Although Saudi Arabia is usually associated with Islam and Wahhabism, a change in the national narrative has been noticed in the last decades. Since King Abdullah’s realm until the contemporary...Show moreAlthough Saudi Arabia is usually associated with Islam and Wahhabism, a change in the national narrative has been noticed in the last decades. Since King Abdullah’s realm until the contemporary Muhammad bin Salman, a more secularist component has been introduced to Saudi Arabian identity. This phenomenon becomes more evident when it comes to studying Ǧaḥiliyya. This historical period has always been considered the opposite of Islam, but nowadays it is an important part of Saudi Arabian identity. This thesis will shed light on this phenomenon, starting with the following research questions: What are the main reasons for reshaping Saudi national Identity? How is the revival of the Pre-Islamic period forming a new national identity? A multidisciplinary approach will demonstrate that this shift is the direct consequence of historical events that happened from the 1980s to the 2000s and that the revaluation of Ǧaḥiliyya is a way to develop this new identity. The comparison between the traditional Wahhabi idea of Ǧaḥiliyya and its narration within museums, archaeological sites and festivals will demonstrate that Ǧaḥiliyya is not associated anymore with cultural ignorance, but it is exalted for its cultural flourishment, especially with poetry. The case study of Nabaṭī poetry in the national TV program Ŝāʿir al-Rāya will show that poets are the carriers of the Saudi pre-Islamic tradition, and the Saudi State becomes the protector of this important collective memory.Show less
In recent years, the whole world has been embroiled in the intermingled crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, global recession, and Ukrainian-Russian conflicts. As a result, the petroleum regime that...Show moreIn recent years, the whole world has been embroiled in the intermingled crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, global recession, and Ukrainian-Russian conflicts. As a result, the petroleum regime that nourished our global economies for the last seven decades was massively destabilized and further imperiled by the impending climate change. Against this backdrop, the renewable energy transition is enshrined as a robust alternative to reverse the bleak status quo and reinvigorate our waning economies. However, it may not fulfill the promising future as expected. In this research, I adopted a comprehensive geographical and political-economic framework to conduct a multiscalar critique of the renewable transition in Morocco and a larger trans-Mediterranean landscape. The research aims to argue that the renewable energy transition requires the same fraud, dispossession, and control as under the petroleum regime to be materialized. In this process, the technological advantage, financial investment, environmentalist discourse, colonial conception, and legal framework of Europe constitute a type of 'hegemony'. This hegemony is maneuvered to reshape the ecologically unequal exchange between Morocco and Europe under an emerging renewable regime and further their asymmetrical relations since the old. More unfortunately, the renewable transition tends to prolong overproduction, overconsumption, and overaccumulation cliché that will doom humans rather than build more sustainable social and human-ecological relations in the future. It drives us to reflect on which socioeconomic scenario we should implement the transition.Show less
The objective of this research is to analyze the terms "salafism" and "wahhabism" in modern Russia. The question could be formulated thus: What does "salafism" and "wahhabism" mean to politicians,...Show moreThe objective of this research is to analyze the terms "salafism" and "wahhabism" in modern Russia. The question could be formulated thus: What does "salafism" and "wahhabism" mean to politicians, academics, and official Muslim clergy in Russia; How did their understanding/perception evolve in the recent history?Show less
This thesis is about cultural transformation through migration between the Turkish district of Emirdağ and the diaspora in Belgium. In this research, the poems from Emirdağ and the poems from the...Show moreThis thesis is about cultural transformation through migration between the Turkish district of Emirdağ and the diaspora in Belgium. In this research, the poems from Emirdağ and the poems from the diaspora were analyzed using the qualitative research method narrative analysis. In the analysis, the reflection of cultural transformation through migration in Emirdağ's poetry has been observed. The results provide an insight into the migration culture and the outcomes of socio-cultural and economic transnationalism.Show less
The world food crisis of 2007–2008 reaffirmed the volatility of international commodity markets and led many countries questioning their reliance on food imports. In a quest for new strategies to...Show moreThe world food crisis of 2007–2008 reaffirmed the volatility of international commodity markets and led many countries questioning their reliance on food imports. In a quest for new strategies to ensure food supplies in the future, many richer countries resorted to the large-scale acquisition of foreign land, often referred to as land grabs, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this thesis, I examine the Saudi Agricultural Investments Abroad initiative and attempt to identify what role this initiative plays within the Kingdom’s larger food security policy. Moreover, against the backdrop of the global climate crisis and the importance of moving towards a sustainable global food system, this thesis examines the sustainability of this strategy in the long term. The research question formulated for this is: What role do Saudi Arabia’s large-scale land investments abroad play in their food security strategy and how sustainable is this strategy? Building on an alternative definition of food security that adopts a food systems approach, this thesis proposes that the use of large-scale land investments as a food security strategy does not fit the sustainable path that is so needed.Show less
This thesis aims to fill the existing gap in the writing of the history of development, i.e. the lack of research on the recipients and their political motives and agency. By using the case of...Show moreThis thesis aims to fill the existing gap in the writing of the history of development, i.e. the lack of research on the recipients and their political motives and agency. By using the case of Afghanistan during the Cold War, the main research question of the thesis thus is: To what extent did the Afghan elite influence the course of the Cold War development projects from 1953-1979? The main finding is that despite adopting and sharing the assumptions of the modernization theory with Americans, the Afghan state elites used developmental aid for the purpose of the Pashtunisation of Afghanistan. Through examining the case of the building of dams in the Helmand and Arghandab Valleys, the student shows that the goal of the Afghan state elites was to attract the Pashtun nomads ‘to settle in Afghanistan, as a Pashtun demographic majority was needed to bolster the legitimacy of the Pashtun government and shape Afghanistan's identity as such’.Show less
This research seeks to analyze the current hydropolitical relationship between Israel and Jordan in the light of the Declaration of Intent, agreed upon in November 2021. The agreement entails a...Show moreThis research seeks to analyze the current hydropolitical relationship between Israel and Jordan in the light of the Declaration of Intent, agreed upon in November 2021. The agreement entails a collaboration between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates on water and energy issues. While the literature on hydropolitics has mainly focused on the connection between water scarcity on the one hand, and conflict or cooperation, on the other, this study moves beyond this dichotomy by applying a mixed method of environmental peacebuilding and hydro-hegemony to the case-study. Built on theoretical analysis and including historical aspects, the international, regional and domestic context as well as the concept of asymmetrical power and discursive power, the research looks beyond elite interests and traditional theories of international relations. While the analysis identifies the envisaged cooperation from the water-for-energy deal as a form of technical environmental cooperation, the findings also stress the ambiguity in Jordan’s behavior and the underlying dynamics of power asymmetry, reinforced by the role of external actors and the use of dominant discourses.Show less
The Iran-Iraq War (1980 – 1988) was a complicated and bloody conflict in which many people lost their lives. The Kurds were geographically, but also as a target in the middle of the conflict and to...Show moreThe Iran-Iraq War (1980 – 1988) was a complicated and bloody conflict in which many people lost their lives. The Kurds were geographically, but also as a target in the middle of the conflict and to aggravate the situation they were subject to genocidal campaign led by the regime of Saddam Hussein towards the end of the war. This thesis analyzes the Kurdish representations in Kurdish films set during the Iran-Iraq War. In particular, it focuses on the Kurdish female representations. The aim is to further develop academic research on Kurdish cinema, provide an overview of cultural expressions through visual arts throughout space and time and emphasize the gap between the male and female gender in Kurdish representations. The analysis proposes that Kurdish cinematic expressions of the Iran-Iraq War have two overarching themes that can roughly be classified under the heading of cultural memory and collective trauma and the heading of geo-linguistic homeland in which different representations between Kurds in general and female Kurds can be observed.Show less
This research explores the impact of the return of the Taliban in August 2021 to the sense of belonging of Afghan-Dutch citizens. When refugees or migrants enter their host country, they must...Show moreThis research explores the impact of the return of the Taliban in August 2021 to the sense of belonging of Afghan-Dutch citizens. When refugees or migrants enter their host country, they must develop a balance between the sense of belonging to their host country and their source country. The perception of belonging can be influenced by a multitude of things such as immigration rhetoric in the host country, changes in social-economic circumstances, and conflict in the source country. This research has found that the effects of these conflicts on the sense of belonging for Afghan-Dutch citizens in the Netherlands varies greatly. Some of the Afghan-Dutch population felt a stronger sense of belonging to Afghanistan, as all their memories and connections to the country received extra attention. For others, the sense of belonging to Afghanistan declined, as the return of the Taliban emphasized traumas and the country’s history of conflict. Finally, for some, the feeling of belonging remained unchanged entirely. Furthermore, though the feelings of belonging to the Netherlands were not the main focus in this research, it was noticeable that those feelings did not really change for the Netherlands in general, more in the direction of the Afghan-Dutch diaspora.Show less
