not simply a dialogue between leadership and a respective domestic audience. Obama and Netanyahu are also required to legitimate their foreign policy options towards one another and both of their domestic audiences.Show less
